Riding off into the Sarnia sunset last summer on Bike Tour #1.
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Sensing Place: Lambton between the lines
Lambton between the lines, is a collaborative art-research project by Andreas Rutkauskas (Montreal), Lee Rodney (Windsor), Lisa Daniels (Curator, Gallery Lambton) and the SARCASM Collective (Sarnia) . This site chronicles the field research and community contributions that will inform new readings of the historical, industrial and political landscapes in Lambton County. The project is funded by Gallery Lambton, The Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
Contributions are welcome. See contact page below for details.
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Point Edward golf course on the northern end of Christina Street: for a stark contrast, see “The last house on Christina Street” (August 24), which marks the boundary line with the Valley. See also the quote from Pam Calvert’s documentary about Sarnia as “fairyland.”
Crystal Village, Marysville Michigan.
We’ve seen this housing development in Marysville, Michigan several times from the Sarnia side of the St Clair River, which shows the backside of a condo complex that flanks a major coal processing site; from the Canadian side one might think that its stylish worker’s housing, given the proximity of the residential and industrial sites.
But when we drove over to the other side, it became apparent that this development has nothing to do with the coal processing site. The development is ironically called Crystal Village, a name that would seem to disavow any connection to its surroundings: the alarmingly homogeneous condo development seems to try to cover up its proximity to the surrounding industrial complexes with walled gardens at the end of each cul-de-sac, but the predominant backdrop is clearly visible upon entering.
The Last House on Christina Street: This is 552 Christina Street South, the last house on Christina Street before entering the valley. There’s actually one more building on the street, a boarded-up, two story brick building that looks like it used to be a pub. This part of town seems to be a kind of border zone between the residential and industrial parts of Sarnia. A sign directly across the street gives directions for an emergency route to leave the city.
“When we got off the train down at the station, and they took us down to where we lived in Bluewater, my mother couldn’t get over it, she said it was just so beautiful, it was like a fairyland. Then when you woke up the next morning, the stink from the plants was enough to knock you over. It was terrible. But she always thought with the lights at night it looked like a fairyland.”
From, The Beloved Community (2007) a documentary by Pamela Calvert, http://www.bucketbrigade.net/article.php?id=1124
Neighbors: In the heart of Chemical Valley there is a Chippewa cemetery directly across from Dow Chemical’s former premises. The site is also surrounded by one of Enbridge’s refineries. The eerie juxtaposition of the burial ground with the high pitched, ethereal drone of the neighboring refinery makes this one of the most haunting venues in the region.
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