HomeMy WebLinkAboutNorth Huron Visitors' Guide, 1988-06-15, Page 11NORTH HURON VISITORS' GUIDE PAGE 11.
Old CPR engine provides hands-on
experience for kids of all ages
This old CPR engine has long been
a favourite of children.
Continued from page 9
some of the larger pieces of
machinery in the collection.
The domestic life of Huron
county is portrayed in the next set
of galleries. Eventually the south
ern part of the second floor will be
Volunteer board now runs
School-on-Wheels museum
Continued from page 8
Railway, a slow freight brought
what was left of old 15089 into
Clinton, to the cheers of a throng of
schoolchildren who had been given
a special holiday for the historic
occasion. In time, it was moved to
itsfinal resting place at Sloman
Park on the banks of the Bayfield
River, just two blocks from where
Huron’s Mennonite
country
While the Elmira-St. Jacob area is generally known as
Mennonite country in Ontario, Huron County also has its
own Mennonite community.
Over the last 20 years a considerable number of
old-order Amish have moved into the county, particularly
into West Wawanosh township. They continue to live a
rural lifestyle left behind generations ago by their
farming neighbours. Horses and buggies are still the
method of travel. Horses provide the power for farm
work. Electricity was actually taken out of many farm
houses when the Amish moved in. They have their own
schools and generally have created their own “ life apart’ ’
despite moving into a long-settled community.
The centre of the West Wawanosh is the St. Augustine
to St. Helens area, particularly around St. Helens.
Several sawmills have sprung up to provide for the needs
of the Mennonite farmers.
Amish people don’t like to have their pictures taken so
if you are travelling through the Amish area it would be
mannerly not to bother them.
St. Helens in the heart of Amish country can be reached
by turning east at Belfast off Huron County Road 1 south
of Lucknow. It can also be reached the long way by
travelling west on East Wawanosh Concession 10 (the
first concession north of Belgrave) but a warning that this
year there is bridge construction over the Maitland.
divided up into home settings
which will display the kind of
lifestyle people lived.
Downstairs comes the most
imposing display of all. The history
hall is a huge two-storey room
dominated by a full-sized CPR
steam engine. The engine is the
ultimate in hands-on experience.
Children (of all ages) can crawl into
the cab a nd dream about what it
would be like to be the engineer,
even getting to pull the cord to ring
the bell.
Down both sides of the history
hall will eventually be shop fronts,
turning it into a main street from
another time. Here the museum’s
collection of fire equipment will
be in the fire hall; the undertakers
shop and other shops of local
businesses.
Even ascending the central
staircase of the museum will
Mrs. Sloman and Margaret still
live, in the house where Fred
Sloman was born. Margaret now
serves as the School Car’s curator
and groundskeeper, and Mrs.
Sloman is bright and active at the
age of 91.
A volunteer board of directors
was installed to oversee the
provide an educational experience
withthebirds and animals display
ed in a three-storey class show
case.
With the new addition complet
ed the museum can now become a
year-round operation unlike the
old days when the barn-like,
u ninsu la ted display area meant
that the museum closed with the
first frosts.
Admission to the museum is still
one of the bargains for family
outings at $2 for adults, $1.50 for
students and $1 for children but a
family rate of only $5 per family.
May 1 to Labour Day the museum is
open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday
through Saturday and 1-4 on
Sundays. During the fall and
winter season the museum is open
10a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to
Friday, closed Saturday and open 1
to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
reconstruction and promotion of
the School on Wheels, and thou
sands of hours of work, most of it on
a volunteer basis, have gone into
the refurbishing of the Car as it can
be seen today. Still much work
remains to be done, and projects
have been named in order of
priority, for completion as funding
becomes available.
A portion of the School Car’s
annual operating budget comes in
the form of a grant from the Town of
Clinton, and generous donations
have been received from both the
Masonic Foundation of Ontario,
South Huron District and from the
Charles H. Ivey Foundation of
London and Willowdale, but the
majority of the upkeep expenses,
curator’s honorarium and ongoing
restoration costs must be raised
through both memberships and
private donations, while the board
of directors continuesto pursue
additional corporate funding.
All donations are welcome, and
tax receipts will be issued for any in
excess of $10.
The School on Wheels is situated
at Sloman Memorial Park, just
west of Highway 4 at the Town of
Clinton’s southern limits (Clinton
is 10 miles south of Bly th, at the
junction of Highways 4 and 8).
Follow the “Ontario Historic Site’ ’
signs: turn west just north of the
bridge, on to Victoria Terrace. The
School on Wheels is just two blocks
away, at the corner of Victoria
Terrace and Matilda Street.
The School Car is normally open
to visitors from 2 - 5 p.m. on
weekdays, and from 11 a.m. to 7
p.m. on weekends and holidays,
although it may be closed in bad
weather due to the risk of damage
to the floors. In addition, it will be
open for several hours following all
performances of “Fires in the
Night, ’ ’ for those who wish to visit
the scene of the play’s action.
There is no admission charge, and
the Car is accessible to wheel
chairs.
Further information about
‘ ‘ Fires in the Night ’ ’ and tickets for
the production may be obtained by
contacting the Blyth Festival at
519-523-9300 or 519-523-9225. But
hurry-ticketsforsomeofthe 16
performances may already be sold
out.
The School on Wheels may be
contacted at Box 488, Clinton,
Ontario, N0M 1L0, or by calling
519-482-9583 between 7 - 9 p.m.
Dolls from china
to Cabbage Patch displayed
Continued from page 10
generations, only coming to light
again a few years ago. Some of the
newest dolls are several Cabbage
Patch Kids, belonging to Tara and
Kathi, and in between are others
representing all the popular styles
loved by small girls everywhere
throughout history.
Two of the most cherished dolls
in the museum are “Ella’’ and
“Bella,’’ small dolls with heads of
fine bisque china, which were
donated by Mrs. A.M. Dunbar,
now of London but formerly from
Ethel; the pair were Mrs. Dunbar’s
beloved childhood companions,
and date from about 1910, Mrs.
Hamilton says.
There are also several of the
large baby dolls, popular in the
1930’s and 1940’s, with “composi
tion’’ heads, arms and legs and soft
bodies; the faces of a couple of
these, which had been badly
cracked, have been painstakingly
restored by a craftsman in the
Elmira area. Others have new
clothes, in the correct style period,
sewn in exquisite detail by both
Ginny and other local seamstress
es.
There is an original “Eaton’s
Beauty’’ doll from 1914, still in its
original box with the price marked
on it - $1.95. There are character
dolls (even one of Pierre Elliott
Box Office
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Trudeau using one of his trade
mark gestures); dolls that have
been used to advertise big-name
products commercially; a musical
doll that plays “Brahm’s Lullaby’’
when wound up, and was used in
the 1987 movie “The Experts, ’ ’
starring John Travolta; and a large
number of limited edition collec
tor’s dolls from Britain’s famed
Peggy Nisbet, depicting the Bri
tish Royal family all the way from
King Henry VIII and several of his
wives, up through Prince Charles
and Lady Diana and Prince Andrew
and Lady Sarah, right up to a tiny
Prince William in a sailor suit, and
his new baby brother, Prince
Harry.
In short, the Gingerbread House
has something for everyone: be
prepared to spend a lot of time
when you go to visit!
It’s located on Howick Street in
Wroxeter, just south of Highway
87 and just north of the Maitland
River bridge, and is open from 11
a.m. to 5 p.m. every Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday from May 1
to October 31, or at other times for
tours by appointment. Admission
is $2 for adults, 50 cents for
children.
The Gingerbread House Doll
Museum can also be reached by
writing to it at Wroxeter, Ontario,
NOG 2X0, or by calling 519-335-
3830 or 519-357-2498.
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