In this episode we introduce you to Mr. David Williams, a man whose resume both here in Collingwood, Ontario, and to parts beyond defies all belief! Recognized for his tireless work across so many fields, he would win many honours and awards. But a most fitting recognition would escape him as the museum that would proudly bear his name never came to be. And so it is that we honour the  memory of a pivotal figure who helped to create our museum by telling you about the history of a Collingwood Museum that might have been ... but never was.

After the story we remember David’s wife Ida, a similarly busy citizen worthy of remembrance in her own right. And finally, from a history of what might have been we give you a look into the future that will be as we invite you to join us for the opening of a new travelling exhibit to help us mark May's Museum Month. See our Facebook page for more information.

Episode Picture:

Artist’s Rendition of the Proposed David Williams Memorial Museum [X2013.11.1, The David Williams Memorial Museum, Collingwood, Ontario Pamphlet ]

Research:

Cowley, Christine E. “Butchers, Bakers and Building the Lakers: Voices of Collingwood”, 2008. Pg 314.

Prominent Citizens, Collingwood Public Library

https://www.collingwoodpubliclibrary.ca/client/en_US/cwood/?rm=PROMINENT+CITI2%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7Ctrue#david

Mayor Directory, Collingwood Public Library

https://www.collingwoodpubliclibrary.ca/client/en_US/cwood/?rm=1897+-+19292%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7Ctrue#1933

“The Museum Mystery”, The Collingwood Museum: On Track vol 4 issue 5, 2010. 5

X2013.11.1, The David Williams Memorial Museum, Collingwood, Ontario Pamphlet

Rush with us down to the harbour in the middle of a dark and tragic night in 1905. Terrible circumstance works against personal heroism and the town’s collective determination to cause one of the saddest stories of Collingwood’s waterfront history. When all is said and done and the City of Collingwood has burned down to the water, what is left but to learn from what happened and prepare for the next time danger rears its terrible head?

Following the story we focus on Museum Month (this May) with a number of announcements about upcoming exhibits and our next episode of the podcast, which will feature a special story of what our museum might have been if history had been just a little different. If you haven’t been in the museum in a while now would be a great time to visit!

As always we would love to hear from you. Send us an email to [email protected] or leave us a voice message on our podcast homepage http://anchor.fm/cwoodstories

Episode Picture:

The Steamer, City of Collingwood [Collingwood Museum Collection X974.306.1]

Research:

Barbara Arp, ed., Reflections An Historical Anthology of Collingwood (Collingwood: The Corporation of the Town of Collingwood, 1983), 104.

Skelding, Douglas. Ordeal By Fire: A History of the Collingwood Fire Department 1852-2005(Barrie: Northern Printworx Inc., 2005), 43-44.

“Disastrous Fire” Enterprise Bulletin, June 22, 1905.

Our world is fast changing and always has been. Technologies constantly spring up with promises of a new and better life. But which ones change the culture and which get put in the back of the closet with last year's fads? Join us in this episode as we look at the earliest days of the telephone in Collingwood, when people still hadn’t figured out what kind of future it would hold.

Next we focus in on the story of one particular telephone operator who worked through very interesting times. And finally we give a much deserved shout-out to our museum volunteers as we approach National Volunteer Week on April 24-30. As always if you have a story to share, any questions, or comments ... or are interested in volunteering for the museum ... we would love to hear from you! Send us an email to [email protected], go to anchor.fm/cwoodstories to drop us a line, or you can use that newfangled telephone by calling 705-445-.4811.

Episode Picture:

Telephone Operators in 1922 [Collingwood Museum Collection X986.14.10]

Research:

Barbara Arp, ed., Reflections An Historical Anthology of Collingwood (Collingwood: The Corporation of the Town of Collingwood, 1983), 57, 83.

Discover Collingwood Heritage Walk, https://www.collingwood.ca/sites/default/files/docs/Economic-Development/heritagewalk-downtown-15x17-2017.pdf

Bell Canada, 1894-2017 https://beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/canadian_bell_companies.html

“Bell Canada Installed First Service in Collingwood in 1886”, Enterprise Bulletin July 31, 1958 Section 5 p. 2.

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Beginning with the story of a famous wild west sharp shooter who may or may not have been in Collingwood, we turn our attention to several of our own wild west originals, who called Collingwood home when it was a rough and tumble frontier town and the gateway to the wild, wild west. We talk about Kitty and her darn motorcycle as a reminder that there is always more to the story of a person’s (or town’s) life than what you see today. And finally we invite you the listeners to join with us in celebrating two recent good news stories from the museum. 

March Madness is over and out of all the very worthy contenders our own artifact and story about Nurse Dawson has come out victorious. You can find the link to all the videos on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/collingwoodmuseum.  

And lastly, this podcast has been honoured to be included in Feedspot’s list of top Canadian History Podcasts. You can find all the great podcasts (ours included) at: https://blog.feedspot.com/canada_history_podcasts/

Episode Picture:

The International Hotel before 1875 [Collingwood Museum Collection X970.916.1]

Research:

Barbara Arp, ed., Reflections An Historical Anthology of Collingwood (Collingwood: The Corporation of the Town of Collingwood, 1983), 3, 15, 17, 191.

Cotton, Larry. Whiskey and Wickedness, vol. 4, Town of Collingwood, Angus, Stayner, Creemore, Wasaga Beach and Clearview Township, Ontario 1830 to 1900. (Deep River: Larry D. Cotton Associates Limited, 2005), 98.

Shaw, Melissa. “Annie Oakley came to Collingwood's fair in 1898 ... maybe” CollingwoodToday.ca, December 1, 2019. https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/remember-this/annie-oakley-came-to-collingwoods-fair-in-1898-maybe-1892375

In this episode we look deep into the eye of the storm as we travel back to the year 1913, when Collingwood finds itself at the center of an international tragedy of staggering proportions. And days later, as the news slowly comes out it just kept getting worse and worse for the families of our town. After the story we talk about the memorial windows in All Saint's Anglican Church, dedicated to those lost in the great storm. And finally, we invite our listeners to head over to our Facebook page and follow our quest to reign supreme in the Simcoe County Museum March Madness competition with our story of Nurse Ethel May Dawson, who is also featured in a memorial window in All Saint's.

Episode Picture:

The Launch of the SS James Carruthers [Collingwood Museum Collection X974.539.1]

Research:

Scotty Carmichael “Black Sunday” Barbara Arp, ed., Reflections An Historical Anthology of Collingwood (Collingwood: The Corporation of the Town of Collingwood, 1983), 131-132.

Hardy, Michael “The Great Storm of 1913” Thumbwind.com October 4, 2021.  https://thumbwind.com/2016/11/07/1913-great-lakes-storm/

“Black Sunday” UsGenNet Great Lakes Maritime History. April 17 2016. http://www.us-data.org/mi/glm/storm/1913/nov-9.html

Shaw, Melissa. “White Hurricane tore through the Great Lakes sinking 19 ships” CollingwoodToday.ca, November 10, 2018. https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/remember-this/remember-this-white-hurricane-tore-through-the-great-lakes-sinking-19-ships-1117708

What do hockey pucks and corsets have in common? Join guest contributor Melissa Shaw as she dives into the little-known beginnings of women’s hockey in Collingwood on this special International Women’s Day edition. Keep listening for information about Gaslight Community Theatre and their role in bringing history to life through live performance. As well, we discuss the International Women’s Day festivities in the Town of Collingwood and invite you to become a guest contributor. Follow us on Facebook [facebook.com/collingwoodmuseum] or check our website [Collingwood.ca/museum] for up-to-date details about the museum’s operation.

Episode Picture:

Collingwood Ladies Hockey Club, c. 1898-1899 [Collingwood Museum Collection, X969.745.1]

Research:

“Won Both Matches” Enterprise Messenger, 1 March 1897.

“Collingwood at Hockey” Enterprise Messenger, 19 March 1897. P1.

Links:

Gaslight Theatre https://gaslighttheatreproductions.com/

International Women’s Day https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Town of Collingwood’s IWD Events https://collingwood.ca/iwd

A World War 1 veteran named Fred, his brother Charles and a long and sometimes volatile history of how we remember those who served and uphold our civic duty to all who made sacrifices for our freedom ... give a listen as it all comes together in this week’s episode ... lest we forget! Following the story we talk a little about the town Cenotaph which shares the grounds with our museum and we ask for listeners’ stories about the veterans they know and remember. Our gallery is open once again for self-guided tours. Call ahead (705-445-4811) for information and to book your time.

Episode Picture:

The Cenotaph’s Unveiling [Collingwood Museum Collection X986.625.1]

Research:

Isabel Griffin, “Our Controversial War Memorial”, Enterprise Bulletin, October 16, 1985, October 30, 1985, November 13, 1985.

Erika Engel, Thievery, physical threats: Collingwood's cenotaph had a controversial journey to its final home.  https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/local-news/thievery-physical-threats-collingwoods-cenotaph-had-a-controversial-journey-to-its-final-home-1843543

Shipbuilders, Tigers, and a notorious Chicago barkeep all converge in our story that asks the question “How far are you willing to go to get what you are after?” The answer might just make you sick. We travel back to the early days of Ontario Hockey for a notorious game where the skullduggery off the ice nearly caused one team to lose the game, but cost the other team everything. Afterwards we introduce you to the late Scotty Carmichael, who first told this and many other wonderful stories of Collingwood’s past. We ask for your favourite sports stories ... we would love to share them! And finally we ask if you would be so kind as to share this podcast with those you know.

Episode Picture:

Jack Dance of the Collingwood Shipbuilders [Collingwood Museum Collection X999.14.146]

Research:

Barbara Arp, ed., Reflections An Historical Anthology of Collingwood (Collingwood: The Corporation of the Town of Collingwood, 1983), 116-117.

In this special Holiday episode, we remember a much loved mayor of Collingwood and his yearly gift to the children of Collingwood. Do you remember the sleigh rides with Mayor Harry Bell? As we get closer to the holidays we ask you to share your memories of what made the holidays special here in Collingwood. We also give all you last minute present seekers an inside scoop on both a sale in our gift shop and the “Gift of Membership” promotion running until Christmas. Make an appointment to do some shopping or tour the gallery before we close up shop for the holidays (Dec. 24 – Jan. 4). And from all of us at the museum to all of you listening at home ... Have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Wonderful New Year!

Episode Picture:

Mayor Harry Bell and His Sled [Thank you to George Czerny for giving us permission to use his photograph for this episode!]

Research:

Cowley, Christine E. “Butchers, Bakers and Building the Lakers: Voices of Collingwood”, 2008. Pgs. 58, 75, 93, 277, 328.

Mayor Directory, Collingwood Public Library

https://www.collingwoodpubliclibrary.ca/client/en_US/cwood/?rm=1897+-+19292%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7Ctrue#1970

Johnson, Maddie. “Seemingly impromptu sleigh rides made for fond childhood memories” CollingwoodToday.ca, February 21, 2021. https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/rooted/seemingly-impromptu-sleigh-rides-made-for-fond-childhood-memories-3437066