Living Life by Design - with Alan and Mark: Port Stanley and Sparta

Port Stanley and Sparta - Two Places Worth a Visit!

Our hosts, Dave and Flo, suggested Port Stanley as a day-trip possibility. We took up their suggestion last Thursday and were glad we did so.

Port Stanley is a community in Central Elgin, located on the north shore of Lake Erie at the mouth of Kettle Creek. It has a large sandy beach (as well as a separate little one), a lifting bridge across Kettle creek, picturesque marinas and a variety of restaurants, hotels, and shops - all within an area easily traversed on foot.

Timing is everything, and while we were nearby, the lift bridge opened to let a couple of boats through. We were surprised at how the traffic built up in the 10 minutes that followed, revealing just how busy this small town can be.

Many of the buildings date back to the 19th century and have plaques attached to tell of their historical significance. This telegraph house, built in 1873, is now used as a bed and breakfast and, as the sign says, since the builder had been the telegraph agent for the community, it is fitting that it bears this name.

For those of you who are too young to remember telegraph communication - think of morse code, (sending message signals through a wire), and the old tradition of people in the U.K. getting a telegram from the Queen upon reaching their 100th birthday. For me, the telegraph brings back memories of a cartoon I saw a long time ago. I couldn't find it, so I borrowed an image and edited it so you'd get the picture...

We were drawn to a smaller stone edifice that was marked as a ''Fisherman's Kiln", and then noticed that it was attached to a building that had a mermaid on its overhang, probably once adorning the bow of a fishing boat. The cork kiln was built during the period of the fishing industry and was instrumental in drying the cork floats used for the fishermen's nets.

As mentioned earlier, there are numerable eating places in the town and this patio and gazebo looked very appealing.

The main beach was packed with sun-worshipers and several people swimming. We even saw a couple of would-be surfers catching the waves as they rolled into shore. We ate lunch at GT's Beach Bar and Grill while watching a patient dad teaching his daughter how to play beach volley-ball.

We rather liked the 'Little Beach' on the other side of the pier. If we were to go back to swim, that would probably be the beach of our choice.

It's a lovely town, and well worth a visit.

+++++++++++++++

Just 14 minutes north west of Port Stanley is the small historical village of Sparta. Mark, in particular, was interested to see this - and was intrigued by the name. It was founded by Quakers who were eager to find a safe place from the War of 1812. Like so many pioneer settlements at that time, it started out with a grist mill, a sawmill, and a tannery.

By the 1870's it was a thriving community of 1500 residents and probably would have grown into a large town had not the railway builders chosen to go through neighbouring St. Thomas, instead. As a result, Sparta shrank and St. Thomas grew. From our point of view, we're glad that it did as the village has remained a small settlement with many of its early buildings still standing and used for shops and homes... and therein lies its appeal to the modern visitor. We noticed a fair number of tourists while we were there, but it was never overcrowded (maybe because it was a weekday). The villagers proudly celebrated their bi-centennial in 2013.

We spent a while in Ye Olde Forge and Anvil (1827)- which houses a museum of artifacts from the period, including a printing press, a wheelchair, a commode, various blacksmith's tools, clocks, embroidery and quilts - to name just a few. The young man who was in attendance was dressed in period costume and was very knowledgeable about the history of the village.

We didn't go in to the Eakins Store on the main intersection, but we were intrigued by some unique wind chimes that had attracted our attention. There were various beer cans suspended that were actually quite pleasant to listen to on this so-called 'Red Neck Wind Chime'!

Many stories have been recorded for posterity which, today, are the cause of much mirth. We liked the tale of the Drunkard's Path - telling of an event which would have been quite serious in this village at the time of its temperance days!!

It was in this small, tucked-away village that we had the answer to a question that had been strumming away in our minds since our arrival in this area, just a week ago. On various barns in the surrounding countryside, we had noticed large, painted squares that stood out for all to see. We had wondered what they were and why they featured so prominently in Southwestern Ontario. Here, in Sparta, we learned (from the sign above) that they were called Quilt Blocks.

http://www.barnquilttrails.ca/about-us/what-barn-quilt

Thanks to the magic of Google, we found out that Barn Quilts are 8' square (and larger) painted replicas of actual fabric quilt blocks installed on barns. They draw attention to Ontario's disappearing rural landscapes, timber farm barns, and the family farm.

Finally, before leaving, we had to visit the British Shoppe - A Bit of Brit - and, yes, we did partake of a little cake and a piece of chocolate to round off the day!