Gwen Tuinman

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Pioneer Food Gardens and Orchards

What must food growing have been like for the earliest newcomers to Upper Canada? Many families arrived with a sack of seed and little else.This spring when we cleared more ground for planting vegetables, I thought about how much more difficult the task must have been for the earliest settlers. Before planting food, settlers first had to cut down an army of trees and remove obstacles  like roots and boulders. I certainly didn’t have to contend with such challenges. Our garden plot will generate produce to can or freeze, but nothing sufficient to sustain us until the next growing season. Plants are just beginning to yield and August is half over.

(Please enjoy this Wellspring Podcast of Pioneer Food Gardens and Orchards.) Continue reading “Pioneer Food Gardens and Orchards” →

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Pulp and Paper

Man beside giant roll of paper

How very different our lives would be without paper. There would be limited recording of histories, sentiments or creative processes if we still recorded ideas on parchment also known as ‘animal skin’. The sharing of ideas would be more difficult. Would there be computers or other modern conveniences we enjoy today if not for the ability to draft and revise plans on paper for building and inventing?

(Please enjoy this Wellspring Podcast of Pulp and Paper.)

Continue reading “Pulp and Paper” →

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Soapy Smith: Gangster in the Klondike

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I don’t always remember names but I remembered this one:  Soapy Smith. About a year ago, I read borrowed a copy of The Klondike Quest by Pierre Berton. The book belongs to my mother in law and carries great sentimental value as it was a gift from her sister who moved to the Yukon several years ago.

(Please enjoy this Wellspring Podcast of Soapy Smith: Gangster in the Klondike.)

Continue reading “Soapy Smith: Gangster in the Klondike” →

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A Traill in the Woods

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Catharine Parr Traill’s letters and journals are the source of much that we know today about the experience of the earliest Canadian settlers. Although she was born to a noble family in Britain, once emigrated to Upper Canada, she fell in love with the land and the way of life. She and her husband  faced many hardships and successes, each of which she documented in the detailed correspondence sent to friends and family.

(Please enjoy this Wellspring Podcast of A Traill in the Woods)

Continue reading “A Traill in the Woods” →

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Ice Harvesting and Spring Houses

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In a recent short story, I wrote that two young men went off to work in a sawmill. There was a glitch in my logic. The events occurred in the 1830’s during the month of January. Sawmills  ran on water power at this time, so their peak operating season came in the late winter and early spring. The mill wheel continued to run as long as the water flowed in rivers and lakes.

(Please enjoy this Wellspring Podcast of Ice Harvesting and Spring Houses.)

Continue reading “Ice Harvesting and Spring Houses” →

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