Village Squire, 1980-08, Page 11BY SUSANNE JONES
One of the best ways to enhance the perception of history we
gain from books is to experience early Canadian life through the
buildings and everyday objects of the past. London's Fanshaw
Pioneer Village has successfully recreated the atmosphere in
which settlers worked and played, and worshipped, and learned.
Conceived in 1956. and opened in 1959, the Village project was
under the direction of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board,
who sought the advice of Dr. Wilfred Jury, Director of Western's
Museum of Indian Archaeology and Pioneer Life. Dr. Jury
became technical advisor for the village and also donated many
pioneer artifacts collected by himself and his father, Amos Jury.
The results are both charming and informative. Over twenty
buildings are placed in an L-shaped street setting --about an
hour's comfortable stroll, with plenty of time to read the
descriptions of the exhibits. The first structure inside the gate is
a log cabin dating from the 1850's, complete with stone fireplace,
spinning wheel, and homespun cloth. Out side is a sundial and
an attractive herb garden. and nearby are a log stable and barn.
The old log cabin at Fanshawe Pioneer
Village.
The stable contains many early farm tools, and in the barn are a
number of sleighs, wagons, dog carts, and a one -seated vehicle
seemingly propelled by hand throttles.
Next comes the Orangeman's Hall, originally from the Purple
Hill division, near Leesboro, West Nissouri. In the vestibule are
pictures made of wool or feather wreaths, and others of flowers
shaped from finely braided human hair collected from combs and
pillows. Inside are portraits of Gladstone and the Prince and
Princess of Wales, the inevitable pot belly stove, two pianos and
a carved wooden lectern. The hall was the center of all social
activities, such as dances, meetings and weddings.
WHITEWASHED
Beside the Hall is the Lochaber Free Presbyterian Church
which originally stood in East Williams Township. It is a
whitewashed building with a picket fence, and a shed in the back
for horses and buggies. The church boasts two stoves --a small
one near the front, and a larger one at the back with a wood box
and stove irons. Also at the back is a photograph of the first
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, held in
1874. There is no organ in the church; psalms were sung by the
congregation, with the aid of a tuning fork stuck by a presenter.
The next two buildings are schools; the first, a replica of a one
room log school, was actually built in 1967. There are only four
double desks and a bench at the back, which denotes that classes
were very small. On the walls are old maps of Middlesex and
Elgin Counties, and of Central and Western Ontario. At the front
is a portrait of Queen Victoria above a small, square, teacher's
desk, and nearby is a stool with a rather ominous black dunce cap
resting on it.
A second school house made of brick now houses a variety of
historical items including the desk originally owned by John
Law, who in 1853 was the proprietor of Law's Bell and Brass
Works in London. His bells can be seen in the Village General
Store. There are models of children's sleighs and dog carts, and
old hand -operated calculators and early typewriters that would
make any modern office worker thankful to be born in the
twentieth century.
QUILTS ON DISPLAY
Quilts, lacework, and beadwork are on display, as well as a
number of pioneer "appliances" such as a peanut roaster, a
sausagemaker, a cheese press and a butter churn. Sometimes we
lose sight of the innovations made by former generations, and
need to be reminded of their resourcefulness.
At one end of the main street is a model of an early fire hall,
with an old brass bell which children love to ring. Nearby is the
Free Press Building erected and equipped by the London Free
Press for the 1967 Centennial. Inside is a "Washington" hand
press, similar to the one used by William Sutherland, when he
printed the Free Press in the 1850's. Every line of type was set
by hand; a type "stick" was used to hold the letters that were
picked one at a time from the type case. When the stick was filled
the lines were placed on a galley, and when the column was filled
in this manner it, in turn, was transferred to a type frame,which
would hold a "made up" page.
After being planed down with a plane and mallet, it would be
"locked up" with "coin keys" and placed on the "bed" of the
press. Ink was rolled on the "form", a sheet of paper placed on
it, and an impression was made. One of the cabinets in the Free
Press Building belonged to the Paris Star where Josiah
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little ;11tui
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BAYFIELD, ONTARIO, CANADA
BOX 102 — PHONE BAY FIELD 565-2611
A delightful 120 year old coaching inn to stay in,
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FOR RESERVATIONS CALL 565-2611
Licensed
by L.L.B.O.
VILLAGE SOUIREIAUGUST 1980 PG. 9