Summer Job

Hello Readers,

This is a opossum skull a child
found outside the museum.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

This summer I had a student position as Visitor Services/Reception at the Lambton Heritage Museum in Grand Bend. I was excited to start a summer position in my Tourism field of study. This position was approximately 67km from my usual residence in Canada, but I had the opportunity to live with my sister which was only 20km from the workplace. This was an option I knew I had but was hesitant because my sister and I hadn't lived under the same roof in about 6 years.

I started my job on June 1st and I worked Saturdays to Wednesdays. Thursdays and Fridays were my days off. It was hard to make plans to visit with friends but that is life and it was much better to be working in my field gaining some experience. I also got to learn more of the History of Lambton County (where I come from) because the Lambton Heritage Museum is the museum that covers the county as a whole.

This is from my personal Snap chat.
My last day was August 29, 2018.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The job consisted of sitting at the reception desk and answering any phone calls that came in, ensuring the books were stocked on shelves, answering Tourism Information related questions, and taking admission to the museum.  I was to give an overview of the museum to each customer so they knew what areas they could explore and some key information about different exhibits. The museum was celebrating 40 years open this year so the special summer exhibit contained 40 artifacts over the 40 years from different areas around the county. It also told the story of how the museum started and gave information about the 2 men (Fred Walden and Peter Eisenbach) that donated approximately 6,000 artifacts each when the museum began in 1978.

The customer interaction at the museum is what particularly enjoyed about my time at the museum. I loved hearing about where people were coming from and what they thought of the history of our area, especially if they didn't know anything about Lambton County before coming to Lambton Heritage Museum. The museum is always trying to update the facility and improve their interpretations and exhibits. A task I was completing this summer was re-labeling the entire permanent exhibit, The interpretation labels will soon be put up and they will specifically tell the guests where in the county that specific artifact originates.

 If you are ever in the area to check out the Museum I do recommend it. There is a lot of information and history in this specific museum. If you are from Lambton County and are reading this, you can always go to your local Lambton County Library Branch and obtain a "Free Pass" you check it out just like a book and you have the chance to check out the museum free of charge. This also works for the partner museum located in Oil Springs "Oil Museum of Canada". The Oil Museum of Canada is part of the County of Lambton family which gives you that perk. It is very informative of the 1858 Oil History in North America - The first Commercial Oil Well in North America specifically and details the Oil Industry locally. If you do not have a chance to see these museums in person, be sure to check out their websites as they also have virtual exhibits with a lot of information as well as different exhibits you can not find in the museums.

I am very happy with what I have gained in knowledge this past summer working at Lambton Heritage Museum. I feel like I got to use my tourism knowledge as well as my customer service skills to give the guests a great experience.

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Big Red Chairs

Heyyyy....

Big Red Chair located at Home Hardware in
Grand Bend, along Highway 21.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Summer of 2017, I spent it working, between my studies in Finland and commencing studies in Germany. Along side my neighbour, who was busy with her summer studies, we decided to try and travel around taking photos in as many Big Red Chairs as we could. We didn't get too many but I will talk about a few and what we did while there. I will also recommend a few things to try out if you are in these areas.
The photo to the right is at Home Hardware in Grand Bend, Ontario. We were on our way to my sisters with my dog. We had to take the dog to the chiropractor for her back. We saw this chair and decided we better take some photos, since every time I head to my sisters with my parents, my dad always joked with me that we would take my picture here. The Hardware Store had even built a nice little staircase to step up on, so we could get into the chair. While in Grand Bend, you can also check out the beautiful beach along Lake Huron, or get some hiking done at the Pinery Provincial Park. Grand Bend is a great beach, camping, hiking, fun location in the summer...but very busy with tourists.

These are Parks Canada Chairs at
Point Pelee National Park in Ontario. Most difficult to find...on a trail.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

This photo is at Point Pelee. This is along Lake Erie.  Again a great beach location, and there are trails for walking, exploring birds and such. They have many other activities in this park. We did not have to pay to get into the park because for 2017 all National Parks were free to celebrate Canada 150, you just had to apply and get a park pass. Parks Canada decided to celebrate the 150th Celebration by putting the red chairs at National Historic Sites and National Parks. We decided to travel around and check a few local ones out...thinking they were going to be large, but they are just regular size, still awesome though. These chairs were very hard to find, there is no direction or anything, and we found them back on a trail in in the swampy area, there are bugs...so wear bug spray. However, it was an adventure, and there is a boardwalk throughout the swamp so you don't get your feet wet or anything. Great place to relax and go bird watching.

While out at Point Pelee, we drove past this restaurant called Birdie's Perch and decided on our way back to Windsor, we would stop here for lunch. My dad was with us and we all decided to try it out. The absolute BEST Perch Tacos I have ever had. If you are in the area here you need to check out this Double Decker Bus, fish and fries restaurant. There are other good things on the menu,but the fish was awesome, and that's what their known for, so I definitely recommend it.

Stopped here for Lunch. Best Fish Tacos EVER!!!! Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

These are Parks Canada Chairs at
Fort Malden in Amherstburg, Ontario. 
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

These Parks Canada chairs are at Fort Malden in Amherstburg. This is a National Historic sight near Windsor, Ontario and it is known for its military application from the War of 1812. There are barracks, and a building that shows a private residence, there are cannons and other military representations. These red chairs are just like the ones in Point Pelee, just a much different view.
Below, is the view of the Detroit River from the chairs. The Island in the left of the photo is Bois Blanc Island (Also known as Boblo Island). There used to be an Amusement park on this Island but it was closed in 1993. Today the Island is being developed with homes and condominiums. It has restaurants, a lighthouse, a marina, and many other things for the residents of the island.

This is the view from the Chairs at Fort Malden.  To the Left is Boblo Island. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

 The last photo I have added is my Neighbour and me in our last Red Chair of the summer. My dad found it at Patio Palace in Windsor. It was very weird trying to get into this chair as they did not have the nice stairs like Home Hardware in Grand Bend. We had to climb in from the side, under the arm of the chair. They are much higher off the ground then anticipated. It was also awkward to take the photo, this was a very busy road in the city, so many cars were zooming past us as we climbed up to take our photo.

Big Red Chair at Patio Palace in Windsor, Ontario Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

This was our fun adventure that we embarked this summer. It was a great couple of trips we could fit into our schedules while getting to spend a lot of time together. Hopefully, we can check out a few more areas in Ontario next year or maybe come up with something else to try and see. So much fun...Thanks Cassie for embarking on this adventure with me.

Bye for now...