DRUM HEAD: For the second time in as many years, Rachel Gammon is putting her effort into trying to save a 101-year-old ship boiler in the waters off Drum Head.
Gammon explains that to the community of approximately 36, it’s not just an abandoned boiler; it’s a historic landmark, especially with the close ties of the surrounding area to the sea.
The only remnants of a vessel that caught fire in 1921 and was hauled offshore to sink that damaged cargo worth $75,000 at the time, was scheduled to be removed last summer, but through her advocacy, it has remained where it has been, for past century.
Having been given assurance by Guysborough-Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow’s office on Dec. 10, 2021, that the “Drum Head Boiler would be saved,” Gammon was caught off guard when she received a phone call from a local reporter three weeks ago.
“I was slightly confused, and then I got even more confused when I stated calling the politicians and none of them knew anything about it either,” Gammon told The Reporter in an Oct. 26 interview. “So again, it was my mission to inform them.”
An ad was placed in the Oct. 12, Guysborough Journal for a notice of intention to dispose of a vessel under the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, and acted as official notice of the Minister of Transport’s intention to dispose of the vessel after 30 days from which the ad was posted.
“I just want them to listen. They’re there to represent the people, they should take a minute to listen to the people,” Gammon said. “We don’t say much about anything, but this is a big deal for us.”
As a result of the placed ad, Gammon initiated activity again in her Facebook group called “Save the Drum Head Boiler,” and contacted local media, elected officials, and government organizations trying to find answers on why it was, once again, being removed.
Sticking out of the water about three metres at low tide, the boiler is located in a small inlet off Harbour Island, and she suggested locals still dive off the structure and swim around it, noting the boiler’s significance is still strong within the community today.
The boiler is from the 42-metre, steam-powered S.S. Scotia, and was again placed on a list of abandoned vessels and related infrastructure highlighted to be cleaned up, through Transport Canada’s Abandoned Boats Program.
Once more, with little remaining possibilities in saving the boiler, she reached out first to her federal and then her provincial representation in Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway and Morrow.
“Greg and Mike have both been fabulous; they just didn’t really have a lot of information. I called Mike Kelloway again in Ottawa and he didn’t know what was going on, these people do not talk apparently,” Gammon said. “Mike must have got a hold of (Transport Canada), because the guy… finally called me back, and he wouldn’t call anybody else back.”
Speaking on the fact that everyone she talks to have been great to get along with, emphasizing they all dive in to try to help her out, but at the same time she has concerns over inter-governmental communication.
“At the same time, from one guy to the next, nobody knows what’s going on,” Gammon said. “Until I tell them.”
Her contact with the department, Norm Thebeau, advised her she has two options, they could be provided with buoys to mark it off, or he would be willing to move it for them.
“It has to be marked because it is an obstacle, and we could personally maintain it as a community,” Gammon said. “Or if we could find a spot within the community that we would want to put it and then put a plaque up to commemorate it.”
She has concerns surrounding if it can safely be removed, however her preference is to keep it where it’s been for the past 101 years.
“That was my concern the first time too, they’re just disturbing stuff when they don’t really need to,” Gammon said. “It’s already settled, it’s already been reclaimed by the ocean.”
The former curator of the Museum of the Atlantic advised she should contact John Cormier, who is the coordinator for the Special Places in Nova Scotia, to get it recognized as a historical spot.
Finally, Gammon’s local municipal councillor, Hudson McLeod, when asked about the boiler following the Municipality of the District of Guysborough’s (MODG) regular, monthly council meeting on Oct. 19, he told reporters he wasn’t aware of the situation.
If removed, Gammon said, not only would they be removing a piece of the community’s history, whoever removes the boiler is going to ruin the floor of the ocean, while also destroying marine life, all for a couple of dollars.
“It doesn’t impede anything, it’s not an obstacle of any kind,” she said. “It’s in an inlet to the island, and me, being a fisherman, I know as well at (Transport Canada) knows, where the channel buoys are, where their supposed highways are, and this boiler is nowhere near any of them.”
Which leads Gammon to her biggest curiosity; who is completing the surveys and who makes the decisions on what gets placed into the Abandoned Boats Program.
“In my mind, it has to do with the government; they started this program with all good intentions, of pulling stuff out of the ocean that’s hazardous, and I totally agree with that,” she said. “But this isn’t doing anything. To me, this is a money grab for a grant for some random company that’s not doing a proper survey. Nobody wants to get rid of it, so it’s got to be somebody after some money.”
When asked how it feels knowing her community isn’t backing down from saving their historic boiler, Gammon suggested it shows how much they care about their community and noted people will stand together when there’s something important enough to stand about.
As for what’s next, she suggested it’s almost a waiting game as for what she can do, as she’s still waiting to hear back from numerous individuals across multiple departments.
“When they put the notice out it was only for 30 days,” Gammon said. “And then when Norm from (Transport Canada) called me the other day, he told me they were going to re-assess the situation, so I don’t know how much more time that gives me, but it gives me a little bit to figure it out.”
Despite the unknowns, it seems as though Gammon’s constant advocacy is paying dividends yet again.
“Following public feedback to the notice, Transport Canada will undertake a review of the risk to navigation,” a spokesperson with Transport Canada told The Reporter in a written response. “And as a result, will not proceed with the removal of the boiler at the moment.”