New light about Peggy of the Cove

In 1996, two ladies from North Dakota arrived at the Cove with startling news. Their shipwreck version agrees with Bill deGarthe's except one major difference. They said a little girl too young to remember her name miraculously washed ashore. The family who adopted her, named her Peggy. They even had a picture showing Peggy when she was an older lady.

Bruce Nunn met with the ladies and wrote their story as told by them, in his book, Nova Scotia History with a Twist.

Peggy in the Wave was taken by Ivan at the tail end of Hurricane Josephine in 1996. A gentleman from the US pointed out the image of a lady standing in the center of the spray. It inspired Ivan to begin his journey with Peggy. The second step was the painting below, The Rescue of Peggy.

In his book, This is Peggy's Cove, Bill deGarthe wrote:

Many have asked, "How did Peggy's Cove get its name? There are two versions in existence and the first has more generally been accepted, because of its romantic and dramatic appeal to most people. The story goes that a schooner was wrecked on "Halibut Rock" off the Lighthouse Point, in a "Southeaster", in sleet and fog on a dark October night. The ship ran hard aground and with high waves washing her decks, some of her crew climbed to the masts, but the waves washed them into the boiling sea. Everyone on board was lost except a woman, who managed to survive the turbulent seas, swam ashore and was finally rescued by the people on the shore.

Her name was Margaret, and she married one of the eligible bachelors of the Cove. The people from near-by places used to come and visit Peggy of the Cove, and before long they began to call the place Peggy's Cove. How true this story is, no one knows, and there are no documents available to confirm or refute it.

In the second version, perhaps not so romantic, but more logical, Peggy's Cove, being situated at the entrance to St. Margaret's Bay, was shortened from Margaret's Cove, to the more intimate name of Peggy's Cove, a name world famous now for a place of scenic beauty, where tourists gather from far and near.

A pleasant surprise for Ivan was the day he found April writing a humorous poem about her sister, Rosalee. Being a rather inquisitive character, he volunteered his services and was immediately caught up in the excitement. Over a short period of time, he continued helping as April wrote two more family poems. Now Ivan figured he had the formula mastered, so he wrote a poem about April. That eventually led to his writing the song, Peggy of the Cove.

Knowing it needed fine tuning, Ivan contacted Evelyn Noble for advice. She became the song editor. After asking questions, which Ivan's noted for, he found the local artists to complete the task. Warren Robert composed the music, Melanie Ross performed the vocal, and Cristopher Mitchell did the mixing. Read and listen to the_song.html

Since Ivan didn't want to write about a little girl too youngto remember her name, and with no facts about Margaret except Bill deGarthe's brief sketch, Ivan created Peggy at the tender age of eight. She had a memory loss from the trauma of the shipwreck. People, places and things, brought dim recollections of her past, but her identity remained hidden. In the second book, Secrets, an unexpected event changes Peggy's life when Janet came for another visit.

ivan@peggyofthecove.com

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Before finishing the first novel, creating a series of children's books became Ivan's dream. He contacted David Preston Smith and asked if he would be the illustrator. David readily agreed and did a

Before the song was compiled, Ivan knew there had to be the story. Writing was a challenge, but he forged ahead anyway. The easy part, he claims, was the shipwreck because living beside the ocean most of his life, he understood the moods and dangers of the sea. After completing the first chapter, the real struggle began. He took stories of folks from the Cove and surrounding area and combined them with Peggy. So nearly all the stories in A legend brought to reality, are true. Of course he mixed Peggy with them, classifying his first book as historical fiction.

A business friend, Barbara Webber, stopped in one day and asked who his editor was. Since he didn't have one, Barb accepted the task. Six months later, November 2004, Peggy of the Cove, A legend brought to reality, was real eased.

Ivan now realizes it's no literary masterpiece, but has captured the hearts of thousands. Learn more about the books at the_book.html