Rooted and Remembered, local book now available

Rooted and Remembered, local book now available

Author, CJ Frederick attended Tartan Days

CJ Frederick, her Mom and Dad from Mosa Hills, and the author’s husband attended Tartan Days in Glencoe July 20th to promote this new book about their community which is hot off the press. From the pastoral countryside of Southwestern Ontario in the early twentieth century to the muddy trenches of WWI in France, Rooted and Remembered weaves together the will to honour and remember with a glimpse into rural settler life and hardship, as told in one family’s story about an orphaned boy and his beloved buttonwood tree.  

In 2012, the author 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.

CJ Frederick grew up in the 1980s in a wood-framed farmhouse built by Scottish settlers, situated on a dead-end road that terminates near the winding Sydenham River. In 2000, this road was renamed from a numbered concession to Buttonwood Drive. The name reflects the stand of buttonwood trees gathered at the river’s edge, where they most comfortably grow.

In 2020, she began reflecting on the fallen soldier and his extraordinary buttonwood tree that grows near her childhood home. Her curiosity eventually led her to the doors of Carruthers clan descendants, where she begged to have a conversation about Ellwyne and his connection to the tree. Thinking it might have the makings of a short story, she began putting together the pieces of Ellwyne Ballantyne’s brief life. But, with each photograph, letter, and artifact shared, she became more engrossed in the tale of an orphan who had stepped foot on three continents and was taken in by strangers who came to love him as their own. At the outset, CJ did not anticipate that it would bloom into a novel, but as she learned more details about the characters and events, she believed that each nugget was fascinating and intriguing. 

CJ hopes that Ellwyne’s story and his connection with the Carruthers clan touches people with its message of love, faith, and remembrance. It’s only through storytelling that those who carry memories, and decide to share them, make history come to life.

Rooted and Remembered is now available on Amazon and can be purchased at The Archives in Glencoe. Soft launch is underway. The historical society will be hosting a launch at The Archives October 23rd.

Peter McArthur’s beloved farm, his grave, and back to the Archives in Glencoe.  

Peter McArthur’s beloved farm, his grave, and back to the Archives in Glencoe.  

Marie Williams: An impressive crowd gathered for the “Haunts of Peter McArthur” road trip Sunday afternoon, June 16, starting out at what was the McArthur homestead on McArthur Rd. before moving onto the Eddie Cemetery on Glendon Dr. and finally back to the Archives in Glencoe. Two plaques were unveiled along the way as McArthur trivia and memories were shared. Both young and more established fans of the works of the “Sage of Ekfrid,” family members and historians enjoyed the afternoon which was organized by the Glencoe and District Historical Society. The Society is marking the 100th anniversary of the death of Peter McArthur in 2024. See photos on Facebook Post.

Drawing by CW Jeffery CW Jeffery drawing on sheet music, My Home
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World War I Battle Sites of France, Belgium and Germany

Notes by Ken Beecroft.  Presentation by Jim May.  Wednesday November 21, 2018 – 2:00 p.m.

The Members’ Meeting, held at Glencoe’s Historic Train Station, followed today’s Program presentation, which featured guest speaker, Jim May.  Jim spoke about Jim and Jane’s 2017 autumn trip across northern France, Belgium, Bavaria and Austria, to the battlefields and historic places, significant to Canada from the Great War. Jim pointed out that the itinerary of the tour was geographically based and not chronological to events of the First World War. Overall, the tour commenced in the Belgian city of Bruges, and ended in Salzburg, Austria.

 

The May’s travelled with a guided group of fifteen Canadians, including friend and seasoned traveler Heather Wilkinson. Their trip started in the Picardy and Flanders area of northern France. Jim talked about of summer of 1916, and the Allies “Big Push” Offensive in the Somme Valley.

What was supposed to be a quick victory over the Germans turned into a long costly campaign. The Royal Newfoundlanders especially paid dearly, along with other heavy Commonwealth losses. The tour group visited Hawthorne Ridge Cemetery #2 near Beaumont Hamel. They travelled to Hill 62 in western Belgium, near Ypres. Intense fighting in this area caused significantly heavy Canadian casualties. He talked about the Menin Gate in Ypres, commemorated in 1927, and a place of pilgrimage ever since.

Jim described the official and unofficial type of war monuments in the area. They travelled to Vimy, where he described the terrain and overall history of that April 1917 battle. Jim spoke about the design and construction of the Vimy Monument, and it’s unveiling in 1936 by Edward VIII. Jim’s presentation was accompanied by a slide show of the various sites and monuments.

 

Jim presented a treasured portrait of a family ancestor who died during the war, Pte. Ellwyne Arthur Ballantyne 4th Bn.Ellwyne was killed on the western front in 1917 and was buried at Aix-Noulette Communal Cemetery in France. Jim was particularly pleased to have had the opportunity to visit Ellwyne’s grave at that Cemetery.

Upon conclusion at 3:05 p.m., President Lorne Munro thanked Jim for his presentation and slide show, and presented him with an honourarium.