Events

Thursday, October 15, 2026, 7:00 PM

In the 1840s, young Benjamin and his family live on an isolated Nova Scotia island. There is no church, no school, no store, no community; just them.

But Benjamin has a vivid imagination that fills his life with adventure. He sees pirates and sea monsters; devilish black dogs, schooners laden with treasure bound for his island.

And he sees a man with an axe in his hand.

In 1842, John Ruff was killed in a logging accident at his home on Fundy Five Islands' Moose Island. Two years later, one of his young sons came forward to say the incident was no accident.

What really happened to John Ruff?

Join author Laura Churchill Duke at 7pm on Thursday, October 15 as she dives into the history of this event, as portrayed in her historic true crime novel, “Ruff Tides."

Admission by donation, free to CHS members.