It has been almost 44 years since I passed through White River, Ontario on my way from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Montreal, Quebec in 1967 to see Expo ’67. For one thing, I no longer drive a 100cc Yamaha motorcycle but in those days that was my mode of transportation. One very noticeable change has occurred in White River as well. In 1967, visitors arriving in White River were greeted with a sign announcing that they had just arrived in the coldest place in the country (-58C). I remember thinking about this while shivering on my motorcycle as I passed through White River on my way home to Winnipeg. The outside temperature at the time was just around the freezing mark but it certainly felt like -58C on the back of that motorcycle and I still had a very long way to travel.
For the highway traveler today, White River still has a restaurant at the east end which has changed hands over the years and is now an A&W, a couple of motels which often display a “No Vacancy” sign, and a busy Robins Donut outlet for the donut lovers among us.
What has really changed though is the sign greeting visitors to the area. Gone is the “Lowest temperature …” sign. In its place is a much friendlier Winnie-the-Pooh sign, signaling to all travelers that White River played an important role in the saga of Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie-the-Pooh history
