megram - Index

megram - 55GTA - Index

PHOTO: ST. JACOBS COUNTRY
Day Tripper
By Sherri Telenko
From Buggies
to Boutiques
St. Jacobs Village merges modern comforts with Mennonite mystique
Easily walkable, St. Jacobs downtown has a surprising number of unique
boutiques and artisan studios.
A90-minute drive from
Toronto,St.Jacobs has been
a favourite get-out-of-town
retreat since the mid-1980s when
the village capitalized on its rural
culture and Mennonite history to
consciously become a tourist destination.
It’s changed a little since
it invested in the restoration of the
Old Mill (one of the first sources
of hydro-electric power in
Ontario) into artist studios and
restored the 1852 stagecoach
house into a nine-room inn and
restaurant.
St. Jacobs has also struck a
careful balance between commercial
interests and respect for the
reclusive lifestyle of the Old Order
Mennonites who have made this
region their home since the
1700s. Drive west along Highway
May 2008 • 92 • Fifty-Five Plus Magazine
401, exit onto Highway 8 towards
Kitchener then follow Highway
85 into St. Jacobs. You will know
you are there when the shoulder
of the road widens — ploughed in
the winter and packed hard in the
summer — allowing just enough
room for both the 21st-century
automobile and 18th-century
horse and buggy to share the
road.