Avon River Heritage Society
  • About
    • Avon River Heritage Society
    • Artifacts & Archives
    • The Avon River
    • Meet the People in our Neighbourhood >
      • Dawn Allen, August 21st, 2020
      • Sara Beanlands, July 22nd, 2021
      • Carolyn Connors, July 30th, 2020
      • Carolyn Connors, July 21st, 2021
      • Louis Countinho, August 13th, 2020
      • Sean Countinho, January 13th, 2021
      • Eva Evans, July 24th, 2020
      • Elizabeth Ferguson, July 27th, 2020
      • Nicholas Hughes, August 6th, 2020
      • Olwynn Hughes, August 11th, 2020
      • Kim Lake, January 18th & 21st, 2021
      • Trudy Lake, March 13th, 2022
      • Raymond Parker, August 12th, 2020
      • Raymond Parker, July 7th, 2021
      • Zacchary Paul, August 21st, 2021
      • Tacha Reed, August 27th, 2020
      • Allen Shaw, January 18th, 2021
      • Carolyn vanGurp, July 16th, 2020
      • Abraham Zebian, August 24th, 2020
    • Avondale Walking Tour
    • Fundraising
    • Book an Appointment
  • History
    • Natural History >
      • Highest Tides in the World
      • Tidal Bore
      • Avon Peninsula Ecology
      • Birds of the Avon
      • Marine and Freshwater Species of the Avon
      • Karst Environment
      • Gypsum
      • Avon Peninsula Watershed Preservation Society >
        • Avon Peninsula Watershed Preservation Society, Interview with President, Raymond Parker
    • Mi'kmaq >
      • Mi'kmaq Birch Bark Canoes
      • Mi'kmaq of the Avon River >
        • Treaty Truckhouse 2 & Zacchary Paul
    • The Coming of the Europeans
    • The North American Colonies
    • Acadians >
      • Pisiquit
      • Acadians of the Avon River
      • Village Thibodeau (Poplar Grove)
      • Acadian Families After Expulsion
    • New England Planters >
      • New England Planters in Avondale >
        • Genealogy
        • James and Lydia Mosher
    • Loyalist
    • African Nova Scotians
    • Local Home Histories >
      • 28 Chip Hill Road
      • 51 Avondale Road
      • 38 Avondale Road: The Clifford Mosher House
      • 58 Avondale Road
      • 60 Avondale Cross Road
      • 71 Avondale Road: The John A. Harvie House
      • 354 Belmont Road: The Yellow House
      • 603 Belmont Road: Wallace Point
      • 801 Avondale Road
      • The Acadia House
      • The Avondale Church
      • The Avondale Parsonage
      • The Church Farm
      • The Fred Robart House
      • The Henry Lyon House
      • The House Across From The Church
      • The John E.F. Mosher House
      • The Knowles Homestead
      • The Mounce Mansions >
        • Captain George R. Mounce House
        • The Thomas A. Mounce House (Honeymoon House) >
          • Interior of the Honeymoon House
      • The Mrs. Dunham Hotel
      • The Old Newton Mosher House
      • The Old Stone House >
        • The Mystery of the Fieldstone House
      • The Roley Mosher House
      • The W.H. Mosher House
    • The Avondale School
    • Golden Age of Sail >
      • The Rise and Fall of the Golden Age of Sail in Newport
      • The Mosher Shipyards
      • Sailing Ships, Sugar, and Salt
      • Vessels of the Avon River
      • Shipbuilding Process
      • Shipbuilding Tools
      • Ship Directories
      • The Avon Spirit
      • Kings Wharf
      • The Hamburg >
        • Obituary Capt. Andrew B. Coldwell
        • The Hamburg and Alice Coalfleet’s Diary
      • Captain George Richard Mounce Sr
      • Annie Armstrong Mounce Correspondence 1875-1892
      • Captain Daniel William Dexter & The Emma Payzant >
        • Captain Daniel William Dexter and Family, Interview with Debbie Siler, July 21st, 2021
        • Diary of Sarah Dexter, 1892-1893
      • The Rotundus
    • Avondale Wharf & The Landing
    • Community Orchard
    • Edmund McCarthy
  • Arts & Culture
    • The Great Little Art Show >
      • Great Little Art Show 2021 - Artists
      • Great Little Art Show 2021 - Artwork
      • Great Little Art Show 2022 - Artists
      • Great Little Art Show 2022 - Artwork
    • Artists Landing Art Gallery
    • Open Studio at the Museum
    • Full Circle Festival >
      • Sofa Sundays
      • Solstice Market
    • Artisans in Action >
      • Artist in Residence 2022
      • Paint Avondale
    • Avondale Wharf Day
    • Honey Harvest Festival
    • Yoga, Meditation, Free Writing Series
    • Lyrics & Letters Concert/Workshop
  • Events Calendar
  • Planters Sea Chest Gift Shop
  • Lydia and Sally Cafe
  • Rentals
  • Volunteer and Employment Opportunities
  • How to find us!

Meet the People in our Neighbourhood


Picture

Olwynn Hughes,  August 11th,  2020

Tacha Reed: So, was Avondale the first place you lived when you were born or did you live somewhere else beforehand?

Olwynn Hughes: No, I lived in Windsor first. We moved to Windsor. We lived in a couple places there. And so Avondale was kind of the last place we settled that we still live in. 

TR: And how old were you when you moved to Avondale?

OH: Just after Finn was born, so like almost four, I think, yeah.

TR: Growing up in Avondale, is there anything that you really remember as a kid that stood out?

OH: I remember the New Year's tradition of going to the church and ringing the bell. I remember a couple years. I was the youngest so I got to ring the bell, and then my grandpa would always come for Christmas and he was the oldest, and so we would ring the bell together. I always remember that, and yeah, I remember coming to the museum for Fun Fridays. Yeah, and I think Allie [Harvey] did it for a bit, Allie and the Bonang son would do it and that was fun. Yeah. Those are the types of things I remember.

TR: What do you find has changed about Avondale since you were a kid?

OH: I think there's definitely a lot more people. I wasn't, obviously, around for the Avon Spirit and all the big stuff happening. But when I was younger, there wasn't as much happening, but now I feel like there's a lot more. Or maybe I'm just noticing it more. But yeah, there's more festivals and stuff obviously, and the vineyard, so that wasn't like, you know, full-on when I was younger. 

TR: Did you go to school in the area? 

OH: Yeah, I went to Brooklyn Elementary School and West Hants Middle School and I go to Avon View High School.

TR: And you graduate next year? 

OH: Yes. 

TR: Do you have any relatives that made a significant contribution to the community? 

OH: I guess my dad did, he did the boat building school in the shipyard and he sits on the board, and my mom ran the cafe for a few years too, that's how they met.
Yeah, and my mom was also the vineyard manager for the winery. So yeah, and the trail [Westbrook]  is on our property as well. So I guess it's kind of a contribution. Yeah.

TR: What would you like to see happen in the future for Avondale? How would you like to see it evolve and grow?

OH: I would like to see more tourists doing stuff and especially, like, the movies being filmed, I'd like to see more of that kind of thing because you know, the area around here is so pretty and it can pass off as some parts of the States, so, it's easy. It can be used for all of that. And I think a lot of people around here definitely appreciate seeing new faces around here. So new faces would definitely be nice and new families and all of that. I think it's actually just the right amount for festivals and stuff for the summer and you know, we're usually opened up for weddings and everything. So I think we're kind of at maybe a maximum for events. But yeah, yeah.

TR: Do you think you will stay in the community and live here? Are you going to go off on other adventures? 

OH: I think I’m gonna go off on other adventures for a while, but my plan is to come here every summer for Full Circle, at least stay for like two weeks. But other than that, no, I have plans to go elsewhere for University and work abroad for a bit. But eventually I think I'll come back here.

TR: Do you think your time spent working at the museum has influenced what you want to do later on in life?

OH: Yeah, it definitely has. Well I started working here because I wanted to be an archaeologist or anthropologist. Now, I'm kind of leaning towards agriculture and environmental stuff and working here has influenced that, with the rising tides and all, and working with you with the fish and stuff. So yeah, I started working here for one job prospect and it kind of led me to another, which is kind of cool.

TR: Yeah, just one last thing. This project wouldn’t have happened if it weren't for you, and you talking about a project you had done when you were much younger. Do you want to just briefly explain what that was?

OH: I think in grade one or two, just Elementary School, I interviewed Raymond Parker for a school project and I did like a big poster about everything I learned, and that was kind of my first introduction to learning stories about the community and it really made me want to learn more about the community, and now I love like talking to the older residents of the place and learning their stories and everything. And I like learning how things are connected, because when I talked to Raymond, he told me about this raven that this kid had as a pet that would steal chalk, and then I talked to someone else and he told me the same thing, and he was like best friends with that kid and all of that stuff and yeah, I like learning. There's so many connections in Avondale. 
Avon River Heritage Society Museum, 17 Belmont Road, Avondale/Newport Landing, Hants County, Nova Scotia, B0N 2A0
Email us at infoavonriver@gmail.com
Telephone us, May through October, at (902) 757-1718