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Armed with umbrellas and warm coats, a dozen history buffs took a historical walking tour of Riverside on Saturday hosted by the Windsor Museum.
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The small group gathered near the Veterans Memorial at Farrow Riverside Miracle Park, where they were greeted by Windsor Museum tour guide Walter Petrichyn.
“We meet here because this is the heart of Riverside,” said Petrichyn. “At the beginning of the 20th century, the city started with the community church, St. Rose Church.”
He said the church initially served 150 families after its construction and, by the 1950s, the congregation had grown to more than 1,000 families.
Then, Petrichyn took the group on a two-hour tour of the area around the church, sharing stories behind the street names, pointing out the significant architecture of the neighborhood, and explaining the important relationship of the nearby Detroit River.
“They swam in the Detroit River, they sailed and skated in the river. Hockey teams practiced on the river, ”said Petrichyn.
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The walking tour precedes the official reopening of the Windsor Museum on Tuesday.
“This is actually the first thing we’ve done,” said museum curator Madelyn Della Valle of a lengthy layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tour was held in recognition of the centennial of the city of Riverside. It was incorporated as a township in 1921 and was annexed by Windsor in 1966.
As part of her research, Petrichyn interviewed Windsor City Councilor JoAnne Gignac, whose family roots run deep in Riverside.
Petrichyn has taken guided historical tours of Walkerville, Sandwich West and Ford City.
“As far as I know, this is the first time Museum Windsor has toured Riverside and I am pleased and fortunate to be able to do so.”
Reference-windsorstar.com