To set the record straight, “St. Mungo’sHospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries” from the Harry Potter universe will not be one of the stops on the Glengarry Pioneer Museum’s Historical Driving Tour. However, the popular excursion planned for Saturday, June 15thwill be visiting St. Mungo’s United Church in Cushing, Quebec. While perhaps not as exciting as its fictional namesake, at least it’s real.
The convoy will set out from Dalkeith at 8:30 in the morning with the first item on itinerary being a WWII airfield at St. Eugene. The Macdonell-Williamson House in Pointe Fortune will be the next stop. John Macdonell, who was a fur trader and partner in the North West Company, built the stately home in 1817. According to the Ontario Heritage Trust, the dwelling is an excellent example of modified Palladian architecture influenced by a combination of both 16thcentury Italian and ancient Roman tastes… whatever that means. Smacks a bit the highfalutin descriptions wine snobs love so much.
From there, the tour will take the ferry at Pointe Fortune to visit the 183-year-old St. Mungo’s Church. Then, the convoy will wend its way along the river and cross back into Canada at Grenville. Just before reaching the Ontario shore, the tour will turn off to visit Maison de l’île on L’île du Chenail.Built in 1832, Maison de l’île was originally the administrative building for the Hamilton Sawmill. Back in the early 19thcentury, L’île du Chenail was connected to Hamilton Island and the two formed a sawmill complex that processed the timber that had been logged upstream. Logging was once one of the most important industries in the Ottawa Valley, and L’île du Chenail was a thriving industrial and residential area. Maison de l’île is the sole remaining building.
Whether you’re a diehard history buff, or just looking for a fun day trip to kick off Father’s Day weekend, the Glengarry Pioneer Museum’s Historical Driving Tour is the perfect opportunity to explore our region’s past. Tickets are $40 per person for non-members and $35 for members. (Just one more reason to become a member of the Glengarry Pioneer Museum.) This includes access to all of the historic sites, lunch with entertainment, and a morning and afternoon snack. The $10 per car ferry crossing is extra. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. To reserve a spot, call 613-527-5230 or e-mail: info@glengarrypioneermuseum.ca. Space is limited, so book soon.
Whiff of coal fires in the morning
While I love the sight of sparks flying as hammers hit white-hot steel… and relish the sound of anvils ringing sweet as a bell… it’s the SMELL of the Dunvegan museum’s annual blacksmith festival that really bowls me over. I’m not suggesting that event has B.O., but the slightly acrid scent of so many coal-burning fires is totally unique in this day and age. Stop by on June 15thand 16thfrom 10 AM to 4 PM and you’ll see, hear and smell what I mean.
This year’s two-day celebration of all things “blacksmithy” will be much like last year’s laid-back gathering, only with more smiths. Organizers are expecting over 20 anvil-beaters from Ontario, Quebec, New York, Vermont, and Pennsylvania.
In the Williams Pavilion, Mike Armstrong and Megan Carter from Armstrong & Carter Ironworks are returning to give a workshop on how to forge a pair of box-joint pliers. While the workshop slots are all spoken for, you will be able to watch the instructors lead students through the process step by step. And over in the Olivier Hamelin shop, smiths will be forging a variety of historical-replica objects, including gun barrels, tools for a blacksmith shop and even a ship’s anchor. Other smiths will be demonstrating their skills around the museum grounds, and the museum’s portable forge — a replica of the type used during the American War of Independence — will be operating all weekend.
On Saturday the 15th, the Smith-in will feature a country-style marketplace with vendors and artisans selling a variety of local crafts and products. And, if you get a bit peckish, the Cheese Factory food booth will be open both days. I’m told they’ll be serving their popular chilli (con carne, I hope) and chilli-dogs, as well as snacks and beverages. Whether you come for a few hours or stay for the entire day, I’m confident you’ll have a great time learning why the village blacksmith was thecentre of village life in the 19thcentury.Admission to the Smith-in is just $5 per day for members of the museum. For non-members, the cost is $10 per head or $25 for a family of four. Children under 12 are free.
Waiting for the grass to grow
If you’re wondering when the DRA’s 8thannual Meet Your Neighboursevent will be held, you’re not alone. I too have been waiting patiently by my e-mail inbox for news of this community-building event. So I thought it best to go to the source and ask one of the members of the Dunvegan Recreation committee what’s-up. And Vivian Franklin provided a perfectly reasonable explanation.
Since the get together is traditionally held in the DRA park… and the park has just been landscaped and top-dressed with grass seed… it makes no sense to chew up the lawn before it’s even had a chance to poke its head above ground. So the DRA is waiting on Mother Nature to work her magic and frame Dunvegan’s impressive new play structures in a sea of Kentucky Blue (or depending on the seed selected, Shamrock Green). This will also give the Township time to complete the park’s new signage. As you may recall, it will henceforth be known as the Clark-MacIntosh Park after the late Leslie Clark and Weldon MacIntosh. These two local farmers were the driving force behind the formation of the Dunvegan Recreation Association in the early 1970s.
When the DRA’s plans for the 2019 version of Meet Your Neighbours have been firmed up, I’ll be sure to announce it here. In the meantime, the hardworking DRA volunteers deserve credit for doing such a wonderful job of landscaping both the park and around the new entrance to the community hall. I could hardly believe my eyes as I drove by the first time. Job well done.
Why bother?
If the world is trying to save pixels, I have one suggestion that would eliminate one entire page from virtually every web site on the planet. Get rid all the “Contact Us” pages. In my experience they serve little or no useful purpose. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve accepted a site’s invitation to fire off an e-mail inquiry or submit an on-line form only to wait for a reply that never comes. It’s the on-line equivalent of the “Sounds of Silence.” Why bother pretending you want to hear from clients, customers, constituents and the like, if your Contact Us page is connected to a big black pipe that sends incoming messages deep into outer space?
Back in the days when I was helping Telco companies promote call centres — inboundcentres to help customers with problems, NOT outbound ones to interrupt people at dinner — I would repeatedly recommend that owners and top executives anonymously call their main phone number to experience, first hand, how their customers were being treated. The same approach could apply to Contact Us pages. Try filling out your organization’s on-line contact form and see what happens. If yours is like the vast majority of Canadian web sites, I bet you’ll be in limbo until the cows come home.
-30-