Ever been to Perth, Ontario?  You should go.

It’s one of the prettiest towns in the country, rich in history and culture.  It was settled by veterans of the War of 1812 who were offered land after the war was over.  Most came from central European stock, with Irish and Scottish thrown in for good measure.  The gorgeous limestone buildings erected at the time are still standing, now housing boutiques, cafes and restaurants. It’s a bustling village, which is no longer that common a thing in small town Ontario where store fronts are, more often than not, vacant.  Not so in Perth. Set along the Tay River, Perth is alive and well, and it’s evident on every corner that this town takes great pride in its history, culture and appearance.

Wikipedia credits Perth with having the oldest continually-running pharmacy in the country.  Race horse Big Ben is buried nearby.  The last fatal duel in Canada was fought here in 1833.  The local golf course is the oldest in Canada, opened in 1890.  In 1893 a mammoth cheese was made, weighing in at 22,000 pounds.  While the Perth’s Citizen’s Band played Maple Leaf Forever, the cheese was shipped to Chicago for the World’s Fair in an effort to promote cheese, where it promptly fell through the floor (the cheese, not the effort)!

The band lasted longer than the cheese did and they are still actively playing as they have been for 150 years, presumably with new members.  In 2010 local kilt-wearers were credited by Guinness World Records when they held “the largest run while runners are wearing kilts.” A town with a great spirit and a sense of humour to boot.  Gotta love it.

Gotta love the food too.  We stopped in at the Crystal Palace on the Tay River Basin where a farmer’s market is held every Saturday until Thanksgiving.  Lucky for us we made it just in time to pick up some produce for our feast – leek and potato soup and a veggie pie.   The potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, beets and leeks were all local and organic.  Garlic on the stalk too!  I even picked up a pair of knitted slippers to keep my feet warm.

The reason we came to Perth?  To visit friends of my father’s who weren’t well enough to attend his funeral last June.  We spent the afternoon with Bud and Pearl.  Over tea and a delicious spread of great food, we reminisced about our families and all the places we had lived.  I was reminded how Dad used to love making Pearl laugh her deep, hearty laugh, after which she would always say, “Oh Joe!”

He would have been happy that we went to visit his friends, two gentle souls who remember him like I do, who remember my mother, and who have known me almost as long as I’ve known myself.

Which is something to be thankful for after all.