hello everyone tonight

Just sitting here reminiscing to myself about times gone by and thought maybe it was time to brush off the old photo album full of those old memories stored in that old technology known as photos, it seems to me that we really have not gained much ground in this realm, now a photo has very little value and we probably will not know where any of the thousands of family gatherings in digital form are, I expect that until reality steps in a couple of generations of remembrances will disappear

The first page in the album contained a photo of my dad and me (I was about 14 years old) standing on the dry bottom of the St Lawrence river right where the Long Sault rapids were located

The river was diverted with a great deal of difficulty to allow the installation of the power house and dam that would eventually hold back and form a 27 mile lake to feed the massive turbines that the 70 foot head of water would power.

Right where we are standing were massive stone blocks, and many wells or round holes drilled into the stone bottom of the river. The engineers say that the swirling water spun stones around that eventually wore round holes before they disappeared

I don't know if this happened in other places, but it did here
The river in about 1 mile fell 30 feet and caused a natural block to river traffic up going upstream

The rising water of lake St Lawrence flooded the front areas of farm land for the length of the lake and unfortunately also towns containing the earliest churches, graveyards and very importantly the earliest buildings that were yet standing--this was in 1956--to 1961, the time it took to complete the seaway, and make it ready for oceangoing vessels to travel unimpeaded right up to the head of the great lakes

of course we were promised cheap power, which never happened, and during the construction many farm families were forcefuloly removed from century farms in the name of progress

well it did produce opportunities for many, my dad for one, who being able to work with old timbers and frames, and understood older technology was soon put in charge of moving many of the log and timber structures that are contained in the historic site of UCV

Examples of all types of building styles were rescued as well as buildings that were part of the battle of Crysler Farm-- the house and the barn containing yet the scars of the battle which raged between the American and British forces

well enough for tonight

more to come
enjoy
NH