Story #3 Elinor explains that the lighthouse is made of brick
Story #3 Elinor explains that the lighthouse is made of brick
Story #3 in our heritage interview series. David Weale interviewed Elinor Murchison Gillis at her son Gilbert Gillis’s home in Point Prim PEI on Dec 14, 2019.
David Weale: What year were you born?
Elinor Murchison Gillis: Twenty-eight.
David: Twenty-eight, so that makes you older than me (laughs), not too much but! You’re ninety-one,
yes. Well well.
Elinor: But I still paint some, a little.
David: Do you?
Elinor: Yep, but I’m at the Lodge.
David: The Gillis Lodge.
Elinor: But that’s alright, I can paint there. I have a table.
David: How did you get interested in painting?
Elinor: It’s just in me.
David: It was just in you, you just took it up. Never had any lessons
Elinor: Self taught, I’m self taught.
David: No lessons,
Elinor: Not many, just at the community school one time, gave me a little start. And then went on myself.
David: So I mean, the lighthouse was part of your childhood, it was also part of your artistic life. So it’s been a very strong presence in your life, I can tell that.
Elinor: Yeah, and the family. They all like that lighthouse.
David: I bet, it’s a beautiful structure.
Elinor: It is, it’s a colonial style.
David: Is that what it’s called? Colonial style? Because there’s no other lighthouse like it on Prince Edward Island.
Elinor: No, no, round with brick inside.
David: It’s brick inside is it?
Elinor: Yeah. The story was about the brick, it wouldn’t, it was made on this Island, the brick. And it wasn’t very strong.
David: Not very good brick.
Elinor: No, not very good so they had to put, they had to shingle it. To keep it.
David: So you could see the brick at one time?
Elinor: Oh yeah, they could.
David: That would be, in the early eighteen —,
Elinor: 1845
David: They probably shingled it before there were cameras so there may be no picture of the brick structure. Have you ever seen a picture of the bricks?
Elinor: No, no, no.