On This Day: How lobster supper became a P.E.I. tradition
Report on The National in 1988 showcases Island's lobster suppers
Lobster suppers have been a tradition on P.E.I. for decades — something that was the subject of a national news report on CBC Television 30 years ago.
"If you just can't take any more of the sane tranquillity here on Prince Edward Island," is how reporter Dan Bjarnason starts his piece, which aired on The National on July 19, 1988 — directing viewers to seek out a lobster supper.
Who started the tradition of the lobster supper is up for debate — but Father Denis Gallant of St. Ann's Parish in Hope River, P.E.I., doesn't hesitate in taking full credit.
"It started with me," said Gallant. "This idea of lobster suppers that you hear very much advertised originated here at St. Ann's — actually originated in that little brain up there."
He says the church held its first lobster supper as a fundraiser, later expanding it to feed and entertain hungry travellers and locals.
Gallant died in 2000 and St. Ann's stopped hosting lobster suppers in 2015 — however a lobster supper can still be found in many places across P.E.I.
