May 19th- A quiet day. We had a chance to do various odds and ends around the RV that hadn’t got done before we left. Also a chance for Greg not to do any driving, though we did go into Geraldton and check the town out. We also wanted to see if the Anglican Church was still there. Bryson Randall, who married Greg and I, was the priest here many years ago.
Unfortunately it was closed. The day was windy and nippy and we didn’t feel much like leaving the RV. We did discover for those who like to fish that the walleye were running upstream and one could almost pick them out with a net.
May 20th- Still cloudy, windy and cold. Furnace and fireplace both ran all night. Back into Geraldton to do some exploring. It was readily clear that Geraldton is nowhere what it must have been in its glory days. We learned various things about Geraldton as we explored the area and town and talked with people we met. The community along with some of the other surrounding communities were amalgamated into the town of Greenstone in 2001.
This I think was a way to share resources. The town of Geraldton is quite small and it is obvious that it needs an injection of industry. The homes range from those in need of repair to ones that are well cared for. It was the site of gold mining from the 1930s-1970s and there is a rumour that modern techniques have shown that there is still gold “in them there hills” and there may be new mines opening.
The name “Geraldton” is the amalgamation of the names of the two gents who founded the community. One of the truly unique traits of Geraldton is that although it is a water-front community, it actually is a long narrow community that runs perpendicular to the water front and not along the lake shore as one would expect. Speculation is that there were claims on both sides of the community that forced it to grow away from the lake instead of parallel to the lake. To learn more about Geraldton, (click here).
We spotted a church that really caught our interest. The cross at the top indicated it was Christian, probably Catholic, but Greg noticed the dome that is common to middle European churches. A lady was tending her garden next door and man was standing talking to her. So, Greg being Greg, just walked right up and started chatting with them (the old style chatting were people actually speak to each other). The lady told us that the church used to be a Ukrainian Catholic church.
They told us that it was no longer used as a church and is being turned into suites. We had a delightful conversation with the older gentleman and he said the rumours of gold mining starting up again have been around for a long time and he really hasn’t seen any sign of activity.
He had worked in the mines for 13 years and said the reason they closed was not that the gold was gone but that the price had dropped too low to make it profitable. He thought that new mines might be in the “ring of fire” area; this is a 13,000 square kilometer area south of James Bay. (For more about Ring Of Fire, click here). This would be chromite as well as other minerals and if it does go ahead the mining personnel well may be stationed at or near Geraldton. We stopped in to a bakery, store and take out combined. Molasses cookies fell into our basket as well as bread that was still warm. The bread was some of the best we have tasted in a long time, had the chewiness of the egg bread that Mom used to make. We picked up some fried chicken and potatoes and I think there was enough potatoes for 8 people.
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