Premier issue 2008

winter 2008
Premier Issue!
Chef secrets
A Hamilton poet’s work
Peek into Limehouse’s past
Studio Brigitte on Mount Nemo
Downtown Georgetown renewed
❄ Winter 2008 1 Escarpment Views

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Escarpment Views
publishers
Mike Davis
Gloria Hildebrandt
Editor
Gloria Hildebrandt
Orchard House Communications
editor@EscarpmentViews.ca
905 873 2834
Art Director
Branimir Zlamalik
gb.com unlimited
art@EscarpmentViews.ca
Accounts Manager
Mike Davis
ads@EscarpmentViews.ca
905 877 9665
Web site Design
Joan Donogh
In-Formation Design
Escarpment Views is published four
times a year and is distributed to selected
areas of communities along the Niagara
Escarpment. Subscriptions in Canada
are $16.80 (GST included) a year.
Subscriptions to the U.S. are $26.25 (GST
included) a year.
The publishers of Escarpment Views are
not responsible for any loss or damage
caused by the contents of the magazine,
whether in articles or advertisements.
Views expressed might not be those of its
publishers or editor.
Gloria’s View of Launching This Magazine
You may be holding a future collector’s item in your hands! Welcome to the
premier issue of Escarpment Views, a magazine dedicated to the people who
choose to live or work close to the Niagara Escarpment, that unique geological
wonder that meanders through southern Ontario from Niagara-on-the-Lake all
the way up to Manitoulin Island.
The name Escarpment Views has two meanings. One celebrates the breathtaking
vistas and scenery that are offered by Escarpment lands. The other meaning
is the beliefs, values and lifestyles of the diverse people who choose to call this
area home. Our goal is to share both aspects with you.
We believe that you share some values, opinions and dreams that are not
restricted by municipal and regional boundaries. People who cherish the towns,
villages and hamlets scattered among the hills, fields and forests along the Escarpment may have attitudes in common with
each other. Do you agree with us?
The publishers of this magazine love this part of southern Ontario. Our roots in Escarpment lands go back to the early
1960s. We have witnessed big changes over the years, and want to share the very best of them with you. This first issue covers
the communities from Terra Cotta to Hamilton. Our plan is to increase our coverage along the Escarpment as we grow.
We are committed to a high quality of journalism. With 25 years of experience as a self-employed writer and editor, I
know the value of professional writers. The articles we publish are objective and balanced, not self promotional. We present
what we think is well worth your time.
This premier issue introduces you to just some of our treasures. We are proud to feature the luminous work of painter
Brigitte Schreyer, whose studio is beautifully situated on Mount Nemo with a view of the Niagara Escarpment’s distinctive
Rattlesnake Point.
The hamlet of Limehouse just reached its 150th anniversary, and Deb Quaile celebrates this achievement with a look
at the history of this once-industrial, now-rural location. Downtown Georgetown has survived a disruptive renovation, and
Nancy Wigston revisits its shops and services now that the dust has settled.
We feature some poetry by Hamilton writer Gertrude Olga Down, who has been named this year’s featured poet by the
Tower Poetry Society, the oldest poetry group in Canada. Ancaster chef Misty Ingraham has agreed to write a regular column
for us, sharing her unusual perspective on cooking. Follow her tips and you’ll be able to cook without being a slave to
recipes!
This magazine even has a centre photo spread! Turn to page 14 and see if Webster’s Falls in winter doesn’t take your
breath away. We are thrilled to share some of the photography of Richard and Eleanore Kosydar, whose book The Dundas
Valley: Visions of Beauty, is reviewed in our book column. Dan O’Reilly shows you how to build a good fire as you snuggle
in for some great reading.
There’s much more to discover along the Niagara Escarpment. We’ll be very busy discovering its wonders. Please share
your ideas for people, places and things we should highlight in the magazine. We hope you join us on this journey.
Please contact us
concerning advertising,
subscriptions, story ideas
and photography. Your
comments are welcome!
Escarpment Views,
50 Ann St.
Halton Hills, (Georgetown)
ON L7G 2V2
editor@EscarpmentViews.ca
www.EscarpmentViews.ca
Gloria Hildebrandt
Editor
We’re proud to be
founding a magazine
on the solid rock
of the Niagara
Escarpment
photo by Mike davis
All rights reserved. Reproduction in
whole or in part is prohibited without
the permission of the copyright holders.
Contact the publishers for more
information.
ISSN 1916-3053
❄ Winter 2008 3 Escarpment Views

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Escarpment Views 4 ❄ Winter 2008

Escarpment Views
❄ Winter 2008
10
6 14-15
17
21 25
cover: The Schreyer house
photo by Mike davis
3 Editor’s letter:
Gloria’s view of launching
this magazine
6 Brigitte Schreyer:
Continuing the
artistic tradition
Schreyer was one of 25 artists who
took part in Arctic Quest, a two-week
voyage by ship through the Arctic …
10 From Fountain Green
to Limehouse
But whatever the gossip about hidden
secrets in the surrounding limestone,
pioneers knew full well …
14 Featured photo:
Webster’s Falls in winter
17 Old made new:
Downtown Georgetown
Yet I’m distracted by aromas of
fresh baking and spices. Hmm,
is that cinnamon or …
21 Misty’s view of cooking
22 The best burn in winter
23 Book views
25 Poetry of Gertrude Olga Down
❄ Winter 2008 5 Escarpment Views

Brigitte
Schreyer:
Continuing the
Artistic Tradition
By Gloria Hildebrandt
Photos by Mike Davis
Visiting the studio of Brigitte Schreyer
is a unique experience. Located in the
lower level of her striking home, it is lightfilled
and warmed by a cheery fire and
the sounds of classical music. The art on
display glows with beautiful jewel tones,
whether depicting flowers, landscapes,
views of houses or portraits of people.
Brigitte Schreyer
at work on an Arctic
watercolour
Escarpment Views 6 ❄ Winter 2008

From the driveway to
Studio Brigitte
The Schreyers’ house with Studio
Brigitte on the lower level
The Schreyers’ living room
Schreyer’s works on display
Schreyer paints in a representational
style in both watercolours
and oil. On her desk
at the moment is a watercolour
of an iceberg. She is in what
will surely come to be known as her
Arctic period.
“I’m quite involved with Arctic
landscapes,” she explains. Having
been there twice, most recently last
July, she is going again this year.
“I’m very much inspired by my
Arctic trip.”
Schreyer was one of 25 artists
who took part in Arctic Quest, a
two-week voyage by ship through
the Arctic to mark the 100th anniversary
of Roald Amundsen’s 1906
journey through the Northwest
passage. The artists distributed art
supplies to the remote communities
they visited and began their
own work responding to their experiences.
The biggest evidence of Schreyer’s
inspiration fills one wall of
her studio. Entitled “Listen to the
Sounds of the Arctic,” it’s a large
triptych of icebergs floating in icy
dark water. She tells of sitting with
fellow artists in a Zodiac inflatable
boat while their guide instructed
them to close their eyes and listen.
❄ Winter 2008 7 Escarpment Views

Brigitte Schreyer
Schreyer points out details in
her work as she names the sounds.
“I heard water running down this
iceberg. Four different birds calling.
Ice floes were bumping against
our boat. In the distance, the sound
of a Zodiac motor. See, here’s the
Zodiac just going around this iceberg.
And there was wind blowing
through the icebergs.”
She is still creating paintings
from her sketches and notes of
her last northern journey. “I’m
working on Arctic landscapes,” she
states simply. “This is my life now.”
What interests her about her
Arctic work is the contrast with
her earlier paintings. “With watercolours,
the subject matter can be
very detailed,” she explains. “With
oil I can be bolder. I use bigger
brushes, bigger canvases. There’s
less fine detail. I love the cool, big
ice masses. The minimal shapes.”
And while the Arctic subjects
have a cool colour palette, it’s surprising
how much colour Schreyer
observed in the Arctic. Her works
contain whites and blues, but also
browns, greens and even touches
of purple and pink.
Schreyer’s artistic talent may
have been inherited. Her father was
a good amateur oil painter, judging
by some of his small landscape canvasses
that she keeps on display.
“He would hike and sketch,” she
says. “I would see him paint all the
time. And I was always good at art
in school. My paintings and sketches
would be hung on the wall.”
It wasn’t until she moved from
Germany to Canada that she really
began exploring her artistic abilities.
Since 1978 she’s taught watercolour
painting, something she still does in
workshops through the year.
Her teaching schedule is on her
Web site at www.BrigitteSchreyer.
com and the workshops are often
held in Lowville United Church.
She advises that her workshops are
not for rank beginners. People will
get more out of them if they’ve taken
a beginner’s workshop first. By sharing
her own artistic techniques, she’s
continuing the artistic tradition of
her father.
Bateman’s eagle sketch on the wall
The indoor garden in the dining room
After showing the many canvasses
downstairs, Schreyer leads
the way upstairs. The house makes
a big impact with its open spaces
framed by dark wood, with large
picture windows showing forest
and lawn rolling down to trees. In
the distance, on the horizon, is the
distinctive shape of the Niagara
Escarpment’s Rattlesnake Point.
Above the timber-mantelled
fireplace hangs another Arctic work
for sale, depicting part of Baffin Island.
The living room invites lounging
in the comfortable sofas while
snow falls beyond the window.
Yet there’s more to see in this
beautiful house. Beyond the central
staircase which has railings made
from branches found on the property,
is a little den with colourful bottles
lining the window and a painting
of Schreyer’s daughter on the wall.
On the opposite wall is what
must be the most expensive original
sketch in the world by Robert
Bateman, the renowned nature art-
Colourful glass and a favourite painting
ist. To own it, you would have to
buy the house, because it’s drawn
right on the wall. Bateman drew it
while talking on the phone when
he lived in this house after designing
and building it.
Harry Witt, left, owner of
Credit Creek Art Gallery, recently
hosted Robert Bateman’s public
appearance at the gallery.
Escarpment Views 8 ❄ Winter 2008

“Listen to the Sounds of the Arctic” on the wall of Schreyer’s studio
Brigitte and her husband Klaus
met Robert Bateman in 1985. “I
had no idea that one year later I
would buy his house,” she says.
One day about 21 years ago,
Brigitte and Klaus were out for a
drive. They saw a sign announcing
10 acres for sale and enquired.
When Brigitte found out that
Bateman owned the property, she
became curious about seeing it.
“I was smitten by the house
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and scenery,” she remembers. “I
just loved it.”
“You can see the Japanese and
African influences in the house,”
points out Klaus, a design and
food service consultant. “It also
looks a bit like a chalet.”
Bateman told Brigitte that he
hoped his house would belong to
another artist. Since moving in
many years ago, the Schreyers have
had little need to renovate.
“Structurally, it’s unchanged,”
says Brigitte. “We love the atmosphere.”
The eagle sketch on the wall
is the seed of the Bateman painting
entitled “Vigilance,” which
Schreyer enjoys explaining to
visitors. Schreyer’s daughter asked
Bateman to autograph the wall
on one of his visits to his former
home, which he did. Now when
the Schreyers repaint the walls,
they leave the sketch untouched.
Art is displayed everywhere
through the house. Some are Schreyer’s
works that aren’t for sale: one of
Klaus reclining with a hat over his
eyes, portraits of their children and
friends, a pet cat… An interior hallway
is hung floor to ceiling with the
works of other artists.
Family aside, “The best thing
in my life was buying the house,”
Schreyer declares. “Every season
is gorgeous. There’s something different
every day. The grounds are
inspiring.”
In the house that Bateman
built on Mount Nemo, the artistic
tradition continues. n
❄ Winter 2008 9 Escarpment Views

A village scarred by its own industry, with heaps of broken rock
piled behind buildings. The railway tracks curve to the bottom
left of the photo. Kiln towers at right. Circa 1900.
Photo from Halton’s Pages of the Past, Gwen Clark, 1955, pg. 33.
Not only was limestone burned to create lime for mortar and plastering, much
stone was shipped for such buildings as Osgoode Hall and Emmanuel College
residence in Toronto, and the Basilica in Hamilton.
Business district of Limehouse circa 1900,
with the hotel and porch visible from the
rear, centre of photo
Escarpment Views 10 ❄ Winter 2008

From Fountain Green
to Limehouse
By Deborah Quaile
Photos courtesy of John McDonald
“The land in [Esquesing] township as in almost every other
part of Upper Canada, is divided into lots of two hundred
acres each…” early immigrant John Newton noted in
his journals. “What may be called towns in this country
are indeed few and far between; the class of emigrants
with little money therefore are seldom induced to settle
in them, finding greater encouragement to lay out their
capital on land, which never fails in a few years to reward
industry and economy with independence and ease.”
John and Mary Newton, circa 1870
Such were the musings of
British immigrant John
Newton, entrepreneur, poet,
author, teacher, and family
man, on the beginnings of life
in Upper Canada. Newton tried
Georgetown, Erin, and Nelson before
settling, in 1846, in Fountain
Green or Limehouse, as the hamlet
is known today. Strangely, it was the
poet Newton who later changed
the fanciful name to its more prosaic
one.
Originally populated by the Mississauga
natives, the tract had been
purchased by the British government,
surveyed in 1818, and was then offered
for white settlement. The first
pioneer in the area was Adam Stull,
who obtained his Crown deed for lot
22, con. 6 in 1820. John Meredith,
or Maradith, obtained lot 23, con. 6
in 1822, and the northern portion
of the hamlet eventually took over
the western section of his 200 acres.
The location was given the poetic
name of Fountain Green circa 1840
when Mr. Clendenning bought the
sawmill.
Snuggled down in a valley watered
by a branch of the Credit River,
the hamlet is lush with the tangy
scent of cedars that creep their way
into crevices of the fissured limestone.
Uplift and glaciation caused
leftovers of ancient tropical reefs to
create some intriguing alterations
to the limestone deposits, including
numerous caves and crevices
that have been rumoured to offer
hideaways for thieves, bootleggers,
and rustlers. Rumours of murder in
a darkened cave along Jones’ Creek
added a further aura of mystery to
the area.
But whatever the gossip about
hidden secrets in the surrounding
limestone, pioneers knew full
well the value of the rock. Early log
shanties were chinked with mud
and moss, a mixture that was never
very secure and sturdy. When time
permitted residents gathered for a
logging bee and cut about half an
acre’s worth of timber to form a
large squared chimney. Within that
the pioneers placed broken-up lime
to burn to powder.
Cracked by sledgehammers and
blasted by dynamite, the Escarpment
shuddered as men chipped
away at its bones, hauling rocks to
dump into the top of the kiln. Two
companies, Lindsay and Farquhar,
and Bescoby and Worthington,
erected kilns that manufactured a
vast quantity of lime shipped out
by wagon. Because of the voracious
need for firewood, the landscape
was quickly cleared of available
trees in the winter, and thus provided
the impetus for easier farming
come spring.
When the long cut for the
Grand Trunk Railway sliced
through the area in 1856, people
poured into the hamlet. Lots for
village homes were hastily surveyed
so 200 workers and their
families could have places to live
while railway construction took
place. Tradesmen and shop owners
❄ Winter 2008 11 Escarpment Views

From Fountain Green to Limehouse
welcomed the upsurge, and peaceful
little Fountain Green entered a
new age of prosperity. The bustling
community also boasted three hotels,
three general stores, and mills
to support its residents.
“In the year 1857 Messrs.
Gowdy & Moore finally purchased
the works owned by Mr. Bescoby,
and Mr. Farquhar bought out Mr.
Lindsay and became sole owner.
Messrs. Gowdy & Moore have
six kilns, each of them capable of
burning 35,000 bushels per year, or
210,000 bushels in all,” reported the
Historical Atlas of Halton County in
1877. As well, some of the quarried
stone was apparently shipped out
to construct buildings such as Osgoode
Hall and Emmanuel College
residence in Toronto, or the Basilica
in Hamilton.
The name was changed to
Limehouse when John Newton
became postmaster in 1857. Newton,
who had expressed his literary
ambitions when he first arrived
in Upper Canada in 1842, had by
now been published in British and
Canadian publications, notably his
long epistles to the Leinster Express
regarding settlement in the backwoods.
His poem, “The Emigrant,”
a lengthy piece of 837 lines, chronicled
the experiences of a European
adjusting to a new land.
But Newton was willing to work
with his hands as well as his head
and reaped the rewards of industry
of which he had earlier written. He
constructed a mill and ground all
the water lime for the GTR line
by pulverizing the lumps of burned
rock, slaking the powder with water,
and then mixing it with sand
and animal hair to create mortar.
When the ground lime was mixed
with water only, it made a smooth
putty coat for plastering walls, providing
a step up from unfinished
logs that tended to be drafty between
the chinking.
John then started a woollen mill
named the Empire Blanket Company
in 1852, owned a sawmill
adjoining the factory, and was a Justice
of the Peace.
Along with his son James, Newton
was instrumental in the new
1872 fireproof paint factory using
the red and blue clays from lot 22,
con. 7 to create their modest colour
line. Meikle, Newton & Co. had
celebrated paints that won awards
for the fact that they were durable,
fireproof, inexpensive, and leadfree.
In 1874 James became the sole
proprietor. The paints were widely
reputed and generally used to paint
“cars, roofs, and machinery of all
kinds, there being eight distinct
shades of the paint,” the historical
atlas boasted.
Limehouse was a bustling minimetropolis,
but after six days a week
of work, it carefully reserved Sunday
as a day of rest. John Meredith
sold two acres to the fledgling Presbyterian
congregation in 1832 for a
cemetery and church. There had already
been a burial on the grounds,
possibly that of Mary Snyder, a
three-year-old who had reportedly
wandered off into the bush and perished
of exposure. Yet the church
wasn’t erected until 1861. At that
point it was jointly financed by the
Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and
Methodists, and became known to
all as Limehouse Union Church.
In 1876 the Methodists built their
own stone church which operated
until the 1930s, and was later resurrected
as Limehouse Memorial
Hall by the Women’s Institute.
The face of industry changed
when a fire broke out in the woollen
mill in 1893, taking with it the
paint factory, lumber mill, and 100
cords of wood used to fuel the water
lime mill. Residents feared that
their homes would be lost to flames
as well, but the arrival of a horsedrawn
fire engine from Georgetown
helped to hose down the
spread of wildfire.
The Toronto Suburban Electric
Railway opened a station on 5 th
Line allowing villagers to travel for
business or pleasure between Toronto
and Guelph. By the time automobiles
became regular features
for families and the Depression
swept the country, the radial rail
line ceased operations in 1931.
As early entrepreneurs like John
Newton passed on and the lime
industry was no longer the cornerstone
of the community, Limehouse
retreated into quiet village
life and is today a place beloved for
its historic significance. n
Rockwood writer Deborah Quaile has written four books and
numerous newspaper and magazine articles featuring southern
Ontario history, including L.M. Montgomery: The Norval
Years, 1926-1935, and her latest release, Eramosa Anecdotes.
She is currently working on a compilation of Halton history,
and the life of Limehouse bard John Newton.
Postcard image of the front of Limehouse Hotel Limehouse Hotel circa 1970
Escarpment Views 12 ❄ Winter 2008

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Ice near the base of Webster’s Falls.
Photograph by Richard and Eleanore Kosydar, from their book The Dundas Valley: Visions of Beauty.
Escarpment Views ❄ Winter 2008

Escarpment Views 16 ❄ Winter 2008

Old
Made
New:
Downtown Georgetown
By Nancy Wigston
photos: Mike Davis
F
ive years ago, Barbara and Gordon Brown
moved back home after years living away.
Though eight vacancies then yawned on
Main Street, the couple knew that this dormant
state could not last. The town was as lovely
as any in the region. Only one thing was lacking:
a café of the sort that Barbara had encountered
on her frequent travels in her corporate career,
places where socializing and business were often
intertwined. The Glen Williams native, a dynamic
personality known for her personal style and her
vivid paintings, was delighted to be back. Yet she
couldn’t find a cup of coffee worth drinking.
“So we opened a coffee bar,” she says with a
grin, her eyes alight behind the frames of her leopard-patterned
specs. Today, teas and coffees from
around the world, including some Fair Trade and
organic selections, are brewed at Silvercreek Café,
where a whole new generation is busy discovering
the joys of café society.
Across the street, in the headquarters of
the Business Improvement Association, manager
Kay Matthews describes downtown’s
Paris, London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Georgetown. Pardon me?
Yes, you heard correctly. After a recent renovation costing
more than four million dollars, Georgetown’s centuries-old
“major surgery,”
Main Street, adjacent thoroughfares and charming
most of it underground:
new water laneways are ready to join the choicest company,
mains, gas hook-ups
although a closer-to-home comparison may be
and the like. Anything’s
possible now, and a trip to with Toronto’s Queen Street West. Most evident
Main Street confirms that
are changes like wider sidewalks, which are
innovation is now the rule, not
the exception. In Kay’s office one perfect for sidewalk cafés, more free parking,
morning, she expands on the notion
that downtown Georgetown’s
with lots more to come, and gorgeous
pedestrian-friendly coziness has flourished
precisely because of its relative isola-
seasonal greenery and decorations.
Clumpy cement flower pots are
tion: “This is not a main thoroughfare.”
Yet I’m distracted by aromas of fresh baking gone to side streets. Wroughtiron
benches will complete
and spices. Hmm, is that cinnamon or cloves? I
remember that Kay’s office is right above Foodstuffs,
Georgetown’s singular whole-and-gourmet foods and the picture by late spring.
gift emporium. Maybe that’s it.
❄ Winter 2008 17 Escarpment Views

Downtown Georgetown
A mural on a side street depicts Escarpment country
Main St.’s alleys have special names and signs
On the way out, Kay answers all my food questions.
Downtown Georgetown offers an astonishing
11 restaurants, two cafés, a butcher, a baker,
and on Monday nights, cooking lessons are taught
on this floor at A Movable Feast. Smiling, Kay
opens the door at the end of the hall, revealing
a fully equipped teaching kitchen. This explains
those enticing smells; they are lingering from last
night’s class. Who knew? Too often overlooked,
New and old: The Shepherd’s Crook
now inhabits a former hardware store.
even by those, like me, who live here, downtown
Georgetown, in Kay’s words, has been “waiting to
be found for a while.”
Merchants have been setting up shop
on Main Street since 1823, but if “historic”
equates in your head with stodgy, forget it.
Downtown beckons with boutique-sized shops
and businesses, offering unique items and services
that are limited only by the imagination.
This is a friendly shopping environment that
offers everything from birder’s necessities to
bridal dresses, professionals like lawyers and
accountants, new bikes (at Ollie’s Cycle&Ski,
a Georgetown institution) and the comfiest
athletic shoes (at Feet in Motion). And while
you’re here, join that exercise group you’ve been
promising yourself you would. Afterwards,
treat your muscles to a massage or indulge
Escarpment Views 18 ❄ Winter 2008

New goods among old architecture
yourself in thorough pampering with a variety
of spa services at one of Main Street’s three excellent
spas.
After years of being forgotten by the world,
it seems the world has come to Main Street.
And not only to its seasonal fests or its muchbeloved
Saturday Farmers’ Market from June to
October.
An outstanding example of the new attitude
on Main Street is Casa Lena, operated by
Katie Newton. If it’s affordable and imported,
chances are you’ll find it in Katie’s shop, which
exudes the magic of an open treasure chest.
Amid stock that originates in Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua,
Mexico, India, Russia, Nepal, Ghana
-- the list seems endless – you’ll find that many
items, jewellery, carvings, masks, clothing and
wall hangings, represent the handiwork of African
women’s collectives, or are the creations
of Nicaraguan landmine victims, or have been
made by handicapped kids in Bolivia.
Each and every item here is “handmade
Fair Trade,” says the high-energy brunette,
who has taught in Peru and lived in New York.
For instance, she carries the stylish patchwork
❄ Winter 2008 19 Escarpment Views

Downtown
Georgetown
bags called Bazura, created in
the Philippines out of discarded
juice boxes, priced from $3.98 to
$50.00. From Kenya she has recycled
paper beads, from Guatemala
shirts made out of recycled
cloth, from Togo, plastic jewellery.
Canadian artisans are represented
too, and you might be tempted to
say that Katie sells everything but
the kitchen sink but there they are,
on the walls: sinks in three sizes, all
from sunny Mexico, each guaranteed
to brighten your winter’s day.
Asked why she chose to open up
shop here, the gregarious merchant
says that there was nothing quite the
same as her shop on Main Street.
“I thought I’d make a splash.” But
her offerings also complement Canadian
designer lines in shops like
Merdeka, Elizabeth’s, with its enticing
bridal wear, and trendy Moxxi.
One thing the diverse shops of
downtown have in common is that
they are not mall chains; you won’t
find them anywhere else.
Further down the street, at The
Spa on Main, Greta Markus echoes
Katie’s enthusiasm for downtown.
She and partner Joan Scott are in
absolute agreement: they couldn’t
think of a better place to have a
business. After two years, the Spa
is unrecognizable as its former
incarnation, a convenience store.
High-end Italian skin products
line the shelves; a serene ambience
encourages visitors to escape from
the everyday. As for the “complete
transformation” of Main Street, of
which her spa is a part, “It had to
happen,” says Greta. “Downtown
couldn’t be allowed to become a
ghost town. It sounds like a cliché,
the small town welcome and the
friendliness,but you can feel the
vibration.”
At Trendz Hair Studio, Georgetown
native Kate Carney and business
partner Angela Cree chose
to open on Main Street just over a
year ago, in the premises that once
housed Oxbow Books. Kate’s childhood
memories include a tolerant
bookseller who allowed her and her
pals to sit on the floor and read.
“I don’t remember the tin ceiling
though,” Kate says today, seated
in the little art gallery at the back of
her new studio. The ceiling has been
painted white, and like much of
downtown, the shop has been spiffily
revamped, but the good memories
remain.
Book-loving kids and their parents
now head to The Freckled Lion,
renowned for its selection of titles
and soft toys for children and young
adults. There’s a shelf for their parents,
too.
In the heart of the old town you’ll
also find the Cultural Centre, which
houses both the John Elliot Theatre,
where offerings include plays, lively
debates, jazz and classical performances,
and the town library. The
adjacent art gallery hosts frequent
shows by local talent, their work
enhanced by the beautiful setting,
where the sun streams in through
the stained glass windows of the
original church.
And so, a word to the wise: as
you zip along Highway 7 through
modern Georgetown and its tempting
big box stores, pause to reward
yourself with the discovery of the
renovated heart of old Georgetown.
It’s about time. n
Nancy Wigston is a literary critic
and travel writer who has won
several awards for her travel stories.
She is a longtime resident of
Georgetown.
Escarpment Views 20 ❄ Winter 2008

Misty’s View of Cooking
In my house dwell two chefs (my
husband and I), two eager, budding
chefs (our sons) and two
kitchens full of two culinary
careers’ worth of kitchen paraphernalia.
Our abode is a blend of
stuff from our two past restaurants
combined with the newest innovations
in professional cooking tools
needed for our at-home catering
business. Food is our life and we
would not have it any other way,
even when we cut back on calories
to maintain a healthy weight.
For many in the southern end of
the Niagara Escarpment, food has
also become a source of inspiration
and regular attention. Gone are the
days of European culinary domination;
here is the annual celebration
of outstanding local products and
exceptional wines. We have been
sitting on this gold mine for centuries,
but only in the past 30 or 40
years has the spirit of the land, guided
by whisperings from our rich immigrant
and indigenous souls, been
unearthed.
The products from the Niagara
area prove the point. Simply look
around your grocery stores, on the
side roads that link all of our major
byways, in wine shops and the
LCBO. This long rock is growing
products that speak of the unique
soil and wines that are infused with
its delicious “minerality.”
So how do we embrace all of this
fertility? The first step is to experiment
with locally produced foods
and wines. In Ancaster for example,
Rowe Farms, a local poultry producer,
is featured daily in the enormous
Fortinos store. In this setting anyone
has the opportunity to sample the
mous observation, “We are what we
eat” holds many interpretations for
us today. For the endurance runner,
food may be a scientific recipe of
blended drinks, with fats and carbs
calculated to lab specifications but
for the average, health-conscious
person, food and its preparation
merely present stress. And clearly,
this group cannot say with pride that
they are what they eat, since where
and when they eat could reveal such
formerly unheard-of locations as the
car, the GO train, a bank line up or
beside a mountain of paperwork.
At the Ancaster Old Mill Restaurant,
executive chef Jeff Crump
started the Ontario chapter of the
Slow Food movement. It is his contention
that scenarios like the ones
described above create a need in the
hospitality industry to forsake quality
for speed in culinary preparations.
The movement has the potential
to get customers and gourmet
enthusiasts to slow down their lives
and their approach to food. Doesn’t
quality of a truly local product. In
nearby Dundas, Cumbreas of Dundas,
a gourmet butcher shop, produces
fresh sausages and brings in
the highest quality of meats they can
procure from local producers.
Last June the strawberry farmers
had a premature harvest of tiny
berries. There was outrage from
customers who complained about
the size of the fruit. A local producer
told me that she could not make
people understand that her berries
were actually the sweetest, most
flavourful strawberries they had
grown in years. Jumbo, pale, and
sometimes flavourless California
imports have become the benchmark
for size, regardless of taste.
This producer hopes for the
weather to co-operate again so that
she may see the same-sized fruit
next year. Quality rules over size
and she hopes that the general public
will learn that some of the best
foods come from the soil and not
an engineered crop.
The second step to getting closer
to our Escarpment roots is to work
with the products, to seek them out,
purchase them, and use them when
they are at their peak of freshness.
But using often means cooking. That
is where I hope to come into play.
Ah! Cooking. I feel your dread.
Why is it that most adults in our
generation have virtually no substantial
skills in cooking? The family
menu choices are usually listed as
packaged food favourites – boxed
pasta and powdered cheese, frozen
meals, or a five-finger list of real
dishes that may have been passed
down or learned from a magazine.
We are rocket scientists, doctors,
lawyers, dentists, teachers, farmers,
business people, but we often lack
the basic knowledge to survive our
weekly food dilemma and answer
the deeper, perennial question:
What are we going to have for dinner?
The ultimate irony may lie in
our enormous, granite-countered
cathedrals to food that have rarely
seen any cooks.
A loose paraphrase of culinary
philosopher Brilliat-Savarin’s fayour
stress ease just at the thought
of it? Slow food, slow times at home
during the week and weekend. Spa
food might very well take on an entirely
new connotation!
In columns to come, I plan
to suggest some of the easy but
fundamental skills that apply to
cooking anything, anywhere. I will
also show you how to feel confident
enough to let the ingredients
“speak” to you, and the recipe
books stay closed on the shelf beside
you for reference, but not to
follow blindly. A little knowledge
could open up your pantry and
fridge as storehouses of personal
culinary inspiration. Stock them
well with the best of Escarpment
products and magic can transpire.
Misty Ingraham and husband Bill
Sharpe owned and ran Chez Bear
Bistro in Toronto, The Portable Feast
in Hamilton, and now operate the
catering business The Portable Feast
at Home.
photos: Mike Davis
❄ Winter 2008 21 Escarpment Views

The Best Burn in Winter
By Dan O’Reilly
With winter’s arrival, sitting by the
woodstove or fireplace is a favourite
pastime for Canadians,
whether they just finished several
rigorous hours cross country skiing or spent the
entire day inside relaxing.
Yet an improperly installed or poorly functioning
wood heating system or even an incorrectly
lit fire can be the source of problems
including smoke escaping into the house, longterm
health problems or even a house fire.
Wood smoke pollutants can reduce air
quality and cause breathing difficulties, while
residential wood burning is a major contributor
to winter smog in many areas of the country,
points out Environment Canada.
With the exception of British Columbia and
new regulations that will soon come into effect
in Newfoundland, however, Canada doesn’t
have an equivalent rating to the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)-certified wood burning
appliance system in the United States.
Low-emission EPA-certified wood appliances
produce only two to five grams of smoke
per house, burn more cleanly and efficiently,
reduce the risk of fire and improve air quality
inside and outside the home, according to information
posted on the EPA Web site.
Nevertheless, “the market is driving the demand
for EPA-certified stoves in this country,”
says Paul Bennett, owner of Caledon Fireplace,
a gas and wood fireplace sales and installation
firm. “Manufacturers in Canada voluntarily
comply with those standards and most large
manufacturers only sell EPA-certified stoves.
They’re 70 to 80 per cent more efficient [than
non-certified]. A major feature is a secondary
combustion chamber which burns the smoke.”
Bennett is a sales and installation technician
who has been certified by Wood Energy Technology
Transfer Inc. (WETT), a non-profit training
and education association promoting
the safe and effective use of wood burning
systems in Canada. As fireplaces and
woodstoves are potentially dangerous,
Bennett recommends only using the services
of WETT-registered professionals.
Homeowners should also have at least
some knowledge and understanding of
how wood heating systems function. Unlike
woodstoves, fireplaces are less energy-efficient
because they consume large
amounts of air, he points out.
Escarpment Views 22 ❄ Winter 2008
When it comes to selecting firewood, homeowners
should only use hardwood such as
maple, oak or fruit trees.
“They will burn longer and won’t leave
as much ash as spruce or pine. But it’s okay
to burn wood as long it’s well seasoned. The
wood needs to be cut and stacked so the air
can dry out the moisture. If wood is too wet, it
will smoulder,” Bennett adds.
“Softwoods will also leave heavy deposits of
tar in the chimney that can lead to a fire if the
chimney is not cleaned annually,” says Doug
Wiebe, general manager of the Georgetown office
of Appleby Systems, a fireplace and heating
installer and contractor.
“And don’t leave ashes in the firebox because
they can mix with moisture and create
acids which can eat away at the brick and steel
work,” says Wiebe.
While Bennett recommends covering the
wood with a tarp and leaving it to dry for at
least a year and preferably two, Wiebe suggests
the use of inexpensive moisture meters.
“The wood should be dried to a moisture
content of 20 per cent. But if you don’t want
to spend the money on a meter, just have a
look at the ends of the logs. If they’re cracking
it means water is leaving and the wood is physically
getting smaller.”
Homeowners with wood burning fireplaces
should have their chimneys inspected at least
once a year and preferably in the early fall,
adds Wiebe.
“Not only will annual inspections reduce fire
danger, homeowners will save money in the long
term,” says WETT-registered chimney sweep and
solid-fuel technician, William Carter.
“I’ve got a sore back,” he says, describing
the painstaking, time-consuming and expensive
process necessary to remove creosote with
a rotor-drill device compared to a standard
sweep and vacuum if the chimney has been
cleaned on a regular basis.
While it may seem obvious, the first step before
starting a fire is to make sure the fireplace
damper is open. “If the damper is closed, you’ll
get smoke in the house,” says Carter, suggesting
this happens more than many people would like
to admit.
Homeowners run the risk of been smoked
out if they create what he describes as a “lazy
man’s fire,” basically laying kindling over paper,
with the heavy log pieces on top. With that
sequence there won’t be enough velocity to
heat the chimney, which is needed to draw the
smoke up and out of the house, says Carter.
Instead, that order should be reversed with
heavy wood on the bottom, the kindling in the
middle and the paper on top so the fire will burn
down into the wood to create a hot fire, which is
crucial to minimizing creosote build up.
“Lightly fold two or three pieces of newspaper—don’t
make them too compact—and then
light them as quickly as you can,” he advises.
“Now you’re warming up the chimney.”
A plumber’s torch can also be used to heat
up the chimney and a nearby window should
be cracked open about two inches in case some
smoke escapes into the room, he says.
“The days of the chimney sweep with a
broom on his shoulder are long gone,” says
Carter who, like all WETT professionals, must
renew his certification every year and provide
documentation every five years that he’s taken
upgrading courses.
WETT certifies three different streams of
specialists: inspectors, installer/technicians
and chimney sweeps. The certification process
varies from trade to trade. The chimney sweep
certification, for example, requires five days of
classroom training followed by an exam and 80
weeks of work experience. Successful participants
are issued identify tags.
“We only certify people. We don’t certify
appliances,” says WETT executive director Anthony
Laycock. Unlike the natural gas business,
the wood appliance business is not a regulated
industry and homeowners
can install their own fireplace or
firestone if it’s in accordance with
the National Building Code (CSA
B365 Installation Code for Solid-
Fuel-Burning Appliances and Equipment),
he explains.
“But most insurance companies
are now demanding that wood burning
appliances be installed by WETT
technicians,” says Laycock.
photo: Mike Davis

Book Views
By Gloria Hildebrandt
The Last Stand:
A Journey Through the
Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the
Niagara Escarpment
By Peter E. Kelly and
Douglas W. Larson
The authors estimate that seven
million people live within
100 km of the Niagara Escarpment.
No one would expect
there to be an old-growth forest here
that survived humans’ activities of
land clearing and lumber harvesting.
Peter Kelly and Doug Larson
have discovered that an ancient
forest still exists today along the
whole length of the Escarpment.
The trees are hundreds of years
old, yet are tiny and live along the
cliff face, their roots reaching far
into cracks in the rock for nourishment.
Their small size is the reason
they have been ignored as lumber,
and the difficulty in reaching them
has ensured their survival until recently.
The oldest, found in Lion’s
Head Provincial Nature Reserve
and named The Ancient One,
goes back to 688 A.D. and is thus
1,320 years old.
The ancient forest is made up
of eastern white cedars that
have evolved astonishing survival
techniques. They can grow upside
down, and even when they look
dead, they can have a narrow strip
of bark that continues to feed water
and nutrients from the roots to the
tip.
“They can be summed up by
the following adjectives,” write the
authors, “deformed, stunted,
gnarled, weathered, twisted, grotesque
and beautiful.”
The main danger this forest faces
from humans is from rock climbers
who carelessly scale the rugged
cliffs where the trees cling. The
authors have seen ancient trees that
have been sawn off for convenience,
and they call for the climbing community
to become more educated
about the Escarpment.
They pose the question “If we
can’t recognize the importance of
one thousand-year-old trees in the
heart of an increasingly urbanized
southern Ontario, what hope
have we got for protecting
anything else?”
This is a fascinating book about
the discovery of old-growth trees
where they were least expected.
Natural Heritage Books, 2007,
$39.95
Halton Hikes
By Gary Hutton
This little spiral-bound book is big
on information for enjoying outdoor
life in Halton. Developed and
published by Conservation Halton,
it’s a detailed guide to 50
hiking trails, a log to record your
hiking activity and includes a pullout
map to farms that are open to
the public.
Individual trails are described
and mapped, but in addition, tips
to enjoy your hike are given, and the
most famous people known to have
used the trail are noted. In addition,
identifying sounds are described for
wild animals to listen for along each
particular trail.
The guide comes with a pedometer
to let you participate in the
Footsteps for Trees program.
By recording the number of steps
you take on the trails, you can help
plant trees. After taking 10,000
steps, or hiking about three hours,
you can submit your information
online at www.haltonhikes.ca, and
Conservation Halton will
plant a tree.
In the interest of full disclosure,
I must reveal that I helped work
on this project by copy editing
the guide. I have no financial interest
in the success of this book, but
I’m happy to hear that sales have
been going well.
Conservation Halton, 2007, $19.95.
Canadian Churches:
an architectural history
By Peter Richardson &
Douglas Richardson
Well-known photographer John de
Visser has collaborated on another
impressive work, documenting a selection
of 250 extraordinary
churches in Canada. From east
to west, old to new, famous to overlooked,
the churches reflect the development
of Canada by people of
different denominations. There are
also a few buildings shown that are
non-denominational.
The featured churches that are
located in or close to Escarpment
country, include Niagara-on-the-Lake’s
St. Andrew’s,
Hamilton’s St. Paul’s, Guelph’s Our
Lady of the Immaculate Conception,
St. Catharines’ Saints Cyril
and Methodius, Brampton’s St.
Elias and Manitoulin’s Immaculate
Conception.
Oversized, in full colour, this
book is an important reference
for Canadian Christian architecture.
Firefly Books, 2007, $85.00
The Dundas Valley:
Visions of Beauty
By Richard and Eleanore Kosydar
Local photographers and writers,
Richard and Eleanore Kosydar
share their treasured views of the
Dundas Valley’s protected lands
close to downtown Hamilton in
this well produced hardcover.
In an interview with
Escarpment Views, they explain
“We love the Dundas Valley’s
rich blend of rugged and gentle
landscapes. The unusually
wide range encompasses rugged Escarpment
rock face and numerous
waterfalls, rolling hills and steep
ravines, small ponds, dense woodlands
and wildflower-dotted meadows.”
Beautiful full-colour photographs
fill each page; the minimal
text invites meditation. Words
are hardly necessary when the pictures
say as much as these do.
“Our hope is that people
will feel uplifted by images
of natural landscapes portrayed in
different moods and forms,” the
Kosydars told Escarpment
Views, “and be drawn to include
more of the peacefulness of natural
beauty in their own lives.”
For a sample photograph from
this book, see page 14. For more information
about the Kosydars’ work,
see www.tiercerondesign.com.
Tierceron Press, 2007, $35.
❄ Winter 2008 23 Escarpment Views

Histories and
herstories of
the escarpment
Gregory Brand
Hand-crafted Furniture made to order using
Century-old Historic Pine Lumber
|Your Design or Mine|
Photo gallery online
➜
Open every Sat & Sun 11 am – 3 pm year round
Main St. (Guelph Line) Campbellville, ON
Across from the Scotia Bank
Tel: 905 854 2902 & 705 766 1520
(Sat & Sun) (Mon-Fri)
fax: 705 766 9075
www.GregoryBrand.ca
wordbird Press
Local history takes flight!
Visit our website for local retailers
wordbirdpress.ca
Tower Poetry
Society
· Monthly poetry workshops and annual poet study
· Bi-annual Tower Poetry publication
· Comprehensive poetry web site
Visit our web site for
TPS publications and activities, monthly poetry picks,
annual poetry features, poetry and art, and more
www.towerpoetry.ca
Best’s Harbour Rug Hooking
u Supplies
u Classes
u Workshops
519 Main Street
Glen Williams, ON
Canada L7G 3T1
905-702-8311
www.bestsharbour.com u rughooking@bestsharbour.com
Escarpment Views 24 ❄ Winter 2008

Poetry of …
Gertrude Olga Down
Gertrude Olga Down has written since she
was a child. A resident of Hamilton, she joined the
Tower Poetry Society in the early 1980s and credits
this group with pushing her poetic expression.
Themes of her poetry include life experiences and
the natural world. She’s also influenced by travel
and political events.
“I love the challenge of creating a poem that is
crisp and concise, and that uses words and the
sounds of words, along with slant rhyme and
alliteration, to paint a picture in the mind of the
reader,” she says.
Gertrude has been named the Tower Poetry
Society’s featured poet for 2007-8. More of her
work can be seen at www.towerpoetry.ca.
The Tower Poetry Society was founded in
Hamilton in 1951. It is the oldest poetry group in
Canada and one of the oldest poetry collectives
in North America. They publish two issues of
TOWER Poetry a year. Monthly meetings are
held at the Westdale Hamilton Public Library.
Rich Autumn Hours
Rich Autumn hours float
Past curtain-free windows –
Endless clouds of Monarchs.
Undulating waves of
Black and orange wings
Follow instincts
Stronger than the breezes,
Desires more potent than the scents
From heady harvest blooms
That race across the fields.
With airy lightness
Butterflies dance goodbye
To golden painted forests.
Fall sails warm currents,
Meanders down back roads,
Samples the pies and jams
From October fairs; or
Struggles against tides
Of advancing Winter,
Storing hot harvest heat
In butters and preserves
For mem’ry-filled feasts.
❧
photo: branimir zlamalik
Summer Rain
Refreshment cool, the summer rain
Gently washes green and bright
Flowers’ leaves and garden grasses.
Shower drops form a shallow pool
In which one blade slowly sails –
Small raft on a random journey. .
❧
November 2001
From smoldering ruins
We gift-wrap packages
Of bombs and bread
To lob at unknown enemy –
A people weary with fate,
Fainting from famine of compassion.
We, the strong and the free
Are imprisoned by our fear,
Fettered by the chains of grief,
Blinded by tears of rage.
A world apart, two nations
Wrestle with incomprehension
While children play in the dust.
❧
Heron in Flight
Wild windjammer –
Aquamarine sail streaked
With summer’s blushing light
Sweeps the silent air.
Warrior emblem –
Glistening design stamped
On a naked city
Drips sapphires emeralds.
Mute siren –
Glossy plumage surges
And swells iridescent
Pregnant with joy.
❧
❄ Winter 2008 25 Escarpment Views

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