WPSU

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

What IS It?

Miles Johnson correctly identified the photo from the July 19 "What IS It" quiz as a fishing boat, and specifically a "fish tug," also known as a "fishing turtle." These boats were designed specifically for the fisheries on the Great Lakes.

Fisherman on these boats use gill nets to snag their catch, pickerel, which (yes, this surprised me, too, because in small bodies of water in New England we think of pickerel as solitary) can form schools.  We saw several of these boats docked next to the chips truck formerly known as Mr. Perch, with their transparent monofilament nets loaded in shallow metal pans, stacked on deck, ready to be deployed.

Congratulations, Miles, and a tacky postcard is headed your way.

And now for today's quiz.  We spotted the structure at left in a small town along the Trent-Severn Waterway, and I've been dying to include it in a blog post ever since.

I'll tell you what it ISN'T--it's not a church steeple.  So, what IS it?

Winner gets a shout-out on the blog and a tacky postcard--not to mention the deep satisfaction of demonstrating publicly your knowledge of obscure architectural features.

12 comments:

  1. hi cuz,

    some sort of power plant (i see the power lines)?

    i slept through the first two "what is it?" posts - jet lag! i guessed about the ice house, though.

    i'm LOVING your posts. the kids are following you, too. (even a few of our auxiliary kids!)

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  2. new baby is named Adir. mom says Adir Who (Adir Hu). brings back memories, no?

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  3. I think it is one of the control structures at one of the locks. I'll see if I can identify it specifically.

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  4. Could also be an old timber station. (Jim Fong)

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  5. mom thinks it is a lighthouse and lock keepers home.Dad

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  6. My guess is a lighthouse. My grandson, Josh(8), thought the "Turtle Tug" was a fishing boat that used nets, but I said "how would they get the nets through doors"?. I told him that his guess was correct. We are having a good time with your "What is it?" pictures. Your updates are now part of our everyday activities. Enjoying your trip. Keep up the good work.

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  7. Looks like James is right on the money. http://www.cornwallis-images.com/prod5.asp?prod_id=313&id=276&grpid=313&msg=&offset= A pretty neat looking building. Even the name of the road is fun to say!

    58 Saskatoon Avenue Campbellford K0L 1L0
    The Campbellford/Seymour Branch of the Trent Hills Fire Department consists of 18 professional volunteers operating out of one station. These volunteers are ready when needed to protect and aid the citizens of our area.

    Here's another neat picture of it: http://www.angelfire.com/droid/campbellford/1907Bergade.gif

    I need to get back to work now...

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  8. Scott -- Neat black and white of it! Very cool. I lost an hour and a half yesterday trying to figure out that it was a fire station. (Jim Fong)

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  9. Gentlemen, you are correct! This is the old fire station in Campbellford.

    NOW, for the big important question: Why does this fire station have a tower that looks like a church steeple? What was that tower used for?

    (Hints: It's not just decorative, AND it's not for blowing the fire whistle from.)

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  10. Yes Jim, I too wasted too much time this morning checking out your suggestion. I liked that black and white one too, it shows how long it's been there (1907 is the date on the photo). Now I'm going to have to research Cindy's other question! Unless you find it first :)

    I'll attempt a guess without looking for the answer. Judging by the fact that there is very little around it in that black and white photo, I'd venture to say that it was a fire watch tower or some sort of watch tower for the river.

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