You Must Visit Pioneer Village in Toronto

We were there on a Monday morning - the only other people there aside from us were a few couples and three classes of school children. It was ideal. We arrived at about 10 am and the guides in the various positions were still energetic and happy to answer questions and tell stories. Without their explanations, the visit would have been a lot less meaningful.

It is likely that weekends and summers are more crowded and so it is possible you will get less than the one-on-one attention that we received.

John, originally from Scotland, has been working as a tinsmith in pioneer village for the past 25 years or so. He is a real character and my daughter and I were very happy to have met him and have had the opportunity to enjoy his stories and his sense of humor.

He showed us - and then the elementary school class that soon joined us - how he makes lanterns and small vessels from tin.

John told us how the women in the 1800s were essentially supposed to work in the home and raise the children and they were not really supposed to be in workshops, but to buy whatever they needed from the general store. However, they knew that if they ordered a lamp directly from the tinsmith they would get it cheaper because they wouldn't have to pay the general store mark-up. So they would send their daughters to the tinsmith and the daughter would tell him what mother wanted. The tinsmith would ask about the size and other particulars and then ask how mother intended to pay. Since only the rich had money, they would pay in bushels of produce, for example. The tinsmith would mark the amount down in his ledger and if what she ordered was worth less than what she could pay, she would be left with a credit toward the next order, and if it was less, she would owe him and pay when she could.

When I asked how long it would take to fulfill an order, John laughed and said that people did not ask such a question back then. It took as long as it took. The daughter might pop into the shop and ask if the order was ready and either it was or it was not.

These were only some of the stories we heard from John. He is happy to answer any and all questions and will amaze you with his knowledge of the times.

Tin lamps and candle holders made by John (and perhaps other tinsmiths as well) are sold in the gift shop.

Nairi, who worked part time at Pioneer Village while studying history at York University, stayed on full-time after completion of her studies. She explained that, while she is acting as village weaver, in actual fact, women did not work outside the home in those by-gone days.

Nairi showed us how the loom is set up, with a foot-pedal to operate sets of strings according to the design she prepared, and how she makes the weave. It looked like painstaking, eye-straining, work. Since Nairi does the weaving herself, she can answer all your questions about it. Some weaving products are available for purchase at the gift shop.

The huge waterwheel outside this building moves two separate pieces of equipment: one that crushes the grain into flour and the other that operates a line that lifts the flour onto the threshing floor above for separation into flour and bran. You can also go downstairs to see the huge gears and hear them groaning as they turn.

Blythe, a theatre student who stayed to work full-time at Pioneer Village after having completed her studies (she is still auditioning for parts as well), explained the life of the priest's family in the home across from the church.

I have not shown you the school, the church, the doctor's residence and office (by the way, in the 1800s, they did not sterilize their equipment nor wash their hands between patients - and the wife would see patients if the doctor was off delivering a baby or otherwise busy out of the office!), the photography studio, the animal barn, the general store, and much more!

You might want to consult the Black Creek Pioneer Village website for more information.