A Treasured Family Archive Finds Its New Home

February 14, 2026February 15, 2026Mary 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.

This is exactly why our Middlesex County so urgently needs a proper county archives system.

Collections in attics, closets, basements, and cedar chests across Middlesex are at risk. Families, genealogists, and volunteer-run museums can’t always preserve these materials safely or make them accessible. We need help to preserve the originals and then we can hopefully digitize important selections so future generations can search, learn, and piece together their histories. But we have to preserve the originals.

So consider this a gentle encouragement to everyone: take a look through your own family papers. Add your memories. Label the photographs. Write down the stories. And tell the stories to your grandchildren. We are the storykeepers. Preserve them, and pass them on to the next generation of storytellers.

Mrs. John “Alberta” McFarlane of R.R. #4, Appin

By Caroline Gough

She was born Dec. 7, 1903. She lived her entire life on the farm where she was born. Sometimes she was called Bertie. Her parents were Edgar & Ida Munson. They sold their farm to John McFarlane, the boy from over the line from next farm and they moved to Glencoe. John & Alberta were married on June 23, 1926 when they went to Hamilton to her uncle Rev. Hewitt who married them.

Alberta had a sister Ruby Munson who was a school teacher. Ruby married Herb Neeb of Zurich. John had 3 sisters & 3 brothers. Alberta & John were members of the Appin Presbyterian Church and she was president several years of the Appin Presbyterian Busy Bees. John was an elder of the church.

Being a busy farm wife she saved papers and magazines that she could use later for her favorite hobby of “scrapbooking.” They had a daughter Caroline and a son Wilfred and 4 grandchildren and several great grandchildren.

She died Sept. 9, 1989 at age 85 and was buried in Kilmartin Cemetery. Now we are sharing some of the many scrapbooks to the Glencoe & District Historical Society.

But why the name Bertie – Alberta?

Caroline always wondered why her mother was named Alberta. A quick search revealed the answer—she was likely named for Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, (18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) daughter of Queen Victoria. The province of Alberta, in fact, was named after the Princess just 18 months after Bertie was born—a fitting historical echo for a woman whose life’s work was preserving the stories of others. And that’s maybe why her daughter was named Caroline. Caroline’s not sure… she forgot to ask her Mom. That makes me think of all the questions I didn’t ask my Mom.

This generous donation reminds us how essential it is to care for our family archives. These homegrown collections deserve professional preservation, cataloguing, and digitization so that families, genealogists, and historians alike can continue to piece together the stories that define who we are.

Shared with gratitude by the Glencoe & District Historical Society, November 2025.

So, we invite everyone: go through your family papers, label your photos, add your stories, and pass them on when the next generation is ready to be the storytellers and caretakers.
The Archives

Come to the Archives and spend an afternoon

As I flipped through just one small volume, up popped a handwritten transcription of my Aunt Dorothy SIMPSON Parker’s wedding to Rev. Harvey Parker, Sept. 20, 1947.” This handwritten announcement – (why was it hand written? Did she borrow the local paper and have to give it back to someone?) fits perfectly with the video I have of Uncle Harvey, telling the story of meeting Dorothy at a young people’s gathering in London. Harvey was serving graduated as an Anglican minister at the end of the war. We filmed him telling stories not long before his Dorothy died. Here is a clip:

A Canoe for His Grandfather

December 24, 2025January 29, 2026Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Mary Simpson with Ron McRae.

When Ron McRae first began researching how to build a cedar strip canoe, it was during the COVID outbreak and at the urging of his son, Steven. Ron had recently retired and he and his wife, Linda had purchased two plastic kayaks. They enjoyed getting out on the water, but Ron found the seating position painful on his lower back. So he began researching canoes.

“I found Bear Mountain Boats in Peterborough,“ Ron recalls. “They sell cedar-strip canoe kits and have all these resources for amateur builders. I contacted them, hoping to register for a workshop with Ted Moores, the founder of the company and the man who wrote Canoecraft, the definitive how-to book for canoe builders. But his wife told me Ted was now in his seventies and had given up his in-person courses. She then said something that stuck with me: ‘Why don’t you buy the book, read it, and call me back if you still think you can do it?’”

So he did.

And he could.

And he did.

Ron ordered his first kit, which came with all the essential parts: carefully milled cedar strips in a range of colours from dark brown to nearly white, ash gunnels, deck pieces and seats and hardware. The key to a sound, straight tracking hull is the molds which shape it. Ron decided to purchase laser cut molds which were perfect, rather than risk cutting them by hand with a jigsaw. He chose a design that balanced form and function= something stable, not too long and suitable for beginners.

“I picked the Freedom 15 design,” he says. “It’s easy to paddle, good for two people or as a solo. I thought it would be a relatively easy build and perfect for novice paddlers like Linda and me.”

“I built that first canoe in about six months and really enjoyed the process. Linda and I have been exploring Southern Ontario paddling opportunities in it for the past three years and we seldom go out on the water without a comment on the beauty of our cedar strip canoe.”

From Yorkshire to Ekfrid and Back Again

December 8, 2025December 8, 2025Kellie Davenport

By Kellie Davenport

As our Uber approached the stately manor house at Grimston Park, a historic North Yorkshire estate about 25 minutes west of York, the size of the property immediately struck us. The sprawling 2,500-acre estate was a far cry from our quaint 200-acre family farm in Ekfrid Township near Melbourne, Ont.

But surprisingly, we felt right at home.

Along with my parents, Debbie and Alexander, we had travelled to this far-flung county to visit this rather impressive place because our ancestor James Alexander (1824-1895), my three-times great-grandfather, once lived, worked and worshipped here. (Though he likely arrived here via Scotland by horsedrawn coach, not electric car.)

McAlpine–Smith Family Fonds

December 6, 2025January 29, 2026Glencoe & District Historical Society

Dec 6, 2025. The Archives, Glencoe – Donation and provenance provided by Kathleen Scott, great grand daughter, St. Thomas, Ontario. Received by Mary Simpson and Norm McGill.

This collection of items belonged to the McAlpine and Smith families of 3528 Oil Field Road, near Glencoe, Ontario. At the center of the family story is the marriage of Rebecca Smith and Alexander McAlpine, who were married on April 12, 1899. Their illustrated marriage certificate, preserved inside Alexander’s family Bible, is one of the key artifacts in this collection.

Rebecca and Alexander lived on the family farm on Oil Field Road. After Alexander’s death, the property was eventually purchased by Jim Schieman, and the McAlpine family maintained a warm friendship with the Schieman family for many years afterward. Several items in the collection reflect this long community connection.

Also included are photographs and records connected with the Zavitz, Schieman, and Peters families, who were neighbours and later stewards of the original McAlpine farm. A wedding photo of Peter Schieman’s son is part of this grouping.

These artifacts—Bibles, hymnals, books, and photographs—together illuminate more than a century of rural family life in Southwest Middlesex, documenting marriages, migration, faith, work, and community connections passed down through generations. Thank you Heather for entrusting these treasures to the Glencoe & District Historical Society.

Capturing Living Oral Histories – Carrie Jeffery

April 5, 2025October 31, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

On April 5, 2025, Carrie Jeffery conducted a workshop on capturing oral histories. We had members of our community, visiting members of other heritage groups, and members of our own historical society in attendance. The engaging and interactive talk was followed by an informative presentation that showcased the various aspects of modern record-keeping that are now accessible for ancestral storytelling. Left to right: Donna Lynam, David Campbell, Carrie Jeffery, Susan McWilliam. Mary Simpson, the president of our historical society, also presented.

L-R: Donna Lynam, David Campbell, Carrie Jeffery, Susan McWilliam.

Imagine for a moment the mystery of your history.

By Carrie Jeffery. Published in the March 2025 issue of Middlesex Banner’s ‘Archive Alley’

Personal storytelling can be both fun and provide new perspectives on how we came to be. These stories can challenge our understanding of the past and give a voice to people who are often left out of traditional historical records: the everyday people that played a role not just in our own lives but also in the communities we live in that they helped shape.

With the help of today’s technology, we can translate an afternoon visit with our elders into a published collection of stories that honour their lives and their place in history.

They get to relive their younger days while we either transcribe them ourselves or even utilize voice memo software to transcribe them for us automatically!

In doing this now while this aging generation is still here, we are able to ask questions like “What year would that have been?” and “Why did you do things that way?” before it’s too late. We can learn about the passions and values they may have held that were similar to our own and what shaped their career or other interests. We can witness and capture the changes that have occurred in just one or two generations.

Peter McArthur: the “horrible, horrible” war

December 26, 2024April 15, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

Part 1: Peter McArthur, the hardest question and the “horrible, horrible” war

By Stephanie McDonald, December 2024

It’s a question from a child no parent is equipped to answer: Should I go to war? It was what Daniel, eldest son of Mabel and Peter McArthur, asked of his father in the early years of the First World War.

Even as prolific a writer as Peter McArthur was, one can imagine how the man dubbed the “Sage of Ekfrid” struggled to find the right words to share with his son. His response reveals both his wish for his child to come to his own decision as well as the urge to protect and keep him safe.

Peter penned his answer to Dan’s question in a letter on January 25, 1916, a year and a half into the war:

My Friends, The Trees

December 22, 2024December 3, 2024Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Peter McArthur

Near the house there is a sturdy oak tree that I always think of as one of the oldest of my friends. I grew up with it. Of course that is not exactly true, for I stopped growing many years ago, while it kept on growing, and it may keep on growing for centuries to come. But when I was a growing boy it was just the right kind of a tree for me to chum with. It was not too big to climb, and yet it was big enough to take me on its back and carry me into all the dreamlands of childhood.

WWI Sacrifice – Private Ellwyne Ballantyne

November 8, 2024January 16, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

Ellwyne Ballantyne’s twenty-two years of brief, bright life are summed up on a simple plaque attached to a majestic buttonwood tree in Carruthers Corners. When local author CJ Frederick first saw the memorial tree in the rural area just outside of Glencoe, ON, she experienced a keen reverence. “It’s just a dot on a map. I was not prepared for how beautiful the tree was. It looked like it was wearing a cloak; as my mother says, ‘wrapped in a queen’s robe’. Knowing that this tree was dedicated to the life of someone who had given that life in a faraway, long-ago conflict really made me stop and think about remembrance and the enduring nature of love.” Ballantyne’s story had to be told; Frederick was eager to record it.

Rooted and Remembered, published 2024

October 23, 2024January 16, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

Book launch – Rooted and Remembered: a story of faith, love, and remembrance.

Buy this book. Support your local bookstore or order from Google. Ask at your local library. Contact the author, CJ Frederick through her website.

Launched! Rooted and Remembered Oct 23, 2024

Great evening with James Carruthers, the story keeper; CJ Frederick, the story teller and author; and Patrick, the story champion. We packed the Archives and hosted a few people via zoom as well.

Stories ripple all around us, if only we’re willing to hear them. In 2012, CJ first learned of Ellwyne Ballantyne and the astonishing relationship he forged with two strangers after reading a short newspaper article about the dedication of an unusual tree to a long-dead soldier from World War One. With obligations to work and family filling her time, she wasn’t yet ready to hear his story. It took a global pandemic, with the prospect of lockdowns and unexpected forced time at home, to open her ears, mind, and heart and be ready to explore the roots of Ellwyne’s story that took place more than a century before.

History of The Appin Cemetery

August 11, 2024October 12, 2024Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Jim May

Presented to the Appin Memorial Day gathering August 1, 2000 by Jim May, whose family had a long association with Appin Cemetery. Jim’s first recollection of the cemetery was a phone call in the early 1950s: “Could my Dad come with his truck to help collect up stones for the cemetery gates?” This presentation tells the history of the Appin Cemetery, Appin, Ontario, Canada

They Settled in Riverside – family history book

July 31, 2024January 16, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Bob Gentleman and Kathy Evans. Review printed with kind permission from the Middlesex Banner.

In July of this year, family and friends gathered at Arrowwood Farm, a beautiful property in Riverside, just south of Melbourne, to celebrate the publishing of a book written by my uncle, Bob Gentleman. The farm that is now called Arrowwood Farm (6460 Riverside Drive) has sentimental value to our family, as it was once owned by the Gentlemans, purchased in 1870.

Bob’s book, titled “They Settled in Riverside,” is largely a family history, documenting the arrival of our ancestors in the Riverside area and describing their family branches. But Bob also captures an era now decades past as he shares stories of early Riverside neighbours and of growing up in Melbourne in the 1930s. He recalls his paper route, the school, town merchants and businesses, the railroad, and the neighbours and friends who were important in his life.

The Appin Cemetery Commemoration

July 28, 2024January 16, 2025Brien Page

Appin Cemetery Commemoration July 28, 2024

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

The Appin Cemetery

Jim May

As part of an annual commemoration of area cemeteries, Glencoe & District Historical Society (G&DHS) organized a presentation and community walk at the Appin Cemetery. Prayers, dedications, singing, and community conversation were key parts of the afternoon.

Peter McArthur: Our Famous Canadian – 1866 – 1924

June 3, 2024December 3, 2024Glencoe & District Historical Society

Marie Williams, Glencoe: The huge crowd that packed into the Glencoe and District Historical Society Archives on February 22 proved that the “Sage of Ekfrid” is as popular today as he was over 100 years ago. In addition to 30 viewing online, over 50 turned up in person.

Lorne Munro, Past President

March 18, 2024January 16, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

Lorne Munro in the early yers — Lorne Munro in the early years

Lorne Munro – I became interested in historical events in the 1970s. My interest grew after attending the 25th Anniversary banquet of the Glencoe & District Historical Society at the Glencoe Legion in 2003. We presently have eight family genealogy books in our home that I manage and update. Ancestry.ca has been a great help and I correspond with family members to gather information.

During my tenure as President in 2018, the Society’s collection moved from our rooms on Main Street to the old library at 178 McKellar Street, Glencoe. I have served as secretary, first vice president, president (a couple of times). I’m slowing down now, just working on Wednesday afternoons in The Archives and enjoying any other projects that come along.

Peacefully at Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital , Strathroy on Monday, March 18, 2024 William “Lorne” Munro passed away in his 91st year. Predeceased by his wife Phyllis (2023). Dear father to Janice and Tom McCallum, Susan Sinclair and Steve Schneider and Cheryl and Roy Neves. Cherished Grandpa to Matt and Becky, Kimberly and Paul, Adam and Kirissa, Andrew and Reilly, John and Stacey, Scott and Mandy, Jacob, Emily and Brandon. Great-Grandpa to Isabelle, Josephine and Elliott. Lorne will be missed by many nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his parents Neil and Florence Munro, his sister Anna and his brother Keith. Link to Photos reel

The Appin Community Garden Project

February 15, 2024August 9, 2024Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Dylan Grubb, Appin, ON

The sense of community is one of the best aspects of living in a small town. Amongst these many things that gives Appin this feeling is the community gardens. Inspired by the World War II victory gardens used to help provide produce to towns and cities in Canada, the project started early in the spring of 2023.

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Ekfrid