Living in Aurora, Town of Aurora, Ontario » Katherine Belrose

Pioneer Women At Aurora Farmers Market

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:01:30 +0000

A senior lady came to the Pioneer booth and told Katherine Belrose – ‘Oh, my mother used to have one of those‘. She pointed out in the direction of the spinning wheel and a woman spinning the woolen yarn.

Spinning Wheel

It looks like the pioneer presentation at the Aurora Farmers Market brought lot of good memories to many who visited the pioneer booth.

Butter Making

I grew up in a small town myself. A small town dating from 14th century with about 3000 people. Therefore, going from making a butter with a dash butter churn, cleaning carpets with a carpet beater, making own cheese, washing clothes using the washboard and to sit in front of the computer and blog today – I think I have seen enough of technological advancements in just 35 years. Such practices were very common in our family when I was growing up.

Washboard

‘If we treasure our own experience and regard it as real, we must also treasure other people’s experience.’ – A quote by John Charles Polanyi

I have seen a spinning wheel many times, but that was regional. Mostly those who lived in the mountains and had sheep farms were spinning the wool yarns. In our area we had flax farms to make linen and flax seeds and by the time I was born our town already had the linen processing factory.

The Pioneer Women

At some point I found myself mesmerized in Katherine’s booth and I was capturing moments that once were reality in my life – the butter, the washboard. Now, may be some can see why I treasure the Petch house so much.

More pictures, just click on any image and keep clicking.

Aurora Farmers Market, In The Past It Was Old Post Office & General Store

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:09:13 +0000

The Aurora Farmers Market is definitely not just a place to buy local but also it is a gathering place ‘Your Meeting Place In Aurora‘. Another place to buy, but there is more. A place where we meet others. A place where children have fun. A place where we escape.

It is so typical these days in Aurora to say I will be at the Farmers Market or I meet you at the market. ‘I hope we get a chance to meet up one day, maybe over a coffee at the market‘, once Matt Maddocks wrote me, and I hope so too.

I don’t know many people, but I know Katherine Belrose (Friends of Petch House) very well and we always got to chat on the market. Her Pioneer booth was exciting one last Saturday, and was well aligned with the Senior’s Day.

Now, where else would you meet, it is so simple, and most of us know the way to the market on Saturday morning. And if you don’t know where it is, on Saturday all signs lead to the Aurora Farmers Market.

Our Farmers Market definitely has a social component built in. It is really nice to see people chatting with each other. Vendors shop among themselves. People buy with enthusiasm. Re-usable bags are being filled to the top.

I great place for children to get out, visit the playground, cool off at the splash pad and then head out for a nice cookie or pop-corn treats, or even have full lunch.

On August 13th the market had a very busy day. It was Senior’s Day, a very eventful as you will see in my later post. Busy shoppers buying a lot of good healthy food, fruits and vegetables especially this time of the year at the peak of the farmer’s harvest. It is easy to capture the essence of the market with my camera, but this time it was in the air. A strong aroma of fresh veggies and herbs traveled throughout.

Aurora Farmers Market started in 2003. In the past it was the Old Post Office gathering:

‘From its opening on November 24, 1915 until its closure in 1967, the old Post Office played an important role as a focal point of activity in the life of Aurora. The central platform for mail deposit was a convenient stage for citizens to express their opinions on matters of local concern. Before the advent of home delivery, collecting the mail was an opportunity for neighbours to socialize. Its clock has chimed the hours for generations of Aurora citizens.‘ Source: Town of Aurora Website.

‘The Post Office officially opened on November 24, 1915. The building soon became an important place for people to gather and spend time with their neighbours and colleagues. The letter drop, located in the middle of the building, was often used as a platform for speakers. The welcoming addresses for soldiers returning from the First and Second World Wars were made from this platform. The chimes of the tower clock announced the time for the community then as it does today.‘ Source: Town of Aurora Website.

Nothing lasts forever. Times change. The General Store was once a gathering place too:

‘In 1951, the general store operated by Mr. Larry Rubin and his brother Lou became the Aurora I.G.A. Foodliner, a supermarket. There were incentives to visit the store: special prices, door prices and a draw for twenty-five dollars. The store had everything except a meat department, but that was soon added. Aurora then had one stop food shopping on Wellington Street East. This was convenient, but it did cut down on meandering, shopping and socializing along the town’s shopping district.‘ Source: ‘Aurora 1945-1965, An Ontario Town at a Time of Great Change’, by Elizabeth Hearn Milner, pg 50, 2007.

To conclude my photo journey of the Aurora Farmers Market on August 13th, let me say that – there is always room for a garden.

To view the gallery below, click on the thumbnail image, and then on the image to preview all photos from August 13, 2011, Aurora Farmers Market. More photos from the same day related to Senior’s Day and Pioneer presentation coming next.

Petch House, It Was A Lifetime Opportunity

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:37:37 +0000

Theoretically Petch House will never be the same. As of a last week August 4th, 2011 in the late afternoon, the house was totally taken apart and all logs and other parts of the house were moved to the storage on the local farm where it will be restored. In the future, it will have a new and restored look.

However, it will take a great skill to restore the house, as it took a great skill to built this house in 1840s, and in the future this will be definitely a historical event.

Petch House - roof off

I must say it was a lifetime opportunity to photograph the Petch house before it was labelled and dismantled. I was inside in the early spring. I many times visited from outside. I saw and photographed the gradual deterioration, especially of the logs on the corners. I saw embraced by nature and guarded by wildlife.

Petch House - log by log dismantling

Lastly I was able to photograph inside again when town went go ahead with the dis-assembly. I was inside once again by permission equipped with my camera, safety boots and hard-hat. Once the roof was removed, the logs inside got to see the natural light and beautiful wood log textures were revealed.

Then on August 3rd, 2011 I found a spot across the Leslie Street to witness and photograph the dismantling process of the walls, down to the floor. I had my little Matthew with me that day, so going closer to the site with a heavy equipment was a big no for us.

Petch House - last corner

To see the Petch house photographed at different stages of disassembly by Peter Van Nostrand, his team and with the help of town on August 3rd, 2011 and much more you can visit The Friends of Petch House the Restoration web page.

Petch House, August 4th, 2011, all done

Hope everyone enjoyed my little photographic journey of the Petch house last few months, but before you move on note something I just realized – the background. There was nothing else, but trees, lots of green trees.

So until next time … it may be quiet for a while.

Petch House, That Is Strange? Alive Again

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 19:28:51 +0000

Three months elapsed since April 21_st, 2011 – my first visit inside the Petch house. Destiny of the 160 year old log house was then unknown, but was promising.

On July 28 of the same year I am inside the Petch house taking photographs again. It was different this time. The natural light, better for photography, entered through the windows and the roof, and from the corners of the heavily deteriorated logs. Much more was uncovered and there was much more to see. This time the house was giving off different sense of feeling – a positive one.

Embraced and nurtured by nature for many years, the Petch house was happy to have friends inside once again. Friends that were now effortlessly working to save the weak standing structure on the side of Leslie Street in Aurora.

Petch House, Deteriorated Corner, July 28th, 2011

The house is being restored by Peter Van Nostrand and his team. It is interesting to know that the Petch house is restored by someone who has deep roots in Aurora community. The house would not have survived one more year, so they say, and I was able to see it myself. The photographs do not lie.

For many days the house was being aired and cleaned. The results are stunning. The house inside is beautiful again. Of course it does not look like any decorated house we live in now, but if you have sense and appreciation for the workmanship and the skill people had back than to build their own houses, the beauty is there.

The Petch house is definitely on the new journey. It will never be the same, meaning original, but it will be a stronger, renewed, restored log house that will survive many more generations to come.

It will never house a family again, but it will definitely have a valuable purpose in our town. I am so honored to be part of the project and photograph the restoration process that is in place now. This is all thanks to Katherine Belrose – it is a life time opportunity to be part of the historical event that is taking place here in Aurora.

Our experience and technicality of the restoration from July 26th-28th, are now published on the The Friends of Petch House website – Petch House Layers Tell Us Many Things by Katherine Belrose.

The Petch house will have a new location once restored. I will miss this log house, not for long, but still standing lonely on the one side of Leslie Street. The house will be gone, and never know, that beautiful country road view may go with it in the near future.

Petch House on Leslie Street

Later that day …

I wondered into the garage. I knew I put my sealed plastic container somewhere. I found it sitting on the shelf, the same shelf I placed my Petch box three months ago. This time I had a rusted nail from late 1800s and I wanted to include with my other collection, with the deteriorated log pieces I collected back then. They were just wet dark pieces of wood that fell on the ground and were about to fall apart even more if disturbed.

Piece of Deteriorated Wood Log

I gently opened the box, and I saw it to my disbelief to be alive again. The color of the wood chips changed and some sort of plant species was rooting itself to the wood chip which I have not seen before. Separated, but not far from the Petch house, the pieces were glowing and breathing the same way the Petch house was blooming on the day I photographed it, July 28, 2011.

The Petch House, A New Journey

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 05:19:38 +0000

The Petch house is getting a lot of attention in THE AURORA and The Banner lately. Lengthy articles are written. Columns are filled with letters to the editor. The Petch house itself is being prepared for the move.

Fenced Petch House

The chain link fence now surrounds the house. Little by little, patched up areas are being cleaned off the outside walls or surface of the logs – evidence of contrast between faded and darker wetter surface areas. The corners are now strapped and supported, especially the one which were slowly sliding out and deteriorating. Not sure, but the inside is probably being cleaned out as well.

Petch House, Strapping

After sitting on the lot on Leslie Street, just south of Wellington Street East for many years now, the Petch house starts a new journey. Its destiny for a while was in a jeopardy. There is a hope, but what’s next? A battle to determine if the house should really be placed in the Community Arboretum beside the Aurora Town Hall.

Petch House, Back

Aha, the plan and the location requested by the Friends of Petch house was clear – in Petchville near the Stronach Recreation Complex and the Urban Wildlife Park to be authentic as possible. Now we are in the pulling-a-rope-mode again. Why can’t we just help the Friends of the Petch house to follow their plan and vision, instead of altering. I see costly battle in the horizon.

Petch House, Facing Sun

I personally met Ms. Katherine Belrose who is the driving force behind saving the log house. Because of her motivation, courage and personal investment both time and monetary, the town should grant her full control to lead the project. Her vision and path is clear. Her interest is pure. She is the person to trust right now.

Petch House

This is something to think about. The Petch house is a relic of our town and it should be preserved. The proper location for the house to grow its new roots is also an important factor in its new journey.

Petch House, My First Visit

Anna Lozyk Romeo — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:43:16 +0000

In couple of days I will explore the insides of the Petch House located on Leslie Street, Town of Aurora, and I will be allowed to take some pictures. Stayed tuned for an update and my experience of a life in early 1800s.Too bad that someone already lived there, and not everything is original, but still I am excited. My first visit was about a week ago. I walked around and too few nice pictures. The front has the Flying Club sign – it kind of sucks, because just did not belong there on my photo.

Petch House, Town of Aurora