#LLSTORY - Charlene Bourdon
Just hours after our thrilling interview with CBC last Wednesday, we received a call from a lady name Charlene. She was inspired to contact us with her story after reading about us on the CBC website. We were happy to hear from her and wanted to share her story with you! This inspired the creation of a new series we're going to be sharing!#LocalLegendsStories, all stories from Islanders and Honorary Islanders alike!
"The Corrupted Islander; Raised “Away”
My family’s roots are very deep on this island. I am the fifth generation from Scotland and Wales on my father’s side. On my mother’s side my great-great-grandfather sailed from France to Rustico and later settled in Summerside. I was born in Summerside in 1955 and I now have four children and two grandchildren who were born on this beautiful island. I also have two beautiful grandchildren who are “from away”.
Dad was in the Air Force, serving our country during the Cold War, so I was separated from my island as a babe-in-arms. My sister and I spent time being raised in Halifax and England. From there we settled in France, spending three years in the French culture and also welcoming two brothers into the world while there. Leaving France, we moved to Calgary and three years later to a radar base in northern Manitoba. As pre-teens we headed to Chilliwack, British Columbia, spending three years being influenced by the Western lifestyle. We drove across Canada to arrive once more in Halifax, for one final year before we returned home to PEI. By this time we were teenagers, well-shaped and moulded in the ways of the world outside of PEI.
Upon returning home, we soon discovered from others that we had been “away”. Corrupted.
I still go “away” to the “mainland” for short trips, but on the return trip home as I drive on the Confederation Bridge and come to the crest of it, I never cease to be amazed and thrilled to see my island laid out before me. Am I an Islander “through and through” or am I a “corrupted Islander”? Perhaps I am both: as proud of my “corruption” as I am of my Island!"
Charlene Rogers Bourdon
"The Corrupted Islander; Raised “Away”
My family’s roots are very deep on this island. I am the fifth generation from Scotland and Wales on my father’s side. On my mother’s side my great-great-grandfather sailed from France to Rustico and later settled in Summerside. I was born in Summerside in 1955 and I now have four children and two grandchildren who were born on this beautiful island. I also have two beautiful grandchildren who are “from away”.
Dad was in the Air Force, serving our country during the Cold War, so I was separated from my island as a babe-in-arms. My sister and I spent time being raised in Halifax and England. From there we settled in France, spending three years in the French culture and also welcoming two brothers into the world while there. Leaving France, we moved to Calgary and three years later to a radar base in northern Manitoba. As pre-teens we headed to Chilliwack, British Columbia, spending three years being influenced by the Western lifestyle. We drove across Canada to arrive once more in Halifax, for one final year before we returned home to PEI. By this time we were teenagers, well-shaped and moulded in the ways of the world outside of PEI.
Upon returning home, we soon discovered from others that we had been “away”. Corrupted.
I still go “away” to the “mainland” for short trips, but on the return trip home as I drive on the Confederation Bridge and come to the crest of it, I never cease to be amazed and thrilled to see my island laid out before me. Am I an Islander “through and through” or am I a “corrupted Islander”? Perhaps I am both: as proud of my “corruption” as I am of my Island!"
Charlene Rogers Bourdon
