My Story: Cathy Eaton as published in her most recent book: Thinkers Lodge: Its History and Legacy
Deep Cove, Nova Scotia became the place of my heart when I began accompanying my grandfather to his summer home as a two-year-old in 1952. Swimming in the chilly water, walking on the fern-covered paths, picnicking on the rocky islands dotting Mahone Bay, and canoeing down the cove filled my days. My grandfather, Cyrus Eaton, shared his love of nature and his passion to preserve it. In the evenings after our family sit-down meal with him, I found great joy striding beside him on trails, across meadows, and down to the sea. Raised on a small cattle farm in Northfield, Ohio with my older brothers John and Cyrus and my younger sister, Elizabeth, I spent much of my childhood playing outdoors, wading in streams, catching frogs, or riding horses. Our father, Cyrus S. Eaton, Jr., instilled in me my passion for sports and photography, my endless curiosity about all the people I meet, my ability to listen, and my ease with people from other cultures. After returning from two years as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II, Dad became a pioneer in East-West trade, frequently traveling to Russia, Eastern Europe and China. Our mother, Mary Stephens Eaton, instilled in me my passion for reading, my perseverance in learning subjects that challenged me, my love of family, and my commitment to be a teacher. She taught reading and study strategies until she turned seventy-two. My parents taught me to be a life-long learner, to be compassionate, and to be confident. After twelve years at a private girls’ school in Shaker Heights, four years at Smith College, and a masters at Middlebury College, I became a teacher, sharing my love of literature and writing, initially with middle and high school students for nine years and later with college students for twenty-five years. I met Michael Murphy, my husband of forty years, at graduate school in 1975 when I was jumping down a waterfall in Vermont. We studied together at Bread Loaf School of English and at Lincoln College, Oxford University, finding time to camp and travel around Great Britain and France. After teaching and selling houses, Michael had a thirty-year career selling scientific products to research and biotech labs involved in life-changing biomedical research. We lived in Connecticut, Ohio, North Carolina, Maryland, and finally settled in 1993 in New Hampshire. We raised our sons, Colin and Devon, to follow their passions, take risks, enjoy challenges, and always be there for friends and family. Colin is an industrial designer with a background in architecture, who hiked the Appalachian Trail. Devon is a glassblower and sculptor who inspires his students and loves rock climbing. Our family gatherings are laughter-filled and might involve a week of swimming and kayaking at Conway Lake, a weekend of rock-climbing at Acadia National Park, an afternoon of skydiving, or an evening of playing board games. Always, Michael cooks us feasts to enjoy. Grampa Eaton was my Grampa. I loved spending time with him, and like him, I enjoyed participating in all sports from riding and skiing to swimming and hiking. Nowadays, I do yoga, Pilates, tennis, cross country skiing, and kayaking. He lived on a farm adjacent to our farm in Northfield, Ohio. However, I was unaware of his roles as a wealthy industrialist or a peace activist. One day, he urged me to return to Smith College and help organize students to protest the Vietnam War. Although I protested the despicable war, I shied away from the intimidating idea of recruiting and organizing protestors. A year later, he invited me to accompany him to Santiago, Chile, where he met with Salvador Allende, hoping to build bridges of understanding between democratic and communist countries. Books filled his library and his conversations. Whereas he devoured books on history, religion, philosophy, and science, I became an avid reader of fiction. Whereas he wrote and spoke about finance, agriculture, and especially about urging countries to coexist instead of bombing each other out of existence, I wrote stories and have published two fiction books. With his encouragement, I became a teacher. Although he died in 1979 before I turned twenty-nine, his passions and values have continued to inspire me. At the community college where I taught, I collaborated with colleagues to create world literature courses that focused on bridging cultures and embracing mindfulness. I invited speakers, often refugee students, to enrich my classes by sharing their culture, music, food, dance, and history. It was crucial to me that my students embrace the richness of the lives of peoples all over the world. That they recognize our common humanity. I designed communication classes where students learned to listen, to wait before reacting, and to resolve conflicts. I established a writing center where I became a staunch advocate urging administrators to provide better compensation and benefits for the hard-working adjuncts. From the time I was two until I was twenty-seven in 1977, I spent part of each summer in Deep Cove, Nova Scotia with Grampa. In 2010, thirty-one years after he died, I traveled to Nova Scotia with my best friend, Adele Wick, and we began a project that involved interviewing Pugwash residents who had played a role behind the scenes at Thinkers Lodge. It is my dream to preserve their stories. With the assistance of Vivian Godfree and Pugwash students being mentored by history teacher Teresa Kewachuk, we now have written and published over sixty interviews. The contributions and memories of wait staff, fire fighters who saved the Lodge, chefs, caretakers, construction workers who renovated the Lodge, people who came to hear Yuri Gagarin speak, and students from Margaret King School have inspired me to share their stories.
My family has embraced Thinkers Lodge and its inspiring legacy. In the summer of 2013, my sister Elizabeth volunteered for most of the summer to help run the Lodge, coordinate events, mentor the interns, and give tours. Her peaceful presence graced Thinkers Lodge. She filled vases with flowers. I was blessed to spend part of that summer with her volunteering at the Lodge and having adventures. We loved the train cars in Tatamagouche, the fossils at Joggins, Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy, Heather Beach, and the live music at the Chatterbox Café. My brother, Cyrus, is in the process of restoring a wall clock from Thinkers Lodge. It is a New Haven Sharp Gothic 30-hour time and strike made in 1886. The clock had been gutted and a cheap quartz installed. Cyrus has located the correct works and rebuilt it. He still needs to have the dial repainted and a new reverse painting to replace broken glass. Our brother, John, one of the Pugwash Park Commissioners, continues to work on preserving the lodge and attracting conferences and workshops. I know Grampa would be happy that we have connected so deeply to Thinkers Lodge and the village of his childhood.
Since 2010, it has been my great joy to volunteer and spend a few weeks staying at Thinkers Lodge each summer. I learn so much when I give tours of the historic building as visitors share nuggets of the story. When cleaning and organizing the basement of Thinkers Lodge, I unearthed treasures. With interns and other volunteers, we have planted flowers, scrubbed kitchens, hauled book shelves, set up for events, and hung up photographs, while continuing to learn more about the legacy and significance of the Lodge. Laughter abounds. Learning happens. Problems arise and are collaboratively solved. Yoga energizes us. Always, the salt water and fresh breezes swirl around us as we absorb the tranquility and inspiration of Thinkers Lodge.
During my visits to Pugwash, my life has been enriched at conferences like Building a Culture of Peace, the address of the mayor of Hiroshima on the responsibilities of towns and cities to stand together against nuclear weapons and destruction, and more recently the Climate Change Retreat. In 2010, in addition to conducting interviews with people connected to Thinkers Lodge, I began researching the roles of Cyrus Eaton and Anne Eaton as peace activists, and I became fascinated to learn more about Joseph Rotblat, Ruth Adams, Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein, Julian Huxley, the Pugwash Conferences, and the many scientists and educators who shared significant conversations at Thinkers Lodge. I collected many resources at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio, where Grampa’s papers are archived. There, I discovered the Lenin Peace Prize which is now displayed at Thinkers Lodge. Photographs I found are incorporated in the interpretive displays.
As mentioned in the introduction, it has been a challenge to find a place to archive and make available the treasure of information from my research and interviews. I continue to add to my website (ThinkersLodgeHistories.com) where I publish the stories of the people behind the scenes, articles about Cyrus Eaton, Joseph Rotblat, and the conferences, as well as numerous photographs. The journey continues. During my stays at Thinkers Lodge, I continue to interview people, add to the website, give tours and set up for fund raisers and other events. I shared with Richard Rudnicki photos and information about my grandfather to help him write his children’s book, Cyrus Eaton, Champion for Peace published by Nimbus. In 2016, I gave a short talk to the Pugwash students having their prom at the Lobster Factory. I have embraced village life by attending yoga and exercise classes, shopping at the Farmer’s Market, learning from the North Cumberland Historical Society members, and enjoying the musical events at the Chatter Box Café and the Lobster Factory. Of course, when the lodge closes for visitors at 4:30, I swim on Crescent Beach and kayak on Northumberland Strait or on the Pugwash River. I walk and talk and share meals with precious friends. This is the magic of Thinkers Lodge. I have enjoyed exploring the area and have enjoyed traveling to Parrsboro, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and the South Shore with my husband Michael. In 2017, Giovanni Brenciaglia and his wife Susan, my brother John, and Anne Eaton’s daughter Lissy Gulick and granddaughter, Cath Gulick, were thrilled to attend the play, Pugwash by Vern Thiessen. A review of the play said, “In July 1957, the world was rife with post-war wounds and nuclear arms race fears. In the midst of all the mounting anxiety, leading scientists and academics, world-renowned ‘thinkers’ were invited to a conference in humble Pugwash, NS, the first conference of its kind to address their role in creating and alleviating these fears. Cumberland County native Cyrus Eaton who had made a fortune living and working in the United States of America played a key role in bringing the world to Pugwash, his beloved hometown. Thiessen’s play is a fictional story based on true events that explore the local impact and global legacy of the Pugwash Conferences. A uniquely Canadian story, celebrating a remarkable individual and remarkable place, on the 60th Anniversary of a truly remarkable achievement.” In the play, two young children from Pugwash village interact with a Japanese scientist, a Russian scientist, Cyrus Eaton, and a news reporter and learn to trust these people from far away. It was fascinating to go back in time to that historic moment in Nova Scotia. In 2017, it was great fun being in Pugwash and attending Canada Day and Harbourfest activities on the 150thanniversary of Canada’s founding. Pipers marched around Thinkers Lodge, lasses danced on the stage, a patriotic parade was greeted enthusiastically by numerous villagers and visitors, and crowds applauded the Highland games. Musicians on the stage entertained crowds, the second annual cardboard boat race was held, and the Lobster Factory hosted a dance. Tall ships captured days gone by when such sailing vessels were constructed in Pugwash and sailed here bringing their wares. I loved going aboard the Katie Belle, captained by Evan Densmore, whose family bought and cherished Grampa’s summer home in Deep Cove. His schooner is a replica of the Bluenose. Nearly forty years ago, my grandfather died. Pugwash, the community where he was born and raised, has captured my heart. Cyrus Eaton brought Thinkers together who shared ideas and returned to their homes to implement ways to improve the lives of their community and our planet. I believe I am an integral part of the team of volunteers and interns who continue to embrace that legacy. I have been blessed to listen to the stories and celebrate the lives of Pugwash villagers and the people who visit Thinkers Lodge. I am grateful. It is my hope that this book will inspire readers to take responsibility to make a positive difference, to share conversations with people who come from different backgrounds and experiences, to embrace peace, and to make our planet healthier and its people more compassionate.