Happy (belated) Canada Day!

Although I have missed the date itself, I still would like to honour Canada's birthday with a belated posting.

Here is a postcard featuring what appears to be a Dominion Day parade, ca. 1915. The patriotic bunting is plentiful, and the floats are profusely decorated with flowers. The City Hall (and its clock) are visible in the background. The float in the foreground may be a fire engine, to judge from its shadow. Note the plumes on the horses' heads. Also in the background is are incandescent street lights of the type installed in 1912.

(Courtesy of John Parklyn)

The postcard has a white border, from the post-1915 period, and is done in a sepia-toned halftone process. It is labelled "The Armouries, Guelph, Can." and was printed by The International Stationary Co., Picton, Canada.

It is hard to get an exact match with Google Street View because of construction when the photos were taken, but here is a shot that is approximately the same. It is of Lower Wyndham St., at the intersection with Macdonell, looking towards the Armouries.


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I thought that it would be interesting to see what was happening on Dominion Day in Guelph 100 years ago, when these postcards were so popular. Unfortunately, the issues of the Guelph Evening Mercury from July 1st and 2nd of 1913 are missing from the archives. However, the June 30th edition is available and suggests what was happening in the city at the time.

The headline news that day was the arrival of world-famous opera singer Eddie Johnson. A Guelph native, Johnson had been in Italy for over five years, earning his living and building up his reputation. The piece notes the fame that Johnson had gained in Italy, even being ranked with "the immortal Caruso". In spite of his fame, Johnson displays a properly Canadian modesty:

With that inherent modesty, for which all true British and Canadian artists are noted, he would rather talk about anything else than that wonderful voice of his which has made all Europe proclaim him a second Caruso.

In his success, and his modesty, he displays the spirit of his country. He came with his wife and daughter to visit his parents and to rest his voice for the upcoming season in Italy.

Although Guelphites could choose to stay home and enjoy the Dominion Day parade downtown, they could also travel to distant parts, perhaps to visit their relatives. Both Canadian Pacific and the Grand Trunk Railways offered discount rates on fares for travel within the province.

If the train did not offer enough exercise for some, then there was always the chance to participate in the famous Dunlop Trophy Race. This race was an annual event co-sponsored by the Dunlop Tire & Rubber Goods Co. and CCM. In 1913, the race went from Waterloo to Preston Hill and back for a total of 20 miles.

The churches of Guelph held services on June 30 to prepare the way for the secular Dominion Day celebrations on the morrow. Many services involved themes of progress, change, and movement. The Salvation Army, for example, staged a march near the site depicted in the postcard above:

At the splendid open air service on Wyndham and Carden Streets, the band especially excelled itself. As some one said, "Who could help but march to such music? The word of the cornets was often remarked, it was perfect and always sure."

The Rev. J. D. Fitzpatrick of Norfolk St. Church observed a tension created by the mobility that modern life granted to Canadians. On the one hand, Western civilization in general, and Canada in particular, was characterized by enhanced mobility, represented by the national railways:

It was the church that discovered Japan and China and Africa. It produced the world's knowledge and commerce. Reports from missionaries in the Northwest were the original cause of the building of the Canadian Pacific Northwest Railway across the continent.

Unfortunately, the opportunities presented by the nation's transportation networks also threatened to unravel its moral fabric:

"The great foe of the Dominion," said the reverend speaker, "is materialism." No nation ever perished when she was poor; Egypt, Babylonia, Rome and Israel, were all destroyed when at the height of their material prosperity. The reforms needed in the Dominion will be brought about by the church; the evil of worldliness will be conquered by it.

Although it may be a mixed blessing, mobility is something that Canadians expect and enjoy, as their excursions on Canada Day attest.

Eramosa Rd.

This postcard presents a view of Eramosa Rd. (incorrectly labelled "Eramora Road") looking northward from the intersection of Eramosa, Woolwich St. and Upper Wyndham.

Text on the back of the card indicates that it was produced by "The International Stationary Co., Picton, Canada". It is one of a series of postcards of Guelph printed by the company, all done in this warm, sepia tone, with a narrow white frame and art-nouveau-font label on the front.

The photo clearly shows incandescent street lamps, directly above the hat of the woman in the foreground, that were introduced to downtown Guelph in 1912. The card is postmarked for June 1st, 1916, so the image can be dated to ca. 1915.

This card is one of my favourites. It is an unusual card in the sense that it is a professional card that has people in the foreground. Most professional cards of Guelph, at least in the Edwardian era, are of notable structures or places, less often of activities or events. Activity cards often feature people but focus on leisure or recreation, e.g., strolling in the park. Here, the ladies crossing Woolwich St. are in the foreground, but are not engaged in a recreation. Indeed, they are dressed in their fancy attire. So, what are they doing?

It is hard to be sure, but the photo offers some clues. Union Jacks and Ensigns are seen flying in the windows above (James) Steele's Wire Works (the building on the corner at the right margin of the photo). A line of Union Jacks and perhaps other flags is suspended across the road from Craven's Furniture to Trafalgar Square, opposite. (Henry Craven is listed as an upholsterer in the 1917 Vernon's City Directory, at 5 Trafalgar Square). In "Guelph: Take a look at us!", Donald Coulman provides a picture of the Dominion Day parade in downtown in 1912, noting that the buildings are covered in patriotic bunting (1977, n. 180). Dominion Day marked the establishment of Canada as a confederation and a British dominion on July 1st, 1867. (It is now known as Canada Day.) It could be that the ladies in the foreground are on their way to a Dominion Day celebration.

The background is also interesting. The Trafalgar Square road continues from the picture's center down to the Eramosa bridge. Eramosa then continues dramatically up and over the crest of Eramosa hill on its way out of town.

Things are happening along the roadway. A car appears to be turning off the road in the middle ground. Is it a Model T? Perhaps it is headed into the garage next to Craven's Furniture. Vernon's directory lists a "Maylor Auto Sales" at 9 Trafalgar Square, which seems likely to be the garage in the picture. The directory lists seven "garages" in total, suggesting that cars were becoming popular in the city, even at this relatively early date.

Further down the road, beside the furniture store, is a passenger rail car, apparently sitting on the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks next to the road. I gather that it is not going to cross the road since the white barrier poles on either side of the tracks are raised to permit traffic to cross.

Then comes the Eramosa bridge, spanning the Speed River. After the bridge, the colouration of the roadway seems to change, suggesting that the pavement ended there and that Eramosa road remained a dirt road at the time.

Although it is necessarily a snapshot, the picture provides an interesting tension. The three figures in the foreground approach the camera, walking with a purpose, even as Eramosa Road seems to lead the eye off in the opposite direction, away from the camera and over the horizon. Also, the different means of mobility, that is, walking, driving, and riding the train, remind the viewer about the places in the area outside of the frame of the picture. Retrospectively, the presence of the cars makes me think about how profoundly automotive traffic is about to change the city and the lives of the people in it.

Here is the current Street View image of the same vantage:

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Many of the details have changed. For example, the roadway has been widened, squeezing Trafalgar Square in order to accommodate more cars on Eramosa. The buildings on the right margin have been replaced by The Matrix Centre. Eramosa Road has replaced the "Trafalgar Square" address and now meets Woolwich St. However, the topology of the streets remains essentially the same.

The postcard was sent through the mail, so the back has some interesting things on it as well. First, it has a two-cent stamp, reflecting the fact that rates for postcards increased from one to two cents in 1915 for North American delivery. The text of the letter reads as follows:

Thurs. a.m.
Dear Margaret: Rec. your card. have the house-cleaning just about done. giving Ida a party on sat. after-noon. if Sid doesn't get off, you had better come up over sunday. Ida would like you to be here for her party.
With love from all
Grace and the boss

The receiving address is: "Mrs. S. Dudley, 88 Indian Grove, Toronto, Ont". I wonder if Margaret made it for the party. Or Sid. And, who was "the boss"?