Advertisement
Published: December 6th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Wheat Fields
The flat Ontario landscape, just outside St Thomas near Jim's folks place Traveling into town you note that, for a country area, the roads are wide. They're as wide as highways, built to carry heavy vehicles, those used in both agriculture and industry. The flat farmland with it's farmhouses and fields that are either full of wheat or sprouting with the first seasons corn give way to a more urban environment as the endless flat expanse is gradually broken up by buildings. Walmart looms huge and inviting, competing with Canadian Tire, offering convenient all-in-one shopping with everything from groceries to clothes to furniture to gardening equipment to whatever else you might consider buying or consuming, all for low, low, bargain prices. Take a left and head down one of the main streets and you will be greeted by KFC, McDonalds, Tim Hortons, Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Red Lobster all side by side, signage screaming out for your attention, all offering convenient fast food at low, low bargain prices. But at what cost?
Driving further into the town centre I note the architechure of the buildings. I'm no expert but I put them at the 1950's or maybe some born as early the '20's. Maybe even earlier. Some of
the buildings are handsome but in general down town, although pretty tidy, is bland and quiet. The streets here and there are nicely dotted with trees and the pavements free of rubbish but there are more than a few closed doors and boarded windows. Shops that you might imagine were once bustling butchers, bakers and candle stick makers are now closed, cannibalised by the multinationals. Otherwise they have become boutiques, specialised stores offering the few things that Walmart, Canadian Tyre and Home Depot don't. These multi-national chains have spread like a cancer and most of the ma and pa operations can't compete. They either adapt or die a natural (or perhaps unnatural) death.
Some say this is progress, a healthy, though unfortunate, result of free market trade and capitalism. Others say it is one of the most heinous social crimes that we are wreaking on ourselves. Either way the fact that the landscape is changing, for better or worse, is irrefutable.
Here one of the main sources of employment is the Ford factory, along with farming and agriculture and, I suppose, the multi-nationals as well. There are fears over employment now that the ford factory has
been cutting back on workers and some speculate that the plant may even close in the not too distant future. But for the most part people seem content. There isn't too much to do, but as with anywhere if you look hard enough you can find things to occupy yourself. Family seems important here. The religious go to church on Sunday (there seems to be almost as many churches as fast food joints) and the younger, less theologically incline tend to go on a bender at a local bar or a friends place on Saturday night and use Sunday for recovery. Afterall, it is the sanctioned day of rest, is it not? Welcome to St Thomas, population 30,000, though really it could be any one of so many small towns in North America.
I have spent most of the time in St Thomas thus far meeting and catching up with Jim's friends, primarily on Saturday night bender sessions, and joining in family gatherings and get togethers. Dinners at grandmas, visiting aunts, uncles and cousins, joining in birthday celebrations, lunching. Its been great getting to know the family and friends and I got to catch up with some friends
In Memory of Jumbo
The life (or maybe larger than life)sized jumbo Statue, St Thomas I already knew, from the canadian group of students that were part of the same program as Jim in Perth. I've taking numerous stroll strolls around the surrounding farmland and we have partaken in family games of baseball in the back yard. It's just like oz, except there we play cricket. Call me a traitor if you will but I have to say I like baseball better.
As far as tourist fodder and claims to fame St Thomas has undoubtedly drawn a bit of a short straw. There is the infamous Jumbo history, what with St Thomas being the site of his rather untimely demise and all.
Yes, Jumbo was real, the largest elephant to be kept in captivity. Or at least he was. Sadly, on a circus visit to the town Jumbo escaped and lingered a little long on the railway tracks. Playing chicken with a train, he obviously overestimated his capabilities and was hit and killed. A life sized statue has been erected in his memory. In what can only be described as a planning booboo they built the Jumbo replica facing town so on approach to St Thomas all you can see is
In Memory of Jumbo
Us, posing for some good ol' fashioned cheesey tourist snaps. a giant elephant arse.
St Thomas also boasts the largest mental institution in Canada which is hopefully not a testimony to the mental state of its inhabitants. In any case, the institution has been closed now for some time, though the sign warning not to pick up hitchhikers in the area still remains. St Thomas is the birthplace of Rachael McAdams (from the movies 'Mean girls' and "The notebook') and also of Joe Thornton, a Canadian hockey star.
Needless to say they don't get too many tourists to St Thomas. While sitting in the medical centre recently i was positioned next to a rather large woman with stringy hair, pungent body odour and questionable dental hygiene. She was, however, blessed with a friendly disposition and after hearing me speak to the receptionist our conversation followed, roughly, thus:
"Don't sound like yer from round here. Where yer from?"
"Australia." I answered brightly.
"What are yer HERE for?"
Taken aback I replied, " Oh, I have a cold."
"No, no what are yer in St Thomas for?" She seemed incredulous.
Well, dang it, she stumped me.
We did find points of interest
Saturday Night Bender
Us at Chad's place, in 'The Shed' around the traps though. 20 minutes from St Thomas is the tiny community of Port Stanley, perched on the shoulder of one of the Great Lakes. It's a picturesque little place and sports a beach and some nice little restaurants and bars that feature live music on the weekends, so we have had a couple of good times there.
Jim and I went on a drive for the day with Bill, Jim's dad, to see some surrounding areas and this was quite an enjoyable experience. There were some scenic spots, although the weather could have been a little better. We went cherry picking and later jim's mum turned the fruits of our labour into cherry pie. Yummy!
We drove through Amish communities and I am sorry that I didn't get any photographs of them. It is fascinating that these communities still live as people did before electricity, the car and motorised farming equipment. We saw Amish folk in their old fashioned clothes, the men in suspenders and hat, the women in black dresses(below the knee, of course) and bonnets. The little farmhouses had no electric lines connected and we saw them tending the fields with horse
My First Beer Bong
Better late than never. Turns out I'm a natural! drawn contraptions and wielding hoe and pitchfork by hand. We saw them traveling by horse and cart on the roads.
Here and there we saw properties that were housing either more progressive Amish or non-Amish people. You could tell them by the electric lines and cars or tractors parked there. I wondered how that kind of thing is received by the other Amish, whether they are frowned upon or not. I imagine in these communities it being the polar opposite to 'keeping up with the joneses'. At any rate it was very interesting and I only just managed to stop myself snapping away with my camera. i thought perhaps they might have been offended at being treated like tourist attractions. So I just happily gawked and soaked it all in.
Soon we'll be heading to Prince Edward Island to catch up with our friend Mitch and attend his wedding. Til the next update, take care.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.15s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 16; qc: 89; dbt: 0.0897s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.4mb