Gr. 10 students from Mr. Byrne's class take in some local History

On November 14th, 20 students got a first-hand look at history from our local area. Students visited Hiram Walker's distillary and toured the original offices of Hiram Walker and his sons who ran the business starting in the late 1800's. Students also learned about the company's connection to local Prohibition and how they were actively involved with local rum-running with many nefarious people, but none so famous as Al Capone from Chicago. The students had a chance to sit in the very same room (complete with a mysterious bullet hole in the wall) that Mr. Capone met with Walker's men to arrange shipment of the world famous Canadian Club Whiskey.

The wealth that the whiskey business brought to the Walker family was very evident when the class visited Edward Walker's stately Willistead Manor. Students learned first hand what "living large" was over 100 years ago. The manor, located in historic Walkerville area, boasted not only full electricity, but also natural gas piped in from the distillary down the road. The manor was decorated for the Holiday season which was an added bonus.

Hopefully the trip helped the students understand that to appreciate a rich, colourful history you don't have to go much further than our own backyard!