Cole Harbour Heritage Farm is a precious little jewel of history and culture in the hectic commotion of the modern world.

As the spinning wheel turns-with its rhythmic thoc, thoc, thoc-and the glistening, silvery fibres between my fingers are twisted and drawn onto the bobbin, I am reminded of my summertime visits to Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum, in Dartmouth, NS, where the fleece I am working this chilly winter day came from.

Cole Harbour Farm is a precious little jewel of history and culture in the hectic commotion of the modern world. It was saved from the developer's bulldozer in the early '70s by a small but determined group of citizens to stand as a monument to the rich farming heritage that the good soil and teeming waters of the region sustained for nearly 200 years. It helped that Ernie Clark, one of the chief planners with the Nova Scotia Department of Housing at the time, was a historian. He could see the value of maintaining a piece of the past while fulfilling his obligation to keep a percentage of green space within his planning/development mandate. It also helped that many of the local residents had moved into the area during the previous two decades because of the peace and quiet and were, therefore interested in maintaining a portion of that. And it helped that there was a little bit of extra money in those days, enough to save the buildings and land. When the news got out, implements were donated, oral history was collected, and photographs preserved from the farmers who were moving on, whilst their barns were torn down and their fields ploughed under to make way for Colby Village, Forest Hills, Willowdale, and the like.

Today, 30 years after the Farm Museum began, there are many exhibits displaying the versatility of the area and its people. One is dedicated to an eel fishery that supplied Boston with live eels for the Christmas market, another to egg and meat poultry farms, and to a prized chair maker, Gammon, who had a workshop on Cole Harbour Road. If you dig into the archives there is also information on experiments into grain types that were carried out in the fields on the rolling hills overlooking the salt marshes, and the point at Osbourne Head.

During my visits I found something else, too-something more ephemeral. Within its tree-fringed confines, among the museum's cedar shingled barns and gable-roofed farm houses, I found an escape from the modern-day, urban worries and responsibilities I live with every day. It was also a trip down memory lane to my childhood in the highlands of Scotland, "helping" Farmer MacLennan with the spring shearing, for on my first visit of the year Andrew and Hillary Gill from down Truro way were shearing the farm's flock.

"A lot of people find the scale good," explains Elizabeth Corser, the executive director. "It's not too overwhelming. Many of the neighbours call it their farm. They drop by and swap plant stories, get a little bit of hay, or manure, and when they think of a farm related question they come to us." Over the years, locals have also brought plants and clippings to add to the collection of old fashioned perennials, shrubs and roses gathered on the property. These dedicated souls come to help with the mucking out, the blacksmithing, or the gardens. Their children volunteer during the summer holidays.

"The first animal we had was a pink and black pig called Melanie. That was in 1978, then some poultry came, then some different varieties and colours of sheep. I'm very much against petting zoos," Elizabeth explains, "but here we offer an opportunity to experience things at first hand. I think people need to know that animals do get old, do have grumpy days, come in all shapes and sizes. Often people are surprised that they have to change their behaviour when they are around the animals." Every year Elizabeth chooses with care which additional animals she is going to have on the farm, a heifer, goat, or horse, balancing what she knows about their temperaments with the demands they will be placed under by an ongoing stream of visitors.

On the spring morning of my visit the amiable sheep were not bothered by the crowd that gathered to watch them lose their winter woollies. Andrew, trained in the art of shearing at the agricultural college in Truro, positioned the creatures on their rumps and, using an uncomfortable looking half-kneeling hold, proceeded to clip their bellies and inner legs. Then, shifting the beasts, which are heavy and strong, he continued one whirring pass at a time until the surprisingly small animals step out from their glistening coats, blinking in surprise at the touch of the cool spring air on their freshly clipped sides.

It is the same wide-eyed look that was on the faces of the children days later in the summer when I went back to the farm and volunteered to spin as part of the farm's living history exhibits.

A great deal of the labour behind the events and programs at Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum is voluntary: the Cole Harbour Rural Heritage Society, a 160-strong group of citizens helps Elizabeth Corser with the constant search for supporters and fund-raising opportunities. The Rose and Kettle Tea Room in the Harris Farmhouse is the most obvious. Special events such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are heralded with the scents of delicious Victorian era meals tantalizing every nearby nose.

However, as Elizabeth explains: "It's not in a heritage project's nature to make money." She is resisting the government view of the farm being only a tourist resource. "I'd like to avoid 'The Little House on the Prairies' image," she says, instead citing the tremendous educational opportunities the farm offers. "I'd like to see more people from junior high and high schools come here. It is a great classroom for the biology of a compost heap, for example, or animal husbandry, market gardening, heritage construction, bugs, or history."

Yes, the farm's job is far more important than making money: "Sometimes kids go to museums and it changes their lives!"

How to get there: 471 Poplar Drive, Cole Harbour. Take Cole Harbour Road to Otago Drive and Otago to Poplar Drive
Open Hours: 10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Sundays and holidays from noon to 4 p.m.
Open Season: May 15-October 15.  Also open year-round by appointment.
Contact: tel/fax: (902) 434-0222 or (902) 462-0154
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web site: www3.ns.sympatico.ca/farmmuseum
Admission: Free. Group tours arranged any time for a small fee.