CHCO-TV NewsBreak26 with Vicki Hogarth, Madison Gowan and Lukas Kohler

Grand Manan celebrates restoration of Swallowtail Lighthouse

Restoration efforts for the 164-year-old Swallowtail Lighthouse on Grand Manan have been officially completed.

A grand reopening was held on Friday, celebrating the successful restoration, which was made possible by more than $600,000 in donations. The event included a ceremony at the Grand Manan Community Center, followed by free tours of the newly restored lighthouse and keeper’s house. The project, which began with fundraising in 2022, addressed significant water damage and rot discovered after the removal of the lighthouse's 90-year-old wooden shingles.

Lighthouse keeper Ken Ingersoll expressed his joy at being able to see the project through to completion.

"I've had a few of the fishermen tell me that I can actually turn my light out now because the tower is so bright that they can see it from way offshore," said Ingersoll. "And to me, that's wonderful. And to look at the peninsula, the light station itself has a lot of pride, a great deal of pride, and brought it back to its former glory. And to be able to save one of these light stations is pretty special."

The restoration has fortified the lighthouse, ensuring it can withstand the next 50 years of harsh coastal weather. Ingersoll, whose wife Laurie Murison championed the restoration of Swallowtail and sadly passed away in 2021, said she would be proud of how it stands tall today.  

"Laurie and I actually discussed this before she departed," said Ingersoll. "And she knew it would carry on one way or the other. It was going to carry on. Certainly not to this degree. Wherever she is right now, she's smiling. I know it because, yeah, I can feel it. It was such a big project, a huge part of our lives for in those 20 years. And to see it draw to its completion, it's actually a little overwhelming."

The Archie Golf Tournament returns in support of the World's Oldest Basketball Court

The third annual Archie Golf Tournament took place this Friday and Saturday on the Algonquin golf course. The tournament honours the late Lyman Archibald, a member of the very first basketball team while raising funds for the world's oldest basketball court.

"When we started raising money for the world's oldest basketball court, we're running an $18 million campaign as we speak," said Tom Liston of the World's Oldest Basketball Court. "And one of the things we want to do is bring basketball, mainly celebrities, but celebrities of all sorts to St. Stephen and St. Andrews, to show them the court and to help those people influence and talk to some of the potential sponsors that we're talking to, not only government, but corporate sponsors as well and individual donors. So we really wanted to bring a spotlight from people from across Canada to see it."

The Archie raises awareness for the importance of historic sports architecture culture while bringing together members of today's industry and the athletes who paved their way.

"I'm excited about the excitement that's going into this project, watching it come to fruition, cherishing a wonderful historic piece as a basketball player," said basketball star Miranda Ayim. "I love to see the history of the sport here in Canada."

"I've been to all three. Came to the first one not knowing what it was like," said 1976 Olympic basketball star Joyce Slipp. "I enjoyed it so much that I wouldn't miss it. In fact, last year, my husband had a family reunion with his whole side of the family, and I said, I'm sorry, the Archie takes more precedence than that, so I've got to go to the Archie."

Over the past three years, the Archie has become a favourite for locals and celebrities alike.

"This is one of the greatest moments of my life," said Toronto Raptors sportscaster Jack Armstrong.

"It's really amazing to me how these guys who come down, the celebrities are so humble, and they just want to hang out," said Mark McAllister of VeroSource who played in the golf tournament alongside Armstrong. "They don't just come here and spend a couple of hours and then go to their rooms. We get to spend time, get to know each other, and build relationships, and that's really important. I love it."

Following the day of fun on the green, tournament participants headed to St. Stephen to enjoy a traditional East Coast kitchen party and visit the world's oldest basketball court. 

Nature Trust hosts a Navy Island Beach Clean-up

More than 20 people took part in the effort to make Navy Island's beaches healthier last Saturday, with the ninth annual Navy Island Beach Cleanup,  organized by the Nature Trust. Participants put their full effort into taking any garbage that they could find, including many pieces of netting off the beach.

"It's important to get involved with beach cleanups all across the coast of New Brunswick because they're our coast," said Aiden Pluta, Conservation Coordinator for the Nature Trust of New Brunswick. "The Nature Trust has a number of preserves along the Coast, and that's why we organize these events. But it's important for New Brunswickers to get involved because these beaches belong to all of us, and we all benefit from having a clean environment."

Efforts such as this, even if it's just picking up the smallest piece of garbage, help the environment and its inhabitants greatly.

"Doing cleanups like this benefits not only one individual species, it benefits every single species that live in these habitats," said Pluta. It's not just the marine species, it's terrestrial species. It's the birds, it's the plants, the trees. Everything benefits as well as us as people benefiting from having a clean place to live and enjoy."