The Port Maitland,
Festival of History Continues to Grow!
It sometimes
is hard to express the regret we may have for not being exposed to
more local history while in school without blaming our teachers
for that omission. Please understand we may not know who was at
fault, but it was not you! It also seems every year as I prepare
my article in advance of the Port Maitland, Festival of History, I
fall back on the same old theme. This being; what we missed and
how we regret not learning more about local history! Maybe this
void is the Spirit who drives us to put in the many hours
throughout the year preceding the festival, finding participants
and sponsors and dealing with all the details required to put on
such a show. Whatever the reason, the result is a festival which
tells much of our local history. This year, in addition to the
one-hundred and twenty volunteers who will man/woman the
fifty-five displays, it will take forty plus volunteers to put on
the festival.
In 1994, I purchased a couple postcards,
one showing the Ellis Hotel at Port Maitland, and the other
depicting the Ellis Hotel in a street scene, also at Port
Maitland. I knew it was no Port Maitland I had ever seen, but what
the heck, I was not that old and maybe Port Maitland looked like
this during its hay days of tourism! The cards were shown to my
late friend, Earl Siddall who pondered them for a considerable
time and said, "Not here!" After some discussion, we
concluded it must be another Port Maitland. But where! There is a
Dunnville, in Newfoundland. There are rivers named the Grand,
flowing into nearly every large waterway on the continent, but
where is there another Port Maitland? Finally, one of us, I do not
recall who, said "How about Nova Scotia?" Out came the
atlas and whalla, Port Maitland Nova Scotia! I gave Earl a scanned
copy of the Ellis Hotel card. He had a lot of fun with a now
former Port Maitland fellow whom shall remain nameless, explaining
to him where exactly the Ellis Hotel once stood in Port Maitland
ONTARIO. He told great stories about its owners and of the many
functions which took place there. Earl went to his grave sticking
to this misrepresentation, never telling the gentleman the real
story!
In September 1996, my wife and I took a trip to
Maine, in an attempt to locate long lost relatives. We failed, but
we continued up the east coast and on to Nova Scotia, until we
reached Yarmouth. Before taking the ferry back to Bar Harbor
Maine, we made the short trip to Port Maitland. There we met a
fellow by the name of Craig Crocker a local history nut and the
manager of the Port Maitland, Co-op Lobster Company. Craig showed
us where the Ellis Hotel once really did stand and then told us
how Port Maitland had once been a thriving tourist and fishing
village, where tourists came from far and wide to visit the port
with its large fishing fleet. Sounded much like Port Maitland
Ontario!
Not one word . . ., no not word "one",
of our tourist and commercial fishing history was ever spoken in
our local history class. Nor do I recall much mention of the fact
following the War of 1812, Port Maitland had a naval base with as
many as nineteen buildings and numerous ships stationed there. We
did hear something of Senator McCullum, and his importance to
Stromness, but we were never taught about the fact that in 1900,
Port Maitland reputedly had the largest commercial fishing fleet
on the Great Lakes. We never learned tourism was not only a good
source of income, but Port Maitland was considered by many wealthy
Americans to be the best place on Lake Erie and maybe further
afield to spend ones summer relaxing and fishing. We never learned
of the large number of sailing yachts that visited this area from
all the ports on Lake Erie, nor were we ever taught that
Port
Maitland was the terminus for many a large passenger
ship that ran regular excursions into and out of the Port. We also
never learned about the flight training school at the Dunnville
Airport during WWII, nor did we learn there were many other
similar airport and army camps located throughout our area. We
never learned that for years the famous Bohemian Sketch Club of
Buffalo, spent their summers at Port, and how under their
leadership they formed The Art Students League of Buffalo. Each
summer for nearly thirty years a new generation of aspiring
artists came to Port Maitland to discover the inspirations and
skills required of great painters. Their annual pilgrimage began
as early as 1892, and lasted into the teen years of the 20th
century, producing thousands of local sketches. Few can be found
today!
As with many rural communities, families who
arrived early stayed late, and married into each other’s
households. Our community has a rich history of local families.
When family information is charted we find the reason for the
expression offered to visitors and new corners alike in smaller
communities: "Watch what you say about people in this town.
Everyone is related to someone else!" Times have changed.
Family members now move away more then in the past. Still, it
remains surprising the connections remaining between area
families. Today we are connected through common great, great,
great grandparents, as apposed to grandparents as in the past!
On
Saturday July 24th, from 10:00 a.m., to 4:00 p.m., the Fourth Port
Maitland, Festival of History Entrance to the Grand, will be held
at the Dunnville Airport. As they did last year the, RCAF # 6
Dunnville Inc. have opened their hanger and their museum to us. We
have grown from thirty-five displays in 2003, to fifty-five this
year. In addition, this year, the Niagara Skydive Centre, has
donated a portion of their facility for our use. The tarmac will
also be put to good use displaying a number of outdoor
exhibits.
With fifty-five displays, it is not possible
to name all the exhibitors, but I will attempt to give you an
overview. We have the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and of
course my good friend Pig-Skin-Pete from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
will be back. Someday I must tell you Paul's real name! Whoops! A
number of area funeral directors will display their antique
hearses, while local antique boat owners and restorers will
display their crafts . Genealogy displays will play a major part
in the festival, as will local postcard collectors who have
documented much of our history in their collections. Antique
decoys, quilts, bottles and photographs will be displayed, as will
fire equipment and historic displays for a number of local
churches. This year we have for our first time, a display
depicting black history. We will also be joined by a prominent
writer on that subject. The Boy Scouts have not been forgotten,
nor have the O.P.P. You will find numerous authors of local
history books, most making their books available for sale, but
more importantly they are there just to talk with you.
To
this day, the debate goes on among those interested in these
things as to when the Feeder Canal was last used and for what
purpose. Recently, I became interested in the restoration of the
Port Maitland Lock, an original lock from the second Welland
Canal. This lock was built, to allow ship traffic to travel up and
down the Grand River past Dunnville, as well as to provide the
first direct connection to Lake Erie for the Welland Canal. You
will have the opportunity to learn more about it, as well as the
Mohawk Island, for which there is also restoration movement afoot.
These two engineering achievements are connected, as they were
both built by the same engineer, John Brown. The stone for both
projects came from the Queenston quarry. On a bit of a side note,
a number of lighthouses on Lake Huron were also built by John
Brown. Representing one of John Brown's lighthouses at
Southampton, is the Chantry Island Lighthouse Institutes
display.
It is hard to think of any historic interest
which is not being displayed. We will have a couple local artists,
both prepared to demonstrate not only their artwork, but the
process they follow as they form their thoughts and visions into a
medium we can understand and enjoy.
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Port Maitland, Nova
Scotia
Light
House Port Maitland circa 1900
Wm. A. Warnick Postcard
collection
Ross,
Frank drying nets on eastside of river
Earl M. Siddall
collection
Slugging
nets at Earlee June Fisheries Evelyn Vaughan, Hazel Grant
Daughters of John W. Mckee and Caroline E. Thompson
Genealogy, cannot be considered in the Niagara
Peninsula without taking a good look at the possible connection
our family may have with the United Empire Loyalist. The U.E.L.
will be well represented. Their displays are a must see, if you
are serious about learning your families U.E.L. history. At the
opposite end of the spectrum is the subject of ones loyalty to the
United States. During the American Civil War, many young Canadian
men joined-up and served in the States. Check out the Civil War
display and find out why!
This year, in addition to
displays of antique fishing equipment, we will also have for the
first time, a few current fishermen/women demonstrating their
expertise of making and repairing gill nets. Talk to the fishermen
about their profession, but be wary! I have never met a fisherman
yet, unwilling to talk, or who does not love to pull ones leg or
tell a long and tall tale, to friend or foe!
Maritime
history is the history of Port Maitland. Agricultural history is
the history of Dunn and Sherbrooke Townships. Admittedly, we have
not yet gathered the number of agriculture displays we would like
to see. Maybe you will visit us and take back good reports to some
of your agricultural historian friends, and next year they may
join us. We have done a good job, putting together social history
displays, as well as maritime displays, be they of the Welland
Canal, the Feeder Canal, lighthouses or commercial fishing. We
have touched on taking care of our dead, while at the same time
preserving their memories. We have reminded ourselves of our
differing faiths. We have taken time to recognize the labour and
skills required by our ancestors to eke out a living. Come see
what the spirit name Regret has put together for the 4th annual
Port Maitland, Festival of History.
Admission is by
donation. The Port Maitland Festival of History support a number
of local history projects, including the Port Maitland Lock
restoration, the Mohawk Island lighthouse restoration. Pets are
better left at home, as we have no facilities to care for them and
they will be happier not be trodden on by hundreds of big feet.
Food and drink is available, as is adequate parking. The local Air
Cadets will assist you with your parking, so you might save a
twonie or two to drop into their donation can as you leave the
parking lot (Yes spelled twonie!). Coming from Dunnville, cross
the river to Byng, then head for Port Maitland, by turning at the
Avondale/ESSO Station. The airport is about three kilometers from
the village of Byng. Enter at the main gate. You will see a hanger
to your left with a large sign telling you, you are approaching
the RCAF # 6 hanger. We'll be there!
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