In 1889, Acadia University dissolved its three existing athletic clubs (football, baseball, and cricket) and formed the Acadia Amateur Athletic Association (A.A.A.A.). Its initial mandate stated that it was “to promote an interest in the physical development of the students by means of healthy, vigorous and entertaining games, and to keep in condition a campus well appointed for this purpose” (Acadia Athenaeum, Nov. 1894). J. R. Herbin, the main force behind its formation, was appointed its first president. The A.A.A.A. became “the only Society existing, with the approval of the college authorities for the maintenance of field sports” (Acadia Athenaeum, Dec. 1897). It was also “the one society of Acadia which is recognized by, and has representation in the ‘Maritime Province Football Union’” (Acadia Athenaeum, Feb. 1891). The Association became one of the more important organizations on campus. It was exclusively responsible for the maintenance of campus sports arenas and athletic resources. The grounds and most of the equipment needed for any sport on campus were supplied and sustained by the Association. Among the games controlled by the A.A.A.A. were football, baseball, tennis, hockey and lacrosse, although this varied over time. The members were also responsible for a widely attended annual field day, and occasional receptions held in College Hall. During the first half of the 20th century Acadia University was a member of the Maritime Provinces Branch of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (MPBAAUC). The Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (1909 - 1970) was responsible for maintaining the integrity of amateur sports in Canada and for solving any disputes that arose. It represented most of Canada’s sports organizations; however the Maritime Provinces Branch was not as active as other branches in Canada because the AAUC was controlled primarily by Ontario and Quebec. It has not been determined with certainty when the A.A.A.A. was dissolved, but it was most likely about the 1969/70 school year as it last appears in the Acadia University yearbook in 1968.
Walter Halsey Abell was born in Philadelphia in 1897. He was educated at Swarthmore College and the Barnes Foundation, studying art. He went to Europe for three years to continue his study of art before coming to Acadia University.
Abell began as a Professor of Art at Acadia in 1927 and may have been the first instructor of fine arts in Canada. The Carnegie Foundation endowed Acadia’s fine arts department during the time that Abell was teaching. He left in 1942. While at Acadia, Abell published his first book in 1936, entitled “Representation and Form”. With the assistance of Carnegie, he also established the Maritime Art Association.
After leaving Acadia, Abell joined the staff of the National Gallery of Canada for a short time. He then went to Michigan State University as Professor of art history. While in Michigan, he published a number of books and articles. Walter Abell remained on staff at the University until his sudden death in 1956.
The Abbass family emigrated from Lebanon to Cape Breton at the turn of the 20th century. With his wife, Lilly Khattar, Jobe Abbass built a home on Townsend Street in Sydney, N.S. and together raised twelve children. It is in this building that three of those children, George, John and Anthony started Abbass Studios in the summer of 1946.
While still in high school at Sydney Academy, George took a job as an apprentice at Meyer’s Photography, a national chain. In 1941, after graduating from high school, his brother John also secured a job with Meyers where they both learned the craft of photography. Eventually they began private work contracting jobs with the Post Record and Chronicle Herald newspapers. In January of 1943 four of the Abbass boys, George, John, Joe and Ferris, enlisted to serve during World War II. They left their younger brother Anthony (Tony), who was too young to enlist, in charge of their Post and Herald contracts. When the brothers returned from war, they received a stipend from the government to open their own business.
Abbass Studios opened its doors July 18, 1946 in the family home on Townsend Street in Sydney, N.S. . The studio offered photo finishing, portraits and commercial photography. By the mid-1960s Abbass Studio served all of the Maritime Provinces. The company built a photo finishing plant in Moncton, New Brunswick and purchased stores in New Castle, New Brunswick. The brothers eventually brought the Econo-Color Camera Stores and Studios franchise from Sherman Hines.
Abbass Studios captured and continues to document the diverse economic, political and cultural heritage of the area. The business is still in family hands and run by John’s sons Blaise and John. The Townsend Street building was demolished in 2014 and Blaise Abbass now operates Abbass Studios, Sydney from his home. John Abbass runs the store at Scotia Square Mall in Halifax.
A. Belcher and Co. was a partnership between Andrew Belcher and Mather Byles Almon, which operated out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The business was primarily an agency for mercantile trade, shipping goods to and from Halifax, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the British West Indies. The company also sold insurance. Mather Byles Almon, merchant, banker, politician, and philanthropist, was the partner in Halifax. He was born in 1796 at Halifax, the son of William James and Rebecca (Byles) Almon. Almon helped establish the Bank of Nova Scotia in 1832 and became its president in 1837. He died in Halifax on 30 July 1871.
Andrew Belcher, merchant, justice of the peace, and politician, was born in Halifax on 22 July 1763, the son of Jonathan and Abigail (Allen) Belcher. He operated a number of successive partnerships including the one with Mr. Almon. He removed to England in 1811 where he worked as a non-resident member of the Halifax merchant class. Belcher’s fortunes took a downward turn and he moved back to Halifax in 1829. From 1827 to 1833 Belcher was Halifax agent for the General Mining Association (GMA), also known as Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, a British company involved in large-scale coal exports from Nova Scotia to the United States. Early in 1834 Mr. Belcher lost the appointment to rival shipping entrepreneur Samuel Cunard. Belcher died in Boulogne-sur-mer, France, on 17 November 1841. It is not known when the partnership of A. Belcher & Co. ended.