Social Studies - Our Community!

The Grade 1/2s have been exploring our community in preparation for getting to know more about our country, Canada, and more countries around the world!

To get to learn more about St. Marys and area, we have been using the website Picture St. Marys, which houses digitized copies of the St. Marys Museum's photo and postcard collections. We wanted to see what things looked like, and how people may have done things 100 or more years ago, and these photos helped tell us a lot!

Do you recognize where this was taken? Click the photo for the answer!

Mrs. Stemmler showed various obvious buildings around town (the town hall, Anstett/Andrew's Jeweler building, Opera House), and even showed off buildings that no longer exist (a hotel where Circle K is now, the flour mill attached to the Opera House with train tracks behind). 

This building no longer exists. Can you guess what it once was? Click the picture to find out!

We even looked for old one room school houses, as we learned that a lot of children in rural areas, would attend a one-room school with every grade in one room! None of us could imagine how strange that would be, being in a room with Grade 8 students! Here were some we saw: Rannoch, Brown's School, Blanshard, Downie & East Nissouri Union School, Stone School.

Anyone recognize this building? Click the photo for the answer!

Some of the students wanted to explore more pictures of area buildings and people, so be sure to take a look at Picture St. Marys. If you're able to answer any of the Mysteries (where something was taken, or who the people in the photo are), be sure to let the St. Marys Museum know!

Now, the students didn't believe Mrs. Stemmler when she said that she used to work for the St. Marys Museum, and they wanted some photo evidence! So here are a couple pieces of evidence!

One of the many summers Mrs. Stemmler (far right, back row) was a student employee and ran children's programs.

Inside the Woodshed, the year Mrs. Stemmler (right) made the Picture St. Marys website :)

Have fun exploring the Picture St. Marys website! Let me know if you find anything exciting!