Getting to the Point

Speaking with the PEHAC chair about drystone walls the other day (we're trying to determine which wall was just 'designated') made me homesick for a visit to Morrison's Point road in Prince Edward County.

Today, the temperature is 3 degrees, and predicted to drop even more, and produce some snow. And I am stuck indoors at the computer doing heritage research. So why wouldn't I want to revisit this glorious early spring day, when I was taking drystone wall photos for a chapter for Orland French's upcoming book on PEC?

 I have a soft spot for barns, as anyone who has explored this blog will know. Imagine all the life and work that has taken place here. Think of the wagons and teams toiling up the ramp to the barn floor, loose hay forked up into the mow. Visualize (hell, use all your senses) the warm cows and wet-nosed calves in the stone stables below. So many days, months, years of a farm family's labour, following the seasons of planting, cultivation and  harvest, are stored up in this aging structure.

crumbling brick school-house (1874)

This small part of the world was one of our Mom's favourite spots from her girl-hood. It's a place apart (and not a realtor in sight to grab the phrase) - the topography, a little bench snuggled beneath the limestone escarpment, bordered by water. The meadows sloping gently to South Bay, the ancient trees lining the road, the maple bush - and the drystone walls -  conjure a past time, a different pace.

Just think of the community centred around this little school. Reluctant learners and  future community leaders sacrificed their freedom on such spring days, to get what education was available to them. School board meetings, Christmas concerts, chivarees and socials likely all gravitated to this plain little building.

Somebody cares for it still.

Like my own one-room school, S.S.#3 North Marysburgh, it was treated to stucco at one time (but only the public facade facing the road). The grass is cut and the property is tidy. I wonder what will become of this lovely little spot.

Please let's not fill up this quiet neighbourhood like we have so many places in PEC. Too many folks move to such spots seeking quiet and space and unwittingly destroy that very peace they seek in the process.