Jas, Elise and Eli stopped by Montreal on their way to Newfoundland. We got to spend 3 short days with them. A highlight of the visit was a trip to Parks Canada Fur Trade Museum.
Since this is a Parks Canada site and it is a Canada Strong summer you can get Canada Strong Parks Pass for free. That means, it is free to go to the Fur Trade Museum. I love free stuff!
When I called to get more information about the museum I asked if they were running my favourite ever event--Canoeing up the Lachine Canal in a Traditional Voyageur Canoe. We did this with our kids many years ago and loved it.
The answer was YES. And even better, if you had a minimum of 4 adults, they would organize a private tour. Hooray. Here is an example of a Voyageur Canoe.
This image come from the Voyageurs Website where you can learn a lot more about these 14 person canoes that traveled between Montreal and Fort Williams (Sudbury) in just 6 short weeks. The voyageurs paddled 14 - 16 hours a day doing 60 strokes per minute. The trip home was faster clocking in at 4 weeks.
Here is our crew getting ready for action.
And us practising our strokes in two rows.
And us in action.
It was a hot day. Can you see the sweat beads on my face in the middle photo?
After the canoe ride, which involved ducking under several bridges and nearly reaching the St Laurent, we turned back and headed to the dock. The water was too rough and we didn't have enough manpower to safely navigate the actual river. We loved that our tour guides names were Rose and Thomas and the boat was called Eric. We felt like the whole family was there.
After the canoe ride, we checked out the museum. Can you guess what a major reason for the fur trade was?
Hats of course. Here is one famous type of hat made from beaver fur. The TOP HAT.
We learned about the phrase - "Mad as a Hatter", tried to differentiate 8 different types of pelts and learned about trading with the Indigenous communities.
I love this photo of Eli trying on hats.
We couldn't leave the museum without a photo of the Voyageurs.
Can you guess what song we were singing? A traditional Voyageur song to help us paddle at the rate of 60 strokes per minute.
We are wearing the traditional garb --the red hat, wool coat and ceinture de flêche. According to the website referenced above - "Other than holding his coat closed around the waist, historians also believe the sash provided back support during portages." It was needed as each Voyageur needed to be no taller than 5'7'', weigh less than 140 lbs. and be able to carry 2 bundles during portages of 90 lbs each. I tried to lift one 50lb bundle and needed two arms.
If you are in Montreal this summer, you should certainly make a visit to this museum and take adventage of the Voyageur adventure on the Lachine Canal.
It's my first morning at the lake. Everyone is asleep except me (because I am still running on Quebec time). I want to go pick raspberries but what if someone wakes up and is looking for me?
Did I spell raspberries wrong? Yes. But who cares? I always say the letter S brings good luck so add as many as you want to. Also... dyslexia.
So I leave a note on the kitchen island in front of the bouquet of Daisies Axel picked for me yesterday.
I walk out the front door and glance at the bee balm to see if I can spot any bees. It is too early. It is still cool. They must all be sleeping... like everyone else in the house.
As I start walking up the gentle hill to the raspberries, I spot Anita's fairy garden... and the fairly house I made 2 summers ago. I have not seen it yet (I had to leave before it was fired) so I excitedly divert toward it.
Hello fairy house! I didn't take off the roof to look inside, but I know that the floor has the inscription: All Fairies Welcome.
Side quest complete, I turn back to the raspberries. I start at the end of the row where the bushes are the smallest.
As I begin to pick, my fingers remember that if you have to squeeze of pull too hard for the berries to come off, they aren't ready yet. Even if they look red and delicious. But what if these are the last berries I ever get? I calm my anxiety by reminding myself that they will be there tomorrow, and maybe they will be ready then. And even if I don't get to eat them, someone else might, and even if no one does (human, bird or other -- I have been told there is a bear on the property), that is OK. It will go back to the earth.
So many delicious berries.
Can you spot how many berries were ready and have now been picked?
As I continue picking I notice that some berries that seem extra ripe do not fall off. When I pick harder and they come off I can see they are overripe and mouldy on one side. I have never noticed this before. I'll file that little bit of knowledge away in my brain -- when one of these pops off, a little squishy in your fingers, don't pop it right in your mouth.
But now I look at my hands and I'm bleeding. Stupid thorns. I wipe my hand on my jeans. But a little blood won't stop my from picking.
Did I trick you? Just raspberry juice.
As I continue my harvesting, I come across a branch that has no berries at all. I realize it is because it is not a raspberry bush. There is a little tree growing out of the patch. I remember that I have not yet thanked the raspberry patch for the gift of it's berries. I also remember that when you harvest from a plant, you should take care of it... don't take too much, maybe clear away encroach plants so that it can continue to grow and thrive. I make a mental note to come back and remove that seedling later.
I continue to pick and move my way up the row, and suddenly the sun hits me in the eye. I look up and it is nestled between two trees. What a view.
I'm noticing I can't reach all the berries on the far side of the bushes and know I can just continue picking down the other side when I get to the top. At the top end of the row, a beautiful boulder with gorgeous moss. I decide to leave a berry in case a bird lands there to rest.
And on the other side of the rock, a bush. I can tell from the dried up flower buds that it is a lilac. And suddenly I recognize the leaves of the sapling I had come across earlier. A baby lilac. Can you see that the leaves are the same?
And suddenly I let go of a worry in the back of my mind that I didn't really realize was there. When I decided 10 minutes ago that I wouldt back and remove the sapling so the raspberry bush could thrive, I was also wondering maybe I shouldn't? If it grew there, maybe it is supposed to be there. Who am I to pull it out? But now, I feel a little better about it. There is another lilac bush nearby, and it will continue to grow there.
And now, to make my way down the other side of the raspberry patch. But then I think about the fact that maybe I don't need all the ripe berries on the bush. Maybe someone walking down the road will want to pick a few berries for their journey as they pass by. We can eat the ones I have already picked. If we need more, I can go pick more. I don't need to strip the whole patch. But I decide I will still walk down the far side of the row, on the road side and just admire how beautiful they are.
As I walk, suddenly I notice the sound of the stream to my left across the road. I haven't gone into the forest to see the stream at this spot for over a decade. I decide to go check it out. First I've got to get through the ditch of boxwood bushes.
I can tell that tree ahead it as the stream.
Getting closer. Stepping through the underbrush, trying to make sure I don't trip, still carrying my container of raspberries (why didn't I leave it at the road?).
Oh sh*t. I just lost my shoe.
Just stuck under a branch, no mud, all good. It's back on my foot now, but now I see a cool flower. Take pictures so I can look it up later.
I made it to the stream, berries in hand!
Watch this to see the stream and hear its sounds. You'll get to see skunk cabbage too.
Nobody has come to find me so time to head back home. But I decide to make another side quest to leave some offerings for the forest Fairies. On my way there I pick a daisy and find a feather!!!
I also notice this beautiful white rock in the retaining wall. It's been there long enough to that some moss has made it's home in one of the cracks. I decide if I find a nice big rock down at the beach this summer, I might bring it up and add it to the wall.
Back at home I decide it is time to blog my morning adventure. But what if no one knows to find me on the deck?
Can you guess who was the first person to find me?
In the middle of Doral Pilling's account of working towards his oil interests, there is a pause in the story for a conversation about love and courting. We get several pages of Doral telling about his early encounters with Wyora Scoville, and the long and winding path that led to their marriage. It is a tale worth reading (see pages 75-81).
Part of what 'entertained me' was seeing how the quest for capital was picked up shortly after the wedding and honeymoon. Doral tells us that they were married in January of 1939, and that three months later, his dad (RW Pilling) had suggested that Doral head off to England to see if he could raise capital there, so they could proceed to drilling on Moose Dome. And so, on April Fool's Day, he told Wyora to pack her suitcase for a trip to England.
Off they went, taking the train across Canada, to Quebec, where they boarded "The Duchess of Atholl" and travelled first class across the sea. Doral recounts the adventures of their time on the ship (which includes all the food, and entertainment, and the challenges of keeping food down on stormy seas).
As I was reading his account, I found myself thinking of the Doral and Wyora on the ship, particularly given how much time Arta, Wyona, Moiya and Glen have spent travelling the seas in this way over the past two decades. As I was thinking also about how much I have heard the aunts and uncles talking about specific boats, I got to wondering about the Duchess of Atholl, so I went out to gather a bit more information.
As I read, I was reminded that one aspect of of ocean liner travel, especially in the early years, was also about drawing immigrants from Europe to start a new life in Canada. And indeed, one of my searches on the Canadian Pacific line and the Duchess of Atholl took me to this Norway Heritage site, which documents immigrant travels. I found myself thinking about the film Titanic, and how it documents the two sides of ocean travel: the first-class luxury on the upper decks, and the crowded spaces of immigrant transit on the bottom. The Titanic sunk in 1912. But by the late 1920s, the ships were starting to upscale - a focus on "Cabin and Tourist Class" passengers, with less space dedicated to 'steerage or third class' or immigrant travel.
And so, the Duchess of Atholl is part of this shift. The ship was built in Scotland for the Canadian Pacific Line in 1928. While at first this made me raise an eyebrow (a ship for a train line?!), I found myself remembering that those great hotels of the early century (The Empress, the Banff Springs, the Chateau Laurier, etc) were also CP Hotels, part of a network of encouraging folks to travel across the county. So, it made some sense. It was interesting to look at some of the promotional materials: "39% less ocean!" This is not the ship for a 4 month luxury cruise, but is rather one which gives a feeling of luxury for those having access to greater travel.
Duchess of Atholl National Portrait Gallery collection photo by Walter Stoneman, 1925
My next question was about the name on the ship itself. Not uncommon for ships to be named after women, so... who was this Duchess of Atholl? Her name was Katharine Marjory Stewart Murray (1874-1960). In 1923, she was the first woman elected to the Scottish Parliament. Interesting, since she had been the Vice-President of the Anti-Suffrage League in 1913. Well, votes for women did arrive in 1918, so I guess she had time to change her mind! :-).
She also starting making moves to the 'left' in terms of increasing activism against fascism, such that she was referred to as The Red Duchess. She finally was in a conflict with Chamberlain over his belief that he could negotiate peacefully with Hitler (she had read Mein Kampf in the original German rather than in the watered down English, and predicted trouble ahead). Both she and Winston Churchill resigned their posts in protest over this in 1938. Her predictions unfortunately played out.
In December of 1938, The Duchess of Atholl was unsuccessful in her bid for re-election as an independent. At about the same time, Wyora and Doral were getting married. About 4 months later, in April of 1939, Wyora and Doral travelled across the ocean to Britain. Anyways, a very interesting story!
War was declared in September of 1939.
But back to the boat itself. On December 30 of 1939, The Duchess of Atholl was requisitioned for trooping duties. I found myself wondering if Steve's dad Len Carter had travelled across the ocean in 1940 to England on this very boat?
The boat finally found its end on October 10 of 1942, when it was torpedoed by a german U-Boat off the coast of Acension Island. Most of the people on board were saved. Here is a link to an account by a telegraphist who heard the SOS call from the sinking boat: https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/30/a2987030.shtml
Other funny links? I found one person's story of coming as a refugee from England to Canada in 1940 on the Duchess of Atholl, and settling in Salmon arm: James Lang, "Evacuation to Canada" (25 July 2005)
A niece contacted me today for my MIL’s bread recipe. I knew the recipe came from my dad’s mom Billie who gave it to my mom’s sister Arta who gave it to my MIL Shirley over 50 years ago when they lived in Grand Prairie. They didn’t keep in touch after Grand Prairie, but both Arta and Shirley made bread almost daily for decades. 25ish years after Grand Prairie, I met my husband and they reconnected. Here is the bread recipe that stood the test of time (2 different quantities, be careful reading it!). Arta's lovely cursive writing adds information about the recipe and a modification for hot cross buns.
May 8th arrived. Arta's birthday. She would have been 86. I spent the early part of the morning looking at old photos of Arta, and wondering what she would have been doing on her birthday if she were still with us.
I suspected it would have been something to meet the deep curiosity that was always a part of her life.
And then, photos from Moiya and Janet started coming in from out at the lake: an 18-wheeler truck loaded up with steel girders was stuck at the '5 corners' part of the road at the lake, just above Arta's place, and right into the lovely stream with all the skunk cabbages.
Steel girders!? All I could think of was the number of times when, faced with a difficult problem in life, Arta would say, "Well, gird up your loins!" :-).
Gotta say.... confronted with the problem of so many girders, I had a whole new set of questions about the protection these particular 'girds' had to offer. And as Richard commented, "Somebody's in trouble...."
And how the heck were folks going to get THIS particular blockage unblocked? As Moiya pointed out, it was customer appreciation day at Askews, but now there was not a way for her to get out the road so she could pick up some discount-priced Hawkin's Cheesies (would this denial of access to snack foods count as 'damages' for the purposes of a law suit?!)
So many questions! We all agreed that if Arta were there, she would be setting up a lawn chair so she could follow her curiosity as to how folks were going to muddle their way through this puzzle.
People 'in charge' were on site trying to problem-solve in no time. Apparently there is a towing company in town with the right kind of truck for the job (which is apparently worth over a million dollars), but the owner was not comfortable with the idea of trying to bring it in via the old east road. No surprise there. Two stuck trucks would be worse than one stuck truck.
[LATER...]
Anita replied with another block of photos she took (below). She said:
"The incident happened somewhere between 10:30 and 11:00am, and it was resolved around 7pm. It was interesting to see the crane lift the trailer onto the road and then another tow truck pull it over. Doral said this was better than a movie!"
So I guess all the lake folks are good now on driving in for the Hawkins cheesies. The challenge was resolved, and those girders are off to do their work in the world. Happy Birthday Arta!
[STILL LATER...]
In response to my request for yet MORE pictures, Moiya sent me a bunch (five!) of video footage she had taken. Here are some links to those (I uploaded them to youtube). It is like watching an old episode of "Mighty Machines"!
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