“ Life is complicated enough. Keep things as simple as possible.”

Meet Emerson Dunphy.

Emerson was born in Ingonish in 1922 and at the age of 6 months, the family moved to North Sydney. His grandfather was a boat builder and his dad was a fish plant owner and trader, plying the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, sailing to and from the West Indies trading goods from Canada. His mother was a school teacher.

When he was six months old, the family moved to North Sydney. He and his 3 siblings spent many happy hours skating on the harbor and nearby lakes in the winter time. Emerson attended Sydney Academy and decided to take a year off after completing grade twelve as he wasn’t certain of his future plans. Part of the year was spent on a merchant ship. Sailing became a passion at an early age.

He attended St.F.X University graduating Magna Cum Laude and was awarded the Governor General’s medal. He had thoughts about being a lawyer but after a brief stint in a dark law office after graduation, he decided against this profession.

He was anxious to serve his country and during WW11, he joined the Air Force. He moved around Canada getting the required training and received his wings in Claresholm, Alberta. By the time he completed his training, the war was drawing to a close. On one fateful train trip from Eastern Canada to flying school in Regina, Emerson and two air force buddies discussed career plans after the war. They all decided to pursue medicine.

In 1945, he was back at “X” for two years of pre-med where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. He received his medical training at McGill and accepted an Internship in Bridgeport, Conneticut. In 1950, he met a beautiful young woman by the name of Margaret Campbell at St. Mary’s hospital in Montreal. She was studying to become a nurse. They were married in 1952. Their two eldest children were born in the United States. Emerson continued his studies in general surgery and urology.

He received word from a colleague that St. Martha’s Hospital in Antigonish was in desperate need of a second surgeon. At the urging of Dr. Tom Gorman, Emerson came back to Nova Scotia and was thrust immediately into an incredibly busy practice. He and Tom were responsible for 50 surgery beds. The work load was very demanding. Emerson admits that he would do it all over again. He was especially fond of the “ old St. Martha’s “ where there was a great deal of camaraderie amongst all the doctors, nurses and the  staff.

Over a career that spanned 34 years, Emerson saw many notable changes. “ The establishment of a burn unit in Halifax and the introduction of laparoscopic surgery were two major changes during my years of practice.”

Religion has always been a cornerstone of Emerson’s life. Like many Catholic families of that generation, saying the rosary after supper was the norm. From time to time , when the schedule allowed, he would duck into the chapel at the hospital for mass. These days he attends mass on a daily basis. He routinely gets up at 5:00 a.m., something that he has done most of his life.

Besides exercising regularly at home, he plays bridge twice a week and the cribbage board is always on the dining room table for a friendly game with family and friends. He also loves doing crossword puzzles. All of these things have kept his mind active and provided him with company and laughter.

So, what is his secret to longevity? “ I didn’t let stress get the better of me. I have always exercised and was well fed by Margie! And I have had a happy life. I think that being happy helps keep a person healthy. I have also benefited from advances in modern medicine. I have had many operations and have scars from head to toe to prove it! “

He also believes that his faith has given him a solid foundation to meet the challenges which life inevitably throws at all of us.

The death of his beloved Margie and son, Michael were hard on Emerson.

Regarding the state of the world, he feels that improved communication might be the only hope in finding harmony. “ World leaders need to meet face to face and discuss their problems and differences.

This gentleman, with a hint of his Irish ancestry twinkling in his eyes, is blessed with 14 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.

He would probably concur that family and good friends are the best medicine.

“ The reason I moved here was because of the people. The reason I invested here was because of the people. The reason I will stay here is because of the people.”

Meet Lenita Hanson

Lenita Hanson never met a challenge that she didn’t relish. She was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and got her first lessons in work ethic on the family farm in Birch Hills. Her father epitomized the notion of entrepreneurship, trying his hand at many different businesses. He instilled confidence in his children and imbued them with a healthy dose of fearlessness in tackling new things. Lenita took this to heart,  buying and selling cars while still in high school. She sold her first car before she was even licensed to drive!

She also discovered quickly that being in business isn’t always profitable. “ You win some and you lose some. Sometimes the losses are actually wins because of the lessons learned. I recognized at an early age that failure was not to be feared.”  She , like many others, regrets that in an era of “Fair Play” in sports, many young people do not experience failure… sometimes life’s best teacher.

She started her post secondary education studying psychology. After taking a year off, she enrolled in the science program at the University of Saskatchewan with an eye to becoming a forensic scientist. She worked at the Saskatchewan Zoo and then did an internship with the Canadian Wildlife Service. She worked for a biopharmaceutical company for a few years. Through all of these endeavours, she felt that she might find her niche in the area of business development.

From 2002-09, Lenita worked for Star Egg, a Saskatchewan based business specializing in the grading, distribution and marketing of shell eggs. Here she met her first professional mentor ( besides her dad! ). Bert Harman saw her potential and encouraged her at every turn. She took on roles with increasing responsibility and learned a great deal about food safety.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Lenita’s next foray was as the production manager at a restaurant. “ I loved learning new things. Change is great.”

Lenita was always a sports enthusiast. She played a variety of sports and took a shining to ringette at the age of 10, a sport that she played avidly until the age of 18. In her third year at the University of Saskatchewan, she decided to try out for the fledgling women’s hockey team . She had to scramble to find goalie gear, having never played the sport. Some of the equipment came from a pawnshop. She made the squad and a year later, the team attained CIS status. She has maintained lifelong friendships from this group of athletes.

During this time she met someone from Antigonish and was invited to come for a visit. From the moment she stepped outside of the airport in Halifax, she could feel something special. She took an instant liking to Nova Scotia. After her second visit, she returned home and wrote down her three year plan to move to Antigonish, after discussing this with her spouse, Amy Irwin.

She could not believe her good fortune when she saw an ad for a Production Development Manager at Tony’s Meat’s in Antigonish. It was as if the job had been written for her. She accepted the position in 2012 and has been there ever since.  Initially, her focus was on food safety and when Tony’s received its Global Food Safety designation, it opened up a world of new market possibilities.

In 2015, when the opportunity presented itself for an ownership share, Lenita didn’t flinch. She knew it was a well run business and had lots of potential.

In 2014, she and Amy built their dream home “ in the Ohio” with wood milled from local timber.

Not long ago, she made a new acquisition: a tattoo. It contains words to live by.

“ Respect. Love. Forgive. No regrets.”

The one that didn’t get away.

“ You get to meet some amazing people from different parts of the world.”

Meet Rob Boyd.

To say that fishing is “ in the blood’ would be an understatement for Rob Boyd and many others like him along St. George’s Bay. His father and grandfather fished for years out of Cribbon’s Point. As children, he and his brother Mark were on the boats all the time observing and learning the tricks of the trade and the meaning of hard work.

Commercial fishing has always been an unpredictable business so Rob obtained a university education in Business just to make sure he had something tucked away in case fishing didn’t work out.

Acquiring a fishing license is no mean feat so when a fisherman died in 2001, he and Mark snapped up the license and got into business together.

“ The work is very demanding and stressful. When the catch is landed there are three people to pay: The bank, Revenue Canada and the fishermen. It is not uncommon for there to be little or nothing after taking care of the first two.”

In the early days, they knew nothing about the tuna fishery. The first tuna they ever caught was close to 1000 pounds. They weren’t even sure how to land it and had to call a friend to come and help them. Call it beginner’s luck or whatever, but the boys thought that they would become millionaires overnight. “ We quickly learned that you could go an entire season without landing a tuna.”

Around 2010-11, a few fishermen in the Maritime provinces started tuna charters. This was in response to the proliferation of tuna in the region. Quotas were reduced and the season shortened. Fisheries officials decided that tuna charters would be acceptable as long as it was based on a catch and release basis.

The Boyd’s commenced their charter business in 2012 and have never looked back. They are fully booked every year and many of their clientele are repeat customers. “ Consumers have high expectations of a quality experience and those of us in the industry do our best to fulfill their needs.” Rob is quick to point out that his wife, Sonya is a key part of the team providing excellent food for their guests.

The economic impact in the region is huge and may be one of the best kept secrets. While lobster continues to be the mainstay for the local fisheries, tuna charters are fast becoming vital cogs in the tourism sector. Hotels, restaurants and  car rentals all benefit from travellers from distant locales.  “Besides the fishing itself, our guests comment on how friendly and laid back people are in this part of the world.”

It would appear that tuna fishing has an addictive element. “ Tuna fishing is more of an illness than a fishery. You keep chasing these crazy fish around all day. Saner people would have packed it in.”

Rob briefly tried his hands at the bagpipes years ago . “ As the first born, I was expected to learn but I didn’t have a musical bone in my body. “  Maybe he’ll pick them up again someday and use them to attract tuna from the bow of his boat rather than using sophisticated tracking devices!

Or maybe not!