The thought had been percolating for a while — to write a column exploring the history of St. Catharines and the surrounding areas. To place the scenes of yesterday next to those of today.

But it remained only an idea until Dennis Gannon received a phone call in 1997 from the managing editor of the St. Catharines Standard, who wanted his debut article that same afternoon.

Gannon remembers grabbing the first illustration he could find — an 1870 drawing from the Glendale Avenue bridge, looking over the old valley of the second Welland Canal.

He wrote a quick story about the ships that once moored along the canal and small industries that lined its banks, then contrasted it with the current view: a parking lot and Highway 406 cutting through where the canal once flowed.

That first column

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