Introducing P.E.I.'s past

Retired senator Archie Johnstone had a mission in mind.

This Kensington man wanted to capture the movers and shakers in P.E.I. who have had an impact on this province in one way or another.

And now this prolific self-published author has rounded up a plethora of information for his new book, Introductions, which showcases more than 100 well-known and sometimes lesser-known personalities.

“This is book seven since my 80th birthday,” says the 87-year-old Johnstone, who has previously tackled topics close to his heart, such as the Second World War in which he was a crew member with the Royal Canadian Air Force heavy bombing squadron, and Lucy Maud Montgomery, to whom he was related.

These two subjects resurface in Introductions, which is a stockpile of information, photographs, letters, newspaper clippings and documents pertaining to broad spectrum of Islanders.

The project started with Fr. Francis Bolger, with whom Johnstone had attended Prince of Wales College years ago and had travelled extensively in Europe.

“He said to me one day, ‘They’re writing books about all these Prince Edward Islanders who left the province and became so successful. Is anyone ever going to write a book on (those) who stayed in 

the province?’ ” remembers Johnstone, who from then on kept this thought in his mind.

Some of the people in Introductions are already well known in the analogues of Island history, such as former premiers Alex Campbell and Angus MacLean and aviation entrepreneur Carl Burke, who founded Maritime Central Airways.

“I didn’t know why, but ever since the war I’ve been saving (clippings and documents). Carl Burke, for instance, and so on . . . . They all had their own file so I could draw on that lot,” Johnstone says of his resources.

The accomplishments of some Islanders included in Introductions have slipped off the radar completely, such as cousins Collingwood MacLeod and John A. MacLeod from Park Corner.

“One became the general manager of the Bank of Nova Scotia, the other became the president,” Johnstone says.

In fact, John A. MacLeod’s signature and photo graced the $5 Bank of Nova Scotia note in 1935.

Even the everyday man makes his mark in many ways, such as Harris Blakeney, who Johnstone lists as “mail courier extraordinaire.”

“That is to illustrate a common mailman, the service he did over 50 years,” Johnstone says of Blakeney, who delivered mail, starting in 1928 at just $600 a year.

There is a bit of murder and mayhem in the story of 17-year-old Mary Tuplin of Margate, who was shot in the head by 19-year-old William Millman on June 28, 1887.

He was later convicted and hanged to death.

The murder inspired a song and eventually a play.

Almost 30 years ago in tracking down some of the details of this story Johnstone was taken by Gerry Birt to the Johnston and Johnston pharmacy in Charlottetown which, for some reason, had the bullet-pierced skull of the murdered teen, a photo of which is included in the book.

More tales tell of Bill Reddin canoeing around the Island in 1934-35, the history of one of the Island’s most memorable tourist attractions, Woodleigh Replicas, and Summerside’s former Miss Dominion and Miss World contestant Norma (Hickey) Dougherty.

Johnstone’s book, Introductions, is available at The Bookmark in Charlottetown.

“The thing is, think how many others that I am missing,” Johnstone says. “But these are some of the most prominent Islanders.”