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Dr. J. Sherman Bleakney graduated from Acadia with a B.Sc. (1949) and a M.Sc. (1951); he graduated from McGill with a Ph.D. (1956). In 1957, he returned to the Biology Department at Acadia as a professor of Zoology, taking a position vacated by the retirement of Dr. H.G. Perry. Bleakney worked with Robie Tufts and Harrison Flint Lewis in the Biology Department. In 1987, he received the Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence. He retired in 1988 but continued to work closely with Acadia as a University Fellow from 1988 to 1993. Bleakney is noted for this book on sea slugs, entitled "Sea Slugs of Atlantic Canada and the Gulf of Maine", and for his book on dykes and marshlands, entitled "Sods, Soil, and Spades". The entire fonds represents the great amount of research and writing done by Bleakney both during and after his academic career. Much of the fonds is accumulated research material, historical and recent, that formed the basis for the book "Sods, Soil and Spades: The Acadians at Grand Pré and Their Dykeland Legacy", published by McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004.

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Title: Aboiteau and marsh at Houston Beach
Date Created: 1999
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/22
Description: Three coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and marsh at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: "overview of outer and inner dyke walls and sites of two aboiteaux." Second photo: "posts...
Show moreThree coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and marsh at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: "overview of outer and inner dyke walls and sites of two aboiteaux." Second photo: "posts were part of older dyke wall, aboiteau was built behind it, is a newer wall set farther back in the marsh." Third photo: "upstream end of sluice box."
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Type: photograph

Title: Aboiteau and marsh at Houston Beach
Date Created: 1999
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/22
Description: Three coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and marsh at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: "most recent aboiteau in secondary dyke, note use of sapling." Second photo: "posts were part...
Show moreThree coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and marsh at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: "most recent aboiteau in secondary dyke, note use of sapling." Second photo: "posts were part of the oldest dyke wall." Third photo: "remnants of old aboiteau."
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Type: photograph

Title: Aboiteau and old sluice
Date Created: 2002
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/22
Description: Three coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and old sluice at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: "old sluice - outflow opening." Second photo: "old sluice box, clapped iton straps and...
Show moreThree coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and old sluice at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: "old sluice - outflow opening." Second photo: "old sluice box, clapped iton straps and one plank in gate." Third photo: "sluice hinge, old dyke, Houston Beach, N.S."
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Type: photograph

Title: Aboiteau and old sluice
Date Created: 2003
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/22
Description: Three coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and old sluice at Houston Beach, N.S. in the winter. Inscriptions - First photo: "location of the old sluice box and brush wall - is encased and buried by...
Show moreThree coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and old sluice at Houston Beach, N.S. in the winter. Inscriptions - First photo: "location of the old sluice box and brush wall - is encased and buried by ice." Second photo: ""aboiteaux creek" to right of French Glass site." Third photo: "from top of sand bank and ice - creeke - French Glass site and sluice at extreme right side of photo, view to S.E. (-14degreeF)"
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Type: photograph

Title: Aboiteau and old sluice
Date Created: 2003
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/22
Description: Three coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and old sluice at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: "site #4 - old sluice, note crossed tie down stakes. Are timbers drilled all the way...
Show moreThree coloured photos taken of an aboiteau and old sluice at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: "site #4 - old sluice, note crossed tie down stakes. Are timbers drilled all the way through?" Second photo: "downstream from sluice #1." Third photo: "site #4 - old sluice box (where Acadian period glass was found)."
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Type: photograph

Title: Aboiteau construction
Date Created: [199-?]
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/15
Description: Sketches of aboiteau construction, likely done by Sherman Bleakney.
Type: textual record

Title: Aboiteau, old sluice and marsh
Date Created: 2002
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/22
Description: Three coloured photos taken of an aboiteau, old sluice and marsh at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: old sluice - functioning, intake. Second photo: brush in aboiteau wall. Third...
Show moreThree coloured photos taken of an aboiteau, old sluice and marsh at Houston Beach, N.S. Inscriptions - First photo: old sluice - functioning, intake. Second photo: brush in aboiteau wall. Third photo: Houston Beach marsh, old aboiteau.
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Type: photograph

Title: Avon River and Oak Island
Date Created: 1978
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/12
Description: Two black and white aerial photograph of the Avon River and Oak Island, N.S. Inscription - "looking west"
Type: photograph

Title: Avonport Lighthouse
Date Created: 1978
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/12
Description: Four black and white aerial photographs of the Avonport Lighthouse.
Type: photograph

Title: Beach plants
Date Created: 2000
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/20
Description: Three coloured photos of beach plants from the west end of Long Island. Varieties include: Spartina Pectinata (tall grass), scirpus maritumis and scirpus americanus. Inscriptions - First photo: ...
Show moreThree coloured photos of beach plants from the west end of Long Island. Varieties include: Spartina Pectinata (tall grass), scirpus maritumis and scirpus americanus. Inscriptions - First photo: "plants from beach at west end Long Island, Grand Pre." Second photo: "Spartina Pectinata (tall grass), scirpus maritumis (has corms) and scirpus americanus (thick rhizomes). 3 Major plant species on upper sandy beach at west end of Long Island." Third photo: "upper beach plants at west end of Long Island, Grand Pre, N.S."
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Type: photograph

Title: Black Landing
Date Created: 2000
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/14
Description: Two photos of Horton Landing or "Black Landing," the site of the Acadian expulsion in Hortonville, Nova Scotia. Photos depict blue-black shale bedrock outcrop. Inscription - "Hortonville, Horton...
Show moreTwo photos of Horton Landing or "Black Landing," the site of the Acadian expulsion in Hortonville, Nova Scotia. Photos depict blue-black shale bedrock outcrop. Inscription - "Hortonville, Horton Landing alias Black Landing, Kings Co. Nova Scotia, Note: extensive blue-black shale bedrock outcrop just beneath surface silts layer. S. Bleakney, Aug 2000. "And here in Horton, so sensitive are we, that a breach made by the sea in a mud-dyke is sure to make our ears tingle." E.A. Crawley, Queen's College, Horton, Jul 25th, 1840 (in the Nova Scotian 6 Aug 1840 page 252)"
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Type: photograph

Title: Break in the Wolfville Dyke
Date Created: March, October 1931
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/16
Description: Three black and white photographs of the Wolfville Dyke. First photo shows a break in the Wolfville Dyke in 1931. Second photo shows the road to Wolfville Light flooded in 1931. The third photo is...
Show moreThree black and white photographs of the Wolfville Dyke. First photo shows a break in the Wolfville Dyke in 1931. Second photo shows the road to Wolfville Light flooded in 1931. The third photo is of the flooded road to the Government Wharf in Wolfville in 1913.
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Type: photograph

Title: Breaks in Dyke and flooding in Wolfville
Date Created: 1913
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/16
Description: Three black and white photographs of the Wolfville Dyke. First photo shows a break in the dyke in 1913. The second photo shows the flooding of the dyke in 1913. The third photo shows the road to...
Show moreThree black and white photographs of the Wolfville Dyke. First photo shows a break in the dyke in 1913. The second photo shows the flooding of the dyke in 1913. The third photo shows the road to the Government Wharf flooded in 1913.
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Type: photograph

Title: Broken Wickwire Dyke
Date Created: [1931]
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/16
Description: Four black and white aerial photographs from 1931. First and second photos have Acadia University in the foreground and the broken Wickwire Dyke after a storm on March 4 1931. Third photo is of...
Show moreFour black and white aerial photographs from 1931. First and second photos have Acadia University in the foreground and the broken Wickwire Dyke after a storm on March 4 1931. Third photo is of Grand Pre, N.S. Fourth photo is of likely of the Grand Pre area. Inscriptions - "Air photos 347, 340"
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Type: photograph

Title: Chart of dyking sods at West Long Island, Grand Pre
Date Created: 2000
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/9
Description: Chart of dyking sods at West Long Island, Grand Pre from June to July 2000. Includes a comparison between black grass and salt meadow hay, their field weight, weight after they were air dried and...
Show moreChart of dyking sods at West Long Island, Grand Pre from June to July 2000. Includes a comparison between black grass and salt meadow hay, their field weight, weight after they were air dried and total amount of water each sod held.
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Type: textual record

Title: Dead dyke wall at Deportation Creek
Date Created: [199-?]
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/14
Description: Two photographs and three maps of the "Dead Dyke" at "Deportation Creek" on the Grand Pre marshlands, Nova Scotia. Includes notes about the Acadian dykes by Sherman Bleakney and lot numbers of the...
Show moreTwo photographs and three maps of the "Dead Dyke" at "Deportation Creek" on the Grand Pre marshlands, Nova Scotia. Includes notes about the Acadian dykes by Sherman Bleakney and lot numbers of the Dead Dyke area in Horton.
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Type: photograph

Title: Description/sketches of the marsh at Houston Beach
Date Created: 2002
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/22
Description: Description and sketches of the marsh at Houston Beach, N.S.
Type: textual record

Title: Dock at Black Landing
Date Created: 2000
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/14
Description: Two photos of Horton Landing or "Black Landing," the site of the Acadian expulsion in Hortonville, Nova Scotia. Photos depict a part of the dock at low tide, covered in sea vegetation.
Type: photograph

Title: Dr. J. Sherman Bleakney
Date Created: [19--?]
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE
Description: Photograph of Professor Sherman Bleakney holding the bones of a sea turtle at Acadia University.
Type: photograph

Title: Drainage patterns, maps and seros cycles
Date Created: 1997
Accession Number: 2004.039-BLE/4
Description: General Comments and Queries on the Grand Pre Acadian Dykelands compiled by Sherman Bleakney. Also includes: a Grand Pre Map with drainage patterns, comments on tidal creek drainage patterns on his...
Show moreGeneral Comments and Queries on the Grand Pre Acadian Dykelands compiled by Sherman Bleakney. Also includes: a Grand Pre Map with drainage patterns, comments on tidal creek drainage patterns on his 1994 base map, and a table of seros cycles.
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Type: textual record