There are a number of newspaper stories out there about Wallace and the Huestis connection.

In 1927 Martin Bent Huestis wrote a series of articles for a Halifax newspaper, the Evening Star (or maybe it was the Halifax Herald). These were essays about life in Wallace when he was a boy, which would have been in the 1850's and the 1860's. Those decades included the glory days of shipbuilding in Wallace, and Martin includes stories about these yards in his writings.

The articles were reprinted a few weeks later in the Oxford Journal, a weekly paper which used to serve eastern Cumberland County. David Dewar, curator of the Wallace Area Museum, has given me photocopies of 6 of these articles, and I have transcribed them and posted them here. The seventh (actually the first of the series) was transcribed by our cousin Douglas Huestis (now living in Arizona).

I have combined the various articles into more topical essays.

Martin B Huestis was a fascinating fellow. He was one of those naturally gregarious folk, who happened also to be a gifted story-teller. He succeeded his father Joshua in many of the official duties in Wallace; I have seen his name often as the Registrar of Births, and he was the postmaster for a time. Eventually he moved away, to Halifax, where he lived the rest of his life. He was a very old man when he died in 1931 at age 88 or thereabouts. These essays are a fabulous snapshot of life in Wallace in the middle of the 19th century.

• Early Days, and some Huestis family history, transcribed by Doug Huestis, Tuscon, AZ
• Shipbuilding
• Life & Times in Wallace

The following article appeared in the monthly free newspaper, The Light, which is distributed along the North Shore. Ms Ellen Millard, retired editor of The Light, continues to write historical articles about the area. This one was reprinted in the October 2006 edition, and I have included two images of the route of the railway track from quarry to wharf, now paved and called Quarry Street.

from The Light, October, 2006