OPENING DOORS
Historic sites on display
Getting an invite to the oldest home in Windsor, The Duff-Baby House, remains almost as exclusive as when the Scottish-born fur merchant Alexander Duff opened his home’s doors in 1798. Sunday’s Doors Open Windsor was one of those rare half dozen days annually when the public is invited in. More than 200 people took advantage.
“It’s nice to get into see an old building like this with it’s architecture,” said Windsor resident Matt Pare, who was getting his first tour of the approximately 3,600-square-foot home on Mill Street.
“In North America, as soon as it’s old, we tear it down.”
The home is owned by the province and houses some government offices on the second floor.
That hardly seems a fitting use for a home that can boast of hosting Chief Tecumseh, future U.S. President General William Henry Harrison and runaway slaves fleeing the U.S.
“Events like this (Doors Open) are very important,” Pare said. “People need to understand their heritage.
“If you don’t remember your history, it’s hard to improve yourself.” The second owner of the home, Jean Jacques Baby, who was born into a prominent French family in Detroit in 1763, would enjoy a distinguished career as militia colonel, judge and Speaker of the Executive Council of Upper Canada. “There isn’t a home west of Toronto older than this one,” said Don Wilson, president of the Les Amis Duff-Baby group working to preserve the home’s heritage and expand its use.
“People are excited to see the home. Ninety to 95 per cent of the people coming here today had never been in it before.”
Wilson said the group is working, with the help of the city, at securing a lease with the province for greater use.
“We need more access and more interpretation (of historical pieces) to make it interesting,” Wilson said.
“This should be a heritage house to explain exactly what it was like here during this period of history.” While there was a heavy emphasis on history in the 30 sites participating in this year’s event on the weekend, Doors Open Windsor also offered peeks into religious buildings, educational institutions, the distilling and brewing industries and cultural organizations.
The Film Camp for Kids (www. filmcampforkids.com) flung its doors open to show how it’s helping aspiring local filmmakers pursue their dreams.
“It’s our first year in Doors Open,” said program co-ordinator Aaron Fauteux.
“We consider ourselves a hidden gem in the basement of an old Toronto Dominion Bank (586 Ouellette Ave.). We wanted to invite people in to see our equipment and what we’re doing.” The organization is attempting to nurture a local film industry by reaching out to kids ages eight to 18. The group runs weekly sessions through the summer and on the weekends during the rest of the year. Campers learn everything from script writing to cinematography to editing. Working in groups of five or six, they produce a short film by weekend’s end for screening. The camp, which is supported by media arts students from the University of Windsor and St. Clair College, had about 110 campers this summer.
“Windsor is not Hollywood, but with technology it’s possible to make movies outside Hollywood,” Fauteux said. “We’re about giving kids a camera and chance to express themselves and be creative. “A lot of what we do is technology. Kids can shoot movies on their cellphones and we have a course to teach them that.”