Port Elgin, N.B., rallies behind woman's plan to light historic landmark at Christmas

Jackie Giles is pictured at the end of the old wooden walking bridge in Port Elgin, N.B.

The old wooden walking bridge in Port Elgin, N.B., known as Slab Bridge to the community, holds a lot of memories since it was built in 1884.

“I wasn’t much of a swimmer, but all the kids jumped off the bridge in the summertime to swim and I don’t know, I’d say some people might have even had their first kiss on that bridge,” said Jackie Giles, who walked across the bridge almost every day growing up. “It’s just been here all of our lives and it’s something that’s just been a part of us.”

This year, Giles hopes to create another memory of the wooden bridge as a Christmas gift the entire community can share.

“I thought it would look beautiful to have it lit up at Christmas with a reflection off the water and everything,” she said.

Giles put a call out on Facebook to see if anyone in the community would like to help. By Saturday morning she raised more than $2,000. A local resident who owns a building close enough to run extension cords to the bridge donated power.

“We purchased about 20 sets of lights that are coils and there’s 63 feet on each set and then we purchased eight stars that we’re going to hang from the bridge also,” Giles said.

Now there’s a small crew at work hanging the 1,200 lights that will make the historic landmark sparkle. They are led by Giles’ husband Keith, who likes to take his boat under the bridge and up the river in the summer.

“My wife got me into this project,” Keith said. “She’s been battling some issues with health for a few years and … [she] said ‘wouldn’t it be nice to light up the bridge for Christmas?’ I told her she was crazy and it would take a lot of lights, but I did say ‘if you find the lights, I’ll put them up for you.’”

Keith said the support from the community has been “phenomenal.” He said the lights will stay on until the New Year after the public lighting Sunday night at 6 p.m.

“We’re going to put a lot of smiles on a lot of people’s faces when we light it up,” Keith said.

Andy MacGregor was hanging lights Saturday morning. He and his wife, Karen moved to the area two years ago, but he said he knows the historical value and beauty the old bridge brings to the community and wanted to be part of a new tradition.

“This is just the start of something else,” MacGregor said. “We fail to recognize how lucky we are and how privileged we are and it’s just something that we take for granted. So I think it’s just a good time of year to think about everybody and try to make life good for everybody.”

After the huge show of support from the community, Giles said they don’t need any more donations this year, but she is hopeful this is a new tradition will light up Port Elgin for many Christmas seasons to come.

“I had a girlfriend that donated and she used to live across the river and she was donating in honour of her mother,” Giles said. “Most of our mothers are gone now and I said, ‘I hope they can see it from above and I think they’ll be quite happy with what we’re doing here.’”

Keith said he and Jackie usually get extravagant when they decorate their home at Christmas, but those plans are on hold until he finishes the bridge for the entire community to enjoy.

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