Let's do some time traveling with the Woodruff Family. Have you ever stood in the shadow of a downtown St. Catharines building and gazed up at the faded words on the wall trying to decipher which business once advertised there? Have you wondered who stood exactly where you are now standing? St. Catharines was a busy place with many merchants and services. We will let the Woodruff Family guide us through the downtown streets as we get a glimpse into their daily lives through their actual receipts from 1876 to 1888. We will meet some of the merchants, read their advertisements, and check out the fashions and prices. Imagine, if you will, St Paul Street in an earlier time.....
The streets weren't paved and there were no cement sidewalks. On a rainy day, your skirts and boots would be muddy. No overhead wires graced the skies. The scents and sounds would be far different from what you are used to. The phone wasn't invented until 1876, and the car didn't come along until 1886. This is a world in which you had to be handy with a needle and thread, good with a horse and wagon, and resourceful enough to find a way to make a living without a cell phone or computer. Many of the merchants traveled to this new world to make a life for themselves and their families. You will notice that there are brothers who joined forces and fathers and sons who passed their trades down through generations. Hitch up your horse and buggy and come for a ride to downtown St. Catharines with the Woodruffs.
