How a stranger's act of kindness helped get this family home to P.E.I. 52 years ago

Hung-Min Chiang is remembering a special anniversary this New Year's Eve centred on the kindness of strangers.

Chiang's first holiday season on Prince Edward Island was in 1967.

He was working at the Prince of Wales College, and his colleagues suggested that he get off the Island and spend some time with family.

"We took their advice, but they forgot to remind us of the very unpredictable weather of the Island and driving conditions," he said.

I had the strangest sensation. A terrifying sensation of spinning and falling and falling.— Hung-Min Chiang

It was December and he piled his family of five into a station wagon.

They headed about 1,400 kilometres south to New Jersey to visit Chiang's brother-in-law and family.

How the trip played out, and the help the family got on their journey, Chiang said, was "a big part" in deciding to make the Island home.

No problems, yet...

Driving down to New Jersey was "no problem. It was very smooth," he said. On the trip back to the Island on New Year's Eve, things took a turn.

"We planned to drive all the way back to P.E.I. The day and the night," he said.

Chiang said he was the primary driver on the expedition back to the Island. He said he drove for five hours and when he reached a turnpike in Maine his wife offered to take over the driving for a while so he could take a nap.

"No sooner, I doze off, I heard her scream and then I had the strangest sensation. A terrifying sensation of spinning and falling and falling," he said.

In his sleepy state he braced himself "for deadly impact." Chiang said he thought his car had gone off a cliff.

"Then it was followed by complete silence," he said.

In a daze he said he sat up and realized his car was still on the road. He looked out the windshield.

"I could see the black ice on the road," he said.

Heading for the ferry

The family continued toward the Canadian border at a "snail's pace" putting them behind schedule.

The spinout wasn't the only thing the family had to worry about — when they reached the border it started to snow heavily.

To survive we had to keep the car engine running.— Hung-Min Chiang

Chiang said they were behind schedule and eager to catch the last ferry leaving Cape Tormentine, N.B., for Borden-Carleton, P.E.I., at 11 p.m. New Year's Eve.

"We skipped all the rest stops, meal stops. And mostly foolishly, we skipped the last fuel stop just to save a few minutes," he said.

"Thirty kilometres to the ferry place and we had exactly 30 minutes left."

Missing the ferry

The snow was so heavy the family couldn't see the road in front of them, Chiang said.

"Finally we reached the ferry place and our heart nearly stopped, because that very last ferry of the year was slowly pulling away from the dock," he said.

The family's station wagon was the only car left in the parking lot, with barely any fuel in the tank and it was cold, he said.

"To survive we had to keep the car engine running," he said. "To make the matter worse our three little girls [were] carsick."

Chiang said his wife began to sob and he thought, "I have to do something."

Find the captain

He said he got out of the car and stumbled upon a worker in the process of closing up the terminal building. Chiang said the worker told him the next ferry wasn't until 6 a.m. the next day, but that there might be a captain of another ferry who may be able to help.

So, Chiang boarded a ship and found a captain in his room, getting ready for bed.

It's a long story, 80 years of my life, and I am glad I live in P.E.I. for the last 52 years and counting.— Hung-Min Chiang

"He was surprised of course," Chiang said.

However, he listened to Chiang's story about missing the ferry and that his family had nowhere to go.

When the captain told him, "Don't worry, we'll send you home," Chiang said he was astonished.

"Immediately he gave an order to sail," he said.

The five members of the Chiang family were the only ones on that ferry in the middle of the night on New Year's Eve.

I pulled the car into the snow filled driveway and parked the car and the engine stopped by itself.— Hung-Min Chiang

"The boat left the terminal and it felt so good," he said. He said the ferry was loud and the engine rattled and vibrated.

"We felt so good listening to that sound of engine," he said. "It sounded so assuring and comfortable, just like listening to the heartbeat of life."

However, he was worried there would be no gas station open to refuel when they reached Borden-Carleton.

All the gas stations were closed. He said to conserve gasoline he would shift to neutral going down hills and he didn't see any cars on his way to Charlottetown.

"I pulled the car into the snow-filled driveway and parked the car and the engine stopped by itself," he said.

Chiang said there wasn't a single drop of fuel left in the vehicle.

Connecting with captain

Chiang said the man that brought him to the Island was Capt. William Batt. Chiang wrote him a letter two years later.

Chiang said the captain replied that if the family was ever on the ferry again to reach out to him so he could show the family around. Batt even invited Chiang to call and come visit him at his home in Cape Tormentine.

This is just one of the stories Chiang is sharing in his upcoming autobiography to be published next spring.

He originally wrote a story about the ferry crossing in 1997 for The Guardian newspaper in Charlottetown, but that same story will appear in his book, among others.

"It's a long story, 80 years of my life, and I am glad I live in P.E.I. for the last 52 years and counting," he said.

"Very incredible luck we had and I will never forget the captain."

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