Page 3 - Giv'er Miramichi Magazine - Fall Giver 2024

Upcoming Performance Nov. 9 & 10

Within The Dreary Round

By: Thomas Daley

The wilderness of New Brunswick known as Eaton’s. Three hundred men
has, for certain, claimed more lives than searched for Leslie Allan, some of those
we will ever know. Even today, after men were Wade’s family members.
centuries of logging, 85 percent of the As he continued cutting my hair, I
province remains wooded. This land could see how much the story meant to
still belongs to the trees. They have held him. He talked about discussing the
council here long before man was brave story on long road trips with our good
enough, or stupid enough, to venture friend, Shawn McCarthy, and their own
into their domain. A sense of humility search party at the Provincial Archives,
and respect is needed when walking for information on Leslie Allan, his
through those evergreen corridors. One wife, children, friends, and the men
wrong turn, and you could be visiting who were last to see him. When Wade
for far longer than you anticipated. was done with my haircut, and the floor
There is a short poem simply titled now looked like several grey squirrels
"Leslie Allan" by the late poet had been skinned, he proceeded to draw
Michael Whelan. Whelan is, of course, a map of the area on a white board,
most famous for the "Dungarvon showing the lay of the land, the river,
Whooper," a massive poem about a performed it at the Miramichi Folksong and how the rainfalls affected the
murdered cook in a lumber camp, and Festival this year. A video of his search. I was growing more and more
his restless spirit that haunts the area. performance of the song, as part of the interested in the whole thing and was
For every person who has heard of the 2020 virtual Folksong Festival, can be pondering if there was a way to get this
Dungarvon Whooper there is an equal, found on the Miramichi Folksong relatively unknown story on stage.
or greater, number who have never Festival's YouTube channel; Wade's Luckily, Wade had already written a
heard of Leslie Allan; I was one of musical talent, and passion for the story, script, adapted from the poem, and I
them. are clearly on display. Wade sings the was more than honoured when he asked
I was chatting with Wade Hallihan, poem beautifully, capturing Whelan's me to be a part of it.
while he was cutting my ever-greying words, and the details of the story of a So, please join us this November
hair at the Rocksteady Barber Shop – a young man from "Moncton town" for Far Within the Dreary Round the
shop you should all visit (599 King who dared trek into the Blackville Leslie Allen Story; November 9th at
George Hwy), if you have even one hair forests near "bleak Black Brook" to the St. James & St. John United Church
on your head. He recounted the story "win a hunters crown." Centre at 7pm. November 10th at the
to me, as one of the few who know the That man was Leslie Allan, he was Folklore Park in Renous at 2pm. Tickets
Leslie Allan poem very well. a manager at the Moncton branch of the are $25. Surprise refreshment.
Wade has set it to music and former Canadian retail juggernaut

Cover Photo: Sunrise in Miramichi, photo by Edna Trevors Moorhouse.

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