(Goderich, Ontario, Canada)
For nearly two hundred years, Goderich has been famous for its spectacular sunsets. This town of about 8,000 people lies on the shore of Lake Huron (“Ontario’s West Coast”) and faces directly west. This means that the sun is clearly and vibrantly visible as it sets over Lake Huron at night. In fact, the sunsets can be viewed twice: once from the beach and again from the high bluff that overlooks the beach.
As you can see from today’s photos, I decided to take a lot of photographs of the sunset. This is one of those “essential local experiences” that I wanted to capture on film. Both locals and tourists were walking up and down the town’s long boardwalk to view the sunset; many others parked their cars facing west and prepared to watch the sunset from the comfort of their vehicle. This scene repeats itself every summer night.
Goderich is well aware of its beautiful sunsets. Once a week, a group of bagpipers “pipes down the sun”. Many local artists paint or photograph the sunsets. Goderich would be perfectly happy if sunsets were the only natural phenomena associated with this well-kept community. Alas, August 21, 2011 changed all that.
On August 21, 2011, a Class F3 tornado struck Goderich with almost no warning. Wind speeds reached an incredible 300 kilometers per hour. The tornado raced through Goderich’s unique downtown and caused an estimated $130,000,000 in damage in only 12 seconds.
We saw pictures of the wreckage: it was horrifying, with buildings ripped apart and massive trees uprooted and scattered all over the town. Miraculously, only one person died but 37 more were injured.
The recovery from the tornado has been swift…but not surprising. Goderich has had a long history of winning titles such as “Canada’s Prettiest Town”. Meticulously prepared flower beds are everywhere and are signposted with the names of the local residents who are looking after them. Even though the tornado has obviously changed the face of the town, Goderich is still winning these competitions.
This civic pride is evident everywhere. The streets and parks are startlingly clean; if a visitor leaves rubbish behind, a local resident is likely to pick it up and dispose of it.
About 20 minutes south of Goderich is the village of Bayfield. The vast number of sailboats in the harbour attest to its popularity with boaters. It was not hit by the tornado and is recommended in many guide books for its shopping and historic inns. While the main street is undoubtedly quaint and the village is scrubbed just as clean as Goderich, it also didn’t seem to be quite as real. As the sweltering heat made shopping a low priority, we decided to return to Goderich for some local ice cream.
Stay tuned for some fascinating facts about Goderich and an unexpected jewel in the middle of southwestern Ontario!