VILLAGE TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
- A trip to the city was news worthy. A trip to Toronto was akin to foreign travel. Those who travelled west each fall for the harvest told stories of the trip and harvesting that eclipsed the travels of
Selkirk to the Red River Valley. Those who did any kind of travel, whether a once in a lifetime trip or a special journey, would
relate their experience for months or even years for willing listeners.
- One summer vacation Miss Coulthard, the supreme ruler of the local village school, journeyed to eastern Ontario to view the Thousand Islands, traverse the Long Sault Rapids via steamer and spent several days in Montreal. Classes studying Canadian geography heard the minute details of the area from a person who had viewed the landscape. The history of the voyageurs and fur
traders of the early seventeenth century became real when outlined by a teacher who had followed their voyage along the St. Lawrence River. You could picture the big birchbark canoes loaded with furs navigating the rapids.
- People who travelled to Canada from "over home" always could tell stories of the "old country" and the boat trip that brought them to Monreal or Halifax. The veterans who recently returned from the war in Europe had many stories of travel after they left their village homes for an army camp.
- The village had one person who could relate the experiences of his travels in the Northwest Territories while he was a Mountie. Dan LaCount entertained the village children on occasion with his exciting stories of pursuing dangerous criminals as they fled across the frozen north. We went to the movies to see Nelson Eddy or Dick Powell play the part of a Mountie but their exploits could never compare with a fearless R.C.M.P. officer like Dan.
- A trip to the Canadian National Exhibition via the special train was subject matter for stories for a whole year and in some cases a lifetime. Some of the villagers only went once to the Exhibition during their whole life. During the winter the gatherings in the barbershop heard about the fat cattle, jumping horses and the spectacular acts of the grandstand. The amount of leg that Fluffy from Paris exposed while giving her exotic dance during the girlie show, this story was for men's ears only. Most likely Fluffy spent the winter plying her trade along the Toronto tenderloin. Ladies in the village still wore long dresses and a glimpse of local leg was purely accidental.
- The advent of the family automobile changed the travel habits for many people. Some villagers even drove as far as Detroit to visit relatives who had been attracted to the automotive capital after the great War. Once the highway between London and Windsor was paved you could make the hundred mile trip in about five to six hours. The stories after the trip to Detroit were outstanding. All Canadian cars were searched at the border for booze or smuggled illegal immigrants. Detroit drivers drove like maniacs and there was always the suspicious character who the village traveller pegged as a gangster. One village traveller frequently told about seeing Al Capone drive down Woodward Ave., "right past several Detroit policemen".
- The village had some seasoned travellers. Ernie McCracken had driven from California to the village in the mid '20s. Joe Kidd moved to the west coast of U.S.A. and returned home several times. Dr. Thompson the veterinarian travelled to France to purchase a percheron stallion; Gordon Richardson had been to western Canada for the harvest. My mother and father travelled by train from London to Montreal on their honeymoon in 1915 and mother had many stories to tell about the meals in the dining car and some of the sights along the way.
- Missionaries of the United Church gave a slide presentation on occasion, of their activities in China, India or an African country. The children of the community talked about these travelogues for several days; it sure was an insight into the geography of another country.
- One year in the mid '20s, the Chautauqua came to Strathroy and an afternoon presentation was about Hawaii. The lecturer showed many pictures of the islands and one I always remember, was a series of colored pictures of an active volcano.
- The villagers had many stories to tell about their own travels, be they ever so limited; the travels of a relative always made for good conversation and the tales told by those who have journeyed to distant points were of the greatest interest.
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