Guelph Ontario and Area in Photos: Saving Our History One Photo at a Time

Guelph, Ontario is the subject of Book 20 in the Cruising Ontario series of books of photographs of towns and cities in Ontario. The photos show the architecture and design of old buildings, many that are over 100 years old, with some descriptions of the buildings and background information, but mostly it is a visual experience to enjoy. Our family lived continuously in Guelph from the time I was four years old until 1969. Guelph was an often returned to place for our family from 1948 to 1954
whenever Dad was out of work, he would head back to Guelph where Mom's cousin and husband, Rosa and Carl Saillian, lived and had their Armenian Rug cleaning and installation business. We often watched Uncle Carl shampooing carpets in the large garage beside their house on Stevenson Street. One year when Dad was out of work, he dug out the basement under the Saillian's home to make a recreation room
Dad was a hard worker and completed the work much quicker than they expected. I attended S.S. No. 1 School from 1957 to 1963, then I was shuffled around to a few schools to complete Grade 7 and 8, and then to John F. Ross C.V.I. for high school. Riverside Park was a place we often visited for picnics and swimming. We lived across the road from the Ontario Reformatory (O.R.) grounds and we often saw a prison guard with a group of prisoners keeping the lawns looking beautiful. Since the reformatory moved to Milton, the grounds are in poor shape with animals digging tunnels through the grass. We swam in the lake at the O.R. I have many happy memories of growing up in this city.