Lambton Heritage Museum

09/01/2026

Any parents out there who are facing empty nests this fall as their children move away for school?

We ran across a lovely postcard in our collection documenting the challenges of an empty nest. Anna Turner wrote the following message to her friend Rosie, sharing some encouragement as Rosie's daughter was getting married and moving out of the house.

She wrote:

August 6, 1909

Thanks for the intimation of the marriage which you kindly forwarded. You will sometimes feel lonely and look back on the time "On heads that rose by slow degrees like buds upon the lily spire. O patient life, O tender strife! But all the heads by slow degrees have gone and left that lonely pair. O memories! O past that is!"

But instead of losing your children, I think you are gaining more - I am sure you are. I send you our portrait. I hope everyone is very well.

What are some sage words of encouragement you have received about big life changes, like becoming and empty nester? Drop your comments below.

08/31/2026

08/28/2026

The history of the archaeological artifacts in our collection are as rich as the soil they were found in. Want to learn more? Let's get digging!

In archaeology, artifacts are often found incomplete or in fragments. Many artifacts at archaeological sites were thrown away by past users. These pieces of "garbage" can help us learn about the societies that threw the items away.

The first photo shows potsherds, the second photo shows broken projectile points and the third photo shows broken gorgets.

These fragments create a puzzle that archaeologists must solve. Broken objects create an incomplete archaeological record. Archaeologists must do their best to interpret these fragments and learn what they can about the past.

Stay tuned as we "uncover" more archaeology content!

08/26/2026

Our curatorial team drew from the history of the families that had lived there when planning how to arrange the interior of the Canatara Cabin.

On the fireplace mantel we placed portraits of Maud Hanna and William John Hanna. It was Maud's daughter, Margaret Spaulding, who purchased the cabin in the 1930s when it was moved from Huron County to Lakeshore Road in Sarnia. William John was a long-time politician and president at Imperial Oil. After he passed away in 1919, he left a large estate to Maud and their two daughters. Maud used these funds to support public causes. Her greatest contribution to the City of Sarnia may have been the establishment of Canatara Park. In 1932, Hanna matched the City dollar for dollar to purchase waterfront property for the park.

Between the two Hanna portraits, we placed a copy of the earliest known picture of the Canatara Cabin, taken shortly after it was rebuilt on Lakeshore Road.

08/24/2026

Our interior gallery and collections storage areas are protected by strict temperature and humidity controls, but we don't have the same protection in our historic buildings. Artifacts are more vulnerable in our historic buildings, so we have to be careful about what we display in those spaces.

In our Canatara Cabin, we wanted to include several board games that the Spaulding family might have played during their summers at the cottage in the 1930s. In our collection is a game called Canadian Logs, first produced in Nova Scotia in the 1920s. Players can use a variety of differnet logs and joiners to create log structures, a bit like wooden Lego.

The original copy of Canadian Logs in our museum collection is very fragile. We hesitated to remove it from our controlled collections storage area, so we copied the exterior of the box and carefully glued the copies to a cardboard shell. This replica helps keep our original copy safe while still allowing visitors to get a glimpse at this interesting old game in the Canatara Cabin.

08/22/2026

This summer, we’re living in technicolor! We invite you to join us as we indulge in an enriching experience that highlights some of the vibrant colours from our collection. From red to violet and everything in between, come along as we follow the rainbow!

When it comes to advertising, nothing draws the eye of a potential buyer quite like the colour yellow. This versatile colour can be used to make a loud statement or a subtle gesture, depending on the intensity of the shade.

One of the most iconic uses of this colour can be seen on the packaging for Kodak cameras and accessories. During the early days of Kodak, the marketing centered around the tag line “You push the button – we do the rest”. This phrase expanded their target audience by making photography more accessible.

By 1935, the company settled on yellow and red branding. The original cardboard cartons and metal tins evolved into dynamic packaging. The brand featured bold fonts and bright colours, creating a strong identity that is still recognizable to this day!

08/19/2026

Sail in to Lambton Heritage Museum's gift shop and pick up a nautical mug. They're great for sipping a hot beverage while admiring the quiet early morning view of Lake Huron.

Stop by during our summer hours, Wednesday through Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Thursdays 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

08/17/2026

Do you ever feel enchanted when you're browsing through photographs? There's something special about being transported back to a specific memory in time. It's almost like magic.

Well, early styles of image projectors like the one you see here, were actually called magic lanterns!

The magic lantern was a small tin box with a lamp inside and a lens at the front. When slides and film were inserted, they were illuminated by the light and magnified through the lens. It was developed in the 1600s for entertainment. Later, they were also used for education.

Magic lanterns were common until compact slide projectors were invented.

Fun fact: because a single lens inverts the image, the slides were inserted upside down so that the image when projected was facing the right way.

08/13/2026

Have you ever started a fire with bunches of old newspapers? In the Victorian era there was actually a device specifically designed to make newspaper fire starters.

We present to you the cast iron newspaper log roller. This device was used to roll old newspapers into log shapes to create an effective "fire starter".

A sheet of newspaper would be fed into the slot of the metal rod and slowly rolled around it using the crank handle. More sheets of newspaper would be added to reach the desired size. The log would then be tied with a string to keep the shape and placed in the fireplace for burning.

Rolling the paper loosely would create a quick burn while damp rolls created a slower burn.

Have you ever seen one of these devices? Have you used one? If so, let us know in the comments below.

08/11/2026

Check out this model of the Imperial Sarnia oil tanker, currently on display in "Bluewaterland". The Imperial Sarnia was built in Collingwood and launched on June 26, 1948. The 410-foot ship could carry over 55,000 barrels of petroleum products. She picked up western Canadian crude from the pipeline terminal at Superior, Wisconsin (on the far side of Lake Superior) and delivered it to the Imperial Oil refinery in Sarnia. When the pipeline was extended to Sarnia, the Imperial Sarnia got a new life on the ocean. In the mid-1950s, she was refitted for salt water and operated out of Halifax. In 1965, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened, and the Imperial Sarnia returned to Sarnia.

The Imperial Sarnia was built with a black hull, but it was painted dazzling blue after repairs in the 1970s. She was known affectionally as “Blue Zoo”. When her 64-year career finally ended, her longtime captain, Nathan Smith, also retired.

Raised in a seagoing family, Captain Nathan Smith was born in Petrolia in 1929. He worked as a dishwasher on the Hamonic as a teenager when he was only 15. He was 30 years old when he became first mate on the oil tanker Imperial Sarnia in 1969 and was certified as a captain in 1974. When sharing about his career before becoming captain, he noted, “You can’t tell somebody to do something if you haven’t done it yourself.”

Captain Smith loved his ship and his life on the Great Lakes. he commissioned this model of the Imperial Sarnia after he retired. Captain Smith loved his ship and his life on the Great Lakes, and after he passed away in 2022, his obituary noted, “Nate lived life to the fullest.”

This model was displayed in his home for many years as a reminder of his career at the ship’s helm. His captain's uniform is also on display, and visible here in the back left corner of the picture.

Captain Smith eventually gave the model to Robert Goodall, who was a longtime cook on the Imperial Sarnia. Robert and his sister, Pat, arranged for it to be donated to Imperial Oil.

We are grateful to Imperial Oil for lending it to Lambton Heritage Museum for our exhibition.