Month: February 2026

A Treasured Family Archive Finds Its New Home

A Treasured Family Archive Finds Its New Home

Mary Simpson

By Mary Simpson and Caroline Gough, November 8, 2025.

The Glencoe & District Historical Society is absolutely buzzing this week (Nov 8, 2025) . A remarkable gift has just arrived at The Archives: the enormous scrapbook collection lovingly created over a lifetime by Mrs. John Alberta (Bertie) MUNSON McFarlane. Her daughter Caroline and granddaughter Betty Ann have generously entrusted this treasure trove to our care.

Bertie was one of those extraordinary rural women who quietly carried the heartbeat of a community. She clipped everything. Births, marriages, deaths, retirements, accidents, reunions, graduations, memorable storms, championship teams, church news, farm sales… you name it, she saved it. 

A portion of her scrapbook fonds: Mrs. John “Alberta” McFarlane of R.R. #4, Appin, ON

This collection is enormous. What you see in the photo is perhaps one-fifth of the total “fonds” . The rest fills an entire wall of boxes.  In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an individual, or organization

Caroline Gough, Bertie’s daughter, told us that as a girl she never quite understood her mother’s hobby. Caroline loved horses and dance, while her mother spent evenings with scissors, glue, newspapers, and her other talent, fine needlework. But now she sees the magnitude of what her mother created: a family and community archive of extraordinary depth and love.

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Feb 12: Capturing Oral Histories Virtual Workshop

Feb 12: Capturing Oral Histories Virtual Workshop

Mary Simpson

Members of the Glencoe & District Historical Society recently joined a live online presentation by Sarah Walker on the art and practice of gathering oral histories. The session was both practical and inspiring, reminding us that capturing memories is not simply about recording sound—it is about creating space for storytelling, trust, and preservation.

We learned that an oral history interview is closer to being a thoughtful radio host or podcast interviewer than a researcher reading questions from a page. Preparation matters greatly, but so does allowing conversation to unfold naturally.

Why Oral Histories Matter

Oral histories capture:

  • Personal experiences not found in written records
  • Community traditions such as foodways, farming practices, celebrations, and daily life
  • Emotional tone, humour, and memory that enrich archives
  • Stories that might otherwise be lost within a generation

Mary Simpson’s Reflections on a Live Presentation by Sarah Walker, Head of Reference Services, North Dakota State Archives.  Reference: State Archives Facebook page

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Journey of the Highgate Mastodon

Journey of the Highgate Mastodon

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Written by Merry Helm. Reposted from the Dakota Datebook Archive. July 23, 2004. Details of the Highgate Mastodon museum tour Feb 18, 2026.

In the spring of 1890, William Regcraft found some bones while digging a ditch on his uncle’s farm, one mile from Highgate, Ontario. A hardware merchant named William Hillhouse bought the bones, and he and his uncle, John Jelly, also bought the right to continue excavating. What they found was almost an entire skeleton of an Ice-Age mastodon, relative of the modern elephant.

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