Joe Delaney is a retired bus driver in Cheticamp, Cape Breton, who exemplifies the whimsical humor so characteristic of this part of Canada. This, after all, is a country happy to call two of its most common denominations of sovereign currency Loonies and Toonies. Joe, it seems, some years ago laid out a roadside garden and to deter various vegetable predators created three mannequin-like scarecrows, using his kids’ discarded Halloween masks and clothes from the thrift shop. Soon he noticed that tourist cars were stopping to take photos. So to capitalize on an obvious business opportunity he and his sister Ethel brought in a trailer the next summer and opened a snack bar and gift shop, surrounded by 20 or so of the same mannequins. And no garden. More people stopped and even tour buses. Summer after summer he continued to grow the display and now more than 100 scarecrows are part of Joe’s (and Ethel’s) establishment, one of the most popular photo ops on the Cabot Trail.
A little context may explain Joe’s success. For some reason, everyone thinks that the 120-mile Cabot drive should properly be done counter-clockwise. Joe’s genius, among other things, is to be located near the south end of the counter-clockwise scenic drive, just past that last cliff and breach and as the road turns boringly inland. By the time drivers and passengers get to Cheticamp, they are quite tired of the twisting roads and panoramic views. Even exquisite experiences of the majestic forces of nature pale after two or three hours in a bus or car. Enough mountains and sea; people are ready for Joe’s scarecrows.
Joe sets up his display in May. By the time we saw it in mid-September, the summer sun, rain, and wind had taken their toll. Halloween masks are really not made to be out in the weather for four months. They fade, they sag, they tear. They become actually weird. And this gives the extra soupcon of interest that keeps those cameras snapping. Joe estimates that 30,000 people may have stopped this year. Next summer Joe will be back with even more.
