Lorne Munro, Past President

Lorne Munro, Past President

Glencoe & 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 

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The Appin Community Garden Project

Glencoe & 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.

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Early Days of Mosa Township

Glencoe & District Historical Society

The most southwest of Middlesex County’s townships, Mosa Township was initially part of a much larger parcel of land including parts of Kent and Lambton Counties. Surveyor Mahlon Burwell indicated that there was some confusion regarding the naming of the township, first designated as township D and then briefly as Aragon. Finally, the name Mosa, a derivative of the Spanish word Musa (muse). However the Lieutenant Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland decided to name the township Mosa, after the Maas river.

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Blood on the Snow – lecture about the Donnellys

Blood on the Snow – lecture about the Donnellys

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Glenn’s talk on YouTube – give it a listen

Glenn Stott tells about 33 years of troubles that took place in Biddulph Township and Lucan Ontario region in Upper Canada from 1847 to 1880 and ended with the murder of five members of the Donnelly family.

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Mass Destruction of Cultural Heritage is Unfathomable

Glencoe & District Historical Society

December 4, 2023

Archivists Respond to Conflict in Israel and Gaza

The Board of Directors of the Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) is heartbroken at the violence in Israel and Gaza. We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in the region over recent months and express our immense grief for any of our members who are affected or have lost family members or friends. 

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The Fenians

The Feniens are Coming!

Mary Simpson

Wardsville Volunteer Infantry Company Formed as #6 Company on January 6, 1983

To find out the details, click here for a download of Ken’s Paper or read on:

After Confederation 1867, the Province of Ontario (Canada West) was under British governance. Due to fears of what would happen after the American Civil War (1861-1865), the British authorities formed volunteer militia companies in hundreds of communities across Ontario, including our own.

The British authorities were concerned about a secret society of Irish patriots who had emigrated from Ireland to the United States with the intent of ending British rule by taking Canada by force and exchanging it with Britain for Irish independence. This secret revolutionary organization was founded on St. Patrick’s Day in 1857, by James Stephens in Dublin, Ireland. It was called the Fenian Brotherhood.

It is fascinating to imagine local kitchen table discussions about the Irish “terrorists” . Only our ancestors didn’t just talk about local politics at the coffee shop. They obeyed orders, formed militias and showed up.

On 3 Jan 1863, Wardsville volunteers formed independent militia company No. 6 within the 26th Middlesex Battalion headquartered in London. It was commanded by James T. Ward.

So what happened?

In early 1866, with tensions very high and Fenian attacks were anticipated along the St. Clair River. The Wardsville company was dispatched on March 8th to the Sarnia area and the local men “went under canvass” in full readiness to meet the enemy — in March .

But the Fenians didn’t show up. Instead, the Fenians attempted to invade Canada at Campobello Island at the Maine, US / New Brunswick border. It was a complete disaster.

The British authorities relaxed, but the clever Fenians took heart and re-organized an invasion across the Niagara River. They captured the undefended town of Fort Erie and its railway and telegraph terminals. The revolutionaries arrested the Town Council, Customs and border officials before cutting outgoing telegraph lines so help could not be summoned.

The Fenians are Coming!

Presentation by Ken Willis 15 Jan 2020

Tartan Days at The Archives

Tartan Days at The Archives

Glencoe & District Historical Society

It was a damp day July 15, 2023 for this year’s Tartan Days but people were coming and going at 8:00 p.m. at the Archives. It was a festive atmosphere all day long until things wound down after 3:00 p.m. At 1:00 p.m. Mayor Allan Mayhew and Deputy Mayor Mike Sholdice opened up proceedings attended by 43 people.

A short history of the following was shared by members of G&DHS:

200 years since Ekfrid Township were incorporated (1821) – Marilyn McCallum

200 years since Mosa Township was incorporated – Ken Willis

170 years since early days of Dundonald (Glencoe) building homes and businesses along the rail line (1853) – Harold Carruthers

125 years since the Glencoe Town Hall was built (1898) and the cornerstone was laid. 

150 years since the Incorporation of the Town of Glencoe in 1873. – Harold Carruthers

45 years since the Glencoe & District Historical Society was established in 1978. – Lorne Munro

Also: 100 years since the Glencoe Library was built by the Carnegie Foundation (1923).

60 years since Quad County school and Mosa Central School opened at Pratt Siding (1963) 

Harold Carruthers showed the time capsule that is being prepared, similar to what was recovered from the cornerstone of the old Glencoe Town Hall when it was demolished in the early 1960s.  It’s been 125 years since the Glencoe Town Hall was built (1898) and the cornerstone was laid.  If you have any ideas what should be included, let us know.

Funny coincidence: next month at The Blyth Festival Theatre, a new play called the Chronicles of Sarnia is premiering and starring our very own Mark Crawford, actor and playwright. Check it out: here is the plot:

Chronicles Of Sarnia

WORLD PREMIERE. Written by Matt Murray; Directed by Miles Potter 

Passionate, retired history teacher Erin has convinced the City of Sarnia to create a 100-year time capsule for future generations to open. She organizes a town-wide meeting for community input, with a replica of the capsule itself, ready to momentously unveil.

But in spite of homemade Nanaimo bars, only her husband, a department store employee, and a young woman who is there for… complicated reasons, show up. Oh, and the janitor.

Refusing to reschedule, Erin, undaunted, takes this tiny group in hand and sets about distilling the essence of, well, of Sarnia.

June 21 Victory Garden Launched in Appin

Mary Simpson

Wonderful event held at the Appin Park. Forty people enjoyed the new community garden, congratulating the local team who have built the raised beds, set up a watering system, and nurtured the plants. Many thanks to our elected municipal leaders for taking the time to attend.

The highlight of the evening was listening to the stories regaled by Bonnie Sitter and Shirleyan English about the farmerettes, the teenagers that harvested Ontario crops from about 1942 – 1952.

Thank you Bonnie and Shirleyann. You have documented a wonderful part of agricultural history that otherwise would have been lost.

Learn more about the Farmerettes in Ontario:

Bonnie Sitter, “Farmerettes in Ontario” in Harrowsmith. February 2021.

And here’s some links to the buzz created by the release of Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: Memories of Ontario Farmerettes. (2019). by Shirleyan English and Bonnie Sitter

Bonnie Sitter, “Farmerettes: Get Out on the Farm” in The Rural Voice. June, 2018.

Bonnie Sitter, “Farmerettes in Ontario” in Harrowsmith. 2020.

Bonnie Sitter, “Farmerettes in Ontario” in Harrowsmith. February 2021.

Andrew McGill Members Only Portfolio Review

Andrew McGill

Local photographer and Glencoe Native, Andrew McGill hosted a Portfolio Review of his work to the core membership of the Glencoe & District Historical Society. The review took place at The Archives on February 18th, 2023.

Andrew recently moved back to the Glencoe area after living in Toronto, and New York, for over a decade. Throughout that time he has focused his lens on the farming community which he grew up in, photographing his family farm, and local community events in the region.

Andrew shared with us his 11×14″ and 8×10″ archival pigment print portfolios as well as photo books and zines he’s produced over the years. He also showed documentation from various exhibitions including his large scale public installation of 9’x9′ square banners hung at the St. Lawrence Market in downtown Toronto. Some of which have been on display at the Glencoe Curling Arena and the Glencoe Hockey Arena.

He is interested in working with the Historical Society on future projects to document our history and community.

Andrew McGill (b. 1988, Glencoe, Canada) holds a B.F.A. from The School of Image Arts, Toronto. McGill is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work is primarily photo-based. He has sharpened his own visual style through working with his peers on high profile editorial, fashion, and art photography projects in Toronto, New York, Paris, and throughout the Eastern United States. McGill has recently moved from New York City, to his hometown of Glencoe, a farming community in the heart of Southwestern Ontario, where he has begun incorporating his artistic practice into daily life, making work inspired by the local community of lifelong friends, family, and neighbours, and the pastoral landscape from which he hails.

Andrew is an American Photography Selected Winner and a Magenta Foundation Flash-Forward Emerging Photographer. A public installation of his ongoing series titled, Two Half- Hitches Could Hold the Devil Himself, was shown as part of the 2017 Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, at St. Lawrence Market in Toronto. The resulting 9ft square banners have been loaned to the village of Glencoe, have been on display at the Glencoe Curling Arena, as well as, the Southwest Middlesex Hockey Arena. His work has also been shown at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. 

Andrew is currently working on personal book and portrait projects, as well as commission and editorial work. Andrew has had his work featured in the Editorial Magazine (Montreal), Fisheye Magazine (Paris), published in photobooks by Booooooom! (Vancouver), and is a contributor to The Globe and Mail (Toronto), and Topic Magazine ( New York).

For more about Andrew and his work view his website here: www.andrewblakemcgill.com

Instagram: @andrewmcgill

The year 2022 in review

Glencoe & District Historical Society

April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023

The Glencoe & District Historical Society was formed in 1978 to promote local history research. We are a registered non-profit organization, staffed by volunteers who are keenly interested in maintaining our objectives. Our objectives are:

  • To promote, encourage and foster the study of local history and genealogy, including original research. We encourage, support and solicit research information on heritage buildings in our District. We lend our support to other community groups who are active and interested in the preservation and restoration of heritage buildings.
  • To provide and maintain a local archival repository for the collection and preservation of books, manuscripts, typescripts, charts, maps, photographs, journals, Photostats, microfilms, tapes and artifacts.
  • To reproduce some of the presentations presented to the Society, as well as other research and materials.
  • To provide education through newsletters, presentations, social media and participation in local and surrounding area events. 

First, It should also be pointed out, that during the past year G & DHS did resume normal activities, as the Covid 19 pandemic was basically over. Letters were issued in August to reach out to our members, Membership renewals were encouraged, and consequently our membership was mostly restored. Several patrons provided financial donations also. Appreciation goes out those who contributed during this time. Service fees for research services were still somewhat reduced. Consequently, again during the past year, as a not for profit organization, it has been a difficult several years. Our Financial Report may detail some of this later.

This past year our Society was involved as a partner with The Municipality of Southwest Middlesex (SWM), for the manufacture and installation of identification signs in all of the active and abandoned cemeteries within SWM. Our plan called for 30 signs within SWM, and three outside of SWM, but within our area. Hykut Signs was our local manufacturer. These standardized signs outline to the public, the name of area cemeteries and when they were established. We have identified and signed the forgotten ones also, so that our pioneer ancestors will be remembered.

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Scots Gaelic – Past, Present and Future

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Trevor Aitkens grew up in Brooke township, Lambton County, and lived with his grandmother who spoke Gaelic.  On March 15, 2023 he filled the Tait’s Corners School house with students interested in learning a few words.

Trevor shows us given names on the left and surnames on the left.

Given names, surnames and place names. DONNCHADH = Duncan. DOMHNALL = Donald. AONGHAS = Angus. DUGHLAS = Douglas.

Trevor, our teacher, took us on a flight across the globe’s Celtic lands. We only had a few life preservers (we were crossing the Atlantic). Costa is wearing one of the preservers while he holds a beautiful bouquet of lucky heather.

Gaelic originated in Scotland in 500 AD and was in common use up until the battle of Culloden in 1746. After this point, support waned for the language to the point where it was in danger of becoming extinct.  During the latter half of the 19th century, it was the 3rd most spoken language in Canada and actually had a bill tabled in the Senate to become an official language.

Surnames on the left and Epenectrics on the right. Epenectrics: adding a vowel for sound purposes.

Scots Gaelic doesn’t like a lot of consonants together. AINMEAN = Names. MACEACHARNA = McEachran (descendants of the horse lord). MACFHIONLAIGH = McKinlay. MACCRUIMEIN = McCrimmon ( pipers). MACILLIOSA = Gillies. MACILLEATHAN = MacLean.

Many thanks to Simba, the camera man, and Ayako, the Zoom engineer. The Glencoe & District Historical Society is committed to making its programs accessible.
The old Tait’s Corners School house is filled with students. We shared the lesson via Zoom too.

Trevor regrets now that he didn’t learn Gaelic when he had the chance. He studied a number of other languages but realized later that he needed to pay homage to his own heritage. Trevor stumbled upon a night school offering in Mississauga in 1998 and practices the language until this day. He attracted a big audience to the Tait’s school house.

There’s no written J, K, Q, V, X, Y, Z but some of those sounds exist. There’s no Z sound or X sound.

Recent trends point towards an increase in the number of Gaelic speakers. A number of people who have no connection with Scotland are interested in learning and preserving the language. People are waiting for the 2021 Scotland census to see if there in an increase in Gaelic learners and speakers.

Gaelic Bible
JoAnn Galbraith, our Middlemiss historian, clutches a volume of Gaelic Prayers
Harold Carruthers expresses our appreciation on behalf of the live and on-line audience.
No Guns, Just God’s Glory: Tom Wilson

No Guns, Just God’s Glory: Tom Wilson

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Nov 8, 2022.  No Guns, Just God’s Glory

Rev. Tom Wilson joined us live from the French Riviera to tell us about the role of Allied military chaplains and the stories of those who died in the Battle of Normandy from June 6, 1944 to August 25, 1944.  

Tom told us about a the Allied Chaplains in the Battle of Normandy, including what is known about their lives before they joined the service and what is known about their deaths. Often there are conflicting stories of their heroism, and where their final resting places are.

The Revd Dr Tom Wilson has had an interest in World War Two military history since he was 12 years old. Rev. Tom Wilson is a local son, who for 12 years owned and managed the Why Not Shop in Glencoe and lived on a farm near Melbourne.  He was ordained in the Anglican Church in Canada and served as Rector of a parish in southwestern Ontario.

In 2007, he had the chance to spend a year in France, on university exchange program with his wife, Dr Dawn Cornelio. While there he led some of Canadian students on a visit to Normandy where they held a graveside memorial service for Canadian Chaplain Walter Brown. Padre Brown’s murder led Revd Wilson to explore all the Allied Chaplains killed in the Battle of Normandy. After serving in the Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) Church for 5 years, Revd Wilson now is the Anglican Chaplain of St Raphael in southern France where he ministers to a multi-national English-speaking congregation.

Thanks for telling us these fascinating stories, Tom! Let’s do it again!

Tom: “I look back with fondness on my time in Glencoe and SW Ontario. I confess though, I do like the winter here on the French Riviera, as it is normally sunny and warm during the days, but the nights are cool.”

Order his book, No Guns, Just God’s Glory at: OREPeditions

McGill Farm History & the Gunnery School

Glencoe & District Historical Society

My name is Andrew McGill, I’m a young farmer and a photographer. I grew up on a farm 6 kilometres north of Glencoe, Ontario. In mid 1940 my great grandfather Fred McGill purchased a farm building which was to be moved from the site of the No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School at Fingal Ontario. The building was dismantled and moved 45 kilometres north of Fingal to its final resting place on the McGill farm at Taits rd. Glencoe where it has sat to this day. My father and I think the building was then reassembled with a new roof sometime in 1941. The site of No. 4 B&G school sat on a swath of 724 acres of land that was returned to the crown for the purpose of building the training facility. One can imagine the numerous agricultural buildings on the land that would have had to be dismantled and moved in short order to make way for the multiple airplane hangers and triangle runway of the Fingal school. 

Aerial photo of the McGill farm circa 1977. The building in question can be seen directly to the left of the barn. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1977.)

McGill farm building moved from Fingal Bombing And Gunnery School site in 1940. (Photo: Andrew McGill. September, 2022.)
Aerial photo of the site of the Fingal Bombing and Gunnery School. (Photo: Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum.)
Route from Fingal B&G school site to the McGill farm. (Photo: Google Maps)
Interior detail of the McGill farm building which continues to house tools and horse equipment which would have been used by the late Fred McGill circa 1940’s. (Photo: Andrew McGill, 2016.)
A restored 1942 Minneapolis Moline “Waterloo” tractor stored in the building on the McGill farms site. (Photo: Andrew McGill, 2022.)
Winifred (Eddie), Fred, and Blake McGill using their 1942 Minneapolis Moline Tractor to plant sugar beets for seed to aid the allied forces war effort. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1942.)
Alternate angle of Winifred (Eddie), Fred, and Blake McGill using their 1942 Minneapolis Moline Tractor to plant sugar beets for seed to aid the allied forces war effort. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1942.)
Clare McGill and Dorothy Brown in front of the McGill homestead with the 1942 Minneapolis Moline “Waterloo” tractor. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1942.)
Clare, Winifred (Eddie), and Blake McGill in front of the McGill homestead to mark the moment King George VI announced enlistment of eligible men into the military in Canada. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1941.)

 

Blake McGill standing with his newly restored 1942 Minneapolis Moline tractor on the McGill farm in 1993. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1993.)
McGill Farm
Aerial photo of the McGill farm taken the year of its 100th anniversary in 2016. The relocated building can be seen clearly to the left of the barn. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 2016.)
Dorothy (Knapp), Doug, and Ron McRae in Ilderton Ontario, 1955
Dorothy (Knapp), Doug, and Ron McRae in Ilderton Ontario, 1955. During WWII, as a 13 year old, my grandmother Dorothy along with her schoolmates were tasked with finding a plant called Alder Buckthorn, which because of its consistent burn time was used to create fuses for depth charges used to sink German navy vessels. It is told that Dorothy found enough of the valuable plant for her father to pay off the mortgage of their farm. (Photo care of the McRae family Archive, 1955.)

The #4 Bombing and Gunnery School

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Three perspectives on the local  #4 Bombing and Gunnery School during WWII were presented at the Archives, 178 McKellar St, Glencoe October 12, 2022 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.  

Blair Ferguson, local author of Southwold Remembers: The #4 Bombing and Gunnery School brought some great artifacts. Blair is an authority on the local training facility which is located at the Fingal Wildlife Management Area. His book is filled with stories about the people who worked there.

Andrew McGill is a local photographer and farmer. Andrew presented his family’s personal connection to the Gunnery School.   

Paul Anderson, author of Eric Stirling – The Missing Son – A Recollection of His Life, (published privately) joined us from his home in New Zealand via Zoom. Young Eric Stirling joined the airforce and like so many young guys from the Commonwealth, he was trained in Canada at the #4 B&G School. He never made it home.

The young men were SO young. The movies cast actors in their 30s so we forget that WWII was the first adventure off the farm for many young soldiers. Eric was 24. Many were not even 18.

Salvaged from the Ruins: book launch Al McGregor

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Al McGregor has launched his new book: Salvaged from the Ruins – A Novel of 1945. As One War Ends Another Begins.  Al’s novels serve up history with drama, great characters, and several intersecting storylines to keep things exciting. It’s hot off the press. Let’s help our local writer sell lots of copies.  http://almcgregor.com/

Salvaged from the Ruins is a story about the end of WWII when millions of refugees flood Europe – a time when compassion is another casualty of war. The story is set against the events of 1945 in Europe, Canada and the United States.

Local author Al McGregor specializes in historical fiction. His books are based on the Canadian experience with an emphasis on Southwestern Ontario.

G&DHS was happy that their first ‘hybrid event’ went off without a hitch Wednesday, September 28th at the Archives in Glencoe.  Al also signed books at Glencoe Fair a few days prior.  

Here is a link to Al sharing his personal story as part of the Senior’s Life in the Talbot Settlement Series: Al McGregor. 

Conflict doesn’t end with surrender. The evidence is in the Ruins.

Al McGregor's Website: http://almcgregor.com/
Al McGregor tells his audience about the historical backstory to his new novel. 
Al McGregor's Oral History 15 minute tale told to the Seniors Oral History Project, telling about growing up in West Elgin, how he got into broadcasting, and his love for writing historical fiction!