A Stroll through Time – story telling

Stories about the Kilmartin community who established Burns Presbyterian Church in the hills of North Mosa.

Marie Williams reported: A great crowd attended Sunday’s “Stroll Through Time” at Burns. The event had been postponed from February due to icy conditions. Morgan MacTavish served as narrator with cast members Sarah, Sophie, Anela and Audrey Faulds, Andrew Johnson, Courtney Bailey, John David MacTavish, Taylor Chalupka and Carol Leitch doing a great job in their roles. Scriptwriters and organizers were Flora Walker, Louise Campbell and Mary Simpson.

Narrator: Welcome to A Stroll through Time – Celebrating 190 years of Burns Presbyterian Church, Mosa. Over the next hour and a half, we want to take you back to some events which occurred in this congregation over our 190 years of existence. Although the events did happen, we have taken some liberty with the minor details. Our characters will surround you with their tales of joy and sorrow. Please sit back and relax and we will let our story begin.

The Old Log Church was replaced with the first “Brick” church but it was eventually replaced by the existing church in 1891 when it encountered structural difficulties after a heavy slate roof was added.

The history of Burns’ Presbyterian Church

Burns Church has deep roots in the traditions and values brought over by Scottish immigrants. Many of the pioneers who established the church originated from the Highlands of Scotland, particularly from Argyleshire. Their strong sense of faith and resilience, hallmarks of Highland character, guided them through the challenges of settling in Canada West in the early 19th century. These Scottish settlers arrived in the townships of Mosa, Metcalfe, Ekfrid, and Brooke, at a time when the land was still largely an unbroken forest. Despite the physical hardships of pioneer life, they carried with them a strong Presbyterian faith, holding regular meetings for prayer and worship, often in their homes or in the forests, before the establishment of a formal church.

By 1835-36, the community had built its first log church on what is now Kilmartin Cemetery grounds in Metcalfe Township. Though the church was incomplete and lacked doors, windows, or a roof, it became a place for gathering and worship. Despite the harsh conditions, the congregation remained devoted, listening to sermons on cold winter days while seated on rough wooden sleepers. As years passed, clergy such as Rev. Alexander Ross and Rev. Donald McKenzie occasionally visited, providing spiritual guidance and conducting services. These visits were cherished, and many traveled long distances through forests and swamps to participate, highlighting the central role religion played in the lives of the settlers.

In 1842, Rev. Duncan McMillan visited the area to perform baptisms and organize prayer meetings. It wasn’t until 1844 that the Mosa congregation was formally organized by the Presbytery of Hamilton. For several years, the congregation shared clergy with nearby Knox Church in Ekfrid. Services were initially held in barns and homes, notably the McLauchlin family barn, before another log church, known as “The Old Log Church,” was built around 1844.

Rev. Wm. R. Sutherland was ordained as the first permanent pastor in 1848, and the church flourished. He frequently traveled throughout the region to communities like Wardsville and Euphemia, to preach, marry couples, and baptize children. He travelled by horseback or on foot in all weather conditions.

The fourth building – Burns Presbyterian Church Mosa. Opened in 1891.

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.

Plant a tree to honour our author, Peter McArthur

Peter McArthur died October 28, 1924 ……..and we will plant and dedicate a “scarlet maple” in his honour near his grave at the Eddie Cemetery October 27, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. Exactly 100 years later…. We plan to celebrate with selected readings on site.

For your comfort, please bring a lawnchair….. Also, walk with care as the ground is uneven. Take time afterwards to roam around and listen to the stones at Eddie Cemetery.

Park across the road in Mark McGill’s farm laneway. We have his permission. Do not park along the highway. It’s a dangerous knoll.

If the weather is poor, please come to the Archives instead, 178 McKellar St., Glencoe, ONtario.

“Although I have lived in far countries and great cities, no place ever was my home except this farm.” – Peter McArthur

THE SOUL OF CANADA – CHAPTER XXI

Book Title: The Affable Stranger
Date of First Publication: 1920
Author: Peter McArthur

It is all very well for men like William Lloyd Garrison to exclaim, “My country is the world.” I cannot lay claim to so broad a humanitarianism. Though I do not see the need of hating any other man’s country, there is one country that means more than any other to me. How could I reprove the people of the United States for loving their own country—for being jingos, if you will—when I know that their home love cannot exceed mine?

Let me confess. Often and often I have thought of writing something about the love of my native land, but was restrained by the feeling that it was too intimate and personal to be exposed for the entertainment of the public. Goodness knows I have gossiped about almost everything in the most shameless way, but there was something about love of the land that seemed too sacred to reveal even to intimate friends. But now I am emboldened to hang my heart on my sleeve and talk to those of my readers both in Canada and the United States who have felt the love of the land and know what it means. I have the good fortune to be living on the farm on which I was born—the farm which my father cleared. Although I was born too late to take a hand in the work of clearing,

I learned the history of every acre before an open fireplace many years ago. The history of the clearing of the land, the first crops, the names and characters of the horses and cows on the place, are so interwoven with my youthful recollections that I seem to remember them all as if I had taken part in the battle with the wilderness myself, and had shared in all its triumphs and sorrows. Something of this farm struck a tendril into my heart which neither time nor distance could break. It is the only spot on earth that ever gave me the feeling of home. Even after being away for years I have sat down in New York or London, England, and have been as homesick for this farm as a little boy who makes his first journey away from his mother’s side. At any time I could close my eyes and see the quiet fields, and I would wonder what crops they were sown to. At all times it was my place of refuge, and, when I finally returned to it, it was with a feeling that my wanderings had ended, and that I could settle down and enjoy life where I belonged.

At the present time this love of the land appeals to me as being especially significant. The turmoil in the world to-day recalls to me the great purpose which moved my father and mother to undertake the task of making a home for themselves in the wilderness. They wanted to establish a home where their children and their children’s children could be free. I know the oppression and hardship from which they escaped in the old world, and the toil and hardship they endured in the new before their dream was realized. It is high time that we who are native-born realized the price that our parents paid for the freedom and liberty we have enjoyed. The freedom that they won by their toil and sacrifice is a heritage worthy of our sons who did battle so that it may endure.

There have been times when I thought that the men of my own generation were escaping too lightly in the work of establishing a Canadian nation, but I think so no longer. This new nation was founded by our freedom-loving and infinitely patient fathers, and defended by our freeborn and heroic sons. It is true that we came too late to take part in the pioneer work, and were too old to take our place in the trenches. But on us there rests a heavy responsibility. It is for us to pierce through the confusions and selfishness of political strategy and establish the truth and justice that alone can make a nation endure. We must be true to the great purpose of our fathers and the splendid courage of our sons. Here is something that strikes deeper than party politics, that demands the best that is in us of wisdom and sanity. If we fail to do our part nobly the whole fabric of nationhood will fall. Love of the land carries with it a responsibility that may try us as sorely as the wilderness tried our fathers or as the battlefront tried our sons. And for us there is no escape. The future of Canada is in our keeping.

Whenever I read history, even the history of Canada, I feel like the American soldier who was wallowing through the mud after the battle of Spottsylvania Court-house. Saluting his officer, he exclaimed bitterly: “If ever I love another country, damn me!”

History, as written, is largely a record of crimes and blunders that are exposed or whitewashed according to the political bias of the man who is writing the history. Historians, as a rule, are more given to the use of whitewash than a political investigating committee. Fired by a patriotic desire to picture for us a country worth loving, they suppress much, glorify everything that seems worth glorifying, and give us something that is no nearer the truth than the crayon portraits you see in many country parlors. If historians told the simple truth, every nation with a scrap of decency would be trying to live down its history, just as a convict tries to live down his past. And yet—and yet I confess to a love of Canada that is not simply a patriotic emotion, but a passion to which my whole being vibrates. To me Canada is a living soul—a Presence that companions me in the fields—a mighty mother that nourished my youth and inspires my manhood.

Whenever I think of Canada I remember Carman’s (Bliss) wonderful lines:

“When I have lifted up my heart to thee,
Then hast thou ever hearkened and drawn near,
And bowed thy shining face close over me,
Till I could hear thee as the hill-flowers hear.”

When I strive to fathom the secret of this love I find that it is due to the fact that I learned history, not from books, but from the lips of the men and women who made Canada—that I learned the history, not of the government, but of the people. The spirit that broods over me to-day is the same that danced among the shadows beside an open fireplace while I listened to endless crooning tales of the sufferings and hopes of the pioneers. The Spirit of Freedom that led them into the wilderness became my spirit, and their dream of a free Canada became a living spirit that danced about me in the flickering light of the flaming back-logs.

By some trick of the imagination I have always thought of Canada as the blithe spirit that haunted my childhood. But in my childhood she did not always come in the same guise. Sometimes she would come gliding out of the depths of the forest, a shy and dusky sprite that would take me by the hand and teach me the love of flowers and birds and the infinite mysteries of Nature. Again she would come as a country maid, glowing with the joy of life, who would lead me through the fields where she reaped the harvest and bound the sheaves. Always she walked in the sunlight and though her moods were full of song and care-free laughter

“She had the lonely calm and poise
Of life that waits and wills.”

As the years passed and the burdens of life began to press, I lost the intimate touch with the spirit of my country. But always I was conscious that back of the turmoil she was working her will and shaping the destiny of a free people. Though I might be stunned and disheartened by the greed of commerce and the clamor of politics, I could still see dimly that the spirit that companioned my youth was at work wherever men and women labored. And her love was not only for those who could claim it as a birthright, but to all who came to Canada in quest of freedom. Creeds and nationalities and old hatreds were nothing to her. No matter what wrongs or abuse of power there might be in high places, the spirit of Canada was nourishing the weak, teaching them the lesson of freedom, and moving to her place among the nations.

Then came the day when the war trumpets sounded and the soul of Canada flamed to her full stature. She heard the call of the oppressed and hurled her legions against the oppressor. Not hers

“To mix with Kings in the low lust for sway,
Yell in the hunt, and share the murderous prey.”

Nourished in freedom she gave battle for freedom. To-day I see her, as I saw her in the time of war, roused but unafraid, and watching with questioning eyes the sacrifice of her sons. Standing heroic on the soil that gave her birth she marks with glooming brows the madness of the nations. This is the hour of her decision. Woe alike to those who would stay her hand and to those who would hurry her to destruction! Born of the dreams of humble people who toiled and served for the freedom on which she was nourished, Canada must be forever free! As a free nation within the Empire she has given lavishly of her best, and as a free nation she must endure!

-30-

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.”

Barn Quilt Trail Movement: A Journey Across North America

August 12, 2024September 3, 2024Mary Simpson

By Mary Simpson and Denise Corneil. Featured in the Middlesex Banner.

The Barn Quilt Trail Movement, which started in Ohio, USA, has blossomed into a colorful journey across North America, thanks to the vision and dedication of individuals like Donna Sue Groves, now deceased. Inspired by her love for quilts and barns, Groves initiated the movement in 2001 when she painted the first quilt square on her family’s barn in Adams County, Ohio.

In Canada, the movement found roots in Temiskaming, Ontario, in 2007. Bev Maille, Marg Villneff, and Eleanor Katana spearheaded a project to paint 200 quilt squares, adorning barns and historic landmarks across the region in time for the International Plowing Match 2009. This initiative not only added vibrant colors to the landscape but also attracted tourists and boosted economic development.

Wardsville, Middlesex County, Ontario, joined the trail in 2009 when Denise Corneil’s mother, Eileen, returned from the U.S. with a barn quilt brochure. Denise, along with a team of volunteers, stitched a story quilt commemorating Wardsville’s founders, Mr. and Mrs. George Ward, for the village’s 2010 Bicentennial celebration. This project revitalized the community and became a testament to the power of preserving local heritage.

The movement continued to flourish in Ontario. With support from the Sand Plains Community Development Fund, over 100 quilts were created, each telling stories of settlement, community building, and rural life. Barn quilt trails spread up and down the roads of Middlesex, Elgin, Oxford, Norfolk, and Brant Counties in 2011.

Here in Middlesex, women living along Longwoods Road and the community of Chippewa of the Thames, worked side by side to plan two trails explaining how the War of 1812-1814 affected the lives of women, children, and families. The winter of 1813 was particularly bad.

Trail of Tears- Family. Located in the community of Chippewa of the Thames

The result was the Trail of Tears Barn Quilt Trail, a collection showcased on Chippewa of the Thames locations, and a trail stretching along Longwoods Road from Delaware to Thameville – plus two beautiful quilts and many new and enduring friendships. These trails and many more trails across Canada are curated at barnquilttrails.ca.

In 2013, all major barn quilt trails in Ontario were curated on one website, barnquilttrails.ca, supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. This initiative aimed to provide guidance and encouragement to communities starting their own barn quilt projects, ensuring the movement’s sustainability and growth. This website continues to be curated by volunteers and now showcases barn quilts across Canada.

As barn quilt trails spread across Canada, the United States, and around the world, they became more than just colorful displays; they became a way for communities to share their stories and preserve their heritage.

Today, as new projects like those in South Bruce and Osgoode Township emerge, the legacy of the Barn Quilt Trail Movement lives on. Denise Corneil, Wardsville, along with a dedicated team, remains committed to supporting and promoting these initiatives, ensuring that the colorful journey across North America continues to thrive for generations to come.

The Fabric Quilt: Honoring Mr. & Mrs. George Ward

Mr. & Mrs. George Ward, founders

Some community barn quilt projects start the planning process with a theme and a story quilt. In 2009, Wardsville started up with the War of 1812 theme. Eleanor Blain and Sue Ellis, seasoned quilt makers, devised a plan to engage people of all skill levels in the quilt-making process.

With the assistance of local historian Ken Willis, who provided valuable insights into the Wards’ history, the quilt committee traced the Wards’ journey from establishing a settlement along Longwoods Road to enduring the trials of the Battle of the Longwoods and the ensuing accusations of treason. Thirty quilt blocks were meticulously selected to depict key moments in the Wards’ lives, ensuring that Mrs. Margaret Ward’s contributions were honored too.

The quilt-making process was a labor of love, with countless hours spent selecting fabrics, cutting shapes, and stitching together each block. Ellis and Blain invited community members, both experienced quilters and novices, to lend their hands to the project. The quilt frame at Beattie Haven Retirement Home became a hub of activity as individuals gathered to contribute stitches to the communal creation.

The quilt telling the story of George and Margaret Ward being stitched at Beattie Manor retirement home.

When the George Ward Commemorative Quilt was unveiled at Wardsville United Church in May 2010, it elicited gasps of awe from the crowd. The quilt’s was entered into the Group category at the 2010 International Plowing Match Quilting Competition in Shedden,where it claimed second prize.

What is a Barn Quilt?

Barn quilts are eight-foot square (and larger) painted replicas of actual fabric quilt blocks installed on barns. Barn quilts draw attention to Canada’s disappearing rural landscapes, timber frame barns, and the family farm. Each barn quilt tells a story and draws attention to unmarked historical places.

They can be scattered through the county mounted on beautiful barns (like Huron County), or they can create a themed route, leading visitors from one site to the next.

Tourists are Interested in our local history

With the aging baby boomer cohort, there is a lot of interest in nostalgia and history. There is a growing recognition that tourists are interested in our local history too.

The Canadian federal government is investing in rural and remote tourism. The tourism industry is realizing what barn quilt enthusiasts always knew. Statistics Canada shows that tourism provides billions of dollars in revenue and accounts for 10% of local jobs in rural (non-metro) areas. A federal spokesperson said that “Tourism can diversify and strengthen the economic base and viability as well as safeguard local culture, language and heritage. Businesses benefit from increased income from direct sales of homegrown and locally made products. Visitors want to participate in authentic Indigenous experiences, and 62% of Indigenous tourism businesses are in rural and remote areas.”

Louise Long applies masking tape prior to painting. Three coats. (Photo by Dave Chidley)

And so the barn quilt movement continues to spread. Go to barnquilttrails.ca to find the trails in Middlesex County and southwestern Ontario. Embark on a journey through time and space. This isn’t just tourism; it’s a love letter to the land, a celebration of heritage, and a testament to the power of community.

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, 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.

Rooted and Remembered book launch

Tonight, August 23, 2024 is the book launch – Rooted and Remembered

Come meet story keeper, James Carruthers and local novelist CJ Frederick. They will describe how they brought this special family history to the printed page.

Topic: Lest We Forget Ellwyne Ballantyne.

Time: Oct 23, 2024 07:00 PM America/Toronto

Join Zoom Meeting or come to the Archives. Join the zoom call at 6:55 p.m. so we can settle in for a 7 pm. start.

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88548582065?pwd=VEZTIFxIdFbcMmHozRsa4wL4dTYg8N.1

Meeting ID: 885 4858 2065

Passcode: 459615

CJ and James hope 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.

Author CJ Frederick signs book at Tartan Days, July 20, 2024.

Copies of “Rooted and Remembered” will be available to purchase.

To read more about CJ Frederick visit https://www.cjfrederick.com or https://www.facebook.com/cjtellstales

MAKING HISTORY COME TO LIFE THROUGH STORYTELLING

Listen to CJ tell about how she became intrigued with this story and how she collaborated with James Carruthers, the grandson of Betsy Jane Carruthers, during the pandemic to write a ‘creative non-fiction’ book about this wonderful young man, Ellwyne. Link to Interview starts at 9 minutes.

CJ’s First Novel – her story: 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.

CJ 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.

Join Zoom Meeting – more details

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Meeting ID: 885 4858 2065

Passcode: 459615

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Napier Decoration Day Service

Please join us for the annual Decoration Day Service at St. Mary’s Anglican Church – Napier, Ontario on June 23, 2024 at 3 pm.

St. Mary’s Anglican Church Napier – 1418 Melwood Drive, Strathroy, ON N7G 3H5.

The following history is an excerpt from an old service bulletin and the author is unknown.

This church has been standing straight, fine and true for over one hundred and eighty years. It stands as a testament to the faith of those who built it, those who came to regular services, and to those who worked over the years to keep their church alive and active. But it is a symbol, not primarily of their strength and perseverance, but of the presence of God in their midst.

The first settler in this general area was Captain John Charlton in 1825. In 1829, Richard, Thomas, and Christopher Moyle and their families and Captain Christopher Beer established residences along the river in the Napier area. In 1831, Lieutenant Charles Preston and his family came from Cornwall in Upper Canada. Preston had been granted 100 acres when he commuted his pension for land. They settled on this property where St. Mary’s Church stands.

The first church services were held in Captain Christopher Beer’s house. Captain Beer’s rank gave him the privilege of conducting the first church services and first burials in the community. After the congregation became too large, they moved to the home of Captain Johnson. When the congregation became too large for his house, a school was built on this property in 1839 and used for church services. The log school was built on one acre of land donated by Charles Preston for a church and a cemetery. Preston also gave three acres of land for a rectory.

In 1841, the residents of the community sent a petition to the Bishop of Toronto requesting permission and assistance to build a church. The petitioners declared themselves to be generally poor and unable to pay for a frame church to be built but the increase in the congregation was such that the school was no longer large enough. Captain Beer had prepared some walnut lumber to use in building a new house. However, when the news came that a church could be built, he donated this lumber to the church and postponed construction of his own home. This gift, which represented a considerable sacrifice, was well used; the walnut was worked into pews, wainscotting and the chancel. It still stands here as a memorial to a man who loved his church and community.

In 1860, the church and cemetery were consecrated by the Right Reverend Benjamin Cronyn, the Bishop of Huron and the church officially received the name “St. Mary”. In Ireland, the Cronyn’s had attended St. Mary’s Church Kilkenny. This name linked the new land with the old.

The last regular weekly service was held on January 29, 1920 and annual services were initiated in the early 1930’s. We must be grateful to the residents of this area and especially to the Toohill family for their loving care of St. Mary’s Church. It is thanks to them that this oldest church building in Middlesex County still exists.

Peter McArthur: Our Famous Canadian – 1866 – 1924

June 3, 2024June 10, 2026Glencoe & 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.

April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 in review

April 24, 2024June 10, 2026Glencoe & District Historical Society

Report for the Glencoe & District Historical Society

Date & Venue: Wednesday, April 17th, 2024, at the Archives, 178 McKellar Street, Glencoe.

Attendance: A solid turnout of 30 members, with all executives present except President Ken Beecroft.

Opening: Vice President Mary Simpson initiated the meeting at 7:00 PM, welcoming members old and new.

Remembrance: A moment of silence was observed for the late Lorne Munro, a member for 20 years.

Business as Usual: The minutes from the previous year’s AGM were approved without issue, and discussions moved smoothly to current matters.

Financial Health: Treasurer Marilyn McCallum presented a detailed financial report and budget for the upcoming year, which were both accepted unanimously.

Membership Milestone: Harold Carruthers announced a record membership count, (over 80 members) reflecting the society’s ongoing relevance.

Engaging Programs: Program Director Mary Simpson introduced upcoming events, including a talk by local author C.J. Fredericks.

Election Excitement: Nominations for the new executive team were made and approved smoothly.

Dynamic Presentations: Members shared updates on various projects, showcasing the society’s diverse activities.

Wendy Simms Bestward reported on the Simpson Descendants genealogy work.

Denise Corneil reported on the alliance formed by Glencoe & District Historical Society, Creative Communities, barnquilttrails.ca, the Chippewa of the Thames cultural group, and EXAR Studios to build a story telling app to enhance the Barn Quilt Trails, a grassroots arts movement.

Harold Carruthers noted the 100th anniversary of the death of “The Sage of Ekfrid” Peter McArthur. There will be an interesting event on Father’s Day, June 16th at 1:00 p.m.

Norm McGill conducted a Show and Tell in which 8 people participated.

Closing: The meeting concluded at 8:50 PM, setting the stage for the incoming executive team.

Looking Ahead: With new leadership in place, the society is poised for another productive year.

Aug 21 The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87

August 21, 2024

7:00 p.m.

The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87

4087 Olde Drive, Glencoe, ON

7:00 p.m. Arrive at 4087 Olde Drive, Glencoe, ON. Bring your lawn chairs. Stroll around the half-acre tractor collection.

7:30 p.m. Dave McEachren will tell us about local dealer history.

8:00 p.m. Explore the new museum.

As a 10-year old boy, Dave witnessed a few fellow neighborhood farm boys displaying their collections of farm toys at the Glencoe Fair. It was that day that he decided to stop “playing in the dirt” with his toys and start collecting them instead. More than a few decades later the dream of opening his own museum to share his ever-growing John Deere collection has come to light.

The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87 includes over 40 real tractors, thousands of farm toy models, and tens of thousands of pieces of memorabilia and sales-related literature. There will be something of interest for everyone, from local dealer history to samples of equipment you may never knew existed.

Decision-makers: please include an Archives in the new Middlesex County admin building

February 10, 2024February 15, 2024Glencoe & District Historical Society

Thanks to CTV for doing a piece on the importance of building a Middlesex County Archives. CTV London’s Marek Sutherland reports: TV news item here

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.

Our County Council is stoked to save our history

January 21, 2024June 8, 2026Glencoe & District Historical Society

Listen to Carol Small’s presention to Middlesex County Council, March 14, 2023

… on behalf of the Committee to Establish a Middlesex County Archives. We continue to encourage Middlesex County Council to help preserve our local history.

Blood on the Snow – lecture about the Donnellys

December 19, 2023February 15, 2024Glencoe & 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.

Glenn Stott – Blood on the Snow: The Donnellys and the Biddulph Tragedy

December 16 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

The talk will be a livestream on YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeOdo89QhQQOSnROHKN3HoA.

The Donnellys are one of Southwestern Ontario’s most notorious families. This talk will be an overview of the 33 year troubles that took place in Biddulph Township and Lucan, Ontario region from 1847 to 1880 and ultimately ended with the murder of the five members of the Donnelly family.

The “Black” Donnellys were an Irish Catholic immigrant family who settled in Biddulph township, Canada West (later the province of Ontario), about 15 km northwest of London, in the 1840s. The family settled on a concession road which became known as the Roman Line due to its high concentration of Irish Catholic immigrants in the predominantly Protestant area. Many Irish Canadians arrived in the 19th-century, many fleeing the Great Famine of Ireland (1845-52). The Donnellys’ ongoing feuds with local residents culminated in an attack on the family’s homestead by a vigilante mob on 4 February 1880, leaving five of the family dead and their farm burned to the ground. No one was convicted of the murders, despite two trials and a reliable eyewitness

The Appin Cemetery Memorial

This year we remembered the people in The Appin Cemetery.

Time: 2:00 p.m. on July 28, 2024

Location: The Appin Cemetery, 22886 Thames Road (Concession 2, Lot 12)

Link to interactive G&DHS Cemetery Map.

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Mural Project 2022

November 15, 2023February 15, 2024Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Ken Beecroft – President G & DHS

The Glencoe & District Historical Society expresses appreciation to Middlesex County Tourism and the Municipality of Southwest Middlesex for recognizing the importance of our heritage and ensuring that our community and visitors are reminded of our past.

Farmer, writer, radical, sage: Re-introducing Peter McArthur

February 22, 2024 – “Peter McArthur: Our Famous Canadian – 1866 – 1924”

A large crowd attended the Glencoe and District Historical Society Archives to experience Peter McArthur, the “Sage of Ekfrid”. It would appear that McArthur is as popular today as he was over 100 years ago. In addition to 30 viewing online, over 50 turned up in person. Norm McGill welcomed guests before president Ken Beecroft made some announcements. Kosta Vaklev offered a reading by McArthur before historian Harold Carruthers described his lifelong interest in the farmer/author.

Joining from Ireland, guest speaker Stephanie McDonald, described McArthur’s life and works, focussing on the last 16 years of his life after he moved back to the home farm in Ekfrid Township. Another long- time McArthur enthusiast, Don Sinclair closed the afternoon event, speaking about his connection to McArthur through the home farm and, in particular, the demonstration woodlot where McArthur wrote about his unique appreciation for rural life and nature.

In 1908, at the age of 42, Peter McArthur returned to his family farm in Ekfrid Township with his wife and five children after living and working in Toronto, New York and London, England. For the next 16 years he wrote weekly columns in The Globe, amusing and enlightening his readers about life on a rural Ontario farm.

October 28, 2024 will mark the centenary of McArthur’s death at the age of 58 following an operation. The man dubbed the “Sage of Ekfrid”, who had the most famous farm in Canada, is now nearly forgotten. With wit and wisdom, McArthur interrogated questions that we’re still asking today – how to bridge the rural/urban divide, how to protect the natural environment, and how to spend our days and live a good life.

Stephanie McDonald grew up on a mixed farm in Ekfrid Township. She has worked as a newspaper reporter in the Canadian Arctic, and in communications, policy and administration roles in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Ottawa and now Dublin, Ireland. Stephanie has had articles published in various newspapers and magazines, mostly about farmers, farming, food security and the climate crisis.