My Hometown: Wallaceburg, Ontario

[eagle]

hello
i just stumbled across this site and had to respond.yes.wallaceburg has fallen on very hard times,so many plant closings and layoffs over the last few years.I have always lived in or around in the general area of wallaceburg.my parents still live in town .im out in the country a few miles but worked there for many years.
i once worked at north american plastics in the 70`s .now closed .there is a photo in amonst the well taken photos on this site.i went back to school to get a trade ,tool and die maker ....wow .now im set eh!..WRONG!....with all manufacturing jobs across the country going overseas ,china in my case ,thousands of good hard devoted workers are losing thier jobs.i am one of those ....you would think after 23 years at one company a person could look forward to security in his job .but .nowe at age 52 i am out there looking and .....there aren`t any jobs!......
the political machine likes to go on the news and other media stating how the unemployment is at a 30 year low,when in reality its at an all time high for skilled trade workers and manufacturing workers.if the government creates 10,000 call centre jobs at minimum wage they pat themselves on the back and at same time the middle class guy with a family mortage and home is losing his house and having personal stresses on his family life and just trying to survive on EI benefits .........and then when they run out that individual has to relocate to wherever he can find a job and possibly apply for social assistance besides....!...yes.thats how bad it is in the wallaceburg chatham /kent area ..and if you watch the news its right across the southwestern ontario area in manufacturing ......there are thousands being downsized and laid off right in our backyard....
i was so upset at the governments arrogant display of their incorrect unemployment data that i responded to several media outlets asking for an interview .......finally i got my wish .i assembled a dozen of fellow tool and die makers out of work and met with local tv reporter for this area....we got to speak and say our mind ..but ........what got aired was a 15 second segment about a plant closing!!"NOTHING" GOT AIRED ABOUT OUR CHALLENGE TO THE GOVERNMENT ON THIER STATISTICS ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT.......
I would predict if all the people i southwestern ontario ,in my position,out of work and cant find any were to assemble together in one area ...you would have thousands of people that the mass of people would be staggering to say the least ....and you see ...that would be confrontaion with the governments numbers and be too conficting .so in the end ........the little guy doesnt get heard .....i never got aired at all
so now that ive vented and got it off my chest again ...i hope all who read this can just try to read between the lines a little when they see how "good" the government is running things
you might want to look at it this way ....when a persons EI benefits run out and expire .according to the government .thats one less unemployed!....problem solved!.but hey ...he is still out there .losing his house and way of life .....he is still a statistic .,but that one you dont see ......

[flar]

I was in Wallaceburg for the holidays. Many people are excited about the new Walmart and a couple big box stores that recently opened. There's also a buzz about something big coming to town but nobody knows what it is, other than "some people from Toronto are trying to buy up a bunch of land". I believe those who think the presence of Walmart means W'burg is on the upswing are misguided. Personally, I don't think the Walmart will be good thing for Wallaceburg. I do hope the "something big" happens and creates decent employment, because a lot of people are struggling right now. The Wallaceburg of 2007 is a far cry from the town I grew up in, but a recent headline in the local paper is more optimistic:

2007: The year Wallaceburg began to turn around

David Gough
Courier Press staff
Wednesday December 26, 2007

It may not have been a singular moment or story, but the rebirth of Wallaceburg is the Courier Press’s top story of 2007.
After years of factory closings, house foreclosures, falling real estate prices and environmental disasters, Wallaceburg has risen up, shaken the dust off and is now ready become a town on the move again, to borrow a tired cliché.
The year 2007 was a good one for Wallaceburg.
Among the positive signs:
• The creation of a distance-learning centre where students can access college and university courses online.
• The McNaughton Ave. power centre now includes a Wal-Mart and a number of big box retailers.
• The Wallaceburg Community Task Force took flight under Stu McFadden with the mandate to address the transition of Wallaceburg’s economy.
• Real estate prices on the rise locally due to buyer demand.
• A new Shell refinery located 10 minutes north of Wallaceburg remains a possibility.
• New, young owners downtown, with new stores, ideas and enthusiasm.
• The Homeward Realty Star Search at the CBD Club brought out hundreds.
• The Central Ambulance Dispatch centre for Chatham-Kent and Lambton County still in Wallaceburg in a new building being built behind Sydenham District Hospital.
• A year after Young America call centre closed, Help Desk Now moved into Young America’s old facility.
• Wallaceburg’s Sycamore Woods was preserved. The 11-acre Carolinian forest is the only one of its kind locally.
• Changes at SDH, including 20 new continuing care beds.
•Wallaceburg Lakers rebound after four horrible seasons, make the playoffs and lead the league in attendance.
• Wallaceburg’s Shaun Suisham settles in with the Washington Redskins and is having a great year on the field. Off-the-field Suisham helped by bringing a huge one-day football camp for youth to Wallaceburg. He also led by example, fundraising on his own to make improvements to the Wallaceburg District Secondary School athletic field. A booster club is also raising funds to make the Tartan athletic program top notch.
“I believe it’s been a great year,” said Stuart McFadden, project manager of the Wallaceburg Community Task Force. “More than anything I thing there is a glimmer of hope in people’s eyes. I think more than anything they get a feeling that tomorrow is going to be better.”
The community wants change and they’re playing a part in it, McFadden said.
Highlights are already planned for 2008. Wallaceburg’s biggest party, WAMBO, will be turn 20 and organizers planning a bigger event.
“I think 2008 is going to be an incredible year,” McFadden said. “ . . . There are some good things coming around the corner for Wallaceburg.”
Homeward Realty owner Betty Tack said things are looking up. “I think there is a new excitement,” Tack said. “Everything has turned positive this year.”
Housing prices, stagnant for many years, have risen, Tack said. “It’s phenomenal. It’s like day and night to what we anticipated. Houses are selling quickly.”
After Shell announced its intention to look into building a refinery north of Wallaceburg hits to her real estate website spiked.
There have been no saviours. There were no moments when Wallaceburg had a huge announcement, but there were hundreds of small victories as the town rebounded and the New Wallaceburg finishes off Year One.

http://www.wallaceburgcourierpress.com/

[flar]

[DC83]

Wow, awesome retro-shots, Flar!! Did you take those?
I've been trying to find shots of Hamilton from the 70's & 80's w/ no luck (even at Central Library)... all I can find are the old old b&w ones.

[flar]

Originally Posted by DC83

Wow, awesome retro-shots, Flar!! Did you take those?
I've been trying to find shots of Hamilton from the 70's & 80's w/ no luck (even at Central Library)... all I can find are the old old b&w ones.

I took all of those shots over the past six years. Some of them just look old because they are film prints that I scanned onto the computer. These buildings had stores in the 70's and 80's and several buildings have been demolished since then too.

[PS curr]

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...ntario1064.jpg

hoping this works looking for a recent photo. thanks

[dktshb]

Sorry to see you hometown falling on hard times. Your pictures proved that you can capture beauty even in decline. Another outstanding set.

I really like this photo but find it a bit strange that this building appears to be totally surrounded on all sides by street... kind of like the hole of a donut:

[whatsthepoint13]

How sad...
It seems there is some potential though, the town has great bones.
I have a friend whose from Chatham, Ontario

[Wheelingman04]

True Rustbelt city.

[flar]

Originally Posted by PS curr

hoping this works looking for a recent photo. thanks

I hope to get back to Wallaceburg someday to take another look at its housing, I may have underestimated it because of its familiarity to me (a lot has also been covered up with bad vinyl siding)

[jodelli]

Originally Posted by flar

I took all of those shots over the past six years. Some of them just look old because they are film prints that I scanned onto the computer. These buildings had stores in the 70's and 80's and several buildings have been demolished since then too.

That's what I thought. I remember this town in the 80's and it didn't look this bad.

[Urban Zombie]

Well-done, sir. This was like watching a documentary.

[TinChelseaNYC]

That is one awesome portrait!

[crystalake]

anything past the walking bridge pretty well looks the same. That side of town never looked very good to begin there with the two bars over there.The only time the town looked half decent was in the later 60's. After the movie theater got taken out of the downtown area it pretty well started going downhill.
Shame that the factories started closing, put a lot of people out of jobs.
Glad I left when I did

[the poohzn]

Flar, you have inspired me to re-shoot your old pics this coming summer when our mostly mild winter abates.
I found your pics to be revealing as part of the diary of Wallaceburg. Sure, the town has indeed been through hard times - there are still hard places here. But when I think back to the trials that happen daily in Toronto, I am most thankful to be here.
My hubby & I escaped the horrors of Toronto last year, happily choosing this charming town to hunker down in & retire. Because of low housing costs we were able to buy a large, attractive house on a prominent lot that we could only have dreamed of buying anywhere within 150Kms of Toronto. We have since brought business to the local tradespeople in making adjustments to our new home, as well as becoming regulars in the small downtown core businesses. Although we shop at the big box stores too, I look forward to my bicycle ride to James or Nelson St. shops. Here, we were able to "go green" with electric bikes that will take us as far as the local conservation areas that are so popular with birdwatchers & photographers as well as day-tripping to Mitchell's Bay.
I've been told that we are part of a new trend of retirees that are coming here to enjoy smalltown Ontario at the end of long careers. As long as there remains young people to work in the shops, businesses here can flourish by attending to the growing "grey" population in this town.
Thanks again for the inspirational opportunity to show the beauty and charm of our town and I hope you can visit us soon. It's all in the perspective. Come home again and find the better Wallaceburg!

[Nineties Flava]

That looks about as rust-belt as anywhere I've seen in the midwestern US. I've never seen the Canadian version so this was pretty eye-opening. Being that my family's from a rust-belt city, I understand that my reaction to these photos is probably nothing like yours... you remember when the town wasn't on hard times so you have context. Are there a lot of towns like this in Canada?

[Gresto]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

That looks about as rust-belt as anywhere I've seen in the midwestern US. I've never seen the Canadian version so this was pretty eye-opening. Being that my family's from a rust-belt city, I understand that my reaction to these photos is probably nothing like yours... you remember when the town wasn't on hard times so you have context. Are there a lot of towns like this in Canada?

That's what I was thinking. This doesn't look like anywhere I've seen in Canada. More like Gary, Ind., or something like it.

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by Gresto

That's what I was thinking. This doesn't look like anywhere I've seen in Canada. More like Gary, Ind., or something like it.

Coincidentally enough, that's where my family's from lol.

[flar]

Looking at these shots, I can't believe how many of these buildings have been demolished. It's very sad how quickly and easily things are demolished in Wallaceburg, but in some cases it's understandable as the buildings are in poor condition and there is little hope of reuse.

I really wish these hadn't been torn down, the southside looks so empty now:

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

That looks about as rust-belt as anywhere I've seen in the midwestern US. I've never seen the Canadian version so this was pretty eye-opening. Being that my family's from a rust-belt city, I understand that my reaction to these photos is probably nothing like yours... you remember when the town wasn't on hard times so you have context. Are there a lot of towns like this in Canada?

There aren't really too many towns like this in Canada. I think I may have mentioned it earlier in the thread, but Wallaceburg is very much in Detroit's orbit and has suffered severe industrial decline similar to a lot of American towns.

[MolsonExport]

Live band in what appears to be an abandoned, bricked-up building? Amazing!

Cool thread. Quite a few SW Ontario towns are taking on these deindustrialization/depopulation characteristics of woe.