There was a time when last Saturday’s very early morning splash of rain would have had me in a tizzy, but those were the days when the Dunvegan Recreation Association operated a fund-raising booth at the Glengarry Highland Games. For many years, it was my task to organize this key DRA fundraiser and ensure that Dunveganites old and new would have that unique stomach-churning experience of frying onions and flipping burgers after a night of serious partying. Experience had taught me that even the hint of precipitation could leave us with tons of unsold bacon, eggs, cheese, burger patties, hot dogs and soft drinks.
But those days are long gone. The DRA’s booth was located in what once had been a prime location — to the right of the main grandstand entrance. But it is now shuttered. We reluctantly decided to abandon it when the competition from carpetbagger food concessions became far too stiff… and the real estate in front of our booth became a backwater overnight, as new grandstand entrances were opened up. Our booth lacked wheels, so we couldn’t follow the crowds like other concessionaires.
So, footloose and fancy-free, Terry and I decided to set out for Chaffey’s Lock and their annual summer craft fair at the newly restored Opinicon Hotel. Once past Merrickville’s three roundabouts, we threw caution to the wind and, using an actual paper map, chose a route that relied on back roads we had never before travelled. Like most spontaneous trips of this sort, the journey was as much fun as the destination. Perhaps more so.
Upon arrival, we parked in a temporary lot and were ferried to the hotel on a free tractor-pulled shuttle. The ingenious rig consisted of a hay wagon with a railing around three sides and two rows of padded seats from an old school bus. A fold-down set of steps at the rear made access and egress a breeze. All I could think of when I saw it was how nice it would be to have one shuttling back and forth from Dunvegan’s parking lots to the museum’s Harvest Fall Festival.
While the craft show left a wee bit to be desired (unless one was seriously into collecting kitsch), its setting was delightful. Hard by the lake from which the resort takes its name, vendors set up their tents and tables on the gently rolling, tree shaded grounds of the Opinicon Hotel. My only disappointment was the luncheon I had on the grand dame’s veranda. Their chef appears to be suffering from a severe case of Torontoitis, an affliction where much more effort goes into crafting the menu descriptions than taste-testing the resultant dish.
To be fair, Terry’s chicken & duck sandwich was reportedly delicious. The same can’t be said of my Wagyu Beef hamburger. On paper, the locally sourced Wagyu patty on a handcrafted artisanal bun with grass-fed cheese, heirloom tomato, homemade seasonally appropriate relish, aioli mustard and hand-cut, skin-on fries had potential. And for $19, it should have. But it didn’t. The beef, which appeared to have been held in a warm water bath after having been fried to the leathery internal temperature prescribed by law, was almost tasteless. The bun, instead of being the soft pillow loved by burger lovers the world round, was overly dense, albeit politically correct with faultless non-GMO credentials. And the trendy garnish totally overpowered what little flavor the beef retained. The experience made me long for the burger and fries offering at Alexandria’s popular eatery just south of the former Stedman’s. Ten times more flavour and a fraction of the cost.
On the way home, I asked Terry how she thought the craft fair might have been improved. She said it would have been nice if some of the exhibitors had demonstrated their craft. At which point, she joked that, if they had done this, they would have discovered one of the secrets to the success of the Glengarry Pioneer Museum’s Harvest Fall Festival. Minus the kitsch, of course.
Empty tables need you
All of the above was a long-winded way of getting to my first mention of this year’s FallFest at the GPM, which is scheduled to hit our fair hamlet on Sunday, September 9th. I’ll have many more details for you as we get closer to the date, and the organizers are more forthcoming about their plans. In the meantime, one thing I can say with certainty is that there will be a Harvest Sale Tent. It anchors the annual event. People come from far and wide to stock up on home-baked goodies, pickles and preserves, fresh-picked produce and hard-to-find plants.
Although Barb Newman, the Harvest Tent’s head honcho, hasn’t started rattling my cage, I suspect she would want me to remind you that the museum is once again looking for donations of baked goods, vegetables, fruits, bread and rolls, jellies, jams, pickles, preserves, plants and flowers. For more details, or to arrange for a pickup, call Barbara Newman at 613-678-6845.
Poverty deported
For more than sixty years — from 1869 to the late 1930s — over 100,000 juvenile immigrants left England for Canada. Known as the Child Emigration Movement, British churches and philanthropic organizations sent orphaned, abandoned and pauper children here in the hope they would have a better chance for a healthy, moral life in rural Canada than staying in the urban slums of England. Not surprisingly, many of the children were poorly treated and some were abused. However, others did experience a better life here than if they had remained in England.
If you’d like to learn more about this fascinating, but little known period in Canadian history, the Glengarry Pioneer Museum is hosting a presentation on British Home Children given by Jan and John Milnes. The Milnes will share interesting stories of these displaced children, based on their book, Stepping Stones. The presentation will take place on Sunday, August 12that 2:00 PM. Admission is $5 for museum members, $10 for non-members and children under 12 are free. Light refreshments will be provided.
Fit to be tied
For those readers who partook of the “Tartan Tie Day” item in last week’s column, I thought I’d catch you up on the fallout from its appearance. Within minutes of the Newshitting the streets, Joslyn MacGillivray whipped off an email to me asking if she could borrow Len Siwik’s former Tartan Tie collection. Joslyn had volunteered to handle the decorating for St. Columba’s 41stKirkin’ o’ the Tartanservice this past Sunday. She thought the ties would add a “je ne sais quoi“ touch to the popular post-Games tradition. Obviously concerned that I might change my mind, Joslyn rushed over Wednesday morning to snag the bag of ties.
Then, a few hours later, another urgent email appeal arrived: this one was from Linda Burgess. She was taking care of three of her grandchildren while their parents were at a wedding in Vancouver and she had been searching high and low for a MacLeod tartan tie. Grandson Dawson Williams, a budding fiddler, needed one for his debut appearance with the MacLeod Fiddlers in the Youth Fiddlers’ Showcase at Friday’s Glengarry Highland Games. After connecting Linda with Joslyn, Dawson had his tie and all was right with the world… at least this tiny corner of it.
Len… looks like your ties just want to keep on giving. Thanks for passing them on.
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