William “Darby” Greene
b. 1861, d. Sept 5, 1937

Lucy and Darby Greene were two bachelor brothers who summered and harvested dulse at Dark Harbour.  During the 1920-1930s they were themselves a major Grand Manan tourist attraction. Visitors from as far away as New York City, Boston, Montreal and South Africa would make the long trek out to Dark Harbour where the Hermits would entertain them with songs and poetic recitations, and show off Lucy’s skillfully created folk artifacts (a guest book from May 1931-Jan 1932 records over 300 visitors to “The Bat”, the name of Darby’s camp).   

An expert craftsmen, Lucy created unique dioramas showing the life of real and imaginary fishing communities, carved elaborate gun stocks inlaid with hand tooled silver and brass imagery, and modified existing cabinets and knifes so that they became unique works of art.  The largest gun stock in our display is fashioned of wood salvaged from the Wreck of the Lord Ashburton, another exhibit found in the Shipwrecks Gallery.

A Brief History of Dulse & Grand Manan’s First Harvester
The history of man’s use of dulse dates back to ancient times in northern Europe, where it was used for human consumption, as well as for livestock fodder.

Dulse is only one of about seven different sea vegetables harvested today in the cold, clean waters around Grand Manan.  It was first harvested as a commercial crop on Grand Manan when James MacDonald moved to Dark Harbour in 1875 and became involved with dulsing because fish were scarce.  He and his men picked the dulse, which grows in the lower section of the inter-tidal zone, and dried it on the seawall beach rocks above the water mark.

The unusual taste and texture of dulse, as well as its high nutritional value, have assured a ready market which has expanded yearly since James MacDonald’s first efforts over 135 years ago.  Grand Manan dulse is now considered world-class quality, and Dark Harbour dulse grows the best island dulse.  Today there are a number of thriving sea vegetable businesses exporting dulse and other seaweeds, such as nori and sea lettuce, to world markets.