A new play for all those who love flying…. For those who love looking down at the earth from a few meters or thousands of metres above the earth’s surface. Let’s meet the four characters. There are six performances to choose from.
We love Len’s plays – he writes plays about us. Plays about southwest Ontario. Plays about our people and culture. Let’s go.
Come take flight with these four unique characters as they surprise you with the unexpected experiences of life that make it hard to keep the blue side up.
Mick, a young pilot/aircraft mechanic of a small airport in Welland also acts as the airport manager in exchange for living space above the hangar, where he is guardian of his 13 year old sister left in his care by his deceased parents. He understands aircraft, but not so much raising a teen sister.
Dee-J just turned 13 and is growing up in an apartment above an airport hangar while her classmates have normal lives in normal homes. But what is normal? She’s an adventurous teen who loves to fly.
Jade was abandoned by her mother as a child and grew up in the foster system. She is friends with Mick and Dee-J and occasionally helps Mick with raising Dee-J. But Mick and Jade operate completely differently making their relationship interesting. She also works part time for Mick while taking classes at college.
Delilah is everyone’s friend and Jade’s college roommate. She’s compassionate and caring and wouldn’t have experienced half the adventures if it weren’t for her controlling and needy friend Jade.
Paul Langan is going to tell us about the legend of Orval Shaw—The Bandit of Skunk’s Misery. We often hear fragments of stories and myths. Paul has done the research. He is going to talk about the process of collecting information for historical books and about how this booklet came together.
Orval Shaw never killed anyone or committed any major crime, yet from 1921 to 1934, Orval’s life of petty crimes led to some of the most sensational police hunts to try and capture him.
On April 3, 1929, in Hespeler, Ontario, the greatest force of police anywhere in Canada was assembled to search for the “mystery man of Skunk’s Misery.” For the first time ever, historian and author Paul Langan has collected all the known published information on Orval into one book. Local connection: Paul’s mother’s family, the Doyle’s, are from 9th Concession of Raleigh Township.
Book released- 11/13/2024 – ISBN 978-1998829408
We will have books for sale at this book signing event.
In the meantime, to order his book(s):
WORDSWORTH BOOKS in Waterloo, Ontario carries all Paul Langan books in print.
Booklet is also available from Amazon. The Bandit of Skunk’s Misery is only paperback; no e-book options available .
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.
Saturday, December 7, 2024 | 1:00 – 4:00 PM Sunday, December 8, 2024 | 1:00 – 4:00 PM
NEW Melbourne United Church, 592 John Street, Melbourne, Ontario
Step back in time and celebrate the season with us at the Manse, a classic example of Italianate architecture.
What to Expect: 🎄 Period Christmas Decorations: Experience the charm of Victorian-era holiday décor.
📜 Historic Displays: Explore exhibits showcasing Melbourne’s local history, including fascinating artifacts and stories of the area’s past. 👀 Signature Quilt: See the 1918 signature quilt on display—could your ancestors’ names be stitched into its fabric? Discover your family connections!🛷 Kilbourne Cutter Sleigh: Admire this elegant piece of local history on the front lawn.
Architecture Highlight The Manse, built with locally-made brick, features a wide central hall, a stunning staircase, and large windows with stained glass. While originally designed without modern conveniences like bathrooms, later adaptations—including 1960s enclosed porches—have added layers to its architectural story over the decades.
The Italianate design of this home was inspired by plans published in the Canada Farmer magazine in 1865, which highlighted this style for its practicality and grandeur.
Giving Back In the spirit of the season, we are graciously accepting non-perishable food items and cash donations for local food banks. Join us for a heartwarming afternoon filled with history, holiday cheer, and community spirit. We can’t wait to welcome you!
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.
If you have wanted to join, show up and purchase a membership. Individual Memberships are $20 and family memberships are $25. Tax Receipts will be issued by Membership Secretary Harold Carruthers.
Existing members: this is your official notice to attend the annual general meeting to be held at the Archives, 178 McKellar Street, Glencoe, Ontario.
We’ll share stories and reports for the year 2024 and look ahead. What’s coming up? Celebrate the younger generation that is getting involved and telling stories about the past.
Show and Tell! Bring a family heirloom, artifact, or mysterious thing from the past to share with the group.
Written by Harold Carruthers, No. 282 Lorne Lodge Mason historian, July 2024.
If one were to trace the history of any one Lodge, it might be compared with that of trying to determine the very origin of humanity. I am talking about the meeting places of the members of the organization called Free Masonry. The history of our local chapter, Lorne Lodge No. 282 Glencoe, can be traced back to 1872 and ended this year 2024 when our Lodge went dark after 152 years.
Meetings were held in some of the most historical buildings in the village of Glencoe, Middlesex County.
McKellar House hotel 1872
On May 8, 1972, 16 men held a meeting at the original McKellar House hotel and decided to form a Masonic Lodge in Glencoe, Ontario. Several of the original charter members came from ‘mother’ lodges in London, Mt. Brydges, Newbury, Seaforth, Grimsby, Iona Station and Collingwood. The men’s names were inscribed on the Charter dated July 11, 1872 which was issued from the Grand Lodge and affixed to the east wall of the Lodge meeting room. Charter member occupations were railway employees, farmers, hotel keeper, lumber contractor, druggist, medical doctor, engineer, wagonmakers, merchant and registrar.
The Town Hall 1873
Looking for a more permanent home than the local drinking establishment, the executive of Lorne Lodge signed a debenture with municipal trustees to lease the upper floor of the two year old Glencoe Town Hall for a meeting room. This new hall was located behind the McKellar House and across from the present-day Southwest Middlesex municipal office.
On September 22, 1893, twenty years later, a fire broke out in the McRoberts Livery Stables next door and after a few hours all was destroyed. Fortunately for the Lodge, most of the valuables in the Lodge room were saved from total destruction by the actions of several citizens.
The Clanahan Block 1893
The next Lodge room chosen was the 233 Main Street Clanahan Block (now owned by Godfather’s Pizza), directly across from the McKellar House. Again, there was a fire and the Lodge members were again on the street looking for a new home.
French Hall 1896
Worshipful Brother William J. French offered the use of the upper floor of his business block at the corner of Main and Symes Street in Glencoe until suitable quarters could be obtained. This building still stands but it was moved a short distance to 167 Symes Street so a new Memorial Hall could be built on the corner lot by a chapter of the I.O.O.F. – International Order of Foresters, another men’s club.
Dixon Block 1902
In 1902, Arthur E. Sutherland, publisher of the The Glencoe Transcript local newspaper, offered to lease the upper floor of his Dixon Block, 243 Main Street, Glencoe and fitted it for Masonic use. Sutherland became a brother Mason the following year. This location served the Masons very graciously for 57 years.
Dobie Block 1959
In 1958, Right Worshipful Brother Herman Bauer made the motion that the Lorne Lodge consider purchasing the Dobie Block, a brick building built by George Dobie as a bank in 1885. It was decided by the executive and fellow members to purchase this building and decorate it up to be used for Lodge purposes and lease out the lower rooms.
This building served the Masons well for 59 years. Through a combined effort of every member, the second floor was rebuilt and on November 11, 1959, a cast of Grand Lodge officers dedicated the new Lodge room. Over the years, Masons made several structure changes, added blinds, painted, and added air conditioning to make the room more attractive and comfortable.
Hammond Lodge 2018 – 2024
In March of 2017, the executive and membership decided to sell the Masonic building due to declining membership. The building was sold and a decision was made to rent the Masonic Hammond Lodge in nearby Wardsvile 21996 Hagerty Rd. The first meeting was held September 11, 2018.
Glencoe Lodge Goes Dark
In the early years, Masonic districts were usually laid out in unison with the railways.
In 1872, the Glencoe Lorne Lodge was part of the London District . Then in the years 1887 – 1923, Lorne Lodge became part of the Erie No. 1 Masonic District. In 1923, redistribution took place and Lorne Lodge members found themselves in the Chatham District.
Over the 152 years that the Lorne Lodge existed, there have been 583 initiated members, 120 Masters, 12 District Deputy Grand Masters, 14 Grand Stewards and one Grand Chaplain.
Lorne Lodge has tried to maintain a high standard throughout its Masonic history with dignity, perfection of work and upholding their strict Masonic principles, all of which could not have been obtained without the fullest cooperation of its members past and present and future.
Unfortunately, due to aging membership and a decline in new members, the members made the difficult decision to close.
I am proud to have served as historian for the past 34 years.
Film industry pros sweat the possibility that many digital files will eventually become unusable — an archival tragedy reminiscent of the celluloid era.
Martin Scorsese: “The preservation of every art form is fundamental.”
For the movie business, these are valuable studio assets — to use one example, the MGM Library (roughly 4,000 film titles including the James Bond franchise and 17,000 series episodes) is worth an estimated $3.4 billion to Amazon — but there’s a misconception that digital files are safe forever. In fact, files end up corrupted, data is improperly transferred, hard drives fail, formats change, work simply vanishes. “It’s a silent fire,” says Linda Tadic, CEO of Digital Bedrock, an archiving servicer that works with studios and indie producers. “We find issues with every single show or film that we try to preserve.” So, what exactly has gone missing? “I could tell you stories — but I can’t, because of confidentiality.”
Specialists across the space don’t publicly speak about specific lost works, citing confidentiality issues. So, only disquieting rumors circulate — along with rare, heart-stopping lore that breaches public consciousness. One infamous example: In 1998, a Pixar employee accidentally typed a fatal command function, instructing the computer system to delete Toy Story 2, which was then almost complete. Luckily, a supervising technical director who’d been working from home (she’d just had a baby) had a 2-week-old backup file.
Experts note that indie filmmakers, operating under constrained financial circumstances, are most at risk of seeing their art disappear. “You have an entire era of cinema that’s in severe danger of being lost,” contends screenwriter Larry Karaszewski, a board member of the National Film Preservation Foundation. His cohort on the board, historian Leonard Maltin, notes that this era could suffer the same fate as has befallen so many silent pictures and midcentury B movies. “Those films were not attended to at the time — not archived properly because they weren’t the products of major studios,” he says.
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.
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.
Volunteers and members will be hosting you at the cool air-conditioned Archives at 178 McKellar Street.Come for a cupcake in the backyard.
Talk to our historians Ken Willis, Harold Carruthers, Norm McGill, Ken Beecroft, Jo-Ann Galbraith, Marilyn McCallum about your research: property, deeds, ancestors, local history, architecture, family stories. We can help.
Displays. Books for sale.
Are your family photos and written materials at risk? Bring them in and arrange for preservation in the Archive
Watch for us up by the Train Station where the action is
We will have a booth out where the action is with Old Auto magazine.
Looking for readers :
We are sneaking a peak at Rooted and Remembered, a new book that is starting to circulate for early reviews and preparation for hard launch, October 23, 2024.
Rooted & Remembered is $20 for a signed author’s copy. The historical society is promoting the book and helping the author get authentic reviews, the currency of marketing books in today’s world. Book launch is October 23.
CJ Frederick has written a beautiful historical novel about a local boy who has a great story. Let’s read Rooted & Remembered and help CJ Frederick get this new book into the hands of readers.
For over 35 years Old Autos has been Canada’s Number #1 Newspaper for the Old Car Enthusiast. Each issue is jam packed with interesting articles and pictures from some of Canada’s most notable automotive writers. Several writers contribute regularly about antique cars, classic cars, race cars, muscle cars, trucks, tractors, bikes, and nostalgia etc., etc. Not only does each issue have informative articles, car show reports, car club tours, auction results, but a large classified section and events listing covering events from Newfoundland to British Columbia to Ontario.
Old Autos is published the first and third Mondays of each month in Bothwell Ontario, a small Southwestern Ontario town of 900 people. Circulation is for both mailed and online papers. Most of Old Autos newspapers are read by yearly subscribers, but we do have some retailers.
Currently seven full-time staff produce Old Autos Newspaper twice monthly. Old Autos prides itself on small-town personal service, so when you call you will always speak to a ‘real’ person. You will never get ‘voice mail’ and you will always receive personal service…during regular business hours.
Old Autos attends many shows throughout Canada, with several sales people who sell subscriptions at shows and events.
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.
Join the Glencoe & District Historical Society and come to the meeting of the members to review the accomplishments of 2022 and make plans for the coming year. Individual Memberships are $20 and family memberships are $25. Tax Receipts will be issued by Membership Secretary Harold Carruthers.
Show and Tell! Bring a family heirloom, artifact, or mysterious thing from the past to share with the group. We’ll have some fun with this.
Existing members: this is your official notice to attend the annual general meeting to be held at the Archives, 178 McKellar Street, Glencoe, Ontario.
Or attend via Zoom meeting.
Topic: Glencoe & District Historical Society Annual General Meeting 45 years!
Time: Apr 19, 2023 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join us on March 5th as we commemorate the Battle of Longwoods which was originally fought on March 4th 1814. Arrive at 1:45 p.m. and park carefully. We will remember them.
We will remember those injured and killed at the Battle of the Longwoods in 1814.
Watch this beautiful short video of the MOURNING RING OF LIEUTENANT PATRICK GRAEME OF THE 89TH REGIMENT OF FOOT. KILLED ON MARCH 4, 1814, WHILE LEADING THE BRITISH ATTACK AT THE BATTLE OF LONGWOODS.
Redvers Albert Noble III will tell the story of Operation Jericho which took place on 18 February 1944 during WWII Allied aircraft bombed Amiens Prison in German-occupied France at very low altitude to blow holes in the prison walls, kill German guards, and use shock waves to spring open cell doors. The French Resistance was waiting on the outside to rescue prisoners.
Local guests: Arrive at the Archives at 6:45 p.m. so we can join our on-line guests at 7:00 p.m. Speaker Red Noble from Melbourne joins us at the Archives located at 178 McKellar St, Glencoe, ON N0L 1M0.
Of the 832 prisoners, 102 were killed by the bombing, 74 were wounded and 258 escaped, including 79 Resistance members and political prisoners; two-thirds of the escapees were recaptured.
The raid is notable for the precision and daring of the attack, which was filmed by a camera on one of the Mosquitos.
Redvers Albert Noble III born December 11, 1950. “My early passion was playing toy soldiers at the age of 7 but this grew to a life long study of history. I drove transport trucks for 38 years throughout North America and served in management positions too. When not working , I enjoyed traveling globally.”
Local guests: Arrive at the Archives at 1:45 p.m. so we can join our on-line guests at 2:00 p.m. Author Tom Wilson joins us from the French Riviera. The Archives is located at 178 McKellar St, Glencoe, ON N0L 1M0.
No Guns, Just God’s Glory is a book about the Chaplains who fought the good fight during WWII. Details about the role of Allied military chaplains and stories of those who died in the Battle of Normandy from June 6, 1944 to August 25, 1944.
On-line guests: Join Zoom Meeting before 2:00 p.m.
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 is a Canadian Anglican Priest who has served in Southern Ontario, Scotland and now the French Riviera. Tom holds 3 degrees, a BA and Mdiv from Western and a doctorate from Drew University in New Jersey. He and his wife have 3 small dogs, a Bichon and 2 chihuahuas. Welcome home Tom. Looking forward to your presentation direct from the French Riviera.
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.”
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This is a hybrid event: Zoom AND in person! Arrive at the Archives at 6:45 p.m. so we can visit and welcome our online guests. Start at 7:00 p.m. sharp.
Blair Ferguson, local author of Southwold Remembers: The #4 Bombing and Gunnery School. Blair Ferguson is an authority on this training facility which was located at the Fingal Wildlife Management Area during WWII. His book is filled with stories about the people who worked there. Special price $20.
Andrew McGill – local photographer and farmer. Andrew will present his family’s personal connection to the Gunnery School. We’ll pay tribute to his grandfather, Blake, who was a hardworking member of the Glencoe & District Historical Society in its early years (Est. 1978). Blair and Andrew are presenting in person.
Paul Anderson, author of Eric Stirling – The Missing Son – A Recollection of His Life, published privately , New Zealand. Paul is joining us from his home in New Zealand via Zoom.
Paul Anderson has published the wonderful letters his uncle wrote to family back in New Zealand. 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.
Please join us to learn about what went on over in Fingal during WWII. It was a very exciting time!
October 12, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
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We want to say hello and to let you know that we’re still here. Now that all these online meeting tools are available, we think it’s time to try them out.
We urge all our local history enthusiasts and friends to join us. The Directors are going to tell us what they’ve been working on during the pandemic and we want to hear about your work too.
Zoom Instructions:
Jan 11, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Report from the Committee To Establish A Middlesex County Archives (CEMCA):
Unlike other counties that have established a County Archives (Lambton, Kent, Elgin, Oxford, Norfolk, Perth, Huron etc.) to house municipal as well as important historical materials, Middlesex County has not. In February 2020, representatives of historical societies and interested citizens from across Middlesex County gathered to ascertain the interest in establishing a Middlesex County Archives. The group had concerns about what would happen to their precious historical documents due to aging volunteers and lack of resources. The group gave resounding approval to the initiative and the Committee to Establish a Middlesex County Archives was born. After two meetings, Covid-19 halted those for the year but work remained ongoing. In February 2021 virtual meetings commenced via Zoom.
How best to achieve the goal? The primary focus had to be municipal records. Through legislation, County and Municipal governments are mandated to officially store public records for legal, governance, and historical purposes. The Ontario Municipal Act 2001, S.O. 2001. C. 25 Section 254 further states that municipal offices must preserve certain documents, and that they are to be publicly accessible. Those records need to be properly stored and available in a timely manner. It further indicates that municipal offices could deposit their records in an archive, to be secured. In addition, many historical societies hold historically significant documents and still more remain in private hands. Without a County Archives, there is concern about the location and condition under which many valuable historical documents are being stored.
CEMCA, through a survey to Mayors and Clerks, and another survey to Historical Societies within Middlesex County, ascertained much data – most materials were not stored in secure, environmentally-safe areas and most were not easily accessible. That is a problem for municipal as well as local historical documents.
In June, CEMCA developed a series of “Facts Sheets” and other pertinent information to be sent weekly to County and Municipal Councillors and Administrative Staff. Information included: Municipal Act and Responsibilities, What is an Archives? How Will the Municipality and Clerks Benefit? Where Are the Records Now? Who Would Use the Middlesex County Archives, Resources Required and Challenges and Opportunities. To see any of this information, please check Middlesex Centre Archives webpage: www.middlesexcentrearchive.ca or email proposedmiddlesexcountyarchive@gmail.com.
Committee representatives from each municipality are contacting their councillors and/or making presentations to their councils. On September 28, 2021, CEMCA will be making a presentation to County Council to formally ask that a Middlesex County Archives be established.
Who benefits from a County Archives? Municipal clerks, town planners and developers, lawyers and architects, heritage advocates, scholars and educators, genealogists and family historians, tourists. The biggest benefactors will be our future generations!!!!!!!
How can you help? Contact your county councillors by writing, email or telephone to express your support for the Archives. For more information, please email proposedmiddlesexcountyarchive@gmail.com.
Let us lose nothing of the past, it is only with the past that one builds the future. Anatole France