The General Store

By Vicky

In the turn of the 19th century, general stores were used as not only a necessary source of supplies like food and clothing to villagers, but it was also a social area to gather.  

In day-to-day use, the general store was used to buy items such as medicine, clothing, and food. In the store, if you made or had something like a hat or eggs, you could give it to the store owner for credit. The credit could be used for anything in the store. This was especially good because at this time, if you weren’t getting paid regularly or had little money, you cold use your store credit in times of need.

Compared to stores today, the general store stands out. Today when you enter a store you usually take a cart and walk around and take things as you please. At the general store, the owner behind the counter served you and there were very little options of items; what the store had is what you got.

In the general store there was also a post office where your mail would be delivered. It took up a very small part of the store but played a key role in its function. Not only were you going to the general store to get your daily needs, you got your mail there as well.

The general store was also a place for travellers and friends to gather and be social. There was a large furnace in the back to the store and lots of room to sit. The store was open early in the morning and closed late at night to allow lots of shopping to be done, as well as give people the time to socialize.

The general store was a very necessary aspect of the village, and significant to everyone’s way of life. 

Vicky is a grade 11 student at Trinity College School and guest writer for the Museum.

In Flanders Fields – Part 6

"Far From Home, Canada and the Great War” An Excellent Series on the History of the Canadian Expeditionary Force

By Joe Corrigan

In preparation for commemorating the centennial of the Great War here at Lang Pioneer Village Museum, I have been researching a number of books and videos on the subject over the past few months. There’s one documentary program that I came across recently which is particularly impressive. It is a series entitled “Far From Home, Canada and the Great War”. There are three episodes in the series; each runs for 90 minutes and covers the evolution of the Canadian Corps from mobilization in 1914 to the final stages of the war and its aftermath.

The series is narrated by Canadian actor Paul Gross who created and starred in the feature film “Passchendaele” in 2008. Borrowing much of its style from the landmark Ken Burns’ documentary series “The Civil War”; “Far from Home” tells its story with contemporary images and film punctuated by passages from correspondence written by the participants and read in character by voice actors. The episodes include “Sam’s Army”, “The Battle of Vimy Ridge” and “The Last Hundred Days”.

Sir Sam Hughes

“Sam’s Army” is an insightful look at how Minister of Militias, Sir Sam Hughes, came to prominence and how he controlled the mobilization of troops for service overseas. In some respects what Hughes was able to accomplish was quite remarkable. In one instance starting from scratch to create the training facility at Valcartier, Quebec and managing to send the 30,000 troops of the 1st Division to England in a matter of months. These achievements were wholly negated, however, in the face of his blatant cronyism and ill-conceived sponsorship of the Ross Rifle and the “Shovel Shield”, the former being ill suited for combat and the latter being useless both as a shovel and a shield. The episode ends with Hughes’s fall from grace as the Canadian Corps and the political leaders of the day are able to distance themselves from this bombastic figure. (Watch Episode 1 here: https://youtu.be/tC3UjtekQsM)

Ross Rifle

Shovel Shield

In episode two we are introduced to the various strategic and tactical innovations that allowed the Canadian Corps to seize Vimy Ridge from the Germans where British and French troops had failed with heavy casualties in the past. We get to appreciate the tactical genius of Arthur Currie with his emphasis of spending shells rather than lives to take an objective. We also are introduced to Andy McNaughton, the brilliant artillery officer whose innovative use of technology helped pave the way for the successful advance of the Canadian Corps on April 9th, 1917 taking their objectives in a matter of hours. (Watch Episode 2 here: https://youtu.be/w2OslpiDVwI)

Vimy Ridge

The final episode deals with the last 100 days of the war, a period in which Canada’s small army became recognized by both the allies and the Germans as perhaps the finest fighting force on the western front. The Canadian Corps gained a well-earned reputation as shock troops and when the Germans learned that the Canadians had moved into their sector that they could expect an attack in short order. One highlight of this episode is how the narrator underscores the skill of the Canadian troops by comparing their statistics over the last 100 days of fighting with those of the American Expeditionary Force. The numbers are quite illustrative:

Categories	American Forces	Canadian Corps
# of Troops	650,000	105,000
# of Days Engaged	47	100
# of Miles Advanced	34	86
# of Divisions Engaged	46	47
# of Casualties Per Division Engaged	2,170	975
# of Prisoners Taken	16,000	31,500
# of Guns Captured	468	623
Total Casualties	100,000	45,830

The Canadian soldier’s retort to American claims that they won the war was to simply state that the American Rainbow Division was aptly named as they had arrived “after the storm”. (Watch Episode 3 here: https://youtu.be/XgzJ9bK-blo)

Canada's 100 Days

I wholeheartedly recommend this series to anyone wanting to know more about the tremendous contribution that was made by the Canadian Expeditionary Force for the allied victory in World War I. 

 Joe Corrigan has been Museum Manager at Lang Pioneer Village since February of 2003. He has been a lifelong student of history. His specific areas of interest are Canadian and world political, military and sports history with a particular focus on biographical works. Joe has been interpreting Sir John A. Macdonald at the Museum's Historic Dominion Day event since 2007.