Something’s fishy
RD: I tried to discover if I could buy some river herring by means of telephoning Fisheries and Aquaculture, in the phone book as 426-9010, but the girl never heard of such fish. She then referred me to “Dartmouth” where the girl said she would ask regarding Gaspereau or river herring. Never heard of the fish herself. Now I got a bill for long distance; evidently the second girl was in Cornwallis Park, N.S.
   I mention the runaround in part because you might find it interesting to do an article, possibly relating to the dearth of herring generally. Is the Gaspereau River empty of kiack? It was once renowned for a square net fishery, the wide nets supported from above, on a limb or an A-frame or tri, like an engine from a truck tree lift.
   Strange to me nobody ever heard of river herring or Gaspereau. Do they still go up rivers, and where? If depleted or goners, what happened? Does it relate to the dead herring of salt waters?
   Possibly personnel were let go in Fisheries? Experts? I used to buy the supply for winters, salting, at Charleston on the Medway River, from folks dipping part time incomes, kids and geezers, in the ’70s.
   New England magazines must have run stories if depleted…
   The receptionist in Cornwallis was supposed to “have someone call you.” She asked, so I gave name and number. Alas, it was not meant to be. Is it a TRADE SECRET?
Dan Hogan
Lawrencetown, N.S.

(Dan, far from depleted, kiacks ran thick this spring on the Gaspereau River. Or was it gaspereau? Depends which side of the province we’re on, I guess. Anyway, you must have missed the story about the many gaspereau getting turbined after NS Power opened upriver dams to make sure there was enough water downstream to float rubber duckies in the Apple Blossom Festival race. Or so it was reported. An investigation was underway. DvL)

From the heart
RD: I am very pleased to let you know from running my ad in RD for a pen pal that several months down the road, I heard from a lady in Lanesville, N.S. I am so pleased to get her as a pen pal and thanks to RD it melted my heart. Your magazine is great and keep up the great work.
Bonnie Whynot
Middlewood, N.S.

Ice cream memories
RD: Goats’ milk ice cream! That article brought back so many memories. Way back in the dark ages when I was a kid myself, we had a farm full of goats. Our favourite treat was goats’ milk ice cream but our version was simply: goats’ milk, sugar, and vanilla, frozen until hard. Then we’d sit in front of the TV watching Gilligan’s Island while scraping the hard stuff out of the container with a spoon. It took forever to eat but it was worth every bite!
And then I turn the page and there is Henry and Janet Eisses’ farm. I used to live close by and we had many visits back and forth. My son and one of their boys had numerous sleepovers, roaming around the barns and fields and making a happy nuisance of themselves! Those were the days.
Thanks for the trip down memory road.
Lesa Light
Truro, N.S.

Location, location, location
RD: I very much enjoy your magazine – I find the articles to be of great interest, and your sources for them very well qualified.
The only problem I see is not keeping your contact info up-to-date and easily located (either in your subscription ad or in a prominent location in the front or back). But overall, you put out a wonderful little magazine. Thank you.
Gretta Wells,
Fredericton, N.B.

(We appreciate the feedback from you, Gretta. We will discuss trying to make our contact information more prominent. Our toll-free number and our postal address are always displayed at the top of the masthead – that column on the left of page 3. And at the bottom of the table of contents we provide a page reference for the subscription form, where you will find rates and payment options as well as contact info. We genuinely want people to subscribe!)