Vaudeville star May Irwin said that a dressing containing chopped vegetables reminded her of the Thousand Islands in the St Lawrence River and so Thousand Island Dressing was born.

There are actually 1,864 islands in the St Lawrence River, some just a bit of rock, some with single inhabitants and some a bit grander:

This is George Boldt’s Castle. George was also a key part of the Thousand Island Dressing story. May Irwin shared the recipe with him who was, at the time, a hotelier and the rest, they say, is history.

One one side of the St Lawrence River lies Canada and the other the USA, as you can see here:

With the St Lawrence forming the border between the USA and Canada it is a short trip from one country to the other (for instance over the bridge seen above).

Despite what the locals tell you (including our cruise ship guide) this bridge is not the shortest  international bridge in the world, because both islands (the Zavikon islands) are in Canadian territory:

Confusingly, to the uninitiated at least, Upper Canada is the end of the river lowest on the map and Lower Canada is at the other end. These distinctions are not so commonly used these days but were very relevant in the war of 1812-14, where the USA failed in it’s attempt to take British North America, as it was then known. The British forces were led (until his death in 1813) by Sir Isaac Brock, a Guernsey native for whom Brockville is named. October 13th is now Major-General Sir Isaac Brock Day in Ontario in honor of his death at Queenston Heights near Niagara.

Not only is there a bust of Sir Isaac in Brockville:

but there is also a 185ft high monument to him in Queenston Heights (note that Nelson’s Column is only 169ft.

So even in Canada, everything is bigger and better!