Today we return to our "exploring an era" section with a few more tidbits from today's date in 1931.

Today's poem of the day comes from Canadian poet Jane Urquhart. Though she has since moved to southern Ontario, Urquhart was born in Little Longlac, a small mining town in Northern Ontario.

Fans of Road to Avonlea living in Ontario will soon get the chance to explore the heritage of the area in which the famous series was filmed. On Aug. 27 & 28, visitors to the Uxbridge museum grounds will get a chance to see part of Road to Avonlea history during the 40th annual Uxbridge Heritage Days.

Exclusive behind-the-scenes videos are coming soon to sullivanmovies.com!  And fans of Road to Avonlea may be interested to learn that many of these videos have to do with the production of the beloved series.

"The salt sea air and the flickering home lights, the sunset kindling the fires in the valley. I love this place." Sara Stanley

The impact that a childhood home can have on a person’s life is everlasting.  Its own peculiar comforts and beauty, found even in the most ordinary of places, is a constant source of inspiration for the series Road to Avonlea.

Though in many ways Lucy Maud Montgomery had a singular mind – her view of the world often differing from the women she kept company with – her own personal desire for a beautiful “house of dreams” in which to raise her children is a universal dream held by most women.  And she gave that same vision to her heroine, Anne Shirley, in the fifth novel of her series, Anne’s House of Dreams.

The town of Avonlea seems so authentically “maritime” that fans of both Road to Avonlea and Anne of Green Gables may be surprised to learn its true filming location.  Though made to emulate the scenic beauty of the island, with many exterior shots taken on location in P.E.I., the town was actually built in Ontario. Here is Kevin Sullivan’s direct recollection of finding the perfect spot to construct Avonlea.

Christmas comes early in one of the more emotional episodes of Road to Avonlea when Cecily is forced to stay at a sanatorium in order to improve her health.

This production still captures the scene when Anne and the students from Kingsport Ladies College enjoy a carriage ride through the streets surrounding Mrs. Harris’ grand estate in Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel.  This scene was actually filmed in the streets of Toronto and the location was picked for its markedly Edwardian ambiance.

In the two-part series opener of Wind at my Back, “Four Walls and Roof”, viewers watch as Hub and Fat Bailey run away to the Bailey cottage on Bass Lake in the hopes of escaping their grandmother’s tyrannical rule and returning to their mother in North Bridge.