Capital Corvette Club Fall Colours Outing: October 21, 2017

The Corvette season was rapidly winding down and the Capital Corvette Club grouped together one last time for the annual Fall Colours Tour. arranged by Kim and Dave Cruikshank.

After meeting at the usual gathering place at Myers Chevrolet in Kanata, our group of Corvettes cruised leisurely through the countryside, passing Carp, Almonte and Pakenham, and eventually making our way to the village of Balderson.

Originally called Balderson Corners, the little crossroads village was named after John Balderson, a British sergeant who settled there in the late 1860s.  In 1881 a group of local dairy farmers banded together and built a small cheese factory, which became celebrated as the home of Balderson Cheddar.   A little community sprang up, centred on the factory.  The original factory burned down in 1928 but was replaced by another building, which was expanded a number of times.  A cheese shop was opened in 1970 but Balderson Cheese is now made in Winchester, Ontario under the direction of the multinational Parmalat firm.  The cheese shop is now a gourmet shop, with a neighbouring Amish furniture shop and snack bar and that is where we pulled in.

The History of Balderson Village, a sign that contains more information than you can find about Balderson on the Internet!

After everyone had bought their various gourmet items, we hit the road again, continuing down Regional Road 511 in Lanark County, coming to Perth.  

It should be noted that a group of cheesemakers in Perth produced the Mammoth Cheese in 1893.  It weighed 22,000 pounds and was shipped to the Chicago World's Fair, an impressive feat in those pre-refrigeration days.  It subsequently was bought by Sir Thomas Lipton and shipped to England, where it was finally consumed.  Apparently a small piece still exists at the Perth Museum but is not on display due to its fragility.  There is a monument in Perth, a replica of the Mammoth Cheese, but sadly we were not aware of this when passing through.

The Mammoth Cheese, being moved by lots of horsepower

After enjoying some more quiet country roads we were soon on the outskirts of Ottawa and the Cruikshanks brought us to our lunch location, a Scottish pub in Stittsville.  A good time was had by all even if we all knew that the Corvettes would all soon be under cover, awaiting the good weather next year.