Sunday afternoon marked the last firing of a three pound canon at the old stone house yesterday where a re-enactment of the war of 1812 was held. Organizer Cathy Fisher stated the success of the event as over 1000 students attended this last weekend for a grade 7 and 8 day orientation. The purpose of the event however was not entirely about historical education but to celebrate the rich history the shoreline of Sault Ste. Marie really has!
Credit: Connie Carello
Dressed in costume and never breaking character, the demonstrators breathed life into the pages of the history textbook. The surgeon, Ed Christufek, serious and very unskilled, expressed how he would offer to “fix” ailments attending visitors had – either by burning their skin with blisters, or pulling out their sore tooth with several sharp and visually disturbing tools. The skit was shockingly informative as such practices were used in previous war-times. Other stations included a Pioneer Royal of the Newfoundland Regime, Lyn Downer, who exhibited how a tool – resembling a weapon – was used to clear brush on a voyage. Canon Demonstrators, Andrew Flint, Laurence Gutcher, Paul Comission, Colin Brown, David McMikkins, Ben Fisher, and the unforgettable Dave Brunelle, were dressed in royal British attire and posed in tableaux for local2.
The event served its purpose – to grasp the attention and emphasize the importance a small town like Sault Ste. Marie has had on the rest of Canada – an interactive, entertaining, informative history rendezvous.
