Waterloo Region Museum, Part 2

A theatre  for special events such as speakers and the storytelling series that’s going on for the second season. A partition with doors tucks into the wall and closes this theatre off from the lobby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A two-sided screen and a slide show of immigrants coming to Canada by boat.

I’ll stand and look at the all the pictures next time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wall display of trunks and cases that carried worldly belongings of people who came to Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A reproduction of a painting. People used Conestoga wagons as their means of travel in earlier days.  This display was up on a wall and I couldn’t get the painter’s name. Next visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An old bell tower, next to a bricked facade of a building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One more pic for Part 2

A model of Professor Jenkins and his bicycle on the high wire on which he crossed the gorge and Niagara Falls. To think we had someone so daring!

It turns out, he was pretty smart and had much of the risk removed, something most people wouldn’t have known. Imagine the awe and excitement of people watching him cross, wondering if he’d fall off the wire, bicycle and all and into the water hundreds of feet below.

Not for me, this daring feat!

 

 

 

There’s much more to see at this attractive new museum. I hope you’ll come to see it soon. Go here for more information.

Celebrating Stories That Connect Us in Waterloo Region– Part I

 

Front entrance to Museum, off Homer Watson Boulevard

On November 12, and 13th, Waterloo Region celebrated the grand opening of the new Museum with an opening ceremony and Jazz concert on Saturday and open exhibits to the community on Sunday.

The Museum, new gateway to the Doon Heritage Village, has been long in the planning. Many historical artifacts, now on display for the public to see, have been stored away in a variety of places, waiting for such a building to house them. While the main lobby,, meeting rooms and theatre have been in use for more than a year, the exhibit area opened officially this weekend.

 

 

The coloured glass panels on the outside of the building represent the stitching on a quilt, assembling many pieces to make a whole quilt. The colours were selected from quilts to be shown in the museum and the pattern shown here by the front door spell out names of the municipalities of Waterloo Region. Planners put a great deal of thought into the design, but I’ll let you learn more about that on a tour of your own.

 

“The museum is located at the intersection of two transportation routes that crossed this property in the 19th and 20th centuries,” say the words in the program.

Indeed there is a railway track running straight through the  lobby of the museum. In the photo above, you can see the steam engine in the village, and though it looks as though the train might go right on through the building, the engine sits there, quiet and still, and a pane of glass  and some distance separates it from the interior.

The track inside is under clear flooring, the  steel rails and the wooden ties. One can walk down this track without worry.

 

Floor-to-ceiling windows allow people in the lobby to see the historic village outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this special opening weekend, a young harpist wows and relaxes us with her music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come back in a few days for Part II of my feature on the new Waterloo Region Museum. Until then, go here for more information.

 

 

Thoughts on change

Change— the thing many fear. Whether it be a change in profession,  living accommodations, or even a new opportunity.

Moving to another country and learning a new language is a brave step, often taken with great courage, because of strife in one’s homeland. Making a decision to be a better speaker, writer or singer takes courage and requires a willingness to learn new things, and that process, if undertaken with the intent to improve, involves change.

Here are a few quotes about change for you to consider today.

I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.
  – Maya Angelou

Let go of the past and go for the future. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined.

- Henry David Thoreau

 Opportunity is missed by most people, because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

-Thomas Edison

Memoir writing

I’ve been reading Country Roads: Memoirs from Rural Canada by such writers as Luanne Armstrong. Laura Best, Pamela Wallin, Ruth Latta, Gordon Tootootsis, Kay Parley, Wayne Johnston, Pamela Banting,  Keith Collier, Rudy Wiebe and many others. Accomplished writers all, with a gift of words that can take you to a place and show you around.

They write from across Canada, stories of longing for the country, stories of challenge and returning to the place of birth, if only for a visit. The authors reflect on the lens one develops from having lived in a place, whether of freedom, poverty or satisfaction.

Read it, whether you’ve come from rural Canada or always lived in a city. Read it, and discover the stories within.

Editor Pam Chamberlain, published in 2010 by Nimbus Publishing.

Les Troix Pignons and Elizabeth LeFort

In Chéticamp, there remained yet another place that showed Acadian history and arts. A museum called  les Trois Pignons focused on the home life and arts.  We paid a small price to enter and a young guide  named Catharine gave us a short introduction to the centre, after which we could look freely at the displays.

Les Trois Pignons, Chéticamp,Cape Breton Island

A cameraman from Radio Canada was filming  at the museum while we were there. He took footage of a guide who gave a lot of history on the Acadians and their lives.  We learned afterwards that the man was  visiting  a number of Cape Breton attractions, preparing for an upcoming special on tourism. He panned the museum at various points, so some of our party may be in that video.

Yvette, the guide dressed in period costume who spoke on camera, spoke to other visitors in both French and English.  She  answered our questions or came to us when we studied a particular work and told us more about the life of Elizabeth LeFort, a well known rug hooker who both dyed her own wool from sheep raised near Cheticamp and designed her own rugs.

I was fascinated by LeFort’s work, as described by Yvette. LeFort designed her own rugs and wall  hangings, drawing the picture first on paper and then on canvas before she started with the hook. Apparently some people hook freehand, but I think that her designs were better for the planning. She designed and hooked rugs of royalty, statesmen, both Canadian and American, and her faith was evident in her art, since she depicted scenes of Jesus and his disciples among other subjects. Her rugs hang in Rideau Hall, Buckingham Palace, the White House and the Vatican. Some works took a couple of weeks, others took months, but I thought it fascinating that she could hook 55 stitches a minute. That’s much faster than I can knit.

Since I showed such interest, Yvette wondered if I would be there for the upcoming book launch of Elizabeth LeFort: Canada’s Artist in Wool, by author Daniel Doucet, and published by Cape Breton University Press. Unfortunately, the book launch would be held on July 29th, after our return from holidays. I hope to obtain the book soon and read more about LeFort.

We went back the next morning before leaving Chéticamp, hoping that Yvette was there so we could get a picture. She was, and here’s our picture below.

Here’s to you, Yvette, an amazing tour guide and a skilled rug hooker too. I hope the special filming was everything you hoped for and that the launch was well attended.

Getting a lesson from Yvette as she demonstrates rug hooking with yarn.

Chéticamp and its Acadian History and Crafts

Though we had travelled the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton once before, we had not stoppped in Chéticamp. Our tourist guide book indicated there was an Acadian Museum and some history of rug hooking. I wanted to explore the community this time, so we planned an overnight stay at Laurie’s Motel.

When we drove into the coastal community, we were greeted by well-kept shops and homes painted in colourful shades of yellow, turquoise, and blue. Le Gabriel Family Restaurant, with its lighthouse entrance, served hearty fare.  Their potato and sausage soup was very tasty and filling.

After our meal at Le Gabriel, we were ready to explore the  community. We started with the small gift shop across the road, painted green and mauve. In there, we saw many crafts and art typical of the community and area. The shopkeeper, interested in knowing where we came from, regaled us with highlights of the community: L’Eglise St. Pierre, the large Catholic Church that is always open for people to come in; the Acadian Museum that we asked about, and another place too, that we discovered a bit later  further down the highway.

Chéticamp’s main street

Le Gabriel Restaurant

After the Acadian’s explusion from their lands, and when the hostilities had settled between the French and English, the Acadians went back to their lands to resettle. Discovering their property inhabited by others, they settled in another place with their families. It seems they were somewhat isolated, and so they kept their traditions and developed the community and their crafts. The women wove their own fabric, used wool from their sheep, dyed the wool and hooked rugs with detailed designs to decorate their homes. The men worked in iron and wood to make tools and build homes. Living by the water, they likely also fished as they do now.

The Acadian Museum showed the sort of tools and furniture they used, as well as showing the art of rug hooking. There was opportunity here for tourists to try out the craft. The shop sold small to large pieces of hooked rugs and mats, and also kits to try it out, as well as other items of local interest.

The day was damp with drizzle and fog, but with indoor places to explore, we still found things to do.

Acadian Museum

Guide demonstrating rug hooking with yarn, a highly developed art among Acadians.

Maryann and I trying our hand at rug hooking

L’Église St. Pierre, built in 1893 with stone taken from Chéticamp Island and hauled to the site by  horse and sleigh over the ice. The church took several years to build.

There was one more stop in Chéticamp that was most interesting, but I’ll save it for the  next blog post.