CBC follow up re Shrine vs town planning

A CBC radio and television crew spent much of the day in our area yesterday doing background research and interviews at the Shrine and Ste. Marie. I was asked to participate as a local historian and reiterated my concern over the need for responsible planning that includes consultation with all stakeholders and more attention to the need for historical/archaeological assessments (whether required by the law or not) in Huronia due the the richness and density of our area's cultural resources.
I am pleased to see this process is still moving forward and has not lost the attention of the national media.

http://www.martyrs-shrine.com/

Do archaeological assessment at recycling site, Hunter urges

By DOUGLAS GLYNN

Jamie Hunter holds a restored Huron pot that was found at a local archaeological excavation

Huronia museum curator Jamie Hunter this week reiterated his suggestion that a comprehensive archaeological assessment should be carried out before development of a proposed recycling facility at 1001 Franke Kindred Rd.

Hunter made the suggestion to Wes Crown, Midland's director of planning and development, in a letter dated Oct. 28, 2011. The letter was discussed earlier this month at the planning and development committee meeting.

"I would respectfully request that the developer/proponent of the re-cycling plant do a comprehensive archaeological assessment of the property before serious development on the site commences, and as town Planner you do have the ability to see that this takes place," the letter said.

Coun. Pat File said when the re-zoning application was made the committee was told it had been done. "There could be important stuff there," she said.

Another documentary on our friend Etienne.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/dossiers/2011/etienne_brule/
We have a tentative booking for our May or June chapter meeting for another presentation on Tiny Township's first European resident. Mr. Bode has just returned from Paris where he made a presentation on Etienne Brule to the Historical Society of Champigny sur Marne, the birthplace of our friend Etienne (or Steve, as you wish…).
Stay tuned for confirmation of the date for this presentation - this one I would like to promote to the public.

C.W. Jefferys’ concept of “Re-enactment of Past Experience” for the arrival of French adventurer Étienne Brûlé in Huronia, early 17th century

photo slide show link test

This is a preliminary test to add more photo resources to the blog.

The link is to my set of Archaeology related photos stored on my flickr account online.   If this proves to be a good method, the chapter will look into setting up its own flickr account to store and make available photographs.


slide show link  some 50 images

controls for the slide show:

• towards the top right of the slide show screen you can select show info which will reveal the caption for each photo as you go through the slide show.
• use the options menu also near the top right to change the speed of the slideshow to slow, medium or fast 
• to view an individual photo outside of the slide show, you have to click on its title -- once you pop out one image you will find when you return to the slide show that you will need to advance the show to the next slide by clicking the next button at the top centre of the screen.

Comments on how useful this sort of photo access is to you would be welcomed,  please leave any feedback on this blog post by using the comment feature.

Thanks, Bill Gibson

Water Levels in Old Huronia

As noted in numerous previous posts this past fall, the Martyr's Shrine and Ste. Marie among the Hurons joined forces in mounting a campaign to stop the development of an industrial site that they are concerned would detract from their operations and possibly destroy some sites that relate to Huronia's well documented past. In preparation for this I was asked to provide what information I could regarding sites in the vicinity of this proposed development. As no archaeological assessment had been requested by the Town of Midland I resorted to my database and what ever other documentation at my disposal to assist these historic sites in building their case.

While investigating archaeological and historical sites in and around Ste. Marie among the Huron and the Martyrs Shrine I reviewed "Before and Beyond Sainte Marie" (Friends of Sainte Marie - 1995) and was able to use the research contained within this publication to support the identity and location of numerous sites of interest close to the land in question.
While reviewing this report I came across a section that I had highlighted in earlier research regarding the water level of the Wye River at the time of Ste. Marie (top of page 201). This led me to another report commissioned by the Wye Marsh (Ste. Marie's neighbour on the Wye) regarding the origins of the marsh and the water levels over time. http://www.wyemarsh.com/conservation/pdf/Chittenden-1990-OriginoftheWyeMarsh.pdf

January 12th Members Meeting - planning for 2012-15

Our January meeting will be dedicated to planning for what we wish to accomplish, do or address in 2012.
Some of the subject areas that have come forward to date are:

The Twelfth Night in Huronia

Could it be that the French in Huronia celebrated this festive eve with a song or at least a variation on the lyrics of a song we use today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song)#Origin
There is a good possibility that the lyrics originated as part of a game from France much earlier than the English version that we are familiar with.The version that I think might have been used here would be;

 "La Foi de la loi," and is sung "avec solennite," the sequence being: a good stuffing without bones, two breasts of veal, three joints of beef, four pigs' trotters, five legs of mutton, six partridges with cabbage, seven spitted rabbits, eight plates of salad, nine dishes for a chapter of canons, ten full casks, eleven beautiful full-breasted maidens, and twelve musketeers with their swords.
I can just imagine the French wintering over with the Wendat in Huronia conjuring up the visions that this song might depict. If the "Order of Good Cheer" was adopted here, this might have been one of their favoured past times.