Freeze Frame

Morin Heights was a lumber town when it was first settled about 160 years ago by Irish and French settlers.  Most of the buildings on the main street date back many years to the beginning of the village.  They are not particularly attractive - they were functional, built to keep the cold out in the winter. 

Over the years, different businesses have tried to make a go of it, but not too many survive very long. There just aren't enough people in the area to support them, and they are competing with  St. Sauveur, just a few miles to the south, which has a bigger ski hill, lots of restaurants and shops.

This white building with the green roof is one of the rare successes.  It's a daycare centre.  The right-hand portion of the building is original and the left-hand part was just built last year.  They did a good job of matching the two parts.

This used to be a nice little bookshop but it was really only a hobby for its owner, so when she had to move, the shop closed.

The little Anglican church, so typical of country churches in the area.

What struck me as I looked at the names on the tombstones was how many different family names were represented.  After the War (WW2), many veterans came to Morin Heights for the fresh air, clean water, cheap housing and a quiet lifestyle .  For those who had contracted TB, there was a sanitorium not too far away.

At one end of the village, a new spa was built beside the river.  A new drugstore, a new grocery store and a couple of gas stations are really the only new commercial buildings the village has seen in the last few decades.  It's in a bit of time warp, not likely to change much any time soon.