Oak Island Obsession

An obsession is something that is difficult to leave alone no matter how frustrating.  The Oak Island mystery is one of mine.  I am far from the only person obsessed with Oak Island--Rick and Marty Lagina have spent literally millions, spent countless hours on the project and have attracted a lot of support.  Their tv. show has generated more interest and likely more money for the project.   More about them later.

 When my daughter decided she wanted to go to university in Halifax, neither my wife or I had ever been to anywhere in the Maritimes.  I read as much as I could learning about the fascinating history and culture of Nova Scotia.  Somehow stumbled on a book about Oak Island and its mysterious hole.  There was rumored to be a treasure partly because so much money had been spent and lives lost to set it up.   Not sure how long ago the story begins, but the Crusades possibly are an important part of it.

I was a salesman with a lot of freedom and one of my bosses agreed to help finance a trip to the Maritimes and I decided I would try to make sales all over the Maritimes.  I was expected to move my daughter's furniture and sometimes her,  back and forth.  One of my trips I was able to stay in a hotel within eyesight of Oak Island.  The road was blocked.  My timing was good in that the hotel was most empty (about the week before the March break).  Second trip almost full and got a room in the basement.  Not able to get any closer.

I am most certain that the Portuguese had come to the Grand Banks off Newfoundland to fish well before any of Columbus's trips.  And they wanted to keep it secret.  There were Portuguese contacts with the Templars.  The Vikings also preceded Columbus.  Columbus did not come blindly, but had some sort of access to Atlantic information.  It is clear that our history books are very incomplete with much knowledge hidden from view.

I had read about the Templars beforehand. They came into being as a result of the Crusades.  They developed a system of banking which was used in part to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land.  We do know that the Papacy declared them heretics forcing them into hiding.  Templars had discovered other religious beliefs and heard different versions of the life of Jesus.  They were said to have taken valuable religious relics and sought a safe place to hide them.  Henry St. Clair of Scotland took them under protection.  One episode showed a connection between the Templars and Portuguese.

Speculation has it that they traveled to Nova Scotia with the idea of hiding their treasure.  Apparently Henry St. Clair hired two Italian seamen and many ships in about 1198 and we cannot account for where they went, but there are indications they were in Nova Scotia.  Portuguese Templars left a mark in nearby New Ross, Nova Scotia.  Apparently they met with and worked with the local M'kmaq Indians who likely gave them information and perhaps provided some of the labour.  It is thought the Templars had access to mining skills needed to build the system of shafts and tunnels.  One suggestion was that they used Cornish tin miners.  All that could be true or something similar or maybe not at all.   If they did, how much of a secret was it?  Many suggestions involve pirates, Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, Sacking of Havana, French Revolution. A thread that holds much of it together is the Masons.  Masons may well have evolved from the Templars as they shared rituals.

Some of the secret was revealed in 1795 when 3 teenagers visited the island and noticed a block and tackle hanging from a tree over a depression on the earth underneath.  They dug and quickly noticed some logs bundled together to form a floor.  Going further they found every 10 feet there were more logs forming floors.  At one point they saw a plaque with strange symbols.  Going further unleashed a water booby trap.

It seems possible that some of the treasure has already been "stolen"  Samuel Ball, an escaped slave and British Loyalist was a cabbage farmer on Oak Island, after the American Revolution, but somehow bought other lots on Oak Island as well on the Mainland and died a rich man.  The three young boys who discovered the Money Pit in 1795 seemed to have become very well off .  

In the over two centuries since then a variety of men have dug, drilled, drained water and researched.   As I write this it is possible much of the mystery will be resolved. After reading several books I have been watching  5 seasons of the tv. series "The Curse of Oak Island" on DVD.  It has been frustrating in that there are many promising leads, but an endless stream of disappointments.  They seem to have learned much that leads to tantalizing speculation.  The curse is based on the claim that seven people had to die before the treasure would be found and only six had died so far.   By their 5th season they set up interpretive centre with artifacts and photos   Dan Blankenship started effort in 1970 after reading article in Reader's Digest actively involved in his 90's, actually living on Oak Island.  Dave Blankenship, living in Florida,divorced, physical problems joined his father in 1972  after marrying a local woman maintained his involvement to the present time.

Two brothers, Marty and Rick Lagina from Traverse City, Michigan brought together a business partner, experts of a wide range and previous explorers.  They traveled to and consulted with experts including from nearby universities, an American library and European sites.  They decided to set up a television program that has run several years.  Along the way they gave a history of efforts and discovered artifacts and information.  Lots of encouraging developments, but frustrating disappointments. An Oak Island curse was that 7 people would die before the treasure could be uncovered.  Six had died before this video series started. I have followed five seasons of their shows by DVD borrowed from my local library.

There are many intriguing lines of query that perhaps are connected.  Over many books and the tv. series I have read about the Templars, Francis Bacon, Shakespeare,pirates the sacking of Havana, Marie Antoinette, etc.  Speculation is fun

One interesting treasure hunter was Franklin Roosevelt, a Mason.  Even after becoming president he expressed an interest in the search.  Apparently he thought the treasure was jewels of Marie Antoinette.  The Laginas went to the  Franklin D. Roosevelt museum and library where they learned Roosevelt's grandfather involved.  He had made his fortune at least partially through the opium trade with China.  It was thought Marie Antoinette/King Louis XVI who ended being guillotined had trusted the royal jewels to a lady in waiting who did end up in Nova Scotia  including the Mahone Bay area where Oak Island is located.

 Pirates or privateers are a natural suspects as they are already noted for burying treasures that they have stolen.  On the other hand they are not considered sophisticated enough to construct an elaborate booby trapped system found at Oak Island.  But some do in fact have access to expertise.  And some like Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Anderson have royal connections and even more interesting were Masons and privy to secret information.  Captain Anderson actually lived on Oak Island around 1791. Captain Kidd is another name that comes up and I remember him from a mystery book by Nelson DeMille, "Plum Island."  The Sack of Havana by British forces is suggested as they seemed to have traveled to Nova Scotia.  Spanish coins from 1600's were discovered by the Lagina project.

The most fascinating speculation for me is to do with Francis Bacon, the originator of "Knowledge is Power."  One far out story is that he might have been the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth I.  He certainly had royal connections and was a very intelligent man.  He was also a Mason.  A lot of people feel that Shakespeare wasn't really Shakespeare and there have been a number of men educated enough to have written the plays and poems.  Shakespeare did not have the education many feel was necessary to be the writer of the classics attributed to him.  It is suggested that the real treasure at Oak Island is not gold or jewels but the original Shakespeare texts and perhaps proof of who really wrote them.   

Some tidbits remembered from the shows: 

French explorer and cartographer, Champlain left out Mahone Bay on map leading to speculation that he wanted to keep that knowledge secret.  At that time the French controlled what is now Nova Scotia.

Coconut fibre was uncovered  in the digging were determined at Acadia University to be over 200 years.  Spanish coins were found suggesting pirates had visited.

Petter Amundsen from Norway visited with a theory.  He believed Shakespeare's first folio had been altered to provide clues which culminated in a astronomical map that pointed towards Oak Island.-

A Templars researcher, Zena Halpern believed she had Templar documents from 1100 and 1300 that showed maps of Nova Scotia and Oak Island.

Legal concerns crop up from time to time, concerning their right to dig and they sometimes had to half some of their efforts..

One hopes that this obsession will be resolved, but if not it has been a most interesting journey. 

A bit more on my interest in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-two-maritimes.html

Driving and Freedom

My father was a truck driver and a champion car rally driver, but it made it difficult for me to learn to drive.   I was very intimidated by his expectations.  Never learned to drive a stick shift, but did finally get my licence at age 18 thanks to high school driver ed at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School.  More on my father at http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/06/remembering-my-father.html

After graduating from university the job market didn't click for me.  In some ways I was very naive and thought prospective employers would jump at the opportunity to channel my brains and my charm, but for a very long time nothing clicked.  My parents were in despair, but finally I hit on the idea of being a social worker.

Somehow my qualifications did send the right message.  The one obstacle was that a car was required.  My parents saw that as an opportunity to get me to fly out of the nest and arranged for me to get a car and the necessary insurance.  Elsewhere I have recounted that the job only lasted six months and that I learned about how a car's value can depreciate more than the principle declines.  One of the more valuable lessons learned.  Another was driving to Wasaga Beach and Midland, places that I dragged my future wife and later my family to.

Here I was stuck with a car and payments and no job.  But the car it turned out was an asset.  Six months later I landed my second full time job and a car was a necessity.  I ended up living in Burlington with a sister and traveling on the job all over the Niagara Peninsula

Met my wife due to a series of weird chances.  Came home early on my birthday with the intention of watching my alma mater, University of Guelph play basketball on tv game of the week.  Tv didn't work and on impulse (actually thought birthday a big disappointment) drove to Guelph, about 40 minutes away and leanred game had been played the nite before.  Making the best of bad luck I called on some old friends and eventually ended going on a blind date with my future wife.  How I met my wife:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/08/how-i-met-my-wife.html

At least two fascinating things got my attention on the job.  One was the Welland Canal tunnel and the other was Niagara-on-the Lake.  I felt compelled to take my future wife and surprisingly she hadn't seen either.   Doing a little bit of calculation I managed to work in the Fort Erie area and drive over to Buffalo to watch a basketball game.  This escalated my interest in basketball which led to further escalations described in another blog.  Basketball led me on some interesting adventures:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/02/my-basketball-projects-part-one.html

I learned of a job from one of the people I investigated that sounded ideal--I was a big newspaper reader and had enjoyed working with young people--circulation.  My car again was an asset--supervising youngsters and collecting their money spent years doing it--taking a car load out canvassing (borrowed wife's bigger older car to win prize).  A bit more on how I won a contest with family help:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/02/memorable-vacation.html

I worked for several newspapers and eventually ended up as a traveling salesmen selling a variety of things described elsewhere.    This meant even more driving and more opportunities.  At this time I was enjoying the best of big cities (Toronto, later Montreal), middle sized cities, small towns and rural areas.  My personality had got the best results in rural areas but big cities had a variety of things I became mesmerized with.

My daughter, Heather decided to focus on journalism in King's College in Halifax--with my newspaper circulation background I tried to talk her out of it, but in the end respected her choice.  neither of us had ever been to the Maritimes so it seemed unnecessarily far away. I had been pretty much centred on where I lived (Oshawa, Haliburton) and Guelph, but was pleased my daughter could expand her horizons. At this time I was selling a product that was pretty much out of someone's garage, but I had the freedom to sell it anywhere in Canada.  This opened up new doors and I ended up selling in the Maritimes and Quebec.  I fell in love with Ile d'Orleans and my wife and I vacationed there and different parts of Nova Scotia where we also vacationed, Oak Island, Yarmouth, Wolfeville.  Before cars most of us lived relatively provincial lives.  People are the same everywhere, but they are also unique.  Always found new pastures fascinating.

On one Easter weekend I had planned to travel to Halifax to pick up Heather and make some sales calls   My car stalled and was going to require major repairs.  I was encouraged to rent a car, everything seemed closed, except the airport.  The most powerful car to date and it gave me a another level of freedom (or feeling powerful)

Another Maritime pickup my glasses broke--Heather ended up driving through rush hour Halifax, Montreal and Toronto on a learner's permit--helped her get her licence--worked out good for me--while she drove I could map out where to go and get rested  (she was already a capable driver)

I remember driving to the Maritimes and meeting people I had met at trade shows back in Ontario. Why would they do that?  Ironically they wanted to meet sales people to learn and didn't meet enough at their remote location.  I found I was appreciated a lot more in such areas.

Lately not drive so much--one delivery run for The Rider as one way to alleviate cash flow, but also to seek out new prospects and speed up advertiser response  plus also a little private shopping

At my father's funeral I was struck with my sister Rebecca's eulogy.  Amongst many other details she mentioned that my father loved visiting different places and taking different routes.  It seems that gene was inherited.  Furthermore my son Michael has taken it a step further and has been in several countries in Europe, Asia and Africa and now resides in New Zealand.  On a recent visit I was struck how at home he is driving on the left hand side of the road.

Freedom is a big topic and driving is only one factor.  Our ancestors were very limited in where they could go and how fast.   If you were rich you had less restrictions, but even they could go no further than a horse could take them.  So in one sense anyone with a car has more freedom than the richest person two hundred years ago.

What's to like?--no supervisor over your shoulder--listening to radio I learned where I could hit a CBC or NPR station almost anywhere.  I also listened to a variety of  tapes, some self improvement, bu also entertainment and then moving with the times to  CD.  Seeing interesting places (all places are interesting partly inversely to how familiar you are with them)--open up opportunities (wholesalers in Maritimes, Quebec)--interesting challenges such as when I decided I could make sales calls on francophones although my French skills were pathetic.  Some travel adventures can be read at: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-3-quebec.html to Quebec; in the Maritimes http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-two-maritimes.html ands in Ontario, http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/06/travels-of-salesman-part-1-ontario.html

What's not to like?--Although access to a car got my career started I often wondered if I gave up opportunities that might have paid more, but did not have the advantages of driving. Driving can be expensive, unless you have a company car or a generous expense account.   For a brief time I did have a company car and have had reasonable expenses most of the time supplemented by Revenue Canada deductions.  Garage time at one stage was disruptive and time consuming.  I normally spent 10+ hours away from home or between motels, often longer.  I considered driving a perk of the job--there always seemed to be somebody willing to let me drive at my expense while they paid a commission.

Despite the current situation it seems likely the price of gas and other operating costs are going to increase to the point where fewer traveling sales jobs can be justified.  Email and the internet have given many a more practical alternative.  The future is probably more mass transit, more electronic communication, maybe more air travel for vacations.  Climate change was not a concern for most of my career and I feel a bit guilty that I was able to take advantage of the lesser awareness.

Photo story:  The Bridge to Ile D'Orleans.  I had overshot a sales call which resulted in my first view of Ile d'Orleans which in turn led to two enjoyable vacations illustrating to me the freedom of driving.

TRAVELS OF A SALESMAN PART TWO: MARITIMES

My daughter Heather decided she wanted to go to King's College in Halifax and we were not able to dissuade her. Nobody in our combined families had ever been to the Maritimes.  It was decided that I would take furniture in my car while my wife and daughter flew to the Halifax Airport.

 

One of my bosses agreed to share some of the expenses if I was able to sell in the Maritimes.  We had only a token reach through existing wholesalers, so my first trip was pioneering.  I did some research and eventually got a new wholesaler in the Maritimes and in the meantime one of our Ontario wholesalers expanded in a big way to the Maritimes,  Eventually we got more distribution channels to the east coast.

On my first trip to the Maritimes I studied a map very closely trying to pick the shortest route between logical sales calls.  I wanted to make a call in Windsor, Nova Scotia at a tack store.  I chose a short cut off of the Trans Canada Highway.  The road brought back memories of where I learned to drive in Haliburton county in Ontario with its hilly and curvy roads.  An irony was that Windsor was a long time residence of Thomas Chandler Haliburton, an early Canadian humorist who was the inspiration for the name of Haliburton County.

Over a five year period making two trips a year dropping off stuff and picking up other stuff, sometimes including my daughter.   I took different routes and covered most of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. I found Maritimers on the whole more welcoming than elsewhere. Many of the people I called were not inundated with sales reps and looked at my visits as a source of information. As I was further from home, I stayed at more motels and ate at more restaurants and got to know things.

One prospect at a tack store near Fredericton I had spotted at a equine trade show in Ontario over a few years.  I questioned him why they always made an effort to make the trade show.  I was told "we want to tell our customers about new things, instead of them telling us."  The desire for information was evident in most of my calls.

As I like to do with all new places ahead of time I read up and try to soak in some of the culture.  At one point I read a history of Halifax by Thomas Raddall, expecting to be numbed by a lot of boring details.  I was surprised by the number of interesting things that had happened in Nova Scotia and was even more impressed with his style of writing.  It turned out that he was really a novelist who decided to write some local history.  I ended up buying a lot of his novels, finding them easy to read and full of unexpected history.  I visited a book store in his town of Liverpool.

Music is also an important part of my enjoyment.  I discovered Gordie Sampson and Natalie McMaster; even saw both of them in Hamilton.  I discovered Rawlin's Cross, a band with a bagpiper and greatly enjoyed "MacPherson's Lament."  My daughter made me aware of the Great Big Sea.  Made being in the Maritimes more pleasurable and helped remind me when I was elsewhere.

Halifax is one of my favorite cities. One story I tell a lot is when you are walking down one side of a busy street and just thinking about crossing cars will stop in both directions to make it easier. I spent time on both sides of the harbour and visited many restaurants. Heather introduced me to Donairs (which I recently re-discovered in Burlington).  I will admit that I also bought a McLobster.

Halifax was a base for much of my sales travels while my wife enjoyed her vacation and helped our daughter get settled.  Loads of restaurants.  My first trip to Jack Astor's was engineered by Heather and a few years later I learned it is managed by the son of one of my Ontario contacts.  We saw Shakespeare outdoors.

 

On one trip my wife and I decided to go whale watching.  My brother Marshall and his Nova Scotian born wife, Jean had suggested Brier Island near Digby.  Two ferry boat rides which I think were $1.00 each even with my car.  My wife had been concerned about a whale going underneath the boat and that happened, but wasn't as scary.  Wonderful experience.

I went around the coasts of Nova Scotia and found a lot of enjoyable scenery. I was able to drag my wife around to some of it. Mahone Bay with the three churches, Lunenberg, designated a UNESCO heritage site, Liverpool (former residence of Thomas Raddall), Yarmouth, Digby and Wolfeville.  In Yarmouth we tried a Nova Scotian staple, rappie pie.

One trip I remember coming back with my daughter when a lens popped out from my glasses. With a long trip we couldn't wait to see a local optician who weren't open just yet so I let my daughter drive to the town of Truro where I got my glasses fixed. At that point I decided I would rather navigate and prepare for my sales calls. Heather was not too pleased about the stops for sales calls, but she liked driving and we shared radio stations. I made my last sales call in Edmundston and decided I would do the driving to my sister's in Brossard. It was late and Heather had been driving all day.

The next morning I decided to let my daughter drive and she got stuck with the Montreal rush hour starting with the Champlain Bridge. I made a few calls in Quebec, but mostly in Ontario. When we got to Toronto she again got rush hour traffic. A little later to get her license the tester asked if she had any highway driving and she explained she had driven from Halifax to Hamilton and without much further testing she got her license at a time when passing was not so easy.

Another trip with Heather we went to see Grand Falls in New Brunswick which had been of some interest to me, but this time there was hardly any flowing water.  The impression I had hoped to make on my daughter was not quite what I had expected.  I learned later that water had been diverted for irrigation.  I took her over the longest covered bridge in Canada in Hartland, New Brunswick.  

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I read about Oak Island in my efforts to learn more about the Maritimes.  A  fascinating mystery.  There is something buried there with all sorts of booby traps that have centuries later prevented unwelcome visitors from solving the mystery.  My favorite theory was that treasure was proof that Shakespeare's plays were really written by Roger Bacon.  The Templar Knights were said to bury secrets.  Another interesting theory was that it contained the booty from a raid on Havana, Cuba.  Now it is behind a no trespass sign.  I stayed at a nearby Motel (within view) twice. On one occasion I got a luxury room at a discounted price as it was off season.   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/04/oak-island-obsession.html

I only visited Prince Edward Island once and covered it all in one day.  I took  the ferry boat and left by the Confederation bridge.  The roads were mostly two lane and pretty much rural.  Red soil was very prominent.  I remember two other things.  The ice cream was exceptionally good and the people were the friendliest anywhere on any of my travels.

My favorite drive anywhere is Cape Breton.  The first time I decided to do a big loop taking the old highway to Sydney and coming back on the new modern highway.  Both were very scenic.  At one time the ocean was on one side and Lake Bras d'Or on the other.  I have to say Sydney did not impress me very much, but I had a very pleasant encounter.  Years before I had sold over the phone some advertising specialties to a local radio station and they were so glad of my unannounced visit they gave me a special diary book.  On the way back I had to stop at Baddeck knowing it was where Alexander Graham Bell had flown the first airplane in Canada.  Looking at the Lake Bras d"Or I can appreciate why he chose to live there.

My second favorite drive was through an area of Quebec called Matapadia that started in Mont-Joli and continued to Campbellton, New Brunswick.  On one trip I stayed overnight after being told not to drive late at night for danger of moose.  I had never thought about them before, but have paid much more attention in Quebec and northern Ontario without seeing a moose except once.

When you look on a map or listen to news what you get is all along the coast.  The big question became what is in the middle of Nova Scotia?  One of my sales calls  was to Caledonia right in the middle and funnily enough there was a lumbering museum right near where I made my call.  The answer is trees.

My daughter made the decision to go to King's College.  In some ways it was a problem, but I am so glad for the opportunities to see a part of Canada previously unknown to me.  The whole family eventually became more aware of Nova Scotia.

I regret I didn't even know about digital cameras for most of my Maritime visits.  There is so much beautiful scenery.

Next post in this series is my experience on my travels in Quebec.  An area where I made almost no sales calls, especially to francophones until I realized I was missing a relatively huge market and a critical part of Canada.  You can read about my travels in Ontario at http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/06/travels-of-salesman-part-1-ontario.html You can read about my travel adventures to Quebec at  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/07/travels-of-salesman-part-3-quebec.html