Many years ago, when I was just barely beginning to take an interest in history, I accompanied my mother to a bank appointment at TD Canada Trust on Niagara Street. As I waited in the lobby, my attention shifted to an interesting-looking green book sitting on the table next to me. The book was about the history of Welland, a topic which I found very enticing, but which I hadn't been exposed to very often. By the time we were ready to leave, I'd made it through several chapters of the book. I recall finding the chapter on the Police to be especially interesting, especially the part where the author discussed Welland's public executions (surely we all have a bit of morbid fascination from time to time.)
For some reason, this book really stuck with me (the whole thing, not just the executions.) I credit it with giving me my keen interest in local history, which I still enjoy reading about. Eventually I began to collect small local items, searching through antique shops, junk stores, flea markets, and yard sales to find almost anything with 'Welland' written on it.
But the one thing that didn't stick with me was the title of the book. And so it was that I spent a large part of my 'career' as a local history collector searching for this book, knowing only the colour of its cover and a few bits of information it contained. After a few years (no exaggeration) of trying to track it down, I finally came across the book by chance, in one of Welland's thrift stores. It turned out that the book that got me into local history was the second volume of Aqueduct, Merrittsville and Welland, written by William H. Lewis.
This is, without a doubt, the greatest trilogy ever written about our wonderful city. Published between 1997 and 2003, the three volumes summarize the entire history of Welland in an engaging way. When reading these books, it's clear that the author cared deeply about his subject matter. Despite the seemingly endless amount of information contained within, none of it becomes boring, and it's blended together in such a way that it flows naturally from tidbit to tidbit. In short, I love this series, and there's no doubt in my mind that these are the definitive works on Welland's history.
Mr. Lewis himself, a retired pharmacist, passed away in 2012, having lived a long and eventful life. At that time, my Welland collection was at its peak, and I happened to be shopping at the yard sale of another local collector when I heard the news (some time after the fact). It so happened that Mr. Lewis' estate sale was going on the same day. I made my purchases and headed over.
By the time I reached the address I'd been given, the garage sale day was almost over, and I feared that I might have missed it. But the writer's widow, Inez, was still outside. After introducing myself, and showing interest in a 1950s-era German typewriter that was on offer, we got to talking about history. She said that she had something to show me, if I were willing.
The item Mrs. Lewis showed me was a souvenir flag from the 1939 royal visit to Canada, by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother). She told me that she and her future husband, as schoolyard friends, had attended the ceremony and received the flag. All those years later, it was still displayed proudly in their living room - and in all likelihood, it still is. (I couldn't find a picture of one of these flags online, but a similar one is on display in the 'School Days' gallery at the Welland Museum.)
Mrs. Lewis also had a souvenir medal from the royal visit, which she gave to me before I left. It was given free of charge -from one generation of local historians, to another.
2 years later, after trying for some time to donate my collection to the museum, I sold nearly the entire lot at my own yard sale for far less than its true value. I've regretted it ever since, as I knew many of the items I had could not be replaced. Mere months later, after some changes behind the scenes at the museum, I recieved an email stating that they'd rediscovered my inventory list while cleaning out some paperwork, and they were interested in the entire lot. It was too late. The only item I still had, and was willing to part with, was a 1960s camera case from the Union Carbide factory. I donated that, and since then, I've been able to find very few items of the sort I had collected.
But I kept the Lewis' medallion, and I always will - a small piece of the legacy of one of Welland's greatest writers.
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