PRINT SOURCE: Thomas Raddall Fonds, Correspondence. From Thomas Raddall to Charles Bruce, 30 December 1948. MS-2-202 37.77.
Subject HeadingsIn response to comments and questions in a letter from his friend and fellow writer, Charles Bruce, T. H. Raddall explains why he prefers living in a small town, offers advice on the seaworthiness of old wooden boats, recommends Wilfred Cross of East Port L'Hebert as an expert boat repairman, congratulates Bruce on his short story "Inheritance" recently published in Chambers's Journal, praises the editorial judgement of Chambers's Journal and Blackwood's Magazine, and exchanges recent news of their mutual friend, Andrew Merkel.
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December 30th, 1948 Dear Charlie, It was good of you to write, and I'm glad you got some kick out of "Halifax" -- I know I got a particular satisfaction out of writing it, because the story of the city has fascinated me from boyhood, and because I thought it was time somebody wrote an account of a Canadian city that showed the seamy as well as the pretty side of life through the years. Nevertheless I am never tempted to return there to live. I agree with you that life in a country town is the only real satisfaction. You get to know the people and to fit yourself into the country pattern, which is more honest, more happy, and a damned sight more interesting than life in a city could ever be. When I came down here nearly twenty-six years ago it was because I couldn't get a job in the city, and I had just quit the sea and had to get a job somewhere. I had no intention of staying more than a year, for I felt that I'd spent too much time in "lonely" places. Well, I'm still here, and the only time I ever feel lonely is when I wander away and find myself in some place like the Royal York, or in that sea of glum and hostile faces in Windsor Station, say. With regard to the boat. There are no boat-yards in Liverpool now, sad to say; but there are one or two good boat-builders and carpenters in the outlying coastal settlements. My chums amongst the fishermen here usually send for a chap named Wilfred Cross when they want a bit of expert boat-repair done. He lives at East Port L'Hebert, Queens County, and is busy lobstering just now. The boat you describe should still be in good shape if its timber was good in the first place, and if it has been kept absolutely dry. I saw a lifeboat at Seal Island last summer that had lain in a shed since about 1914 and it was still in good shape. In fact the island radio operator was busy getting the old paint off and planning to step a mast and use it next summer. He figured that with a good coat of new paint and a thorough soaking, the boat would be as good as ever. Of course this boat was cedar-built -- just about the most enduring wood there is. But the fishermen tell me that pine or spruce should remain sound if the boat has been kept in a dry barn without periodical wetting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Inheritance",1 in the first place because it was dam' well written, and because it dealt with the kind of people and things I know and like, and had that neat punch at the end, a thing not easy to bring off without smacking of trickery in the O. Henry-ish manner. Chambers' is a grand old magazine,2 and I know the satisfaction you must get out of writing for it, for I got the same kick out of writing for Blackwood. There is a sound editorial judgement over there, a sure scent for what's good and what's bad, that isn't to be found on this side of the water. My best to your wife and the boys. I still cherish the memory of that satisfying meal and the evening of good talk at your house. Haven't seen Andy lately. His "Bluenose" book3 is doing extremely well, I hear. |
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1. A short story by Charles Bruce, published in Chambers's Journal (May 1948): 225-230.
3. Andrew Merkel, Schooner Bluenose (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1948).