Pushthrough

Pushthrough was a flourishing out port on the southwest coast. More than five hundred people once called this place their home. They fished year-round, ran schooners across to Nova Scotia for coal, supplies, and set up their own place of business, "Pushthrough Trade." There was a three-room school house, and also a lodge, government wharf and a church with a bell tower and stained glass windows.

In the fall of 1969 all of this ended, due to the governments resettlement policy of small out port communities. Everyone packed up and left Pushthrough, abandoning their homes, their livelihood, and their heritage. The vacating of Pushthrough was a mystery to its inhabitants. They could not understand why their government would force them to leave their community.

One such person was "Uncle" Jack Wells. He became Pushthrough's lighthouse keeper after his people left. His great-grandfather George Wells had been born and raised in Pushthrough. The Well's were one of the families who took part in giving Pushthrough its name. They witnessed the death of a whale in the tickle and helped push it through. In 1969 they were one of the families who were the last to leave the outport. Ironically, the Wells' family was there for the birth of Pushthrough and also witness its death. Today all that remains are a few ruins of homes and two cemeteries.