JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

Do not go gentle down that good road... Photo taken on Royal Oak Road, west of Little Britain, September 14, 2011.

Source: The Mail and Empire , March 20, 1930 A tidbit I found while researching a recent Historicist post. Since the current series of highway route markers was introduced in 1993 "The King's Highway" moniker has gradually vanished from Ontario's roadways, along with many of the highways themselves—thanks Mike Harris! For most of the system's existence, the name has been a misnomer, since Ontario's official head of state has been a queen (sorry QEII). As for Minister of Highways George Stewart Henry , he left the position he had held since 1923 in December to become Premier of Ontario after Howard Ferguson resigned to become Canada's High Commissioner in London. Henry's name lives on in the North York neighbourhood named after his farm . More info : The History of Ontario's King's Highways features a history of route signage in the province. - JB

Photo taken in Cobourg, Ontario, March 6, 2009 - JB

Back in January, I wrote a post on the revamping of the service centres along Highway 401 in southwestern Ontario , which has meant little-to-no services on the highway itself for those sufferi...enjoying the drive between Windsor and London . On the way back from my west coast adventure, I had my first opportunity to check out the current state of the eastbound facilities at Dutton. The Dutton centre, which my family usually referred to as "West Lorne" due to another nearby town (that designation is used for the westbound facility), was our usual rest stop during trips to London or Waterloo Region. I don't recall using the facilities much before fast food chains entered the picture in the 1980s—before that, it was one of Shell's less-than-enticing 1867 cafeterias. By the time the facility closed a few months ago, services include a Shell gas bar, Mr. Sub, Tim Horton's and Wendy's. At one point, the province installed outdoor tourist information pi...

South of Beaverton, Ontario, the answer appears to be "yes." Photos taken on Durham Road 23, March 22, 2009 

Driving along 401 between Windsor and London is rarely a pleasurable experience. The long, straight drive and flat landscape quickly induce highway hypnosis and leadfootitis. Toss in impatient truckers and seasonal hazards like black ice and the matching sets of service centres at Tilbury and Dutton/West Lorne come as a welcome break to ease one's nerves... ...well, they were a welcome break. The province is overhauling the service centres along the freeway , many of which date back to the 1960s. While some have been razed and reconstructed in the past decade, such as Ingersoll westbound, others have not seen major renovations since fast food chains moved in back in the 1980s. The problem for any driver passing through southwestern Ontario is that all service centres west of London are either fully closed or have limited facilities (washrooms/telephones). No gas is available, requiring drivers to make significant drives off 401 to find a fill up—signs erected by the province ...

Logical response, wouldn't you say? Little Britain Road, west of Lindsay, November 2, 2008 

From the mid-1980s, a cranky, talking, slightly creepy oil furnace from a series of Ontario Hydro ads. The furnace's face was plastered on billboards in Leaside during my last childhood visits to Toronto before my grandmother moved to A'burg. I don't recall this campaign having much, if any, presence around Windsor and Essex County. The furnace in a less malevolent mood.

"Hmm, what do I want on my pizza...tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, anchovies and a fixed-rate mortgage." This would be a fairly old bank building, as the Standard Bank of Canada was absorbed by the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1928 , one of the many bank mergers that led to today's CIBC. Photo taken on Hwy 12, Brechin, Ontario, March 11, 2007 

Photos taken between Lake Dalrymple and Sebright, March 11, 2007

This week's trip back in time via Detroit: A Young Guide to the City takes us not to Motown but a place to stand, a place to grow, Ontari-ari-ari-o. While Windsor may now be a haven for underage boozers, back then cross-border tipplers had to deal with our crazy blue laws. Regulated glass sizes and servings, gender-specific drinking rules, liquor stores akin to a Sears Catalogue counter with less decor and bottles given to you with a shameful look in a brown paper bag (oooooh, you're buying booze...shame, shame!). Here's what the guide had to say about our drinking rules: It is one of Ontario's dubious distinctions to have some of the most confusing liquor laws ever devised...under no circumstances may alcoholic beverages be consumed anywhere other than one's residence or on licensed premises. For legal purposes, a "residence" has recently been redefined to include temporary residences; therefore, motel rooms, tents, etc. can now be considered le...

87: WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAYS 10: COMING HOME SOON DAY 12 Winnipeg/Kenora/Ignace/Thunder Bay DAY 13 Thunder Bay/Nipigon/White River/Wawa/Lake Superior Provincial Park/Sault St. Marie DAY 14 Sault St. Marie/Blind River/Sudbury/Parry Sound/Toronto The home stretch began with a huge breakfast at The Original Pancake House, where we stuffed oursleves with some of the best pancakes we'd ever had. Fast, cheap and delicious. Worth the waddle back to the car. The retro sign didn't hurt Continued on through the last stretches of prairie, before returning to a place to stand, a place to grow, Ontari-ari-ari-o. I figured it would take 3-4 days to get back to Toronto - our final overnight stops would be Thunder Bay, the Soo and Sudbury. The drive to Thunder Bay was uneventful, except for more changes in landscape than expected - even farmland reminiscent of southern Ontario for a brief time. Saw enough inukshuks... From Kenora to Waubaushene, these were a regular roadside site, usual...