Stephen McNeil's childhood home still a central part of his life

Editor's note: This is the first profile in a three-part series looking at the lives of the leaders of Nova Scotia's three major political parties. CBC asked each of the party leaders to share a side of themselves outside of the political arena, something very important to them.

A lot has happened under the roof of a big, old farmhouse along Highway 1 in Upper Granville, N.S.

It's where Stephen McNeil, the 12th of 17 kids, grew up. It's where his mother, Theresa, raised the family on her own after his father, Burt, died in 1973. And it's where McNeil decided to raise his two children, Colleen and Jeffrey, with wife Andrea, buying the house from his mother in 1991.

"It's been a significant part of every journey in our life. Not just mine [but also]my siblings'. The ups and the downs of our family have centred around this house," McNeil, 52,said in an interview at his kitchen table.

"I don't know what would have happened to us if my parents hadn't bought this house. When my father died, I don't know where we would have ended up.I've said that many times, this house was the foundation for my mother being able to keep us together."

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Tragedy strikes at home

His father was just 45 when he choked at the table during a Sundaydinner.

McNeil's mother, a stay-at-home mom who didn't have a driver's licence, was suddenly thrust into the workforce. She took a job at anelastics factory in nearby Bridgetown, taking on a7 a.m. to 3 p.m.shift so she could be home when the youngest children returned from school.

A few years later, she was offered the position of high sheriff for Annapolis County, a job she held for 15 years.

When asked what being the mother of a brood of 17 taught her about being a sheriff, McNeil laughed.

"There was nothing she would have seen that would have fazed her," he said."I'm sure we gave her a good foundation for taking on that job."

McNeil saidin many respects, his father's death shaped who he is today.

A sentimental guy

"It was a big loss. There's no question about it. It was a long time before I couldactually even talk about it," he said. "I would hope he'd think we all turned out OK."

McNeil, who describes himself as sentimental,walks around the home's first floor, pointingto paintings by local artists and family photos on the walls.

On the wall of the TV room, there's an old medal in a frame and McNeil gets misty-eyed when he reaches for it. His father was an electrician and power utility lineman that helped save a co-worker's life after he was electrocutedin 1966.

"My mother left this to me," saidMcNeil.

The extended family still celebrates Christmas in the house,albeit on Boxing Day. The next generations play in the field where McNeil and his siblings spentmuch of their days.

He points to a spot in the grass that isn't level with the rest. It's where the siblings would play everything from hockey to football and soccer.

"We'd have it taken right down to dirt because of the activity we had on it," he said. "There was a few broken bones I thinkdown here when we were kids."

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