The Harbour Breton Red Heads Rock Festival included a very interesting and successful event on Wednesday night, August 1 as about 100 residents came out to participate in a book launch held at Elliott Premises.
The residents were out to have copies of their book “Landslide The Jack Hickey Story” signed by the author Bruce Stagg and Jack Hickey, the central character in the nonfiction story.
The launch included readings by Mr. Stagg and a very interesting slideshow presentation of the landslide by Doug Wells.
The book is about the life of Jack Hickey and centers on the Harbour Breton Landslide that happened on August 1, 1973.
Mr. Hickey lost four children in the terrible tragedy that also affected the lives of several other families living in the landslide area.
Frances Hunt, a survivor of the landslide, said that the book brought back a lot of memories for her of that terrible night that was nearly disastrous for her family.
Mrs. Hunt said, “Reading the book was a very emotional experience for me as it brought back memories of that terrible night so clearly. This is an excellent book that will keep the history of that event alive now for future generations.”
Cavell Bennett, Jack Hickey’s daughter, was 21 months old on the night of the landslide.
She said, “Although I heard stories from my parents about the landslide, I learned a lot about the community and the event itself from this book.
“I’m glad Mr. Stagg wrote this tremendous story for the community in general and for my father in particular.”
Copies of the book are being sold at a brisk pace as the first printing of 2000 copies has already sold out and copies of the second printing are now available in bookstores.
Editor’s Note: An article about the book “Landslide The Jack Hickey Story” was carried in the July 10, 2012 edition of the Coaster.
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