Ten Ways to Make the Search for the Franklin Expedition More Like Indiana Jones

I’m a firm believer, as an archaeologist and as a geek, that given the chance Indiana Jones would love to be a legitimate archaeologist. It’s not his fault the Nazi’s are always trying to bring about the apocalypse. He would much rather be quietly and painstakingly troweling layer after layer of soil somewhere in the Southwest US, than be constantly shot at over religious relics he doesn’t even believe in.

That being said, I was a little uncomfortable with the Canadian Government comparing the search for the two Franklin Expedition ships with an Indiana Jones adventure, seeing as he pretty much makes his living stealing priceless artefacts from countries that are not his own, from people he has no legitimate cultural connection to.

The 22nd Annual Siege Weekend at Old Fort Erie

My best friend Kate is an interpreter for Old Fort Erie. Like myself she is also really keen on heritage and history and has spent every Friday over the last month helping me sell Canal Days T-shirts at the Port Colborne Market. This weekend was Old Fort Erie’s 22nd Annual Siege Weekend, their biggest event of the season and Kate asked if I was interested in helping out, so of course I volunteered!

August 14th, 1814 marked the beginning of the bloodiest series of battles to ever take place on Canadian soil. These battles took place over Old Fort Erie, and are considered by some as a turning point in the War of 1812, signaling the beginning of the American retreat and eventual defeat. (Although many Americans claim otherwise, instead calling this war ‘The Second War of Independence’. Since the United States maintained their independence, they obviously must have won… Oh, the follies of interpretation.)

Queen Victoria is watching you pee.

I love the Queen as much as any other member of the British Commonwealth ought to, but I still can’t understand why every time nature calls here at the Museum I am met face to face with Victoria the Glorious.

On the wall opposite to Vicky, above and beside the toilet is, of course, Queen Elizabeth II. She sports a lovely 60’s frock that makes me remember just how hip the Windsors used to be. I bet she still has this dress somewhere. How retro would it be if she wore that to her next parade? (Or to whatever sort of event the Queen attends these days…)

I suppose I’d be more worried about it if I had a nervous bladder, but after three months of working here I’ve made my peace with the Ladies Throne Room, as it were.

A month from now I’ll be living in Toronto and I daresay I’ll miss my daily audiences with the Queen(s).

Canal Days!: An Exhaustion-Induced Photopost

If you were wondering what all of the fuss is about, here’s your chance to see for yourself:

My Very First Exhibit:

First off: This weekend is the 30th Annual Canal Days celebration! So if you live in or around the Niagara Area I highly recommend coming down (or up!) to my normally sleepy little town. It’s an experience like no other, especially at the Museum, where the whole thing began 29 years ago!

There will be tons to do on the Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum grounds. We’ll have Live Music, Country Boys food, and Historical Re-enactors. The infamous Model Boat Show will be ongoing throughout both days. Heritage Artisans will show off their crafts, giving demonstrations and selling their products. For the kids there is a Peddler’s Wagon Heritage dress up and picture booth, face painting and free train rides around the grounds, provided by the Niagara Antique Power Association. Our Marine Expo will be really exciting this year, including an amazing Ship Navigation Bridge simulator, which consists of three huge LCD flat screens and an amazingly realistic ship console.

And that’s only a portion of what will be going down of Museum grounds this weekend!

</Canal Days Plug>

Okay, now I can move on to what I’m really excited about:

One of our Heritage Artisans backed out at the beginning of the week. This left us with a huge gaping hole of empty space in the Carriage House. Guess what?!? The assistant curator let me design a small exhibit to fill the space!

1901 Neff Steam Buggy

Yesterday we had a family visit from Pennsylvania, which isn’t too out of the ordinary for the Archives. A lot of families immigrated to the Port Colborne/Humberstone area from Pennsylvania in the early to mid 1800’s, mostly for the cheap (to free) land. Because of this we get a lot of genealogists from the US tracking their family trees into Canada.

This family was particularily special.

The grandfather was from Texas, if you couldn’t tell from his accent, then you could certainly tell by his sense of humor. He told me four groan-worthy jokes before announcing that the whole family had travelled to Port Colborne just to see Benton Neff’s Steam Buggy.

This isn’t that unusual either, a lot of automobile enthusiasts come to the Port Colborne Museum to see the Steam Buggy. It is after all the oldest car still in existence in Ontario, and the second oldest in all of Canada. (Although I’m told if you go by the number of original parts, the Neff Steam Buggy would certainly be the oldest in Canada…)

Benton Neff was a flamboyant man who owned the first bicycle shop in Port Colborne. He never married, instead he liked to spend his time and money building things like big wheeled bicycles and horseless carriages. Although he never had any kids, his family is wide spread around the US, Canada, Germany and Switzerland. They have an extensive family tree available online, it comes complete with a record of genetic diseases!

So of course, I felt completely daft when the Grandfather asked: “Guess what my last name is?” and I said “Ummm, Smith?”

Ummm, No! They were Neff’s, here to see their family legacy and to learn more about the Neff’s who settled here and thrived in Port Colborne all those years ago. Grandfather Neff says that Benton was his great, great grandfathers nephew, and I believe it. Isn’t that amazing? To have such an extensive and interesting geneaology is one thing, but to have a steam-powered car to your family name is something else!

Updating…

I’ve found that one of the downsides to having an intellectually and creatively fulfilling job is that the urge to blog is severely diminished.

I apologise!

Here at the Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum, we’ve been neck-deep in Canal Days preparations. The 30th Annual Canal Days Heritage and Marine Festival has long been Port Colborne’s biggest event of the year, and this year is no exception. Between papering the city in the museum’s Canal Days flyers, helping organize contracts for the Heritage Artisan Fair, and designing a re-vamped museum grounds and heritage village site map I’ve been booked.

My afternoons with the L.R. Wilson Heritage Research Archives have been spent compiling a massive Port Colborne Historic Homes Architectural Survey. This means I’ve been digging through old deeds, photos, newspaper records and secondary sources researching heritage homes. It also means you’ll often see me wandering around the streets of Port Colborne taking pictures of our amazing built heritage.

The picture I’ve uploaded here is of 44 King St., known in Port Colborne as the Stone House or the Locktenders House. It’s one of the earliest Welland Canal-centric buildings still in existence, and very well could be my dream home. The little plaque on the door says ‘Circa 1935′, which is quite possible. I’ll soon know for sure!  

I’m kind of having an amazing time.

Fire Takes Down Historic Welland Seed Company :(

Here is another case of what seems to be demolition by neglect, or rather, demolition by fire of mysterious origin. Two nights ago the former Vaughn Seed Co. headquarters burned to the ground. The 99 year-old two-storey home, located at 111 Victoria Street in Welland, Ontario caught fire just before 8 o’clock pm. By 9:10 nothing was left of the building but the charred frame and smoldering foundation.

Talkin’ ’bout my Con-voca-ti-on!

Not that it is particularly heritage or history related, but I recently experienced the honour that for every enthusiastic Trent University student embodies the culmination of four hard years of academic achievement: Making small talk with our blessed Chancellor Roberta Bondar.

She is actually a very jovial woman, and made all of us in the front row (A-last-names and all) laugh more than once. She would say: “You guys are really lucky! The weather is much better for the group today than it was yesterday.” And I would try desperately not to ask: “Really! And how was the weather IN SPACE!?!?”

I am a university graduate! I have the aged scrolls to prove it.

Pie Socializing! (May 25th 2007)

I haven’t written in a while for a number of reasons:

I spent the Victoria Day weekend at my boyfriend’s family farm in Bruce County, which not only lacks an internet connection, but a phone line as well! The house is an amazing 19th century farmhouse. I really wanted to get some pictures, but it rained the entire time! Next time I go up there my camera and I will pray for a little sun.

Last week I got my wisdom teeth out, which in conjunction with Pie Social preparations utterly exhausted me.

What is this Pie Social you ask?

Only the best way to spend an early summer Sunday afternoon, that’s what!