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durhamregion.com THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ March 1,2006 ♦ Page 7 -y p y A weekly in-depth look at the communities that shape Clarington Orono fascinates two Helens Local women combine their talents in authoring a second book together BY IZABELA JAROSZYNSKI Staff Writer ORONO -- For Helen Lewis Schmid, it all began with a school project. When her daughter Elaine came, to her for help with' a history assignment in 1965, it was the beginning of a new chapter in Mrs. Schmid's life. Using the project as a springboard, the Orono native has since dedicated her life to uncovering and preserving the history of her hometown hometown and its surrounding area. Quiet and modest, Mrs. Schmid is a fountain of information. For years she scavenged localyard sales and antique markets searching for tiny treasures. She has stacks of catalogues containing carefully carefully preserved materials such as deeds, photos, and postcards. It was through her innovation and dedication that the Clarke Museum and Archives came into exis- tence in the early 1970s. And all this while keeping house, taking taking care of her husband and raising four daughters. It was through one of her daughters that Mrs. Schmid was introduced to Helen Bajorek MacDonald. An Oshawa native, Mrs. MacDonald has lived in the Orono area most of her life. She works as an elementary school teacher and a course instructor at Trent University and is widely widely published in books, poetry anthologies, magazines, newspapers and .academic Journals. / .. ..'AV- . / Together the two women formed the perfect team: one, an archivist and treasure-hunter; treasure-hunter; the other, a wordsmith and educator. Both lovers of history are believers that the past can be brought to life. Their first collaboration, Iron in the Blood, a work done to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Bowmanville Foundry, was a big success. "We had the time of our lives working on it," Mrs! MacDonald says. "We'd laugh. We'd call each other at 11 o'clock at night to share new information." ; Mrs. Schmid smiles as she recalls the three years of research and Writing that went into the book that she now proudly displays on her coffee table. "Sometimes it would take weeks, or months, to find one tiny piece of information," information," she says. After Mrs. MacDonald would write a section, Mrs. Schmid would, take a "knife and hammer to it." "She is one tough éditer," Mrs. MacDonald MacDonald laughs. The book stands as a tribute to the ordinary workers, the generations of men and women who toiled inside the foundry, Izabela Jaroszynski/Metroland Durham Region Media Group ORONO - Helen Lewis Schmid (left) and Helen Bajorek MacDonald browse through some of the photos that may be included in their new book - a pictorial pictorial history of Orono. making it a successful and viable business for 100 years. Mrs. MacDonald says what drew her into the story of the Bowmanville Foundry Foundry was the question of how? How did a small foundry in a small town survive for a century when larger foundries like the two in Oshawa shut their doors many years ago. The answer, she says, is a combination combination of the dedication and loyalty of the employees, the vision and leadership of. : the employers and the support of the community. Hidden on a side street in the town, the foundry is still going strong. Now the two Helens - as they like to refer to themselves - have set their sights on putting together a book in celebration of Orono. Using Mrs. Schmid's massive collection of photos and postcards as the jumping off point, the pair is hoping to create a pictorial history of a place dear to their hearts. "It is something I've always wanted to do," says Mrs. Schmid as she thumbs through one of the many catalogues dedicated dedicated to the images of Orono that she's gathered. "We want to capture the essence of Orono in times past," Mrs. MacDonald says. "Back when it was a vibrant community, community, in the hey-day of rail travel and industry." Mixed in with the photos will be fascinating fascinating and interesting stories, such as mysterious tales of unsolved murders, disasters, parades and celebrations. The book will highlight the industry that took place along the now extinct railway - the cheese factories, the creameries, the evaporator factory. Sitting in her living room, Mrs. Schmid points out her window to the place where the railway station once stood and where the slope of the tracks lies hidden underneath underneath the snow. ! "I can picture it there when I look out the window," she says. Her memories, along with her archives, make Mrs. Schmid the keeper of Orono's rich history. The book is step one to getting that history history out to the public. That's not to say that the public hasn't already found Mrs. Schmid. She has been consulted by academics, amateur historians historians and ordinary families from around the world, looking for information on her neck of the woods. Information that Mrs. Schmid offers with great pride. "I don't know how they find her, but they do," Mrs. MacDonald says. As she displays the mountain of information information she has gathered in more than 40 years. Mrs. Schmid breaks into a smile. "It motivates me," she says of her life's work. "It makes me feel alive." Anyone wishing to contribute Orono photographs or documents for possible inclusion in the book, Orono: A Pictorial History, please contact Helen Schmid at 905-983-5837. 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