23 December 2008
Chipman Celebrates Library
Pictured at the Chipman Public Library's Christmas party are
Marjorie Price, left, chairwoman of the library board, and Gerald
Connell, 95, former station master at the CPR station which was
formerly located at the site of the library.
Chipman New Brunswick - Where the village's Canadian
Pacific Railway station once stood, the Chipman Public Library has been located for many years and shares a proud history with the
CPR.
That history was celebrated recently at the library's annual Christmas party, where the guest speaker was a retired CPR stationmaster.
Gerald Connell, 95, and living in Cumberland Point, worked for the CPR for 29 years, starting in 1946. He shared his memories of
working at the Chipman station, after working for 17 years as stationmaster at Cody's until the rail line was closed.
"I had to go somewhere after that, that's how I came to Chipman," he said.
From 1962-68, Connell was stationed at Chipman several times, as well as in Fredericton, Woodstock, and Grand Falls.
There were three steam engines on the Chipman line, known by their numbers: 144, 136, and 29.
"We had freight and express service," Connell said. "That little 29 did great work."
The trains coming to Chipman over the years also carried passengers to and from Norton, Minto, and Fredericton.
By the early 1970s, the Chipman rail line was closed by the CPR and the station was no longer needed.
"The steam engines had become so well-known, they were almost celebrities," Connell said.
"No. 144 was used in the film by Pierre Berton called The National Dream."
No. 136 moved on to run excursions for tourists in Ontario, and No. 29 has been on display in front of the CP Rail offices in Calgary.
Marjorie Price, chairwoman of the Chipman Public Library board, spoke to the gathering about the history of the library, which started
in a small building in Chipman before moving into the vacant CPR station in 1974.
"That building was a wonderful place," Price said.
In the 1980s, the library had outgrown the space in the station and found that constructing a building would cost an estimated
$300,000. To qualify for government grants, the community needed to raise $100,000 and met the goal.
"The building was built and paid for in three years," Price said.
Paintings of the old railroad steam engines hang on the library walls as reminders of the history of the site.
"We are one of the most fortunate libraries in the province," Price said. "This is a well-used library and
Chipman is proud of it. It was the village that built the library."
"I'd like to congratulate you people for the lovely place you have here," Connell said. "You must be on the right
track."
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