Menu Page for 2006 Genealogy Trip into Canada

On October 1, 2006 Barbara and I again set out for a long trip through Ontario to not only do more genealogical research but also to see a few more of the sights. We drove 2, 995 miles roundtrip to and from Kearney, Missouri, USA and in the middle of that we took a train trip from Sault Ste Marie, Ontario northward to Hearst, Ontario and then back again of 588 miles. On the train trip we saw some gorgeous colors and some rather strange sights. Our objective was to do more research on the Buchowski side of the family and see even more cousins and new relatives.

On Days 1, 2, and 3 October 1-3, 2006: On October 1, Barbara and I got into the trusty old Ford Super Duty and departed for Canada. Once again we were going to new areas and hoping to see new relatives and new scenery in beautiful Ontario Canada. (Click here to see a Google earth image map of our trip) We headed north on Interstate 35 and traveled to Duluth, Minnesota where we stayed in the twin city of Superior Wisconsin overnight. On October 2, Barbara did her usual morning Curves workout in Superior and I did my usual dumb thing of breaking my glasses. We were able with help to find a optometrist in downtown Superior who had a frame that fit my glasses. She did excellent work and we were on our way to Thunder Bay, Ontario by mid morning. We had some spectacular views of Lake Superior as we headed north out of Superior Wisconsin and into Duluth. We took Minnesota Highway 61 north out of Duluth. It parallels the shore line of Lake Superior. Our beautiful views of Lake Superior continued as we proceeded north. It was a long trip and we were to meet Ron Allen south of Thunder Bay Ontario. After our interrogation at the Border Station we stopped at the Ontario Visitor's Center and called Ron. As we discovered last year on our visit to Ontario, these visitor's centers are goldmines of information. We met Ron on Ontario 61 south of Thunder Bay. Unfortunately the best laid plans of men and mice don't always work out and the document we were after was not available. We eventually received it after our return to the States. However, we are very appreciative of Ron's efforts and look forward to any additional information he can give us. It turns out that my grandfather Jurko (George) Buchowski and my grandmother Maria (Mary) Dubiniewcz were married in Thunder Bay and Ron was able to get a better copy of the marriage certificate for us. That is displayed elsewhere on the web site. One of the problems with this year's trip or as Barbara says with every trip we take was that I had lots of miles to cover in only 15 days and so I regret we did not stop at very many places to smell the roses. I did not take very many enroute pictures and for that I am sorry.

We stayed overnight in Thunder Bay and ate at a very good Italian restaurant. Italian, you say, in Thunder Bay, well a lot of the census research I have been doing on Thunder Bay reveals that it was not only a strong immigration stop for Ukrainians but also for Italians. On the morning of October 3, Barbara did her Curves workout in Thunder Bay and we were off for Sault Ste Marie Ontario taking the Trans Canada Highway 17 along the north shore of Lake Superior. I took my first pictures at Pancake Bay, Ontario at the Agawa Crafts and Canadian Carver Tourism Store. We wanted to do a pit stop and look at some native crafts. See my photo of the Pancake Bay Weather Station supposedly sanctioned by Environment Canada as well as the authentic native teepees. Click on the link below and look for the picture album Canada 2006Day123. The album will have a picture of a pelican on the cover. Click on the cover and you can view the pictures. Remember to click on each picture to see a description of that photo.

http://www.buchowski.org/photos/index.cgi

On Days 4 and 5 October 4th and 5th, 2006: On October 4th, we woke up in a small motel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. We had arrived here last night after a long drive along the north shore of Lake Superior from Thunder Bay. It was dark but we had to hurry down to the local train depot as we were embarking on a rather strange adventure. You see we were boarding the Algoma Central Railway train the Agawa Canyon tour and making our way north into the wilderness area of northern Ontario. We were going first to the Agawa Canyon and from there we would catch a second train and work our way northward to Hearst, Ontario. In retrospect, we probably should have only taken the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, as our time in Canada was limited and we did not realize that the second train to Hearst was a people's train. By that, I mean it has permanent stops along the track from the Canyon to Hearst but will stop for anyone that flags the engineer down. Additionally, the two freight cars were the strangest I have ever seen. There was everything in there from hunting dogs to 4 wheel drive vehicles to lumber, siding, roofing, etc. When we would stop, everyone would help unload so it could be done quickly and off we would go again. We stopped for one lady who had a cake and then a few miles further north along the track we stopped again so she could get off.

To make a long story short, we were very late getting into Hearst so dining was at a premium. Additionally, the train left before sunrise the next morning so it was a short night. On the other hand, the scenery was beautiful and we saw some great sights. Some of those I was able to capture on film, but in some cases the camera did not do it justice.

Click on the link below and look for the picture album Canada 2006Days4and5. The album will have a picture of a train on the cover. Click on the cover and you can view the pictures. There are five pages to the album. Remember to click on each picture to see a description of that photo.

http://www.buchowski.org/photos/index.cgi

On Day6 October 6th, 2006: On October 6th, we departed Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada and made our way eastward on Highway 17 toward Espanola. We traveled north of the North Channel. The North Channel is considered part of Lake Huron. We arrived by early afternoon in Espanola on our quest to see Mrs. Olga Belanger whose mother was a Buchowski. The visit had been arranged by Mary Buchowski, wife of John Buchowski and my second cousin. I regret that I did not take any pictures not only of Mrs. Belanger but also of the beautiful Spanish River which you have to cross along Highway 6 to get into Espanola. The best picture would have been from the middle of the bridge and since again we were operating on a tight schedule, we had to get to Mrs. Belanger's home.

Mrs. Belanger added a lot more pieces to the puzzle and I will introduce those later on the web site. I did make copies of her mother's passport. Her mother immigrated to Canada in 1926. Her mother's name was Justyna Buczowska. Ahh! that name again. Additionally, she was from the village of Serafincach, aka Serafyntsi, Ukraine. We copied several more items that Mrs. Belanger had in her possession including a list of people she had communicated with in Serafyntsi. None of the names that she showed me stood out at the time.

We departed in the late afternoon from Espanola and made our way to Sudbury arriving at our motel before sundown. There were no pictures made on this day.

On Day7 October 7th, 2006: On October 7th, we left the motel and made our way to the Curves that Barbara was going to use while we were in Sudbury. Several pictures are included of Barbara and the Curves. I also included a picture of the diesel fuel pump at an Esso station in Sudbury. We paid $82.33 Canadian for 91.6 Litres of diesel fuel. Note the taxes on the lower left hand side of the pump. There is a six percent charge added to the fuel for GST. GST stands for Goods and Services. It is very similar to the value added tax (VAT) that you pay in Europe. There is also a ten cents per Litre federal tax and a 14.7 cents per Litre Ontario tax. Not also the fuel is volume adjusted to 15C. The fight still rages in the United States as to whether oil companies are going to be forced to replace their fuel pumps and volume adjust the fuel.

After the Curves workout, we travelled to the home of Lillian Weloski. Lillian is the wife of my deceased second cousin John Weloski. John's mother, Justina Buchowski was the sister of my Grandfather George Buchowski (Burjoski). Lillian has for years, wintered over in Florida and we usually try to see her every March when we travel to Florida for the Henderson family reunion. Lillian was the person who gave us the information to make the contacts in Sudbury with the Buchowski's. We met Lillian and went to lunch and then Lillian took us to the Cemetery in Sudbury where her husband John is buried and her father and mother-in-law Orest and Justina Buchowski Weloski are buried. I have placed pictures of the head stones in this section.

Click on the link below and look for the picture album Canada 2006Day7. The album will have a picture of the head stone of John Weloski on the cover. Click on the cover and you can view the pictures. There is one page to the album. Remember to click on each picture to see a description of that photo.

http://www.buchowski.org/photos/index.cgi

On Day8 October 8th, 2006: On October 8th, we were so happy to finally be able to meet John and Mary Buchowski. We drove to their home in Sudbury and after some identification as to who we were and why we were there, we looked at some pictures and discussed things. We also wanted to see John's brother Steve Buchowski who lived in Coniston. Before driving to Coniston we first drove to the Sudbury Roman Catholic Cemetery where we were able to view the headstone of John's father John Buchowski. We drove to Coniston and were able to spend the rest of the afternoon with Steve. Steve had a number of pictures that I was able to scan. I will introduce those later in the Buchowski section of the web site.

Saying goodbye to Steve, we drove back to Sudbury to John and Mary's home. Mary had prepared a scrumptious Ukrainian dinner and had invited her two sons Jonathon and Randall and their families to come over. We really enjoyed the food and the hospitality and meeting Jonathon and Randall and their families. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and the hospitality. We hope to return one day soon and resume our fellowship.

Steve called from Coniston and said I had left my scanner at his house. We will go by his house in the morning to retrieve the scanner as it is the lifeblood of the trip.

Click on the link below and look for the picture album Canada 2006Day8. The album will have a picture of myself and the Buchowski brothers Steve and John. Click on the cover and you can view the pictures. There is one page to the album. Remember to click on each picture to see a description of that photo.

http://www.buchowski.org/photos/index.cgi