The Perfect Guide to the highways and byways of Ontario and the city and country treasures you’ll find along the way. Unique and out-of-the-way gift shops, antiques, country inns, bed & breakfasts, restaurants and tea rooms, live theatre, artist tours, town events, craft shows and festivals . . . and so much more!
The City of Cambridge was incorporated in 1973, when the three municipalities of Galt, Preston and Hespeler and the settlement of Blair were amalgamated into a single legal entity under a new name. (A new name that was not very new as Preston was once known as Cambridge Mills.) Each of the communities possessed a long and proud history and there was considerable resistance among the local population to this "shotgun marriage" arranged by the Provincial government. A healthy sense of rivalry had always governed relations among our three communities. Even today, while our residents will tell the outside world that they call Cambridge home, they will often identify themselves to each other as citizens of Galt or Preston or Hespeler. While the original communities have come together well in the years since amalgamation, they began life apart and as a result Cambridge is blessed with not one but three historic core commercial areas to preserve for future generations. As Cambridge has developed the open spaces between the original municipalities have been filled in a fourth commercial core.
Today, Cambridge is a thriving emerging and modern city with a diverse population of more than 125,000. It is located within the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is apart of one of Ontario's fastest growing and economically prosperous regions. With its perfect position being located along Highway 401, only 45 minutes from the provincial capital of Toronto, Cambridge is well poised to continue to grow and flourish into a prosperous metropolis and one of the best places to live in the Province of Ontario. www.cambridge.ca
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Tea Cards
By Emily-Jane Hills Orford
“I have several owls,” Moira said. She wasn’t talking about the actual bird of prey, but rather the image on a card found in her stack. “Who wants to trade?”
“I have an owl, too,” I piped up. “Just one, so I don’t want to trade it. But I do have several cards with ducks. Anyone interested in a trade?”
Dawn shook her head. “I have lots of ducks and owls,” she giggled. “I wish we could see what was in the box before we purchased it. Then we wouldn’t have so many of the same cards.”
“That would take all the fun out of trading them,” I pointed out.
All three of us had a stack of cards lying on the floor in front of us. The cards came in boxes of Red Rose tea. Each card was 2¾ by 1½ inches. There were several themes, but the ones we liked the most were the Animals of North America, Songbirds, Flowers, Trees, and Space Age. Each one of us was anxious to make a trade to improve our collection. It was a challenge to complete a collection, especially when so many of the tea boxes contained the same cards over and over again and, like Dawn pointed out, no one knew what was inside the box until it was purchased, brought home and opened.
“My oldest brother has an album for his Space Age collection of cards,” Moira said. “I found a card in the last box that I can use to claim a free album for my Animals of North America collection. I haven’t sent it in yet. Mom says I should pay the postage, so I’m saving my allowance for that. I still need a few of the cards to complete my collection.”
“It costs 25 cents to buy one of the albums,” I said. “I’m saving my allowance to purchase the Space Age collection album. I almost have all the cards for that collection. I have to pay for the postage, too, and for the envelope.”
“Apparently, you can purchase the cards you're missing from the set,” Dawn pointed out, picking up another card that was obviously a duplicate. “Anyone interested in the common zebra card?”
“Oh!” I exclaimed. “I don’t have that one. Can I trade a three-toed sloth?”
“Oh!” It was Dawn’s turn to exclaim this time. “I don’t have that one. Let’s trade.” And we did.
“How much to purchase a card?” I asked.
“A penny a card,” Dawn answered. “And, if you send them a completion card for that series, then they’ll send you an album. No charge!”
“But you have to find the completion card in a box of tea,” Moira said. “I read about that, too. As Mom says, there’s always a catch in every good offer.”
“Is anyone interested in the Dinosaur series?” Dawn asked.
We all turned up our noses. “Not really,” I spoke first. “I still think the Space Age collection is the coolest.” “I have a duplicate of the porcupine,” Moira piped up. “Does anyone have a beaver they want to trade for it?”
“I do,” Dawn exclaimed before I could speak. The two girls made their trade, then spent some time sorting through their collections.
We were interrupted from our banter and trading skills when Mom called from downstairs. “Anyone for a snack?”
Gathering our cards, we tucked them carefully in pockets and made our way downstairs to enjoy the fresh cookies that were baking when we came in from school. The aroma had permeated the house, and now our stomachs growled in anticipation, the intense lure of collecting and trading momentarily forgotten.
Many of us have fond memories of those figurines that came in every package of Red Rose tea. From 1959 to 1975 (before the figurines, which first appeared in 1967), Red Rose inserted collectible tea cards, each with a picture on one side, painted by an artist, and some interesting encyclopedic details about the picture on the reverse side. There were at least 17 themes represented in the cards, 48 cards in each collection. The most popular series included Songbirds of North America, Animals of North America, Wild Flowers, Tropical Birds, Transportation, Dinosaurs, and Space Age. Many of us enjoyed collecting the cards and trading duplicates with friends.
Emily-Jane Hills Orford is a country writer, living just outside the tiny community of North Gower, Ontario, near the Canada’s capital city: Ottawa. With degrees in art history, music and Canadian studies, the retired music teacher enjoys the quiet nature of her country home and the inspiration of working at her antique Jane Austen-style spinet desk, feeling quite complete as she writes and stares out the large picture window at the birds and the forest. She writes in several genres, including creative nonfiction, memoir, fantasy, and historical fiction. http://emilyjanebooks.ca