Scenes from the beautiful opening ceremony Monday evening at the Merritt Amphitheatre for the 2018 Canoe Polo World Championships. Teams from 26 countries are in town for the competition, which opens today and goes through August 5. (Photos by Joe Barkovich)
Got this Monday evening riding shotgun in the truck while crossing Woodlawn bridge. Welland has so much to offer. (Idyllic Welland is a recurring feature on the blog. Photo by Joe Barkovich.)
This view looking south down Niagara Street, from Woodlawn Road intersection, caused plenty of neck craning early Monday evening. The photo, taken at 6:15pm, shows emergency responders, mainly from Welland Fire and Emergency Services, who were at the scene of a reported house fire. (Photo by Joe Barkovich)
The Canadian flag is paraded into Monday evening’s opening ceremonies for the 2018 Canoe Polo World Championships, being held at Welland International Flatwater Centre July 31-August 5. The ceremonies were at Merritt Amphitheatre before a few thousand boisterous onlookers. Flags of the participating 26 countries were carried in, one by one, to loud applause and cheering by their respective athletes and by spectators. A concert featuring opening act The Associates and later headliners, Honeymoon Suite, followed the well-run ceremony. (Photo by Joe Barkovich)
By Terry Hughes
How many of us have had an encounter with Lake Erie over a lifetime. It offers a multitude of locations for picnics and swimming. From Crystal Beach, Sherkston and Nickel Beach to the east and Camelot and Long Beach to the west of Pt. Colborne are some examples.
As a youngster how often can you recall the times when you got close to the beach and experienced that odour coming up from the water’s edge. After you hurriedly removed your clothes, you raced across the hot sand and into the inviting waters of the lake. If there were waves then it made for even more fun.
For our family, picnics at Long Beach were popular. After a day of fun, we’d grab a blanket and gather pop bottles to take to the store the next day and make a tidy profit.
Renting a cottage ensured a much longer encounter with the lake. At Camelot Beach, forays up Sugarloaf Hill and then, tumbling down its slopes or in the evening going to the Red Barn Dance Hall to see how many times we could get the jukebox to play lots of songs using a single nickel.
An adventure at a rented cottage just to the west of Rathfon Inn illustrated the power of the lake when a storm hit the area. We had just settled down for the evening as the storm raged outside when a knock at the door startled us. The local men in the neighbourhood required help to pull boats along the beach to safer areas. My father joined the group and worked most of the night. The next day, the storm had passed on but left a mark of its power. Ten feet of the lawn facing the lake was gone!
Optimist Boys Town operated a camp at Morgan’s Point. One of the activities was a hike to Long Beach for an overnight sleepover on the shore. Upon our arrival we learned of a tragedy that took the lives of two people. This area had a reputation for undertows. Three people ran into difficulties and a human chain was set up for the rescue. The three victims were saved but two people who made up the chain were lost.
A return to Camelot Beach in recent years showed how wave erosion has become an issue. Looking down from the sandy bluff on which many cottages stand, a great deal of shoreline protection has occurred at great expense to the cottage owners. Steel sheets driven into the ground are back-filled with rocks and capped with a sheet of concrete.
As stewards of the Great Lakes, we have been very neglectful of how we treat them. Lake Erie has become the catch basin for a lot of toxic waste and other forms of pollution. As a result of this neglect, algae blooms now visit the shorelines choking oxygen from the water and killing the aquatic life. While working at Nickel Beach in 1959, the first real encounter with algae occurred impacting on our swimming program and the stench of this soup when it washed up on shore.
Our picture for this month comes from the 2003 Wainfleet Historical Society calendar showing the shoreline at Morgan’ Point. This area does not lend itself as a location for sand deposition and shows us the underlying sedimentary rock of the Onondaga Scarp. You encounter it as you enter Port Colborne on Highway 58. A number of boulders litter the shoreline. They are rounded from repeatedly being moved over the bottom of the lake by wave action. To the west in Lowbanks, the power of the lake showed how rocks of this size are trivial compared to what happened there. During a storm, a rock the size of Volkswagen Beetle was found on the lakeshore road.
Next column: Our fascination with the jukebox!
(Terry Hughes is a Wellander who is passionate about heritage, history and model railroading. His column, Heritage Lives, appears on the blog once or twice monthly.)
More from Olde Towne Gardens, Niagara-on-the-Lake. (Gadabout Gardener is a recurring feature on the blog. Photos by Joe Barkovich)
Be aware of this detour on Monday, when opening ceremonies for the Canoe Polo World Championships will be held at Merritt Amphitheatre, 6pm to 8pm. Featured will be a parade of athletes and a performance by Honeymoon Suite preceded by opening act The Associates. “Thousands” of people are expected to attend, according to City of Welland advisories. (Photo by Joe Barkovich)
John-Micheal Martin at his graduation ceremony at École secondaire catholique Jean-Vanier, in June 2006. Three weeks later on July 23 he drowned. The phrase ‘En nous pour toujours!’ which translates into ‘In us forever’ is a phrase that is associated with John-Micheal and it originated at the school. (Supplied photo)
The 9th annual John-Micheal Martin Memorial Golf Tournament will take place on Sunday, September 9 this year. Registration will take place at Whisky Run Golf Course at 2 p.m. with a 3 p.m. shotgun start. The cost is the same as last year: $65 for 9 holes, cart, dinner and $25 tax receipt. You can pay directly on-line at: https://whiskyrun.com/product/john-micheal-martin-memorial/
Set the day aside and come out for a day of fun and to remember our son and brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend and student through continuing donations to various community charities: Bereaved Families of Ontario, Women’s Place of South Niagara, Niagara Community Foundation (John-Micheal Martin Scholarship Fund). In the past 8 years we have dispersed over $50,000 thanks to your continued support. Last year alone we netted a whopping $8,500
Check out John-Micheal’s website at: http://www.john-michealmartin.ca
If you or anyone you know is able to donate either to a hole sponsorship ($250), or a gift for the prize table, please let Diane know. Pass the word along to your friends and neighbours!
(Source: Invitational letter sent by Diane Martin)
WELLAND – Last minute surge of candidates for Welland council ward races!
Crowded field in Ward 1 with three joining today: Shirley Cordiner, Robin Comtois, Tom Bacolini. That makes seven running for the ward’s two seats. Still time for others to come forward, as 2pm today is the deadline. .
Also three new candidates in Ward 5: Niki Brideau, Ken Leblanc, Leslie Robichaud have joined the race.
Is Ward 5 incumbent Michael Belcastro going to run here?
WELLAND – Steven Soos now in the race for Welland mayoralty.
Welland South resident (Pietz Avenue) joins Mayor Frank Campion, David Clow to make it a three-candidate race.
Time is running out, with today being the deadline, at 2pm to file nomination papers.
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