Each day of my vacation offered new things to do. This was the day I’d arranged to spend with my friend Deb from Lunenburg to spend time with her, then to have lunch at their home.

That morning, Deb picked me up in Bridgewater. What a lovely reunion! She drove me to Lunenburg and drove around the area. One stop was at the Lunenburg Academy to tour their schoolhouse library. We’d seen the academy from a distance on earlier trips but this time I got to enter its doors. Like my one room schoolhouse, there was an entry door for the girls and another for the boys. This school was so much bigger than the one I started my education in.

That day preschoolers were leaving with parents from one door. A special last day.

It really is quite an imposing building.  Upkeep was being done on its roof to keep it in  good repair.

I didn’t take photos inside, but I did relish sitting in the desks similar to the ones I sat in from Grade 1 to Grade 5, where one desk is joined to the next with an inkwell in  one corner of the top. Most were for right-handed students. Did they have any for the lefties?

Blackboards were similarly decorated with lessons for various grades and there were books on display that students would have used along with added interest from a student whose family shared some of her early books.

https://fathomstudio.ca/our-work/lunenburg-heritage-classroom-exhibit

We did some looking around at historic homes whose architecture had been restored and refreshed, including Zion Lutheran Church, the oldest Lutheran congregation in Canada.

Notice again the detail on front doors of these historic buildings. Deb said often an owner would paint one side of the building one year and go around all the house in succeeding years, until the front needed painting again.

And now the  Lutheran  church, not the only church in the old towne, but the only one for which I got photos,

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

Our next stop was the Quartet Gallery, one of many in Lunenburg. What makes this one special is that my friend Deb’s art hangs in this gallery. Artists sell their work here as  part of a cooperative. It’s definitely a space you want to investigate, and perhaps purchase one for your home. I saw so many beautiful works of art there and a small one that I thought might fit in my suitcase for the trip home.

https://www.quartetgallery.com/

From there we went to their home and had a tour of their bright and spacious living quarters, then a delightful light lunch and visit with Deb and her husband Rick. And I bought a copy of a book Rick co-authored on prayer.

https://wipfandstock.com/9798385272280/what-is-this-prayer-stuff-anyway/

The day was far from over. I didn’t take as many photos thus far that day as I might otherwise have, but focused more on being with friends.

The visit was over too soon. There was another person in Lunenburg whom I had planned a visit. Deb drove me to Carol’s home just outside of Lunenburg. We had a delightful catch up visit on the front verandah of her cheerfully painted home.  We had so much to talk about. She had been just a little girl when her Dad started as minister of the church in Ontario where I attended while growing up. We had history together, her family and mine. Her family enjoyed visiting us on our farm and I’m sure they took home some of our garden produce when it was in season.

At this point, my hosts came to pick me up and take me to the next stop. And this is where I will stop for today. More in the next post.

There’s more on Lunenburg in the next posts.