Today is probably a day just like any other for most of the citizens of Dufferin County, but in our recent past it was one of the most important holidays. To the settlers of the late 19th century July the 12th would have been awaited for months and was celebrated with parties and parades as well as steeped in rituals hundreds of years old.

Orange Parade with members of the Monticello LOL To understand this celebration we need a little bit of history.  Dufferin County was settled primarily by immigrants from Northern Ireland who were fiercely loyal to the King and devoutly Protestant. One of the many traditions that followed them across the Atlantic was that of the Orange Order, a fraternal religious organization that dominated social life in the early years of Dufferin...

The Shelburne Public Library celebrated its 100th anniversary last weekend as part of the Heritage Street Festival and the Dufferin County Museum & Archives was thrilled to be asked to take part.  Lauren, the Library’s summer student, put in some research time at the Archives and gathered together some really interesting items from the DCMA’s collection to put on display.  You can check out the grant application written to the Carnegie Foundation for monies to turn the “Mechanic’s Institute”, into a “Free Public Library”.  Mr. Carnegie agreed to give them a grant of $6000 to build the library building in 1911. 

For a population of only 1200 in 1907 they read a lot of books; over 4600 books circulated that year and there were 2832 books in the library’s holdings.  The account book, meticulously maintained by Mr. T.F.E Claridge, the original owner of the Shelburne Free Press and Economist – incidentally he lived in that beautiful house on Andrew St. with the round porch that previous owners have lovingly restored – shows that it cost $361.95 to run the library for a year in 1912 and that the Caretaker actually made a higher salary than the Librarian and it cost more in coal to keep the building heated than it did for a Caretaker!

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Interview with artist and illustrator Linda McLaren about her new art show & sale, "Other Nations - A Life Spent in the Company of Animals" on display in the Silo Gallery at the Dufferin County Museum & Archives until Sunday, August 26, 2012. Come hear Linda speak on Sunday, July 8 @ 2:00pm.

Pictured above left to right are: Dufferin County Niagara Escarpment Commissioner Ken McGhee, Niagara Escarpment Achievement Award recipients Allen Clarke and Jacqueline Tilford, Mulmur Township Mayor Paul Mills, and NEC Chair Don Scott. Long standing Dufferin County Museum & Archives (DCMA) supporter, donor and volunteer Allen Clarke, (who regularly can be seen tending to the DCMA’s heritage apple orchard) and Jacqueline Tilford both recently received the Niagara Escarpment Commission’s Achievement Awards. The DCMA is proud of our supporters who continually support us as well as, show such outstanding commitment to the community. Release issued through the NEC is below. Dufferin County residents Allen Clarke and Jacqueline Tilford have been honoured with a Niagara Escarpment Achievement Award for the outstanding stewardship of their Mulmur...

Swimming hole at Woodside, Hockley Valley, Mono summer 1938. With record heat and humidity in the forecast for this the first day of summer, I’m reminded of a popular swimming hole at Woodside. The swimming hole in the Nottawasaga River at Woodside (which also included a park and lodge) was and still is the perfect spot to spend a hot and humid day like today. The property located on Hockley Road near the 5th Line was owned and operated by Ernest Goodeve and his wife Louise (Henry) Goodeve and their daughter Waneita. Ernest and Louise both grew up in the Mono, Hockley area, but after marriage relocated to the United States. They later returned home and eventually started Woodside Lodge, what was known to be an early version of a resort. Woodside Lodge was frequented by tourists and visitors who would come to stay overnight, camp and even holiday there in the hot summer months. The old log lodge better...

  Pictured above are Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King with his sister Jennie (Mrs. H.M. Lay) and Dr. O.D. Skelton.  The photo was taken on July 29th, 1923. Photo courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.   Kayla Mantle is one of five students working at the Dufferin County Museum & Archives this summer.  Working in the Archives, she is identifying and finding primary resource materials about Dufferin’s famous people.  During the past four weeks, she has added an additional 25 people of note to bring the total to 280 persons.  One of the people to catch her attention was O.D. Skelton. A scholar and academic, Skelton made his mark by virtually creating Canada’s department of External Affairs.  In addition to his diplomatic efforts, he stage managed one of the great events of the day. He successfully managed the Royal Tour of 1939, when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth travelled across Canada and back just prior to the outbreak of World War II. ...

Ray E. Townsend

The Dufferin County Museum & Archives remembers June 6, 1944 and the World War II D-Day invasion of Normandy, France by honouring Ray E. Townsend, one of the many brave veterans who was there and fought against the invasion of Normandy. Listed in our Dufferin County Virtual War Memorial (DCVWM) are the names of 5040 veterans who served in 28 conflicts including 1941 who served in the Second World War. Below is a typical entry in the DCVWM. From the Hereward  WI Tweedsmuir History: Ray E. Townsend, son of Mrs. J. Palmer, lot 23 con 3, East Luther, and the late Wilbert Townsend, enlisted in Toronto in August 1943. He trained at Brampton and at Toronto, taking an engineering course. He also trained at Brantford and Camp Borden, going overseas with the Royal Regiment of Canada in November 1944. He was in action in Germany and in Holland until he was wounded at...

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the hospital care in Orangeville, the Dufferin County Museum & Archives and Headwaters Health Care Centre have partnered to create a series of three exhibits highlighting the history of the hospital, how it started, their accomplishments, and services that the hospital has offered from 1912 to 2012.  The second in this series is currently on display in the hospital lobby and the third will be installed in September.  Visit www.headwatershealth.ca/events for a list of events commemorating their 100th anniversary.  

Pictured above at the launch earlier this year are:  (left to right) Anne Caine, Ronnie Inglis and Steve Brown, DCMA Archivist.

In partnership with Headwater Arts, DCMA is proud to host this annual show and sale of original art works, featuring the very best talent from Westside Secondary School, Orangeville, Orangeville District Secondary School, Orangeville, Mayfield Secondary School, Caledon. Erin District High School, Erin, Humberview District High School, Bolton, Banting Memorial High School, Alliston and Centre Dufferin District High School, Shelburne.

We recently received such a wonderful letter from Corporal Wayne Strudwick, DCMA’s sponsored veteran for the 2011 Battlefields Tour, that it inspired us to start a new section on our website - DCMA Celebrates. Here you will find some of our success stories that we would like to share with you. These stories will highlight what's inspiring, what's positive and what's happening at the DCMA. Visit DCMA Celebrates regularly and let us know what you think. In the meantime, here’s the letter below.   Orangeville native and Afghanistan War veteran, Cpl. Wayne Strudwick, joined the Centre Dufferin District High School’s Canadian Battlefields Tour in November 2011. Dufferin County Council approved him as the 'sponsored-veteran' of the Dufferin County Museum & Archives (DCMA) for the purposes of the Battlefields Tour and ceremony at Juno Beach Centre. Below is a letter from Cpl. Wayne Strudwick to Dufferin County Council summarizing his experience during the 2011 Battlefields Tour.

Letter to Dufferin County...