The Athens Murals

 In 1983, the mill town of Chemainus on Canada’s Vancouver Island was fast becoming a ghost town. Desperate town officials commissioned Canada’s leading artists to create magnificent murals on the sides of the town’s buildings. It wasn’t long after that Chemainus become one of British Columbia’s leading tourist attractions.

 While Athens Ontario was never as economically depressed as its western cousin, it needed an economic boost. Reeve John Dancy was very impressed by the success of Chemainus’ murals and suggested to the town council that they create a similar project. Though the project was a great financial risk, due to the $8,000 to $10,000 needed to attract Canada’s best artists, council voted to proceed.

 The first three paintings were a great success. Before long, there were eleven murals along Athen’s streets, depicting bygone days. Well known artists Pierre Hardy and Dan Sawatsky created beautiful murals that drew people to the small town of 1,000 people.

 Pierre Hardy’s painting, “The Gathering,” is a depiction of local residents gathered around a stove catching up on the latest news. A painting of an 1894 Athens' fire appears on the wall of the fire hall.

 The most popular Athens mural was created by artist Lorrie Maruscak. It is a nostalgic image of Athens' locals on the railroad platform meeting the local train. This is an activity that was once part of small town life in Canada.

 The murals along Athens' main street are turning the small town into one of Ontario’s major tourist attractions. The “Welcome to Athens” sign on the outskirts of the town proclaims it as the “Home of Murals.”

 Athens is located on Highway 42, just west of Brockville, Ontario. Take the Queen Elizabeth Highway to Brockville, and then follow Highway 42 to Athens.

 Stop by Athens' town hall and book a guided walking tour, or pick up pamphlets on the murals to ensure you don’t miss any of these awesome paintings. They are a spectacle that you won’t want to miss and the locals are friendly and pleasant to talk with. Visiting Athens is a wonderful depiction of small town life in Ontario.

 The Two Storey Outhouse

 Most people today have never had to make that trek down a path in the middle of winter to that great institution, the outhouse. Yet for many generations of Canadians, the frigid outhouse seat was as much a part of daily life as a shower is for us today. Spider webs in the corners and the old Sears-Roebuck catalogue that hung on the wall are now memories of that older generation.

 Today, outhouses are rare, usually found only in remote areas. But when they were necessary bathroom facilities, they were a status symbol; those with two holes or more being owned by more prominent families.

 During the 1850’s, Joshua Bates of Smith Falls, Ontario, built a house next to his grist mill on the Rideau River. This was no ordinary house. It has mirror image facades, an indoor brick oven and a two storey outhouse.

 The outhouse that Joshua built so many years ago is connected to the house. The facilities were made so the upper privies were not directly over the lower. The lower portion of the outhouse had a wall between it and the chute used by the upper storey facilities. This ensured no chance of an accident if people were using the upstairs and downstairs privies at the same time.

 In 1977, the town of Smith Falls bought Joshua’s house and restored it to all of its glory. It looks the same today as it did when Joshua built it and turned it into a museum. The buildings are located on Old Slys Road in the southeast area of Smith Falls. While in the area be sure to visit the restored Canadian Northern railway station located on the west side of the town and enjoy a short railway excursion that will take you back to bygone days.

 Peterborough’s Petroglyphs

 In May 1954, two young geologists went into the forest north of Stony Lake, Ontario to search for white crystalline. Instead, they swept away layers of moss to find thousands of strange etchings on a rock. Though they did not realize it at the time, the men had found one of the largest and most mysterious North American Indian petroglyphs, also known as the “Teaching Rocks.”

 These rocks tell the aboriginal story of life. As the young men of the village came of age, the elders would escort them to the rock, guided by the sound of a waterfall and special rocks that they used as landmarks. Here, the elders taught the young men the meaning of life, according to Ojibway tradition.

 The medicine wheel rock told these youngsters that life began as a sunrise in the eastern sky. When the sun was midway, it represented midlife and when it reached the western sky, it represented old age; the northern sky represented the afterlife. The rocks taught the young men that they must learn to co-exist with nature.

 When the lessons were over, the elders covered the petroglyphs with moss to protect them until the next time they were needed. Today, they are protected by a man-made shelter in Petroglyph Provincial Park, near Highway 28 near Peterborough, Ontario. Be sure to watch the award winning film “The Teaching Rocks” while you’re in the park. It was prepared by Lloyd Walton of the Ministry of Natural Resources. It explains the mystery of the petroglyphs and is narrated by the Ojibway people.

 Once you have seen the petroglyps and heard the interpretation, you will look at nature in a much different light and wonder why the Europeans that conquered this wonderful country has destroyed so much of what the Creator gave into our stewardship.

 The Road of Broken Dreams

 The Nipissing road was completed in 1875. It twisted and turned over rugged rocks from Rosseau to Nipissing. The area was a great resource of lumber in those days and the lumber companies brought great prosperity to the folks who settled in the area. However, by the turn of the 20th century, the lumber companies had depleted much of the forest and they pulled out of the area. This left the settlers with no source of income from sale of produce and other products. Many of them began to starve and soon the area was deserted.

 There are some very interesting sights along the Nipissing road, but the southern half, between Highway 124 and Highway 518 there are dozens of buildings that remain in the ghost town of Seguin Falls, which is located near the intersection of the Nipissing road and Highway 518. Here you will see the wooden replica of a mansion, worker’s cabins and the King George Hotel. Just a few miles to the north, stop by the Dufferin Methodist Cemetery. Here, living in the peace of the afterlife, you will read the tragic story of ten children on two separate tombstones. All of the children died in 1902, within two weeks of each other. This detailed gravestone is a testimony to the hardships experienced by the settlers of the area.

 Be sure to travel on to Magnetawan, located between Highways 522 and 124 and explore the empty hotels in Bummer’s Roost, which was technically named Mecunoma. At Commanda, take in the living museum which gives a glimpse into the lives of the settlers in the area.

 Today, the old road is paved for easy access of cottagers and tourists. This is a great adventure for those who wish to step back in time to learn more about the hardships of those who went before us.

 The Big Boulder

 Many farmers in eastern Ontario still curse the last ice age. Each spring, they must clear their land of the rocks that infest their fields through freezing and thawing, which squeeze the rocks to the surface of the land.

 Most of these rocks were deposited here during the last ice age when what is now Ontario was buried under almost a mile of ice. As the ice melted over 20,000 years ago, water hurled huge rocks and gravel into the crevasses of the area.

 The ice age deposited the largest rock in the area of Trenton, Ontario. The boulder is as large as a house and is called simply, “The Big Boulder,” by local residents.

 Though the boulder is located on private property, tourists and locals come here to stand beneath it and gape in awe at its magnificent size. Just standing there makes you realize just how small you are in the scheme of things concerning the Earth.

 The Big Boulder is located on Highway 33 approximately 3 miles north of Highway 401. Take Exit 525 at Trenton; follow Highway 33 to DeJong’s gas station. The boulder is located right behind the service station.

 The Little Round Forts of Kingston

 Kingston, Ontario is a great town to visit for history buffs. Old Fort Henry, which played a great part in the war of 1812, is located here along with beautiful stone houses, institutional buildings and two houses where Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald slept while he was in office. But the structures that create the most interest for those visiting the area are the little round forts that played a role in stopping the attack on Corsica in 1796.

 The forts are called Martello towers and are found all around the area. The small size of the towers allowed them to be placed in the most strategic locations which would have been too small to build a regular sized fort. They are circular in shape to deflect cannon balls and the high, small windows made them impossible to capture.

 Of the dozen Martello towers built by the British in Canada, during the 1840’s, almost half of them are in the Kingston area. They were built during the Oregon Crisis between Canada and the United States, which brought back resentment that occurred during the war of 1812.

 The Martello towers at Kingston are easily visible with their red roofs and circular structure. The Murney Tower near Macdonald Park and Fort Frederick has both been converted into museums. Two others, the Shoal Tower and Cedar Island Tower are accessible by boat. The remaining two are connected to Old Fort Henry, which is located in downtown Kingston.

Sights of Eastern Ontario

 There are many other amazing sights to see in eastern Ontario. Just ask the locals what is of interest and they will be sure to point you in the right direction where you will find unusual and mysterious places to visit.