Wild Blueberries in New Brunswick

Military History of Partridge Island

This interview with local historian Harold Wright deals with the military history of Partridge Island and the other sites around Saint John. Harold offers insights and humour as he shares about the establishment of a military defense in the 1790s, the War of 1812, and the wars in the 20th century.

Wild Blueberries in New Brunswick

Wild blueberries are native to Canada and grown mostly in coastal areas that have moderate temperatures and not as much possibility of frost. The majority of wild blueberry production is in Northeastern NB, but about 20% is in Southern New Brunswick where I live. Currently there are over 300 wild blueberry producers and with good crop management over 4,000 pounds of berries are harvested per acre. The farm gate value is about 20 million dollars and the blueberry industry has contributed $81 million to the provincial GDP. Only five percent of the crop is sold fresh. Most is frozen and the largest markets are industrial, hospitality and institutional. But for the New Brunswicker, there is nothing better than going to a local producer and purchasing them fresh. Or even better, buying the muffins and pies that they have available at those farm stands. In season, McKay's Blueberries sells 300 pies a day. And I buy one any time I am in the Pennfield area!

Nothing Happened Here

Today I am interviewing Greg Marquis, the co-host of a brand new podcast about Saint John history. Greg is a local university professor and president of the New Brunswick Historical Society. His co-host is Mark Allan Greene, an Alberta university professor and the author of The Great Saint John Fire of 1877. The podcast launches on September 17 and will be produced every two weeks. Link to the podcast is https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/saint-john-nothing-happened-here/id1766391411

Lobsters in New Brunswick

This episode primarily talks about some of the history of lobster fishing in New Brunswick and the value of the lobster industry to the province.  Until the development of a canning process for lobster meat in the mid 19th century, there was really no commercial value, rather lobsters were just harvested for feeding individuals and their families.  By the 20th century, the sale of live lobsters and the processing of lobster meat made it a significant commercial product.  Lobster is Canada’s most valuable seafood export, contributing as much as $1 billion in export sales, and is one of the exports most closely associated with Canada. Live lobsters can be purchased from: Collins Lobster Shop https://collinslobster.com/ [https://collinslobster.com/] Misty Harbour Seafood https://www.mistyharbourseafood.com/ [https://www.mistyharbourseafood.com/] A cup of coffee can be purchased for me at https://buymeacoffee.com/marks5

Charlotte Street Bakery at the City Market

Today I interviewed Loretta Landry and Maggie Bryson, co-owners of Jeremiah’s Deli and Catering located in the Saint John City Market.  Maggie says that Loretta keeps to-do-lists, and that she doesn’t, which makes for a very balanced partnership.  They have recently started Charlotte Street Bakery in a space next to their business at the market.  In the interview, they talk about the challenges and rewards of being small business owners, the challenges of expanding into an additional business and the benefits of not working for someone else. Now I can once again enjoy Portuguese tarts! Deli website - https://www.jeremiahsdeli.ca/ [https://www.jeremiahsdeli.ca/]