Mount Forest Ontario Visited
by Gary McWilliams (aka Festival Nomad)
We had heard about the town of Mount Forest from friends, but had never visited it.
Judi and I were planning on traveling to the Mount Forest area, so we decided that we would put the town on our “to visit” list.
The town’s motto on the “welcome” sign said “High – Healthy – Happy“, so we decide to see if we could find out the motto’s meaning.
As a result, we started to explore Mount Forest.
Our journey took us through Mount Forest’s residential area.
And then to its downtown area.
When we visited, the downtown was quite busy.
Shops and restaurants lined the main street.
There was a beautiful historic building that housed the Mount Forest Museum and Archives.
More heritage homes and churches could be seen as we continued our journey.
We still hadn’t learned just what the town’s motto meant, but we were still exploring.
We thought about visiting Mount Forest’s Public Library, but decided we’d like to discover the meaning on our own!
As we continued our travels through town, we passed a Mennonite “horse and buggy“. It remained us of other communities we had visited. Ontario Mennonites seem to be moving away from their traditional communities. Judi and I have noticed a number of beautiful Mennonite farms in our area.
As we drive, Judi noticed a street sign that said “Sports Complex“.
We followed to where the sign was pointing and found the “Mount Forest and District Sports Complex“.
What a great facility!
We ventures inside.
A plaque inside the complex said that the arena was “in memory the men of Mount Forest and Community who sacrificed their lives in World War I and II”.
It was inside the Complex that we decided to produce our Mount Forest Oh Canada Eh! Game video.
Back outside we visited the town’s War Memorial.
We were beginning to understand the town’s Motto.
Mount Forest has a “Healthy” view of its community and the residents and of those who came before.
I think that Mount Forest residents are “Happy” that they live in such a beautiful community.
As for the rest of the Motto, maybe its because Mount Forest residents are “High” on “life” or perhaps its because the town is located at an “altitude of 1407 feet“!
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