[2021-07-16] The rewards of showing interest
Today, Chris and I visited Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario. For those of you unfamiliar with this site, it was founded in 1961 and depicts life in a rural English Canadian community during the year 1866.
It was a magnificent visit—stimulating and relaxing at the same time. We enjoyed moderate temperatures and no rain. There were no crowds even though today was the first day that many buildings were once again open to the public. Most significantly, we had lots of time to talk to the tradespeople.
We spoke at length to the flour miller, the sawmiller, the wheelwright and blacksmith, and the gardeners. We also chatted with the baker, the printer, the seamstress, the shoemaker, the tavern operator, the clerk at the general store, and various farmers.
It seems that no matter how many times I visit Upper Canada Village, I always come away with a new tidbit of information and a renewed appreciation for the ingenuity and resilience of the people of that era.
What made today special is how long we could stay in one building, gleaning as much information as possible from the site's professionals. In previous years, I would have asked a few questions and then shuffled along to make room for others to ask their own questions. On this occasion, however, I could chat with the reenactors for long stretches of time.
What I found remarkable was just how much they engaged with me. Perhaps they were grateful for the opportunity to interact with visitors since today was the first day they could invite guests into their shops, homes and factories, after their delayed opening on July 1.
However, I think that the real reason they were so attentive is that I was captivated by their stories. The greater my interest, the greater their willingness to share their knowledge.
The flour miller generously shared his knowledge, explaining all the steps in turning wheat berries into all-grain flour and then some of that into unbleached white flour, with the removal of the shorts and middlings (fed to pigs and chickens) and the bran (fed to horses). He talked about the mechanical skills needed to operate a flour mill and how he personally repairs all the machinery and redresses the millstones to keep them in top shape to cut the wheat berries.
Similarly, the sawmiller talked about his work to maintain the saw mill and to sharpen the saw blades used to cut huge timbers into boards of varying sizes. He shared that he has been working at Upper Canada Village since 1984 and had his own sawmill. He showed me the difference in the width of growth rings between a 185-year-old timber and a more recent piece of wood, the latter being larger because of the way forests are managed.
My favourite people to speak to were the gardeners. They provided the names and varieties of everything growing in their plots. They talked about pruning tomatoes and staking peas. They explained the difference between raised beds and flat beds.
To one of the gardeners, I remarked on his beautiful lettuce. He replied: "If you come back at the end of the day, I'll give it to you." He was a man of his word. When I returned late in the afternoon, he cut enough lettuce to fill a large grocery bag. It was a rewarding conclusion to a glorious day.
