Saturday, June 17, 2017

The Saint Catharines Museum at the Welland Canal in Ontario, Canada





shares the Niagara Region's
history with visitors.










I admire the antique car
in the lobby.

This 1905 Oldsmobile
Touring Run About was
built here.








What's that?   It's a stone Imp.

This Imp is a replica of 
the Imp at the Lincoln









Imps are minor mythical creatures that crave the spotlight.  To get attention, they play practical jokes and perform small acts of magic.  Because they are small, Imps and their actions often go unnoticed. Visitors are encouraged to look for Imps as they tour the museum.

Lock 3 of the Welland Canal is the setting for the Saint Catharines Museum.  Its history is linked with the area's economic growth.  





businessman & politician
was the major force behind
the building of the Welland
Canal.





As a businessman, Merritt wanted to sell his products to more customers and knew that many others would see the benefit of the canal which would connect the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.





Construction of the Welland
Canal was a major public
works project that increased
trade throughout the region.






A model of the John A. France.







Christened on August 26, 1960, the ship is 722.5 feet long and has one million feet of cargo space. That's a lot of ship, and cargo traversing the Great Lakes and the Welland Canal.





The Freedom Seekers
Exhibit depicts Canada's
history of slavery &










Heading North was not enough when fleeing slavery.  Escaped slaves needed to go to places where they could live freely, without fear of recapture and return to their owners.  Crossing into Canada guaranteed that escapees were not subject to American laws.  





Escaped slave, Harriet Tubman,
shepherded hundreds of runaways
on their journeys North
to Freedom.






During the Civil War Harriet served as a nurse in the Carolinas and Florida, tending the injured and ill.  She also served as a scout and spy for Colonel James Montgomery and the Second Carolina Volunteers.

After the war, she lived in Auburn, New York and supported the home she established for aged Negroes with  with royalties from her biography.





slavery in 1838 & became a
world renowned Abolitionist.











His oratory, biographies and work as a newspaper editor advanced the cause of freedom for enslaved Americans.  His books, speeches and newspapers made their way north to Canada.

Through the 1700s and 1800s numerous Negro Settlements were established in Ontario, Canada where they faced segregation and discrimination.  Saint Catherines was the setting for the Militia Day Riot in 1852.  Black troops were singled out for praise following a Drill Inspection.  White soldiers were offended.  Insults were hurled.  An angry crowd burned the Colored Village.  Residents were partially compensated for their losses by the government.





Also manufactured in Saint
Catharines....  this 1912




There's an Imp!

Will I see a mischievous
act, or a little magic?










I continue to tour the Saint Catharines Museum and patiently wait for mischief, magic....





Gideon Sunback's creation of the
Zipper manufacturing machine
led to the construction of the













Canadians fought, &
died in the trenches
during World War I.




Saint Catharines Museum
remembers the area's
servicemen  & women,
& remembers the fallen.










Canadians love sports....  Hockey, Curling and....






Lacrosse, an ancient First
Nations game, brings people
together in tough competition.





Women's Lacrosse is
highly competitive.







I turned a corner, and didn't find an Imp.  I was surprised and pleased to find a A Christmas Story movie display.  This film has become a holiday classic and is shown continuously on some TV stations in December.





was the location where Flick got
 his tongue stuck to the flagpole.
There are more exhibits to peruse while looking for Imps.  As for mischief and magic, it was a quiet day.

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