Two New Brunswick sisters in their 90s traveled by boat to revisit Cocagne Island, the place they once called home.
The journey represents a rare reconnection with ancestral roots for the women, highlighting the enduring nature of childhood memories and family ties.
Aurea Belliveau, 96 [1], and Anna Després, 94 [1], made the trip accompanied by their family. The sisters returned to the island to reminisce and reconnect with the nostalgic environment of their former residence [2].
Cocagne Island served as the backdrop for the sisters' early lives. The return trip allowed the women to see the landscape where they grew up and share those experiences with younger generations of their family [2].
The trip was conducted by boat, as the island remains separated from the mainland. This method of travel was necessary to reach the specific sites of their former home [1].
While the sisters have spent decades away from the island, the visit served as a way to relive specific memories of their upbringing in New Brunswick [2].
“Two New Brunswick sisters in their 90s traveled by boat to revisit Cocagne Island.”
This event underscores the importance of place-based memory and the role of family in preserving regional history. For the sisters, the physical return to Cocagne Island serves as a tangible link to a vanished way of life in coastal New Brunswick, bridging the gap between their current age and their earliest experiences.
