Our original destination had been Saskatoon, but we would end up living for those few years in Niagara Falls, Canada. This does not mean at all that I do not have a lot of affection for the England that we left, or America where we finally settled, but the fifty year anniversary of that arrival is something to celebrate.
I would like to credit the Niagara Falls, Canada Public Library for this collection of old photos that I am linking to here.
We arrived in Niagara Falls, in the summer of 1965, at the old brick train station on Bridge Street:
https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/1f53626a55ca55faa848686e3ce156f428472d3e.jpeg . We were told that there were numerous Bed and Breakfasts in the area, this being a popular tourist destination, and asked a taxi driver to take us to a suitable one nearby. The first one that we went to told the taxi driver that they were already full.
We ended up at a Bed and Breakfast on Hiram Street, near the falls, run by Mrs. Fyffe. We occupied the upstairs: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/0d47b35447dd64027793ddba9110db2fd1cde544.jpeg .
We spent time walking around the area of the falls. There was nothing like this in our native England. I remember the Clifton Memorial Arch, on the road along the river's edge just south of the Rainbow Bridge: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/cbae77adfd16146b3fa524548154a1930c1385ca.jpeg
https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/84ca8af6ca857e3b1497f398d1559e04e225c47d.jpeg
There is information that the arch was removed in 1962, but that cannot be correct because we were not there until 1965 and I remember it. I later read that the arch was removed because it was a hindrance to traffic.
Next to the arch was the magnificent Oakes Gardens, which I have long considered as the centerpiece of the city. Image from Google Earth.
In the Nineteenth Century, there was a hotel, the Clifton House, which had a history of bring used by Confederate agents plotting against the Union across the river during the U.S. Civil War of 1861-65. It was destroyed by fire in 1898. It was replaced by another elegant hotel, the Clifton Hotel, which met the same fate on New Years Eve, 1932. Finally the site became Oakes Gardens. Some of the stonework from the hotel is used in the garden.
The sound of bells was often heard. That is because we were very near to the Carillon Tower, at the Canadian end of the Rainbow Bridge. Image from Google Earth.
Near the Bed and Breakfast where we were staying was a building known as the Niagara Falls Museum. I do not remember going in the building at the time, but later it would become a favourite (favorite) place. There was so much interesting stuff in there, including artifacts from ancient Egypt:
https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/3daa3e8f895dedd2b0bfc52b4078e85683ce8e35.jpeg Unfortunately, it is now gone.
When we first arrived in Niagara Falls, there was a major construction project going on not far from the falls. It was construction of the large hotel, known as the Sheraton Foxhead, shown in the photo as the hotel on the left: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/07b49d456230e3353acb31a1233d4eaf8d8e8641.jpeg The hotel is now known as the Skyline Foxhead.
The next thing I knew, I was old enough to start going to school. I began kindergarten at the old Kitchener Street School, which has long since been demolished and is now a park: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/bd8eed2a628e19ca69f825df1c9eba9aecb32c3b.jpeg
I only attended the historic school on Kitchener Street for a short time. We found a permanent house, and moved from the Bed and Breakfast. We didn't move far away, but it meant a change of school. The new school was Valley Way School, the one-story brick building shown here. There was Bible reading in school and this is where I first read the Bible. Images of front and back from Google Street View.
Here is a photo taken in the new neighbourhood (neighborhood), looking along one of the side streets off Homewood Avenue:https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/6f2e2a6d300df52c84552ae442ee3593ba943bd0.jpeg . The photo is undated, but the car looks like one of the early Mustangs during the 1960s.
The focal point of my new neighbourhood (neighborhood) was Leslie Park. The park had been dedicated, around the time that we moved nearby, in honour (honor) of F.H. Leslie, a newspaper and postcard publisher. Here is a photo of the dedication of Leslie Park, with the building attached to the pool in the background: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/f4be46167a29ff3242edc3b77c2d5803563d29e2.jpeg As you can see there were large trees in the park, which have since been cut down and replaced with smaller trees. I was not there for the dedication of the park, but we moved in nearby around that time and I remember the tent pegs in the park before they had been removed.
The pool in Leslie Park would get very busy on hot summer days: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/b4931bdbb10fabd724ad512cf9f76e49c4c9dd76.jpeg
https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/3e4af62e70d59222e45001f7afe611f44d1a8195.jpeg
The pool at Leslie Park had been there long before the park was dedicated. Here is a photo of the pool in the 1920s. https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/fb0af34a2f737f6a309503be9b8c52d8d7a252ca.jpeg
At the northern end of the neighbourhood (neighborhood), there used to be a large factory, known as the Cyanamid. The factory provided a swimming pool, which employees as well as nearby residents could use. I was never at this pool, but some nearby children used to go there https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/6c0920bf62f00ce2ec2d8122d67411c538a7aba4.jpeg .
There was also an arena nearby, used for hockey and ice skating, although I was nowhere near as proficient at skating as I was at swimming: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/7f79a24c7bbdc9c264153c397edbd24942fe1b82.jpeg
https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/a28a61390a86fcf432551d187cdb9b2d5d79e27c.jpeg . The arena was next to Kitchener Street School, which I had earlier attended. On the opposite side of Leslie Park from the pool, there was a slope that was ideal for sledding in the winter.
The nearby grocery store was called Steinberg's. Here are photos of a store called Grand Union opening. The photos, from 1957, are of less-than-ideal quality but show a long line of people awaiting the opening of the store. I do not remember Grand Union, but ten years later I would be living nearby and the store would be called Steinberg's: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/121c3975ead7a311c947e02bfa3f035e66580dec.jpeg
https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/d8ab957971cffc19b8ba5fe8b3058d25ad1abcb5.jpeg .
There was a large store nearby called Eaton's. We bought two end tables from this store, which I still have today. The building was later demolished, and the site is now occupied by the Niagara Falls, Canada Public Library, which hosts this database of photos: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/e1de3857f15d108fde24cbdc4111a1be36c67289.jpeg .
These are four photos of what used to be the General Hospital of Niagara Falls, Canada. It was only a few houses away from where I lived. In 1958, the hospital moved to a new location in a modern building, and by the time I lived there this building had been converted into a senior living center, and called The Eventide Home. The building has long since been demolished and replaced with a new building, but it certainly brings back memories of when I lived down the street. There used to be massive old oak trees behind the building, whose acorns would attract vast numbers of squirrels: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/9436101690f5abac56992c3d80648aca21dfba0a.jpeg
The pool at Leslie Park had been there long before the park was dedicated. Here is a photo of the pool in the 1920s. https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/fb0af34a2f737f6a309503be9b8c52d8d7a252ca.jpeg
At the northern end of the neighbourhood (neighborhood), there used to be a large factory, known as the Cyanamid. The factory provided a swimming pool, which employees as well as nearby residents could use. I was never at this pool, but some nearby children used to go there https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/6c0920bf62f00ce2ec2d8122d67411c538a7aba4.jpeg .
There was also an arena nearby, used for hockey and ice skating, although I was nowhere near as proficient at skating as I was at swimming: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/7f79a24c7bbdc9c264153c397edbd24942fe1b82.jpeg
https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/a28a61390a86fcf432551d187cdb9b2d5d79e27c.jpeg . The arena was next to Kitchener Street School, which I had earlier attended. On the opposite side of Leslie Park from the pool, there was a slope that was ideal for sledding in the winter.
The nearby grocery store was called Steinberg's. Here are photos of a store called Grand Union opening. The photos, from 1957, are of less-than-ideal quality but show a long line of people awaiting the opening of the store. I do not remember Grand Union, but ten years later I would be living nearby and the store would be called Steinberg's: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/121c3975ead7a311c947e02bfa3f035e66580dec.jpeg
https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/d8ab957971cffc19b8ba5fe8b3058d25ad1abcb5.jpeg .
There was a large store nearby called Eaton's. We bought two end tables from this store, which I still have today. The building was later demolished, and the site is now occupied by the Niagara Falls, Canada Public Library, which hosts this database of photos: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/e1de3857f15d108fde24cbdc4111a1be36c67289.jpeg .
These are four photos of what used to be the General Hospital of Niagara Falls, Canada. It was only a few houses away from where I lived. In 1958, the hospital moved to a new location in a modern building, and by the time I lived there this building had been converted into a senior living center, and called The Eventide Home. The building has long since been demolished and replaced with a new building, but it certainly brings back memories of when I lived down the street. There used to be massive old oak trees behind the building, whose acorns would attract vast numbers of squirrels: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/9436101690f5abac56992c3d80648aca21dfba0a.jpeg
https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/1a0bf6302a754b373ebc2c3b850c3214186f41f9.jpeg
This is the Country Fresh Donuts store at the intersection of Victoria Avenue and Jepson Street. The previous building at that location had been occupied by a number of successive businesses. My mother worked there when it was Kennedy's Drug Store, and I remember when that closed. In contrast, Country Fresh Donuts is very successful and popular with local residents. When the store was damaged by an errant vehicle some time back, a long line of people were waiting when it reopened:
This is the Country Fresh Donuts store at the intersection of Victoria Avenue and Jepson Street. The previous building at that location had been occupied by a number of successive businesses. My mother worked there when it was Kennedy's Drug Store, and I remember when that closed. In contrast, Country Fresh Donuts is very successful and popular with local residents. When the store was damaged by an errant vehicle some time back, a long line of people were waiting when it reopened:
Here is photo of the old Maple Street School https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/8d25b37168c48d4b8bc6b3f302804994b26b0f33.jpeg. This is where I would have gone to school if I would have lived there for a few more years. It has now been demolished and is a park.
One place that I spent a lot of time at, but which was not in the neighbourhood (neighborhood), is King's Bridge Park in the town of Chippawa, to the south of Niagara Falls. (Technically, it is actually a part of Niagara Falls). I never spent much time in the town of Chippawa itself, but in looking around on Google Street View, I see what a really nice place it is: https://nfpl.historicniagara.ca/files/original/60af2548e8d39e2920aa1d98b1590fd26b2efdf5.jpeg .
What is amazing about King's Bridge Park is that most of the park is artificial fill from when one of the two hydraulic power canals were built that carry water across the city of Niagara Falls to the electricity generating plants. The direction of flow of the Welland River was changed so that the section downstream from the entrance to the power canal brings water in from the Niagara River, instead of emptying water into it. The section of the Welland River that is upstream from the entrance to the power canal delivers it's flow into the power canal instead of proceeding on to empty into the Niagara River. Image from Google Earth.
Finally, one thing that I wish the city of Niagara Falls, Canada would do is to take care of the three historic power generating stations near the falls, all of which are now decommissioned. The one down in the gorge, visible only from the U.S. side is the Ontario Power Station. The gray stone structure just upstream from the falls is the Rankine Station and the large building (which would make a good local history museum) near the entrance to Dufferin Islands is the Toronto Power Station. These buildings are a part of world history, not just local history, and deserve to be well cared for.
