“The land teaches us a hard lesson here,” said the narrator of the TV show ‘Pioneer Quest’. ?The TV clip was shown at the beginning of the second presentation of the historical society’s ‘Pioneer Life in the Arthur Area’ series. Last week’s theme was ‘Foods and Cooking’.
Historical Society President Dave Stack led the discussion and everyone enjoyed a taste of the treats common to the time period baked by society member Mabel Henderson including molasses cookies, matrimony cake, Queen Elizabeth cake and butter tarts. ?In pioneering days, food was coarse, lacking in variety and not overly healthy or tasty. Nationality played a part in the menu -- folks would try to cook favorite dishes from their homeland.?Local natives sustained themselves fine. The first Europeans to arrive in this area were soldiers. They ate bully beef (beef packed in brine), salt pork, hardtack (a bread made with flour and water) and pea soup.?There was some fishing in this area but as Stack pointed out Wellington County is at the top of the watershed so pickings weren’t as abundant as further south but there was some trout.?Fur traders would hunt and fish to supplement their diet of bear grease and oatmeal.?During the American Revolutionary War, Loyalists were welcomed in to Canada and were given three years worth of provisions including flour, pork, beef, butter and salt. ?“Unfortunately, in the fourth year there were widespread crop failures,” Stack explained. “It’s termed the hungry year in some books.”?In the early settlement years there wasn’t winter feed for animals. That changed when pioneers began growing pumpkins, and later turnips, for feed. Milk and butter production increased when pioneers were able to keep their animals through the winter. ?The lack of area stone mills made life difficult for pioneers. They had to grind grain by hand, which led to coarse breads. Locals would often walk to Guelph to mill their grain. There was a big celebration when the first mill opened in Arthur. ?A clip from a movie filmed at Upper Canada Village illustrated the abundance that could be provided at harvest time.
 During other times of the year area pioneers enjoyed wild berries, maple sugar, porcupine, raccoon, squirrel, chestnuts and they ate the passenger pigeon to extinction.?Tea was a popular drink for English Colonists but was very expensive. Enterprising settlers made tea out of hemlock, dandelion, the inside bark of maple trees and sassafras. Coffee could be made from dried peas or burnt toast.?Beer, cider and whiskey were common drinks.?“It’s been said that without whiskey, Ontario wouldn’t have ever been settled,” Stack said. “It was very hard work.”
The seven-week ‘Pioneer Life in the Arthur Area’ series is being presented on Wednesdays from 1 to 3pm at Arthur Historical Exhibit.