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President’s Message
Hi all, I hope that you had a great summer. Nice and warm with little rain, it was just the way I like it. But all good things must come to an end, with cooler nights later sunrises here already.
We remained busy all summer, with Kim and I dropping into the Georgina Village Museum every Tuesday morning to tend the gardens at the Quilters Cabin, and to make sure that the caboose remains in tip top shape. We need to thank Stella Trainor, Gail Moore, Dave Waite and several other people who accompanied us to the Village every week. The gardens look fabulous! Kim and I also set up the GHS pop-up display at the Georgina Farmers Market a on June 8th and July 13th this past summer. Thanks to Bob and Jeannie Holden and Tom and Bonnie Glover for helping out, and to Natalia and her crew for supplying a great spot for us. It’s always fun to speak to everyone about the rich history of Georgina.
And I am excited to announce that we will be holding our September General Meeting at the old Georgina Civic Centre! Thanks so much to Town staff for accommodating us, especially to Jodi Pridham for getting this done. We have arranged for very special guides who know the Civic Centre inside out, but we’ll keep them secret for now. I am looking forward to this meeting. We will be meeting on the front porch for meet and greet at 6:30, meeting starts at 7pm, Tuesday, September 16.
I’m looking forward to seeing you all there,
Bye for now, Paul
Right are the gardens and Quilter’s Cabin, now the Georgina Historical Society office at the Georgina Village Museum. Our thanks go out to the efforts of the GHS crew keeping everything neat and trim.
June’s Meeting at Christ Church, Roches Point
Pictured above is our gracious guide to Christ Church and its grounds at Roches Point.
Our June general meeting was a great success!
Held at the Roches Point Christ Church on June 17th, it was a wonderful event. Our gracious guide and host Mary Watson did a great job of explaining the details of this gorgeous church, and the tour of the burial ground was fascinating. We had a good turnout of Georgina Historical Society members, it’s always so nice to see such a great group. And what a beautiful evening it was, with sunlight filtering through the trees and a warm breeze off the lake.
Our upcoming meeting should be just as enjoyable, coming up on Tuesday September 16 at the old Georgina Civic Centre. Details are elsewhere in this newsletter. Enjoy the pictures of our June meeting.
Below – An interior view of Christ Church; designed by its first Rector, Rev. Walter Stennett, it was constructed in
1862 and the first service was given in January 1863.
Below – The Rose Window at the back of the chapel interior.
At Music in the Street
Jeannie and Bob Holden with Tom and Bonnie Glover man our refreshment booth in the gatehouse at the Georgina Village Museum.
Our booth at the Georgina Farmers Market on July the 13th
The GHS presented a pop-up display at the Georgina Farmers Market on July the 13th. It generated a lot of interest in our rich local history. Left is our President Paul Brady at the display.
Our Pioneer Ancestors:Nineteenth Century Apple Cider and Apple Butter Production
Its fall and an especially a busy time for farmers; bringing in the harvest was very labour intensive until replaced by machines in more modern times. An early book published in 1905 entitled Pen Pictures of Early Pioneer Life in Upper Canada written by Michael Gonder Scherk provides us with a near contemporary glimpse of pioneer activities at harvest time. (Remember, this book was published 120 years ago!)We thought it might be interesting to share some of these activities with you in our fall issues this year.
Apple Cider
“AFTER the orchards which the first settlers planted out had matured (which for apples generally took about twenty-five years), they had fruit in abundance. Large quantities of apples were shipped away to the new settlements, where the settlers had none. The balance was either packed away for winter use, or made into cider and apple-sauce, or apple-butter, as some still call it. We cannot say just where the custom of making apple-sauce originated, but apparently our forefathers brought the custom with them from their former homes in the States. It is probable that it was introduced by their ancestors when they came from Europe, where the custom also prevailed. The windfalls, i.e., apples which had been blown down by the wind, along with apples of a poorer grade were heaped up in a waggon-box and taken to a cider mill, which some person in the neighborhood was sure to possess, one mill sufficing for a number of families, although cider-making was a business of itself, and was a source of profit to any one owning a mill.”
“Cider was generally made out of the sour apples, the sweet apples being kept for thickening the cider after it had been boiled into syrup. In the early days the apples were not wormy, and, therefore, did not require any more attention than a slight washing, and sometimes not even that, before being sent to the mill. The cider mill and press were usually kept in an outhouse erected for the purpose. The apples were first ground up in the mill. The cider mill consisted of two solid wooden cylinders, from two and a half to three feet in length, and one and a half feet in diameter, placed close together, horizontally, in a framework of wood. The surface of the cylinders was ribbed or fluted, so that the flutings of the one cylinder fitted in exactly between the flutings of the other, like the cogs of two wheels. The apples being poured into a hopper were drawn in between these wooden wheels, which crushed them into a pulp. One of the cylinders was longer and reached above the other. To the top of this long cylinder was fastened a pole ; a horse was hitched to this pole and driven around the mill, causing the cylinder to revolve. After the apples had been put through the cider mill, the pulp thus formed was placed in the press and the juice squeezed out.”
“The first press was a clumsy affair, the hand or screw press coming later on. A square box arrangement, made of hardwood slats, was placed on a heavy beam ; this beam had an upright piece of timber fastened to the end of it ; another beam, say about thirty feet long, with one end mortised in this upright piece, extended over the box and had another box weighted with stones attached to the end, so arranged that by turning a wooden screw that fastened into the beam the box and beam could be raised or lowered so as to bring the weight of both down on the apple pulp which had been placed in the first box. In the bottom of the slat box was placed a layer of straw. The ground up apples were put into a cloth and placed on top of this, and on the top of the whole was placed a number of wooden blocks, which extended above the top of the box for the beam to rest upon, and so squeeze out the juice. Cider was mostly used for making apple-sauce, but a few barrels, called by some rack cider, were kept for drinking purposes, for the different bees, and harvest time, and social gatherings. After temperance sentiments gained ascendancy the custom was abolished, for, after the cider had been kept a while, it became ” hard.” Hard cider, because it contained a percentage of alcohol, was very intoxicating. It was sometimes called “Apple Jack.” Cider was also made into vinegar, and of the best quality ; by being left exposed to the air, i.e., not corked up, it became vinegar in a few months’ time.”
Making Apple Butter.
“The boiling down of the cider into sauce or apple butter, as it was called by some, was a job which required a good deal of time and labor. On the morning of the day set for the work, the big copper, or brass kettle kept for the purpose, and very often holding a barrel of cider, was brought out, scoured, and after being hung on a pole placed over crotched sticks fixed in the ground a few feet apart, it was filled with cider and a brisk fire built underneath. The boiling down of the cider to a syrupy consistence was commenced early in the morning ; about three or four o’clock in the afternoon the apples (preferably sweet), which had been previously pared, cored and sliced, were added. After three or four more hours’ boiling over a slow fire, so that the same would not burn, and constant stirring with a short board or paddle full of holes fastened to the end of a long pole, or an appliance fitted with paddles and placed in the kettle to prevent the apples from settling to the bottom and burning, the sauce was finished. It was then flavored to suit the taste, with either cinnamon, allspice, nutmegs, sassafras or other. spices, put in crocks and stored away for future use. The keeping qualities of the sauce depended largely on the amount of boiling given it. Why it was called ” apple butter ” we do not know. It may have been because it was so often spread on the bread like butter, or it may have been because when kept very long it would sometimes get solid and could be cut with a knife like butter. The name was not inappropriate.”
Source: Scherk, Michael Gonder, Pen Pictures of Early Pioneer Life in Upper Canada, Published by W. Briggs, Toronto, 1905, pp. 159-162.
Nineteenth century cider production on a farm; cider mill is to the right and rear of the cider press located in the foreground.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/cider-mill-19th-century-granger.html
After crushing the apples in a cider mill, apple pulp is then pressed to extract the juice to make cider.
Commercial cider production, illustration (1874). Apples from an orchard (in background) are being crushed in a horse-driven mill (right). The pulp is then placed in layers separated by straw or cloth (lower left) and compressed with a hand-operated press (left). The resulting juice is placed in vats and allowed to ferment to form cider.
https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/1120893/view/cider-production-19th-century-illustration
Where in Georgina?
This month’s mystery location should be a no brainer. Where and what is it?
This Month in Ontario History
September 30, 1832, The Rideau Canal in eastern Ontario is opened. The oldest continuously operated canal system in North America.
September 28, 1867, Toronto becomes capital of Ontario.
September 3, 1972, Jerry Grant is the first driver to average over 200 mph in a qualifying lap in Champ Car history, achieving a speed of 201.414 mph at Ontario Motor Speedway.
News
Later this year our old Civic Centre will be no more as it will be demolished once the new building has been finished, everything moved in, and up and running. There is supposed to be a public tour of the facility before it is gone. We are privileged to get a sneak preview tour on September 16th conducted by several special mystery guests. See below for times etc. Parking will be available in the round-about out front and behind the Centre itself. Please do not park at the side of access routes in and out of the Centre.
Events
Tuesday, Sept. 16th: General meeting at the front porch of the Georgina Civic Centre. Meet and greet at 6:30 PM, a brief meeting for business to follow at 7:00 PM followed by a conducted tour by special guests.
Monday, Oct. 6th: Board Meeting, Quilter’s Cabin, Georgina Village Museum. 2:00 PM
Tuesday Oct. 21st: General Meeting Barb & Dick Munro will reminisce of the old days in Sutton