Good Afternoon Everyone:

It gives our family great pleasure and honour to take part in this special dedication ceremony for the opening of our grandparents' homestead. We know that many of you have worked very hard to bring about the realization of the log house at the Prince Museum.

We wish to extend our thanks to the Prince Township Museum Board who have been a driving force behind this project. We thank the Chair of the board, Evelyn Hill, and members Leslie Cassidy-Amadio, Lou Madonna, Diane Marshall and Judy McGonigal as well all former members for their dedication to this project.

Sincere thanks are also extended to those who have given much of their time to rebuild the log house: Monroe (Buck) Clark, Dick Farrell, Wes Hill, Glennie, David, and Charlie Marshall, Don McFarling and Wilfred Wilton. Glennie Marshall's knowledge and previous experience in reconstructing a log home were certainly put to good use in this project.

Our thanks also go to the Ministry of Natural Resources for turning the logs over to the Prince Museum.

I want you to come with me and retrace the steps of the Conway family settling in North Prince. Picture yourself leaving London, Ontario, traveling to Sarnia and then coming by boat to Sault Ste. Marie. The year was 1899. In 1899, William John Conway and Ida Maria (Bailey) Conway with their son, William Arthur, came from London, Ontario to North Prince to begin a new life.

According to the original Land Title, William John Conway applied for a Free Grant in 1896 under the Free Grant and Homestead Act. William John came to North Prince, to clear land before the family arrived in 1899.

Before 1900, about 1898, a two-storey log house was built. It was located on the north side of Fourth Line, just west of the Big Carp Creek. The ground floor included a kitchen, a dining and a living area while the second floor included two bedrooms.

During this time period, a community of many families settled in North Prince, or on the "mountain" as it was called. Local church services took place in the Conway log house. Another pioneer family, John Ironside, and his daughter, Helen (Nellie) spent their first winter (1899-1900) in North Prince with the Conways.

In 1903, the Conways bought 80 acres on the Third Line in Korah Township. A barn was soon built. The log house in North Prince was moved down to be added to the west side of the existing barn. The upper floor of the log house was used for hay while the main floor became a chicken pen. In 1915, a barn raising took place to add a large barn to the east of the original barn.

On March 15, 1989, the Conway farm, with the exception of the house and a few acres, as transferred to the Ontario Government to be used by the Ontario Forest Research Institute. The log structure remained as part of the barn until the summer of 1991. At that time the Ministry of Natural Resources was dismantling the barn. The ministry gave permission for the logs to be used by the Prince Museum.

It is all well and good to know the factual history behind this log house, but I want to share with you some interesting points that will give life to the people who lived in this log house. William John Conway, our grandfather, was born in 1863 in Upper Canada. So this man spanned history from before Confederation to after the Second World War. As a young fellow, he peddled fish for a fish market. He was full of adventure. At one point, he considered going west, but his adventure was to North Prince leaving his job on the Grand Trunk Railway.

Grandpa Conway loved to sing. Back in London, he sang with the Salvation Army. His favorite hymns were “What a Friend We Have In Jesus” and “The Lily of the Valley”. Later, often Grandpa would sing while my Dad whistled the tune, whether it was doing chores or riding in the car.

When Grandpa Conway, at the age of thirty-eight, came north, he had lost all of his immediate family with the exception of three nieces whereas Grandma Conway came from a large family of nine children. Imagine what it was like for her, leaving a small brick house in London and leaving behind all her family. Later, Florence Day, Grandma's niece, came to visit, married Gus Holmberg, and lived on the next farm. We grew up calling her our Aunt Florence, whom we cherished.

A piece of jewelry that came with Grandma Conway when she came north and would have been with her in the log house, is the locket that I am wearing today. You will see this locket in the family picture inside the homestead. Within this locket is a wisp of hair that belonged to a daughter, May, who died at about two years of age, in London, before the family came North. This locket was Grandma's wedding present from Grandfather.

(My brother and I both remember our grandparents. My brother was ten years old and I was five when Grandpa Conway passed away. One year later, Grandma passed away.)

Our Father, William Arthur Conway, lived in the log home also. Apparently he went through the bush school. According to Peggy Suddaby, there were two schools, one on the Fifth Line and the other on the North East corner of the Second Line and the Airport Road. At the age of fourteen, our father began working in a logging camp. Later, he purchased an additional 80 acres to increase the size of the farm on the Third Line. The Conway family worked extremely hard in many different areas of farming, which included raspberries (40 pickers at one time) a dairy herd and poultry farming.

To bring this to a conclusion, I want to refer to a quote that appeared in the London Free Press. Grandfather never had any desire to return to London to live. After visiting in London one time, he was quoted as saying, “I am leaving on the next train to go back to God's Country.”