Dear Downhome Gang,
As I was going through some of my things recently, I came across a paper I had written in the early 1990's when I was in high school. It is about the history of the community of Loch Leven, so I thought I would pass it along to you perhaps some of your other readers would enjoy it.

Loch Leven is a small community of about 41 people located between the Highlands and St. Fintan’s. It is an out-growth of the Highlands, which is an ideal location to make a living, as it is not too far from the sea shore for fishing, with rich farmland and the untouched forest, and the Highlands River which ran right through the community was teeming with Trout and Salmon.
The first settler to come to this area was Hector Gale with his family. He farmed and trapped furs in the forest. The next person to move here was Thomas Gillis. He cleared farmland and trapped furs. His family consisted of 11 children. Tom Gills was the first person in the area to have a saw mill powered by a steam engine. This mill was set up on the shore of Loch Leven Pond so that the saw logs could be cut and driven down the river and held in the pond until needed. This saw mill was the first of its kind in the area. Before this, the mills were powered by water. The Downey’s were the next to move to the area. They also cleared land and started farming. This family has made a big contribution to the community as there are currently seven members living here.
When all these families moved here there were no roads, only trails through the woods. They had to carry in most of the food and drive in most of the animals which they needed for existence (cows, sheep, hens, pigs, etc.) They had no modern conveniences. They had kerosene oil lamps and their washing had to be done on a washboard in a tub using mostly homemade lye soap. They had to card and spin it into yarn, and knit by hand underwear, sweaters, socks, and mitts. These were all the women’s chores along with the house chores. They also found that berries were a welcome thing at mealtime. One old man, while walking through the woods, accidentally started a forest fire and very soon after that a very good blueberry barren gave a good quantity of berries.
In about 1915, this little community discovered the need for an area school and built it themselves. The people gave all free labour and materials and came up with a nice little school which was also used for Sunday mass, marriages, and social gatherings. This new school served both the communities of Loch Leven and Crabbe’s Station (now called St. Fintan’s)
One evening as Bishop Fintan Power, the Roman Catholic Bishop of St. George’s Diocese was driving through in a horse and wagon; he said “we will call this place Loch Leven." The reason for this was that it reminded him of a place he had visited in Scotland, with the Anguille Mountains at the back, and the flat beautiful farmlands, and the Highlands River running through the pond forming a real Scottish “Loch." Scottish settlers were very proud of their newly named community, especially because the name was given after some Scottish scenery. Bishop Power also stated that the community must be “The Loch” (spelled L-O-C-H).
A few years ago some outsiders changed the spelling of the name to Lock, and when one old lady discovered that she was living in Lock Leven and her telephone was registered under the new name she was provoked to tears. It was also said that she quoted a few Gaelic phrases which are unknown to us now. The only question that remains is why did they change the name? I think it should be left the way it was originally. To the rest of Loch Leven and my family, it will always be spelled the original way. Loch Leven!
Written in the early 1990’s after interviewing Mrs Freda Gills (who was in her 80’s at the time.)

The Photo attached was taken in May of 2004 during a visit home. It is taken looking up the river from the bridge, to the "Clam Hole" popular swimming spot.

Sincerly,
Brenda Short
Halifax, NS   Submitted By: Brenda Short