By Ken Beecroft – President G & DHS
The Glencoe & District Historical Society expresses appreciation to Middlesex County Tourism and the Municipality of Southwest Middlesex for recognizing the importance of our heritage and ensuring that our community and visitors are reminded of our past.
In the summer 2022, the Glencoe & District Historical Society learned about Middlesex County’s tourism initiative, “Makeover Middlesex 2022.” The Municipality of Southwest Middlesex and G & DHS collaborated to create and install historical photographic murals. The goal was to continue this project as funds became available. G & DHS believed that the Makeover Middlesex 2022 criteria aligned with our mural project and sought a quote from a local supplier to assess feasibility. The ongoing partnership had already produced six historical murals at prominent locations around the municipality, aiming to remind and educate passersby, including tourists, about the heritage within our community. An application for funding was swiftly submitted to Middlesex County and was accepted, with approval issued on September 8th. Meanwhile, G & DHS reviewed and approved suitable subject matter for the murals, consistent with our chosen historical genre.
After some email correspondence to answer questions and determine direction, around October 3, 2022 the chosen supplier, Hykut Design, began working on the three mural candidates. Throughout October, the murals were created and supplied to G & DHS. Notably, “growing” a four-foot by eight-foot graphic onto state-of-the-art backing material from hundred-year-old postcards posed a challenging task. The skill of the artists and modern technology delivered a quality product expected to last for many years.
As events unfolded, the G & DHS executive considered placing the three murals in an empty downtown Glencoe storefront as a temporary exhibition for the winter. The idea was to have the murals prominently displayed at no cost, using the empty space. This proposal was emailed to the County of Middlesex for consideration and received approval with the understanding that the murals would be installed in their permanent locations in the spring. Consequently, in early November 2022, the murals found a temporary home in the storefront at 211 Main St., Glencoe. The generosity of business owners Leonhard and Barbara Schuko made this possible, and storefront lighting allows for evening viewing.
Murals depicting the old Post Office and the old Town Hall are now on the exterior wall of the Archives at 178 McKellar St., Glencoe. Another mural featuring a picture of the now-long-gone Strathburn buildings has been placed in Arboretum Park, owned by Southwest Middlesex,on Longwoods Road west of Strathburn.
The availability of project funding through “Makeover Middlesex 2022” played a crucial role in developing these murals, integrating them into our ongoing program of historical photographic murals.