Heritage Lives: Did You Guess The Answer?

By Terry Hughes

/Image provided by Terry Hughes

In answer to the question asked in our teaser column posted a few days ago, Who Had That Huge Hit:

Well, the Rolling Stones had the biggest ROCK AND ROLL SONG between 1955 AND 2000.

That’s as reported in the January 10, 2000 Life section of The Tribune and shown in the pictorial display that accompanies this article. 

Which one of the Forty Licks was the number one song? Satisfaction, released in 1965 featuring Keith Richard’s riff. How was such a conclusion reached? A VH1 poll of 700 people in the music industry came up with this decision. 

VH1 is MTV’s specialty channel in the United States. Among the musicians who voted on the VH1 panel included U2’s Bono, Johnny Cash, Art Garfunkel, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, etc. The oldest song was Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1955, listed at number 37. Jailhouse Rock was the first Elvis Presley song in the list at number 18. The Beatles listed at number 9 with Hey Jude, and John Lennon’s Imagine came in at number 10.

Numbers 2 through to 8 offered a wide variety of groups and individuals. Number 2 was Respect sung by Aretha Franklin followed by Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin who came in at number 3. Bob Dylan singing Like A Rolling Stone was at number 4, Bruce Springsteen followed with Born To Run and the Eagles singing Hotel California was number 6. Numbers 7 and 8 included the Doors with Light My Fire and the Beach Boys with Good Vibrations..

 Overall their choices were awesome but I think a pioneer in this line of music should have been included, that being Fats Domino. 

Next Column: Wellanders’ Everyday Experiences With The Main Street Bridge.

(Terry  Hughes is a Wellander who is passionate about heritage, history and model railroading. His opinion column, Heritage Lives, appears on the blog once or twice monthly.)

Barky’s Billboard

Please support/attend this important community initiative

Barky’s Billboard is a recurring feature on the blog./Supplied graphic.

Happy Canada Day!

Welland’s Main Street Bridge was illuminated in red and white Sunday evening to celebrate Canada’s 157th birthday. The red and white lighting will be repeated tonight, according to the illumination schedule for July. Happy Canada Day all!/ Joe Barkovich photo.

Heritage Lives: Who Had That Huge Hit?

Here’s a Heritage Lives Summer Surprise for our readers from columnist Terry Hughes:

 Name the person or artist who had the Number 1 rock and roll song between the years 1955 and 2000

Watch for the answer in a special Summer Surprise column by Hughes to appear after the holiday weekend.

(Terry  Hughes is a Wellander who is passionate about heritage, history and model railroading. His opinion column, Heritage Lives, appears on the blog once or twice monthly.)

Barky’s Billboard

If you can, please support this seasonal initiative!

Do you have an abundance of vegetables in your garden? You can donate your vegetables to The Hope Centre and provide healthy food for your neighbours who visit our food bank.

You can drop off your donation at The Hope Centre, 570 King Street, Welland. We are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. On Wednesdays we are open 11 am – 7:00 pm.

Come to the back of the building to access our main entrance. If you need assistance unloading please call 905-788-0744 ext 221.

Barky’s Billboard is a recurring feature on the site.

COMMUNITY BRIEF: A Boost For Central Station

The Central Station Education Initiative (CSEI) gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Niagara Community Foundation’s  David S. Howes Fund, a public foundation serving the people of Niagara since 2000. 

NCF connects donors to causes and communities to resources through permanent endowment funds, providing grants to eligible charitable organizations in culture, health, education, environment, recreation and social service sectors. NCF turns intent into impact.

The CSEI recently received a grant in the amount of $26,532.00 from the Niagara Community Foundation through their David S. Howes Fund.

This grant will fund interior plaster repair on the staircases, a new metal basement door, accessible washroom fixtures, blinds throughout the building, a laptop computer and printer and three display cases for the main floor Firefighting Heritage Display.

Central Station Education Initiative (CSEI) is a Registered Charity, incorporated in March of 2017,  and an outgrowth of many organizations and Committees working over the last three decades to find a way to save and transform Central Fire Station into a public heritage building.

The CSEI is a not-for-profit, that is reliant on donations, and is staffed by volunteers.

Members of the public who wish to make a donation may do so by e-transfer to wellandcentralfirehall@gmail.com or by cheque to CSEI, 30 Hellems Avenue, Welland, Ontario L3B 3A7 

Please include your contact information if you wish to receive a tax receipt.

(Attribution: CSEI release)

Heritage Lives In Pictures: What’s In A Name?

By Terry Hughes

One of the few, little-known streets in Welland is Lock Street, just off Merritt on the east side of Niagara Street. When driving east on Merritt you could drive right past it on your right because it is truncated by the Welland River as seen here (photo below) looking past the siphon and towards the Main Street Bridge. 

How then could this passageway receive such a name? 

Well, this next photo (photo above) taken from the book, Celebrating 150 Years, Walking Through Welland, shows the same location over a hundred years ago featuring a number of canal structures. Located closest to the camera is a lock that allowed traffic on the river to lock into and out of  the third canal thus Lock Street ended there. Beyond the lock was the third canal aqueduct and beyond it, the second aqueduct. Looking down the canal you can see the swing bridge at Main Street and associated buildings nearby. 

What is amazing are the number of cut-stone blocks that make up the material used on these structures. It is estimated that it took between 18 and 22 thousand cut-stone blocks to build the second aqueduct shown elsewhere in the book that later became the Cross Street Swimming Pool. 

Remember that each of these blocks of limestone was hand-made using a hammer and chisel to make and shape them to fit them into place. Now, if you take into consideration the number of these blocks shown in the other structures what an immense job that was to complete!  And now you can deduce how both Lock street and Aqueduct Street got their name.

 (Terry  Hughes is a Wellander who is passionate about heritage, history and model railroading. His opinion column, Heritage Lives In Pictures, appears on the blog occasionally.)

Next Column: THE NEW FIRE STATION. 

Sign Language

A milestone anniversary for the Hungarian Hall, Hellems Avenue near the corner of Lincoln Street. Happy Anniversary/Boldog évfordulót! / Sign Language is a recurring feature on the blog. Joe Barkovich photo.

Barky’s Billboard

Please support/attend this popular annual event

Let’s Get Busy Living Together!
Michael Petrachenko is hosting this 3 live bands fund-raising event at the Welland International Flatwater Centre Saturday, July 6 2024 at 7 pm. 
He will be at For Pizza Sake, Broadway Ave., Welland, the next two Fridays selling tickets 5-9 pm./ Barky’s Billboard is a recurring feature on the blog./Supplied graphic

Gadabout Gardener: Roses Of Chippawa Park

Caption: Paid a visit to the rose garden in Chippawa Park this afternoon. The roses were beautiful, even though some were past peak bloom. The beds, although always well maintained, could have used some weeding but it’s not the fault of parks staff who have so much work to do this time of year and not enough hands to do it. The garden is named the Joseph L. Mocsan Memorial Rose Garden after the eminent rose grower and mentor to many, Joe Mocsan who passed May 31, 2003, aged 71. It merits a look every now and then, whether you’re a rose grower or not. The two bottom photos are from my photo archive, bottom left, June 2021 and bottom right, August 2017.Gadabout Gardener will appear on the site once or twice monthly until fall./ Joe Barkovich photos.