Local Authors Archives - Glencoe & District Historical Society

Stories and Song in the African Methodist Episcopal Church

July 10, 2026July 7, 2026Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Mary Simpson

I was privileged to be in the historic African Methodist Episcopal Church at Fanshawe Pioneer Village recently, listening to two accomplished artists bring two remarkable Black Canadian lives into the light. Denise Pelley, accompanied by Stephen Holowitz, held the fifth event in the Fanshawe Village series—and what an extraordinary homecoming it was.

Not long ago, the AME Church stood on Thames Street in London, largely forgotten. Built around 1848, it had served London’s Black community as a place of worship, gathering, and resistance—a sanctuary for people who had escaped slavery and found freedom in Canada West. The plaque that marks its history tells of John Brown’s rumored visit in 1858, when the church became a space where conversations about abolition and freedom took form. For over a century after the congregation moved to a larger brick church on Grey Street, the building was someone’s home. Its original purpose faded from public memory, buried under layers of wallpaper and time.

Stubbles from the Farm – by W. A. Edwards

July 3, 2026July 7, 2026Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Ken Willis. Originally published in Wardsville WordPress blog ~ 2012.

BIOGRAPHY OF Wardsville author, W.A. EDWARDS

I am at a bit of a disadvantage writing about a man I never met. Those who remember him will each have their personal remembrances, that I know nothing about, but wish I did.

I have a hard time using the term “Grandfather” to describe this man. The name “Bill” comes easier and I will use it as I relate information about him. To a lot of people, Bill Edwards was “Stubbles from the Farm” in the person of “Claud Hopper” the central character in this farm based series.

Understanding the Old Colony Mennonite Experience

November 25, 2025December 22, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

Tracing a Journey of Faith: Author Maria Moore shares the migration history of Old Colony Mennonites and her own family’s story during a presentation hosted by the Glencoe Historical Society.

The Old Colony Mennonite story stretches across continents and centuries—a journey shaped by faith, identity, and the ongoing search for a place where religious convictions can be lived without interference. This history, and its enduring impact, was the focus of a recent presentation by author Maria Moore at the Glencoe Presbyterian Church, hosted by the Glencoe & District Historical Society.

Women in the Shadows of the War of 1812

September 3, 2025October 16, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

“BONNETS AND BAYONETS” Written by Emma Stack

There is never a doubt that a soldier marching obediently into a volley of musket fire is a hero. An army surgeon, his white apron stained with blood, working countless hours in the heat to save whomever he can, is also a hero. What of Generals, Lieutenants, and Captains who give orders, strategize, and feel the weight of entire armies on their shoulders as they command men to give everything to a cause? Surely, they are heroes as well. Historically, it seems easy to list the heroes of war, but it is rare that ordinary women and children are included on these lists. Today, I invite you to consider those left behind. They are not left behind by choice or lack of courage. Not because they didn’t feel the pull of the cause as deeply and passionately as their male counterparts. They were left behind, in the shadows, to do what women have always done: endure the hardships and try and prosper, all while maintaining their family’s wellbeing.

“Soldiers on a March.” The Army Children Archive (TACA), 14 Jan. 1884, www.archhistory.co.uk/taca/move.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2025.

Bandit of Skunk’s Misery: The Life and Times of Orval Shaw

May 1, 2025May 16, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

by Paul Langan

Published in the April 2025 issue of the Middlesex Banner.

Orval Shaw, a name that once echoed through over 40 cities, towns and countryside of Ontario, was more than just a petty criminal. He was a symbol of defiance, a master of evasion, and a figure who captured the public’s imagination. I have drawn his story from historical accounts and newspaper reports, revealing the life of the man known as the “Skunk’s Misery Bandit.”

I first found out about Orval while researching other local history topics in the area of Hespeler, Ontario where I lived. During my research Orval’s name turned up several times as he was in Guelph, Hespeler, Idylwild and Puslinch during his escapades.

I was amazed that nobody had researched his life previously. One of the main challenges was finding out more about Orval’s private life and the lack of photos of him. I was lucky to find a distant relative of Orval’s’ who supported my work.

Eventually I decided to do comprehensive research of Orval, and I am very pleased with the book that came out of that research.

Paul presented at The Archives,178 McKellar Street, Glencoe for a presentation on Wednesday night May 7^th at 7:00 p.m. Buy the book. For more information go to the website link, https://glencoehistoricalsociety.ca/event/may-7-the-bandit-of-skunks-misery/

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.

Daniel Perry researches Thomas Gardiner

March 12, 2025March 28, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

Marie Williams: A large crowd packed into the Glencoe and District Historical Society Archives on Wednesday evening, March 12, 2025. Following announcements, a brief membership report and some unfortunate technical difficulties, Society president Mary Simpson introduced the evening’s guest speaker, Glencoe native and author Daniel Perry.

Perry spoke about his newest work, a non-fiction memoir focussed on his own research into the life of Thomas Gardiner and Gardiner’s connection to the hamlet of Cashmere in the former Township of Mosa.

Born in 1774 in Ireland, Singleton Gardiner sailed for New York State in 1804. He moved to the Talbot Settlement in 1816 and to Mosa Township in 1825. He built a mill in 1834 on the site of what became Cashmere.

His brother Thomas Gardiner, born in Ireland in 1767, sailed for New York in 1804 and arrived in Upper Canada in 1807. Perry outlined charges laid against Thomas Gardiner which were subsequently dismissed, the connections between Thomas Gardiner and John Parker Jr., tales from the War of 1812, his years serving as a teacher, disputes over land, family friction and his pleas for help as an aging man.

Singleton Gardiner was the first person buried at the Cashmere Cemetery in 1834 but there is no stone marking what could be the grave of Thomas Gardiner.

Snapshot: Jamie Reaney (1926-2008) and Jeff Culbert

January 2, 2025January 8, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

Recording of memories and stories

James Reaney Memorial Lecture: Snapshots of Jamie with Jeff Culbert – 19 October 2024

Hosted by Words Artistic Director Josh Lambier.

In conversation with Jeff Culbert and Josh Lambier of Words Fest

This Lecture celebrates the legacy of London poet and playwright James Crerar (Jamie) Reaney (1926-2008) and his late wife, the poet Colleen Thibaudeau. Jamie Reaney was friends with Jeff Culbert, a connection that began in the 1980s.

With Josh as tour guide, Jeff recalls his roles in the Reaney creative process and will be performing selected readings and songs on this journey.

Read more →

My Friends, The Trees

December 22, 2024June 10, 2026Glencoe & 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.

Support our Local Authors

December 13, 2024January 16, 2025Glencoe & District Historical Society

Local stories written by local folk for us:

On December 5, 2024, the Mary Webb Centre in Highgate organized an Afternoon With Authors book sale as a fundraiser to restore the beautiful stained glass dome.

Kae Elgie and her book about the history of her family farm in Lambton County at the Book fair at the Mary Webb Centre, Highgate on December 7, 2024.

The Mary Webb Centre came to life in 2010 when a group of people in the Highgate area saw an opportunity where the wrecking ball threatened to demolish the 100 year old United Church. The vision was to create community centre, art gallery and concert hall and now in 2024, 14 years later, the 250 seat venue is a “must-play” address for renowned as well as up-and-coming musicians from across Canada and for local performers too.

Brown Tom’s School Days, 2nd Edition

November 20, 2024June 18, 2026Glencoe & District Historical Society

Book about Life at Mt. Elgin Residential School, Chippewa of the Thames, a local Indian Residential School.

Books available for sale at The Archives or from the bookseller. University of Manitoba: https://uofmpress.ca/books/brown-toms-schooldays

The Author:

Reverend Enos Montour (1898-1985) was a United Church minister and writer from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.

Over the course of his retirement, Rev. Montour wrote a collection of stories about Mount Elgin Industrial School at the time he attended (ca.1910-1915). Mount Elgin is one the earliest United Church-run Indian Residential Schools and was located on the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation. With the help of Dr. Elizabeth Graham, Montour finished and titled his book Brown Tom’s Schooldays.

With no publisher in sight, photocopies were made and distributed to family members in the early 1980s. This important book is difficult to find today, so Professor McCallum, worked with the University of Manitoba Press, Dr. Graham, and Montour’s two granddaughters Mary I. Anderson and Margaret Mackenzie, to issue a new edition.

~~~~

“Trial By Fire, 1915″ – from Brown Tom’s Schooldays

By Reverend Enos Montour

WWI Sacrifice – Private Ellwyne Ballantyne

November 8, 2024June 8, 2026Glencoe & 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.

Yoshio Shimizu, a prisoner in Glencoe during WWII

August 24, 2024December 3, 2024Glencoe & District Historical Society

Yoshio Shimuzu: “You have to remember that we had been driven from our homes by racial prejudice in British Columbia, reviled and despised by the bulk of the population, and here in the farmlands of southwestern Ontario, we were welcomed as equals and saviours by the farming population.”

They Settled in Riverside – family history book

July 31, 2024June 10, 2026Glencoe & 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.

Woodgreen – This Neck of the Woods

February 4, 2024June 10, 2026Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Lelah Bell Lumley, 1975

Lelah’s book about Woodgreen is uploaded to the Internet Archive: press here

This history was written by Lelah Bell Lumley in 1975 about her neighbourhood S.S. No. 3 School District, Mosa Township, Middlesex County, Province of Ontario, Canada.