'We lost so much': Former ferry workers talk life after the bridge
Nicole Williams | CBC News | Posted: June 5, 2017 10:52 AM | Last Updated: June 5, 2017
Former Marine Atlantic workers reunite 20 years after ferry stops sailing
The former workers of Marine Atlantic gathered Sunday for a 20-year reunion, marking the opening of the Confederation bridge and the end of the ferry service between P.E.I. and New Brunswick.
A statue of a ship's captain has been erected on a platform where the names of former ferry workers are written.
- Ferry workers reunite, 20 years after the final crossing
- 20 years after the bridge, Borden-Carleton aims to rebuild
Roy Coffin was the senior master aboard the Abegweit and said while he misses the ferry, the bridge has been a positive for the Island.
"I must say the bridge has been a great convenience for Prince Edward Island," said Coffin, but also remembers how about 600 people lost their jobs once the ferry shut down.
"It did employ a lot of people," he said. "It's not easy to replace those jobs."
"I miss the ferry," said former second officer Bill Reeves, "but once you get away from it, life goes on."
'We lost so much'
Chris Keane held a few jobs during his 22 years with the company and said he has only good memories of his time working on the ferry.
"My father was the captain so I grew up running around on the ship. Then in 1975 I got hired to work with the company. I got to travel back and forth and get paid for it and see all my friends too," said Keane.
Keane said he also remembers the heartbreak when the bridge opened and about 600 people lost their jobs.
"We thought it would never happen, but you're working every day, and you're looking as you sail back and forth every day, watching them build the bridge. It was something," he said.
Beyond that, Keane said it was a blow to the villages of Borden-Carleton, P.E.I. and Keane's home, Cape Tormentine, N.B.
"Over in New Brunswick, you know, we lost so much. Once the bridge came in, we were a ghost town," he said.
Keane said recovery for Cape Tormentine is still ongoing but he's happy to see a monument that will honour the workers who spent many years as the main links between P.E.I. and New Brunswick.