In this episode we invite you to step back in time and discover the remarkable story of two sisters whose lives left a lasting mark on their community and beyond. Elizabeth “Annie” Birnie, a beloved Collingwood teacher and accomplished artist, and Amelia “Jessie” Birnie, a medical doctor and pioneer in infant health. Each followed a different path, and both left a powerful, lasting mark on the world around them.

Research:

The Saturday News. September 3, 1910.

Collingwood Bulletin, July 28, 1921.

“These Mural Paintings are from the brush of Elizabeth Annie Birnie” informational pamphlet accompanying the brass tablet erected at the Collingwood Carnegie Library in 1921.

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~canqbogs/pdf_files/Brearley_Female_Physicians_Toronto.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1214952287303228&id=100063654036098&set=a.501284082003389

Episode Picture:

Several members of the Birnie family pose for a photograph outside of their family home on Pine Street. [Collingwood Museum Collection, X969.509.1]

Links: "The Museum that Wasn't" Season 1 Episode 23 https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/cwoodstories/episodes/The-Museum-That-Wasnt-e1ig37a

"Lilies for the Soul" Season 2 Episode 7 https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/cwoodstories/episodes/Lilies-For-The-Soul-e1vqft3

"The One that Flew Away" Season 2 Episode 9 https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/cwoodstories/episodes/The-One-That-Flew-Away-e2336ii