The Swiss in Ontario

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

If Magee wrote this book to prove that history is dry and the Swiss
boring, her goal has been achieved. The work is plodding, unimaginative,
and uninspiring. Given the potential of her subject, this is
unforgivable.

Settlers of Swiss descent have lived in Ontario for 200 years, have
produced some of the province’s most intriguing cultural pockets (the
Mennonites and Amish), and have had a tremendous impact on Ontario’s
architecture, industry, and arts and crafts. Their story is full of the
drama of struggle in a harsh wilderness and accomplishments in a raw,
new country. You won’t find that excitement here: merely the dry
facts, wrapped in a ponderous, flat style. But hack through that, and
you do have the basic data on which to build an appreciation for the
Swiss in Ontario.

The book contains numerous photos: most are portraits or posed shots of
people standing by historic plaques. Only a handful—reproductions of
historic photos or paintings—contribute anything of value to the work.

A 50-page section is given over to reporting the demographic and
psychographic results of a 1990 survey of 127 Swiss immigrants. It has
all the excitement of a government document.