I was introduced to Prince Edward County as a youngling. The year was 1978 and my family had adopted a lovely little cottage in a co-op hidden away off the beaten path in Waupoos. What does “Waupoos” mean? It’s a question I would ask, and would grow up loving the answer. I learned it means rabbit, which explained all the bunnies that would hop around the hamlet’s dirt roads and grassy knolls.

Back then I enjoyed bike rides to go get candy from the local convenience store and walks at dusk; passing by an old boarded up house, each time hoping to catch a glimpse of a ghostly light that some locals had claimed to have seen. Those days were wonderful, but my love for the place continued to grow as the years rolled on. Only as a young adult did I truly start to see what Waupoos and the County held for me. It’s as though this place has developed into a sort of lovely charm bracelet with each experience adding on to its links like a shiny gem.

Today I happily call the County my home and am also a proud member of the advisory committee for the Museums of Prince Edward County. This position has brought me the discovery of another wonder in Waupoos, one that I didn’t know about at the time of my youthful summer getaways.

Rose House Museum is a quaint heritage house from the early 1800s, dedicated to the preservation of the original German settlers who built it with perseverance, skill and love. When I found out about it, I knew it was a place I had to visit.

On a weekend that my sister-in-law and her family were visiting from Ottawa, we decided to go. We happened to be there on the weekend that they had an exhibit about apples and hops. We learned about all the different types of apples the settlers used to harvest, many of which are now extinct, and then were taken through how they used hops to make beer. It was all so interesting and educational. We were even allowed to take home a snippet of some hops growing out back of the museum to try growing them for ourselves! The kids loved that day.

Looking at Waupoos with adult eyes, I can see how so much of its history is connected to the production of apples. It’s a detail that as a child, I didn’t seem to note. I cared more about how high I could climb the big weeping willow out front of our cottage or fishing off the dock in the bay. History is where you find it, and for me it is part of what I treasure most about the County.