Join us as we tell the story of one local family who grew a business from a small market-farm and a dream, to (at the time) Ontario’s largest fruit and vegetable farming operation. A family run company that also helped to grow their community. A pillar of the community that touched the lives of nearly every other Collingwood family over the eighty years of the Smart Brothers business.

Following the story we invite the listeners to join us for our summer children’s programming running July -August. You can find more information on our website

Episode Picture:

Smart Bros. Limited, 1948 [Collingwood Museum Collection 994.33.9]

Research:

Enterprise Bulletin. Nov 14, 2008.

Local History Files Collingwood Public Library.

Collingwood Bulletin. July 4 1912.

Tracy Marsh, Enterprise Bulletin. Oct 29- Nov 12, 1994.

On Track Mar/Apr 2009 p.1,4

Cowley, Christine. Butchers, Bakers and Building the Lakers: Voices of Collingwood”, 2008. 245-248

Links:

“The Telfer Brothers” Season 3, Episode 1

A beautiful summer day on the lake turns into a troubling mystery with a tragic ending. In this episode we tell the story of the day Collingwood was rocked by the sudden loss of eight young men and women, and the response of the community to a shared grief.

The Karma. Photograph courtesy of Kirk Jones

Enterprise Bulletin July 24, 1956

Enterprise Bulletin July 26, 1956

Enterprise Bulletin August 2, 1956

Enterprise Bulletin August 9, 1956

Toronto Daily Star July 24, 1956

Toronto Daily Star July 26, 1956

“Black Sunday” Season 1, Episode 19

In this episode, we tell the tale of the HMCS Moose Jaw, a flower class corvette built in Collingwood for transatlantic duty during WWII. Learn about the pivotal role Canadian civilian dockyards, including the Collingwood Shipyards, played in the construction of these important naval ships and listen to the riveting story of the HMCS Moose Jaw’s first battle against enemy U-boats.

Launch of the HMCS Moose Jaw, 1941 [Collingwood Museum Collection, 995.31.49]

Leithead, Maggie. “Collingwood Skiffs & Side Launches: Building Canada’s Marine Heritage.” 1994. The Collingwood Museum.

https://www.junobeach.org/canada-in-wwii/articles/the-battle-of-the-atlantic/hmcs-moose-jaw-and-the-sinking-of-u-501/

Department of National Defence / National Archives of Canada, PA-105829.

Enterprise Bulletin November 27, 1941

“Beginning at the End” Season 1, Episode 1

In this episode we explore the life of Collingwood daughter Madge Watt and the global movement among rural women that would result from her unwavering drive and determination. Join us as we look at this important figure in Canadian history and her pivotal role in the formation of the Women’s Institute and the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW).

Episode Picture:

Undated photograph of Mrs. Alfred Watt [Collingwood Museum Collection, X976.563.1]

Ambrose, Linda. A Great Rural Sisterhood: Madge Robertson Watt and the ACWW UofT Press. 2015

“Girl from Collingwood.” Enterprise Bulletin May 26, 2017

Montreal Standard & Montreal Family Herald December 1, 1948.

Collingwood Library Genealogy Files

Associated Country Women of the World https://acww.org.uk/home

In this month’s Stories from Another Day podcast episode, host Ken Maher introduces Dr. A.R. Stephen, a caring country doctor, soldier, and civic leader who moved to the tiny settlement that would become Collingwood in 1853, before the first train arrived in town. Dr. Stephen would spend more than 50 years organizing, protecting, serving, and caring for the residents and town he loved. The marks of his skilled hands are still visible across our community to this day.

Dr. AR Stephen [Collingwood Museum Collection X973.687.1]

Collingwood Public Library Local History Files, A.R. Stephen.

Enterprise Messenger December 3, 1908

Collingwood Bulletin December 10, 1908

Enterprise Bulletin October 27, 1982

Enterprise Bulletin December 3, 2010

Lane-Moore, Laurel. Collingwood Historic Homes and Buildings BMFA 1989, p. 16

What makes a house into a home? There are nearly as many different answers to that question as there are different kinds of families to ask it. In this episode we look at one historic Collingwood house, and just how very differently (and wonderfully) it has served as a true home for thousands of lives over its long and storied history.

After the story we invite your house stories. We would love to hear the history of the places you call home. And finally we are excited to share our new online collections database. “At the click of a button, residents and researchers from around the world can now access over 500 photographs from three of the Museum’s most requested photograph collections – Historic Residences, Huron Institute Historical Catalogue, and Hurontario Street. For example, if you type “Tornaveen” into the key word search you will come up with a number of photographs depicting the historic home from our story through the ages including this podcast’s cover image.”

Tornaveen in 1898 [Collingwood Museum Collection X971.545.1]

Collingwood Times Newspaper article, Collingwood Library Historical Files, Tornaveen.

Lane-Moore, Laurel. Collingwood Historic Homes and Buildings. Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts. 1989. p. 82-84

https://www.nsa.on.ca/2023/03/08/tornaveen-our-campus-home-history/

https://www.nsa.on.ca/about/

“The Telfer Brothers” Season 3, Episode 1 https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cwoodstories/episodes/The-Telfer-Brothers-e28q0vp

From the front lines of battle to the bright lights of Broadway, we follow the story of Canada’s early kings of comedy. The Dumbells, formed as a musical comedy troupe to entertain the men and women serving overseas during WW1, became so much more than just a welcome distraction in a very tense time. They would go on to become an international sensation and a Canada wide comedy hit. Join us as we explore the group’s personal connections to our area, and find out that the Dumbells still may have a thing or two to share with us today.

Episode Picture:

Poster of the Dumbells Sixth Annual Revue in “Ace High”, undated [Collingwood Museum Collection 983.10.1]

Research:

The Dumbells. North Cumberland Historical Society.

Links:

The Dumbell Rag performed by Lori King

Military portrait of Major Edward Lewin Knight [Collingwood Museum Collection X2009.63.1]

Lane-Moore, Laurel. Collingwood Historic Homes and Buildings. Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts. 1989. 28.

Enterprise Messenger Dec 19 1901 (C2 p2)

Enterprise Messenger May 29 1902 (p4)

Collingwood Bulletin, July 31, 1902

The Battle of Hart’s River. Veterans Affairs Canada

For well over a century some of the most important men and women for the ongoing safety and well-being of our community were also the most isolated and in danger themselves. Yet their indomitable spirit shone as brightly in the story of Collingwood as the light they maintained shone over the waters of the bay. Join us in our latest episode as we recount some of the personal stories connected to over 124 years of lighthouse keepers on Nottawasaga Island.

After the story we invite our listeners to check out some further

Nottawasaga Lighthouse and Keeper’s Cottage, 1936 Collingwood Museum Collection X968.896.1]

Sandell, Marion, Keepers of the Light. The Print Shop, Collingwood 2004.

Collingwood Times October 30, 1984. p.7

Library Historical Files. Nottawasage Lighthouse.

Nottawasaga Lighthouse Preservation Society

“No Shot in the Dark” Season 1, Episode 7

We begin season three with a sweet treat as we tell you the story of a

Telfer Biscuit Tin [Collingwood Museum Collection X2017.2.1]

Untitled Newspaper Article, Collingwood Library Files on the Telfer Family

Isabel Griffin, “Telfers were Fine Pioneers”. Enterprise Bulletin. June

Isabel Griffin, “Telfers were Fine Citizens”. Enterprise Bulletin. July

Isabel Griffin, “Telfers were Fine Citizens”. Enterprise Bulletin. July

Collingwood Bulletin, December 20, 1906.

Lane-Moore, Laurel. Collingwood Historic Homes and Buildings. Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts. 1989. 83.

Telfer, Alan. Revelations of a 50 year Old Takeover. Collingwood Library Files on the Telfer Family

Vuckson, David. The Telfer Brothers-Biscuits, Brooms, & Whisks-A Clean Sweep. Stories of Collingwood, Collingwood Historical Society. June 30, 2023.

Links:

“The Elegant Lady Who Built Our Town” Season 2, Episode 1