The hardy pioneers of the Claybelt Region, were bold and adventuress people. The fertile soils were the attraction, however the long northern winters certainly needed a special kind of farmer to reap the huge benefits this area had to offer. Today we all too easily, take for granted the lifestyle these men and women created under difficult circumstances. Like their mining companions, the farmers were able to “tame the landscape” and slowly bring civilization to the area. Homesteaders learned how to make living more comfortable, initially formulating methods of combating the long cold winters, but also by improving their daily work and household routine.

Within our Museum, we continue to explore, restore and exhibit the numerous implements, tools and appliances that were commonplace in the homes and workplaces of our early nineteenth century Northern Ontario. 

The Household Collection

The Hudson Women’s Institute has installed and equipped a pioneer kitchen and a back shed circa.1920s. Most of the artifacts were used in, or came from Hudson Township. There is a sewing machine whose acquisition is recorded in the diary of a Hudson resident who recorded township doings from 1926 - 1934. Much of the graniteware was used in the bush of Hudson woodsmen. The back shed has some laundry equipment, such as, the wash boiler, scrubbing board and sad irons. Also, in this room is the cream separator and butter making equipment.

 
The earthenware and stoneware crocks were used mainly for storage. The ones with straight sides might have been packed full of butter when the cows were milking well or may have contained salted meat when an animal was killed. Sauerkraut, pickles, eggs and other dry foodstuffs were also stored in crocks. They came in many sizes from one gallon to sixteen gallons. In the 1901 Eaton’s catalogue a one-gallon crock with a lid cost 25 cents and a six gallon one with a lid, was sixty cents. Some crocks had smaller tapered necks and others had  very narrow necks with a handle for pouring. They were used for storing vinegar or beverages.

 

 Some kitchen utensils such as the casserole dish and egg lifter haven’t changed much in appearance or function over the past 80 to 100 years. Other utensils such as the apple peeler, butter churn and pot menders have all but disappeared from the modern kitchen. Our collection also includes the metal triangles for calling the family to meals, a friendly sound indeed during the hot summer farming season.A potato ricer and a frying pan for cooking on an open fireplace are proudly displayed in our household area of the museum.

 

The Museum is proud of the many examples of the domestic appliances used by our pioneers and features the following, to “whet your appetite.”

What a modern washing machine of today can do in a few hours, usually took most of the day, at the turn of the century.

 This washing machine was used in the home of Wesley and Ada Shepherdson. It was run by electricity and was the successor of one run with a motorcycle motor which had a long flexible exhaust pipe that ran across the floor and out a hole in the wall. The predecessor to this (or for those stubborn stains) was the hand washer board, as seen in the lower half of the visual.   The Shepherdson Building and Lumber Company made these washboards in their box factory, located on the corner of Whitewood Avenue and Jaffray Street, in the Town of New Liskeard. The original washboards were made with a metal scrub board but they continually rusted out.  The Shepherdsons then began making them with glass, which lasted longer but were now breakable so they invented one which had a removable side so that a new glass could be easily replaced.

When the washing was done and the clothes needed to be pressed, the stove was the initial source of heat for the irons.  Before electricity the pioneer ladies heated the irons on top of the wood stove. Various weights and sizes were used for different pressing needs.  Some had detachable handles with metal clasps to pick up and use the hot irons. Within our collection we have a charcoal box iron. (left bottom shelf) Imagine the work and potential accidents involved in using this hefty object. Hot charcoal had to be placed inside the hollow cast-iron box base by way of the hinged lid. The flue in front dispelled hot steam and smoke. The wooden handle protected the hands (up to a point) from the hot metal. This design dating from c1900 was later adapted to create the first gas-heated smoothing iron

  As time passed, some irons had a small coal oil heater attached to keep them hot. Finally electricity with steam became the standard for ironing clothes.