Anne of Green Gables, a travel article describing the home where L.M. Montgomery penned her famous novel. by Russ Davis

1. Anne of Green Gables
by Russ Davis
If Anne,spelledwithan(e) of course,could return to her fictional childhood
home on Prince Edward Island, she would find that life in this quiet farm
communitywasmuchthe same as L.M. Montgomerydescribeditin her 1908
novel. All the main roads are paved now and there is electricity and a few
more storesand shops,butfarmingisstill the way of life around Cavendish,
where MontgomeryorMaud as she was called, spent many summer days at
her aunt’s house penning her classic Anne of Green Gables.
The landscape isa patchworkof small farmsand openfieldswithrolledbales
of hay, dairy cows and sheep. Each homestead is separated by stands of
birch, pine and oak that are green in summer, yellow, red and gold in fall.

2. The Anne of Green Gables House and nearby Museum at Silver Bush, are
open to the public from June through October. The Museum is operated by
George and Maureen Campbell who are descendants of Montgomery. The
Campbells also publish a quarterly magazine called Kindred Spirits, that
reportson local activitiessuch as: The Lucy Maud Montgomery Festival, The
Annul Anne of GreenGablesPlay,poetry,oldphotos,andstoriesaboutLeisa
Way, the Canadian actress who played Anne for five seasons and in four
tours of Japan where the Anne of Green Gables is so highly regarded it is
now part of their school curriculum. Subscriptions to Kindred Spirits are
available at the Anne of Green Gables Museum Gift shop.
Maud alwaysspoke of the old house endearingly as Silver Bush. It was built
in 1872 by John Campbell who was married to Laurel McNeal of Cavendish,
the writer’saunt.When her grandmother died Maud came here to live, and
on July 5th, 1911 she was married in the parlor of the old house.
She described Silver Bush as a “big white beautiful house, smothered in
orchards that were the wonder castle of my childhood.” Here in other days
there was a trio of merry cousins to rush out and drag me in with greetings
and laughter.The verywallsof thathouse musthave beenpermeatedbythe
essence of goodtimes.Thenshe goesonto say,“If I couldeverbuildahouse
it would, I would change nothing. It would be exactly like this old home.
Many of Maud’s stories were inspired by the house she called Silver Bush,
and the pond on the Campbell farm her “Lake of Shinning Waters.”
The firstCampbellssettled in the old homestead when they came to Prince
Edward Island in 1776 and now after more than 200 years it still remains in
the Campbell,havingbeenhandeddownfromfathertosonandaccording to
George and MaureenCampbell will continue to do so for generations to
come.