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The Camp Gagetown SongComposed by Doug Woods for the 30th Reunion in 1983
The year was 1953, some 30 years ago
The word came down from Ottawa, that all of us must go
The news was hard to understand - all the reasons why,
That these rolling hills and fertile land, the Feds would want to buy.
We sing this song to celebrate our Heritage so fine
The living of a people who touched your life and mine
They farmed the land so beautiful, they cut the woods so green
Today we all remember them, just like a special dream.
Our family roots are special, they taught us how to care,
From the Nerepis River to Gagetown, a lot of memories there.
From Jerusalem Hills to Clones, the winding roads unfold,
The life's adventures of a special group, that really must be told.
The homes that rimmed the countryside so fair and oh so strong,
Those white churches of spirits high, their warmth helped you belong.
The sewing bees, the threshing crews, the picnics and the dance
Tell a story of a little world filled with hope and old romance.
These families now are scattered all across the land
But never too far away, my friend, if you need a hand
Whenever there's an anniversary due, or loved one gone above,
These circle of friends from all around, come to share their love.
This song is a memorial to a faithful kind of folk
Who had a vision of God and man, and to this task did yoke.
The youth today are called to mind their family trees' creation
And the remembrance of a land and people with pride and adoration.
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"Places of Our Hearts" tells the story of these vanished communities and their people. The place names of Inchby, Armstrong Corner, Jerusalem, Coote Hill, Clones, Olinville, Hibernia, Lawfield, and Petersville are fondly recalled by the Inches, the Shorts, the McKinneys, the Corbetts, the Woods, the Armstrongs, the Machums and hundreds of others. Their farms, churches, schools and businesses are gone now, but the memories of what was left behind, and thoughts of a simpler time and place, continue to live on in their hearts. |
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