PHILOSOPHY OF CARE
We live the EDEN Alternative philosophy everyday, seeking to remake the experience of ageing and creating a better world for our residents and care partners. There is a commitment to keep residents secure, content and joyous in their new home and through person-directed care we strive to combat loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. It is about creating a real home, providing opportunities for building relationships, placing residents first and setting a standard of excellence. The EDEN Alternative enables us to move away from the departmentalized, task-orientated, institutional models. By changing the culture to bring decision making closer to the resident, we support a meaningful life for them.
OUR NEIGHBOURHOODS & HOMES
MAUD AND PRIM NEIGHBOURHOOD
MAUD HOUSE is named in honour of the famed and widely renown folk artist Maud Lewis who lived most of her life in Marshalltown, just west of Digby. She is known and admired for her use of bright colours in her paintings of many outdoor scenes that reflected life in the community and province. Her lovingly painted, tiny home and a collection of her work are both on display at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax as part of their permanent Maud Lewis Exhibit. The movie Maudie, released in 2016 is a biographical drama based on Maud’s life and art. Coproduced in Canada and Ireland, the movie won multiple Canadian and Irish Screen & Film Awards.
PRIM HOUSE is named in honour of the Point Prim Lighthouse which was first built in 1817 on the west side of Digby Gut to help guide and warn ships during foggy weather. Throughout its history the lighthouse has been powered by whale oil, kerosene, and now electricity. Located on a rocky cliff-face, Prim Point Lighthouse is the only structure visible from the water emphasizing the maritime character of the rugged coastline of Digby Gut. The light station has also become part of the soundscape of Digby with its fog alarm that can be heard 9 km away in the town’s centre. This lighthouse is a heritage one because of its historical, architectural, and community value.
ADMIRAL, LANGFORD AND DOMINION NEIGHBOURHOOD
ADMIRAL HOUSE is named in recognition of Admiral Robert Digby who after the surrender of New York City in 1783, helped to organize the evacuation of more than 1500 Loyalists (those who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Britain) to Conway, Nova Scotia, a small port village. Under Admiral Digby’s leadership the village flourished and was renamed Digby in 1787 in his honour.
LANGFORD HOUSE received its name from one of the world’s greatest boxers, Sam Langford. Weymouth Falls was the childhood home of Langford who remains a very recognizable figure in the boxing community as he was ranked second in Ring Magazine’s list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time.
DOMINION HOUSE is named in recognition of the Dominion Atlantic Railway which connected Digby to the rest of Nova Scotia. The railway increased the amount of trade and travel that played a key role in Digby’s growth and expansion into larger trade markets for more goods and services.
CONWAY AND STEHELIN NEIGHBOURHOOD
CONWAY HOUSEis named in tribute to the original name of the town. A port village, it was founded by a group of English settlers in 1766. They named the village Conway after a British Army General. Although it would later be renamed Digby, there still remains a small community in the area which bares the name of Conway.
STEHELIN HOUSE is named in recognition of the Stehelin family and their community leadership. The Stehelins settled in an area just outside of Weymouth back in 1892, building a community that boosted electric lights and a wooden railroad. This community known as The Electric City, built by The Stehelins of New France, was a trailblazer, having electricity 30 years before Weymouth and most of rural Nova Scotia.
SNOWS, SISSIBOO AND TEEWEEDEN NEIGHBOURHOOD
SNOWS HOUSE is named in tribute to the Snow family. Brothers Joseph, William and Ansel ran a successful fishing business out of Snow’s Wharf, located on the Digby waterfront. The trio skippered one of Canada’s most famous fishing schooners, the Dorothy G. Snow, named for Joseph’s daughter. The special schooner won the Newfoundland- Halifax races in 1912 and again in 1914, under the command of Ansel who would later become a skipper of Nova Scotia’s famous Bluenose.
SISSIBOO HOUSE is named in recognition of both a local river and a nearby village. The village of Weymouth was originally known as Sissiboo, now the name used for the lovely river that runs through it. The name comes from the legend that is based on an encounter between Mi’ kmaq people and a Loyalist settler. A Mi’kmaq pointed towards six owls in a tree and said in French “six hiboux (six owls) and the Loyalist thought he was referring to the river, thus the name Sissiboo.
TEEWEEDEN HOUSE was named in honour of the Mi’kmaq name for Digby Gut. Officially it was once called St. George’s Channel, but it was first named Teeweeden by the Mi’kmaq meaning “little hole”.