Canadians Celebrate 100th Anniversary of Anne of Green Gables
"This is a dream come true. It's strange, but coming here is like going to visit a relative. Anne has become part of our lives."
Reporter's Note: Having been to Prince Edward Island I can testify that it is everything and more, that an Anne aficionado could dream of. From its red clay roads, sweeping vistas of rolling green hills, silent forests, lonely sand dunes and mesmerizing sea, to be on Prince Edward Island is truly to be in a slice of paradise. Visit Lucy Maud Montgomery's gravesite, the house that inspired her book and the small Maritime villages lost in time. For those who have read the Anne of Green Gables books, the island not only delivers on a scenic level, it also oozes peace, tranquility, and loads of inspiration. -Teresa Neumann
(Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island)—This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Lucy Maud Montgomery's world-renowned classic, Anne of Green Gables, and Canada—especially the Maritime province of Prince Edward Island (PEI), called "The Gentle Island"—has been celebrating. Celebrations have included new stage productions, art exhibits and an academic symposium. The Canada Post has created two commemorative stamps for her.
The book, according to a USA Today report, was a hit from the get-go, has sold 50 million copies to date, and has since been translated into 36 languages.
"It's a point of distinction for the island to have Anne," says David MacKenzie, head of the Confederation Centre of the Arts. "Without her, it would be a beautiful island on the northeast coast of Canada desperately trying to find a point of distinction." (Photo: USA Today)
Said Deborah Mervich of Atlanta, touring the Green Gables house with her two daughters, "This is a dream come true. Since the girls were 5 and 9, we've gotten the movies and read all eight books," she says. "It's strange, but coming here is like going to visit a relative. Anne has become part of our lives."
Notes the report: "Some liken PEI to Massachusetts' Martha's Vineyard 30 years ago. But the relaxed pace of life harks back even further. Village churches still stage fundraising lobster suppers. The Brackley Drive-In packs them in for double-bill movies at dusk. Not a single billboard (save for two welcome signs) mars the landscape...With the well-maintained 167-mile east-west Confederation Trail running across the island, PEI also is drawing both serious and recreational bikers. And with more than 30 golf courses, tourism officials boast that you're never more than 30 minutes from the green. "
In a CBC news story in March, it was reported that PEI students were invited to take part in celebrations as well. Education Minister Gerard Greenan visited the L. M. Montgomery Elementary School in Charlottetown and suggested students discuss the differences between the one-room schoolhouse of Anne's day and today's schools. Also, "Intermediate students may choose to explore the meaning of friendships like the one shared by Anne and Diana, the question of whether Josie and Gilbert were bullies, or if they would rather be 'divinely beautiful, dazzlingly clever or angelically good.'"
