Early Canadian Poet "O Happy Land," verse by William Kirby | Listen to Poetry Driving on Highway 11

William Kirby (13 October 1817 – 23 June 1906) was a Canadian poet and author of note. He was born in Yorkshire, England. Later, he immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1832, then to Canada in 1839. After visiting Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, he chose to settle in Niagara, Ontario, where his house still stands.
Kirby was a tanner until his marriage to Eliza Madeline Whitmore. Then he became the editor of the Niagara Mail for twenty years. The early Canadian poet's first full-length work was a long narrative, The U.E.: a tale of Upper Canada, from which "O Happy Land" is drawn.

Webers (also known as Webers Hamburgers) is a hamburger restaurant on Ontario Highway 11, located 15 kilometres north of Orillia, Ontario. The restaurant began in July 1963. "Webers grills their burgers over charcoal, with a grill man said to be able to flip up to 800 patties an hour. Long line ups are a common sight at the restaurant, which made the restaurant build a footbridge over the highway to provide access for guests from the southbound side. The restaurant's hamburger patties are also sold at Loblaws outlets." (source: Wikipedia)

On popular Fridays, Webers sometimes sells as many as 8000 hamburgers and is a well-known fixture in the Canadian Cottage Country Scene. In the video, you see that the restaurant is closed as the restaurant opens weekend from Thanksgiving until Christmas but closes January to March break.

King's Highway 11, or more commonly, Highway 11, is a provincial highway in the province of Ontario. At 1,784.9 kilometres (1,109.1 mi), it is the second longest highway in the province (after Highway 17). Highway 11 begins at Highway 400 in Barrie. It makes its way through northern Ontario to the Ontario–Minnesota border at Rainy River via Thunder Bay.

Washago is a small community located north of Orillia close to Highway 11 in the Township of Severn north of Orillia and south of Gravenhurst. Washago is close to northern Lake Couchiching, the Trent-Severn Waterway and Lake Simcoe.

Here is an enjoyable driving video, set to relaxing music. The video is designed to increase knowledge of early Canadian poetry, and you can appreciate the wonderful countryside of rural Ontario on a winter's day.