SwissAir Flight 111 Memorial: St. Margaret's Bay, Nova scotia

 

The rocky coastline of St. Margaret's Bay is a beautiful place. We drove Route 333 which is part of the Coastal Heritage Trail several  times . On one of those drives we noticed a small sign that said SwissAir Flight 111 Memorial and decided to stop.

SwissAir Flight 111 crashed on September 2, 1998 after taking off from JFK in New York on its way to Geneva Switzerland.  What I didn't remember about the flight is that it went down in St Margaret's Bay about  5 miles from shore near  tiny fishing communities of Bayswater and Peggy's Cove.  The fishing fleet of St. Margaret's Bay were the crash sites first responders and the townspeople of the villages played host to the hundreds of recovery workers and grieving family members that were drawn to the scene.

All 229 people on board perished when the Aircraft hit the water in a collision so hard that houses on shore shook. The plane had changed course to attempt an emergency landing at Halifax International Airport about 50 miles northwest of the crash site.

I remember this event so clearly. There were rumors at the time of sabotage and terrorism. The RCMP Investigation ruled that the crash was caused by a cockpit fire that overwhelmed the aircraft. That investigation is questioned to this day by conspiracy theorists who speculate about a missing treasure in diamonds and other gemstones that were in the cargo hold.  

 

The monument consists of 2 stone markers placed on a flat expanse of granite.

One has 3 carved slots in the top to represent the 111. it is engraved in English and French:

In memory of

the 229 men women and children aboard SwissAir Flight 111

who perished off these shores

September 2, 1998

They have been joined to the sea and the sky.

May they Rest in peace.

The second stone, a tall oval, stands to its side and reads:

In grateful recognition of

all those who worked tirelessly

To provide assistance in the recovery

 operations and comfort to the families

and their friends in a time of distress.

 

The monuments are not alone. Those souls are not forgotten. Flowers have been placed on the worn granite stones, painted rocks and coins left near the markers. Visitors sit or walk in quiet contemplation. It is a place of stark beauty and overwhelming sadness.

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Dingy in Peggy's Cove.

We have arrived in Nova Scotia and chose to stay in the South Shore region to enjoy the Atlantic Coast.  The landscape is dramatic and much different than the Fundy Coast of New Brunswick. Here we find a rocky granite coast line with exposed boulders and tide pools next to wild flowers and lush grasses. 

Saturday morning we drove around the coast to the Hubbard's Barn Farmers' Market. It was more of an event than we anticipated. We were able to stock up on fresh produce and found coffee from a local micro-roaster all while listening to live Acadian Music.

Peggy's Cove home.

The coastal road is very  twisty here, the coast line full of small  bays and inlets. There of dozens of tiny islands off shore. This irregular coastline is home to many lighthouses including one of the most famous at Peggy's Cove.

 

Peggy's Cove is a tiny fishing village. It's picturesque buildings and rocky prominences have played  scenes in a number of movies, including some of Fred's Favorites in the Jesse Stone series starring Tom Sellek.  (more about those in a later post)

We found it to be as beautiful as promised (sometimes with great intention) and very crowded.  There are a number of small shops selling local crafts alongside those offering tee shirts and bumper stickers. Amos Pewter has a comparatively large store that offered handcrafted pewter giftware as well as casting demonstrations. My favorite store was Hags on a Hill, a co-op style market for artisans of St Margaret's Bay. There is a great Espresso booth in one of those shops with Adirondack chairs on the back deck. We took the opportunity to sit for a while in that quiet place and enjoy the atmosphere of the cove.

Peggy's Point Lighthouse.

Peggy's Point Lighthouse is impressive. It stands alone on a huge expanse of grey and pink granite. It was built in 1915 and remains an active aid to navigation. The 50 foot tower  is topped with a fixed red light that marks the entrance to St Margarets Bay. We were able to walk around it and enjoy the sounds of the Atlantic crashing against the rocks. A Canadian Coast Guard cutter passed by.

Canadian Coast Guard Cutter on St. Margaret's Bay.

William deGarthe Memorial.

 We also enjoyed the memorial created by local artist and sculptor William deGarthe. The bas relief sculpture is chiseled and carved onto a 30 foot granite rock face next to his home as a monument to the lives of local fishermen. He began the 10 year project in the 1970's at the age of 63. The sculpture includes the images of 32 fishermen, their wives and children, Saint Elmo, and "The Peggy" a young woman rescued from a shipwreck as its sole survivor and married into a local family. Legend states that Peggy's Cove was named after her .  Others, with less imagination, attribute the name to the fact that Peggy's Cove is at the entrance to St. Margaret's Bay. 

Fred enjoying the Peggy's Point Lighthouse grounds.