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Views of the Sault.
Heather Ingram. Illustrated by Graham Smith. Subject Headings:
Grades 8 and up / Ages 13 and up. *** /4
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excerpt:
Sault Ste. Marie - the Heart of the Great Lakes - is a picturesque city in Ontario's north. Originally a gathering place for native peoples from across North America, Sault Ste. Marie has grown from a remote fur trading post to a cosmopolitan centre of learning, business and industry. Views of the Sault takes both the visitor and the resident alike on a comprehensive tour of over ninety significant landmarks in Sault Ste. Marie and area, leaving out no aspect of the city's long and rich history.
I'll admit that I wasn't looking forward to reviewing Views of the Sault. I
didn't know anything about this Northern Ontario town; I'd never driven
through it, didn't remember meeting anyone from it, nor did I really care
about it. However, it didn't take long before I became engrossed in the
quaint little histories that make up this book - and came to appreciate the
tidbits of anecdotal information I was adding to my store of
never-to-be-used knowledge, as well as the town and its people.
If I ever drive down Ontario's #17 highway (that's the Trans-Canada
to everyone else) to the geographical centre of North America, I'll come to
a twelve foot replica of a loonie, Sault Ste. Marie's roadside emblematic
sculpture. The replica is there because Robert Carmichael, the designer of
the dollar coin is from The Sault. Driving into town, using Views of the
Sault as my guide, I will soon come to Roberta Bondar Park and Pavilion
named in honour of Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canada's first woman astronaut, who
is also from The Sault.
The book mentions many interesting, picturesque, historical, and
modern sights - ninety-nine different places in all. There is the Romanesque style
Gore Street Pumping Station; one of Ontario's first venereal disease
laboratories; the last passenger vessel constructed for travel on the Great
Lakes which is now the MS Norgoma Museum Ship; and the Canadian Bush Plane
Heritage Centre, which has many unique displays dedicated to Canada's
adventurous pioneer bush-pilots. The Sault also has modern shopping malls,
schools, athletic facilities, and all the other things Canadians today
believe they need for the good life.
Whether they're about Nanaimo, British Columbia; Yorkton,
Saskatchewan; East St. Paul, Manitoba (my home town); or Shubenacadie, Nova
Scotia; community histories like Ingram's are vitally important to
Canadians. To the average reader a lot of these books' stories and details might seem trite and
the people pedestrian, but, as the late Margaret Laurence wrote, "it is in
the particular that we find the universal." In our community we find our
roots, values and purposes, or, at least, we learn what these were in the
past. Conversely, in reading these histories, we might also discover things
about ourselves and our way of life that don't make us proud; things that
make us want to right historical wrongs or even change our attitudes about
the world.
Views of the Sault is a labour of joy and love. Heather Ingram is
unabashedly sentimental about her hometown and asks for her reader's
indulgence. She brags a bit, but that's all right with me, considering that
her motives are pure and her cause is just. Heather Ingram wants the new
generation of Sault Ste. Marie residents and all other Canadians to
appreciate and share in her town's heritage. Good for you Heather! Your
book is the kind that creates the ties that bind. We'll see you at the Bon
Soo Winter Carnival in the near future.
Recommended
Ian Stewart is a small town boy who lives in Winnipeg with his wife and two dogs.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © 1996 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
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