Jane's Walk, 2011: a resounding success!

This is the third year the MHBPNA has organized a Jane's Walk in our area and it was the most successful so far. Close to 50 people met at 10 am on Saturday, May 7th in the Duke Street Playground! We talked about the water tower that used to reside there and learned a bit about the early history of "water" in the Kitchener area.

We then walked across the street to talk about a house that had been moved many years ago and get a look at the proposed bike trail to be build beside the rail tracks.

We then walked down the street to Little City Farm where Greg, Karin and Maya welcomed us onto their 1/3 acre of "country in the city". Greg talked about their philosophy of living in a sustainable fashion--which included building their addition out of straw bales. By the end of our time there Karin's bread was ready from their clay and brick oven in their back yard and it was delicious.

We then walked up Duke and Guelph streets for Wayne's fascinating talk about the Mount Hope Cemetery.

We learned about the original division between Catholic and Public portions and also some great stories about some of the people buried there (some famous, some just interesting). Wayne even brought an "ivory nut" for show-and-tell so we could see what buttons used to be made from. If you want to take your own tour of the cemetery click on this link for the city's helpful guide.

We received many nice comments and "thank yous" from the people attending. It is always great each year to meet so many people from our area and surrounding neighbourhoods as well. It is a great way to spend two hours.

We are planning to have another walk next year. Please contact us if you would like to help out, or if you have any stories from our 'hood. One of the highlights of the walk is when people who have grown up in the area come along and share some of their stories.

Here are links to two other Jane's Walks that occurred on the weekend in Kitchener:

"Downtown after Dark"

"Pedestrian" in the City walk.