Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Drawing Out Memories From The Past

My post last week about Oscar Peterson had me looking at the plaque behind the sculpture. It also made me think of the plaques for The Valiants, the series of statues I showed you not long ago. Click on it in the tags below if you haven't seen it. I photographed the plaques as a reference for myself at the time, leaving them in my folders. 


Looking at these photos again, it got me thinking of just how many historical plaques and markers there might be out there. It must be countless. I remembered from childhood driving up to see my grandparents regularly with my mother, a trip of under an hour up to Guelph. There was a historical marker along the route we usually took, and I would ask that question from time to time- how many of those do you think are out there? A whole lot, no doubt, and if you tried to stop and see every single one of them, you'd never get where you were going. It's odd how a photograph can draw such memories back to the surface. 


I like the plaques that are incorporated into these memorials. With the first, Frontenac's quote is one for the ages. Brant's Mohawk name spelled out is a good touch for the man who had quite a reputation among his people, not to mention among the British, the Canadian Loyalists, and the Americans. And Brock's plaque mentioning the capture of Detroit makes me wonder what the general would make of what has become of that city today.


28 comments:

  1. Thanks for reminiscing and sharing the plaques.



    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^=

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  2. When I was a child, we would take road trips with my grandfather (who drove...). He would stop at EVERY historical marker, read it, comment, and elaborate. I found that endlessly boring, but I miss his explanations now. --And as for Detroit, the Canadians then would have had 'Motown music'! ;)

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  3. And I wonder what Brock would've made of Detroit? Good point about Motown! As for plaques - well, you're right - millions and millions of them!

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  4. thanks for visiting my blog :)

    the older I get the more I find history interesting

    impressive plagues and statues

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  5. I photographed all the plaques I saw in Ireland on holliday. It is very handy to have them with the photo's, to remember where you were and have some information too.

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  6. Brock would turn around and go home.
    Jane x

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  7. An aspect of the 1812 war that has gone unnoticed on our side of the border, William. :-)

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  8. @Cloudia: you're welcome.

    @Bibi: that would add hours onto even a day trip.

    @Mike: Millions indeed!

    @Jen: thank you!

    @Marianne: it does come in handy as a reference.

    @Jane and Chris: I suspect he would.

    @Revrunner: if he did it again today and burned the city to the ground, I suspect Michigan might thank him.

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  9. Another very interesting idea. I tried something like this here, but some plaques are so dirty that I am ashamed to show them...

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  10. always good to have a plaque on a memorial.

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  11. I'm glad they add these plaques for us, at times, the uninformed.

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  12. I'm glad I'm not the only "crazy" person who takes pictures of plaques. I always like to go back and read them when I have more time. Nice to see these from images you have shared before.

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  13. You can learn a lot just reading these plaques.

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  14. @VP: that's a potential problem when they're not taken properly care of.

    @Tex: it is, yes.

    @Birdman: they do come in handy.

    @Halcyon: I've done the same before with other places, though I haven't posted the plaques.

    @Sharon: yes, you can.

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  15. Thanks so much for sharing these, William.

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  16. Looks like the start of a wonderful collection !

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  17. I find that having informational plaques on statues makes all the difference! It's like a miniature history lesson :^)

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  18. I'm glad I'm not the only one with photos of plaques... (And now he has a whole château named after him...)

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  19. My dad would stop so often to read these when we were on holidays - and all the rest of us just wanted to go and eat! ;-)

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  20. I can never pass one of these without reading it from beginning to end, and then taking a photo so that I can read it again when I get home.

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  21. Though I'm not really a history buff, I always find this sort of thing fascinating!

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  22. @Linda: you're welcome.

    @Stuart: I do have most of the Valiants plaques stashed away.

    @Tamera: it does have that effect.

    @Ciel: and the Chateau Frontenac is magnificent. I've seen it a couple of times.

    @RedPat: I'd be the one with your dad! These things interest me.

    @Denise: me too.

    @Norma: thanks!

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  23. I love historical markers! I want to stop and read every one I pass!

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  24. I'm with Cheryl. I love historical markers! ..... and want to stop and read them all!

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  25. It's true. There are a lot of plaques. I've never thought. All along the roadside between here and there.

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  26. In the street where we live in Paris, there is a plaque for the magician Houdin who held his first magic show here. Blois where we are moving shortly, is the birthplace (and place of death) of Houdin and there is a Magic House just opposite Blois Castle. We have gone past that plaque for the last 9 years never suspecting that one day we would be following Houdin home (not to be confused with Houdini (born Ehrich Weisz in Budapest), the famous American magician, strongly influenced by Houdin. Adding an "i" in Hungarian means "like Houdin"). Just a little bit of history for you!

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  27. Yep, I bet Brock would be shocked to see what Detroit has become.

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  28. @Cheryl: that could take forever!

    @Janis: there's not enough lifetime for it!

    @Jennifer: even in one's county or region there's probably too many.

    @BDP: small world, isn't it?

    @EG: and yet Detroit is bouncing back.

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