Fairy Dells & Rustic Bowers Tells Of The Romance And Celebrity Associated With Truro’s Victoria Park
HALIFAX, NS – The writing and publishing of Fairy Dells & Rustic Bowers wasn’t a predetermined fate. It took author Joe Ballard stumbling upon a news article from the early 20th century to realize the magic and folklore associated with Truro Nova Scotia’s Victoria Park, a site he visited frequently throughout his childhood and beyond.
“I came across a lengthy article in an edition of The Canadian Trade Review, printed in the year 1900 – just thirteen years after Victoria Park was created,” says Ballard. “I knew Victoria Park fairly well at that point; but until reading that article I had had no idea of any depth of customs and cultural meanings and associations connected with place – the subject demanded a book.”
At its conception, Victoria Park would already be forever associated with legends; and as the park developed, still more were added – in this case the Olmsted Brothers, the pre-eminent landscape architects of their day. The Olmsted name is of course best known for its role in the design of New York City’s Central Park. The revelation that the firm had a hand in Victoria Park, elevates the Truro landmark to a level that places it in the company of the most significant parks in North America.
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Ballard also writes of James D. Ross, who he refers to as the park’s “bachelor benefactor”. Ross is responsible for not only the development of the Park, but its lasting character.
“Fairy Dells & Rustic Bowers is as much about Ross’s triumphs and frustrations as it is about Victoria Park. The two are inseparable and his personal contribution is indelibly imprinted on the park,” says Ballard. “He was an unusual man with big ideas that were ahead of his time, including a vision for a global body that maintained peace throughout the world.”
The book also includes a collection of images of the Park dating back to approximately 1913, taken by the renowned Notman Studio. Ballard notes that these images permit historians to identify minute details to a degree that isn’t possible in the many postcards and snapshots that have also survived the years.
Fairy Dells & Rustic Bowers: The Creation of Victoria Park, Truro, NS, vividly brings to life the stories of one of Nova Scotia’s most treasured locations, as well as the people who walked its paths and trails for over 100 years.
Ballard will be launching the book on June 7 at the Colchester Historeum, which will be hosting an exhibit on the history of Victoria Park. The book will be available at Chapters, Indigo and Coles locations as well as online here.
For more information:
Allison Garber
(902) 221-5254