ET ------ LL... TEI" T= -------------- AE LENS ------ ------------------ -------------- A ------ ON ert win at teeta "A Family Tradition for 126 Years" Scugog Shores Museum obtains Tweedsmuir History By Scott Anderson Port Perry Star A recent acquisition has helped bridge the gap in time for the Scugog Shores Museum Vil- lage. Kim Harper, interim director at the museum on Scugog Is- land, was ecstatic with the re- cent acquisition of the Tweed- smuir Village Histories for Port Perry. This history, prepared by the Honeydale Womens Institute, presents a history of Port Perry and Reach Township, docu- menting not only the events of the time but also the people and businesses. Using articles, pictures and other documents the volumes chronicle, in the writers' opin- ion, the important events of the day. The books contain some of the most complete pictures and accounts of the past. For example there is an origi- nal picture of the great fire which destroyed much of down- town Port Perryin 1884. "It captures a lot of the histo- ry even the newspapers didn't catch," Mrs. Harper said. The idea of the Tweedsmuir Villages Histories was first in- troduced in 1940 by Lady Tweedsmuir, the wife of Cana- dian Governor General John - Buchan. Lady Tweedsmuir pro- posed that Womens Institutes across Ontario prepare the vil- lage histories. "It is the most useful and sat- i1sfying task for women's insti- tute members to see that noth- ing valuable is lost or forgotten, and women should be on the alert always to guard the tradi- tions of their homes, and to see that watercolor sketches and prints, poems and prose legends should find their way into these books," Lady Tweedsmuir wrote in 1940. Lady Tweedsmuir had in- tended the chronicles to be the records of history that could be handed down to the younger generations and perpetuated. It was not until 1956 that the Honeydale Womens Institute began its own Tweedsmuir Vil- lage Histories, when Marion Boyd, whose father Sam Farm- er owned the Port Perry Star at that time, began the process. This began the formal docu- mentation of the history of the area, which Mrs. Harper says has helped to fill a void left in the story of Port Perry. She says often groups were in- terested in documenting the 1800s and early 1900s, but there is no real history of the area between the 1940s to 1970s. "It's something we've been lacking and now it's filling the gap," she said. The volumes had been kept at the Scugog Memorial Library since the mid-1970s, but were handed over to the museum last week by Honeydale past- president Margaret Cornish, who became involved in the pro- jectin 1966. Mrs. Cornish says a lot of the work and value of the books should be attributed to Mrs. Boyd who played a large part in its continuance. Mrs. Cornish believes the in- formation contained in the vol- umes will be a valuable acquisi- tion for the museum and will aid many people in their research. "You'd be surprised how many people have gotten infor- -mation out of them," she said. Mrs. Harper agrees. She says she can spend hours research- inginformation, but can usually find it very quickly in the Vil- lage Histones. "It's a great addition to our ar- chival research," she said. The books will be microfiched and treated to preserve them, before becoming available to the public. -- Durharn Stearn 985-8552 LOOSE RUGS ] BROADLOOM Clearring pHOLSTERY 3 M Scotchguard , Meet Your New Winter Lineup. Open House - Meet the Stars of the Great White North - the new Polaris snowmobiles are in town! Whether you're just starting out or looking for the ultimate dream sled, we've got 'em all - from the acclaimed Indy Lites nght up through the real pulse-pounding Indy Storm. The best winter you've ever had starts right here - today! Polaris Open House at the Port Perry Fair - September 5,6&7 $300 WORTH Of om nie | POLARIS OF A NEW INDY Believe It. - (in-stock models) Sale completed by Sept. 30th, 1992 See Us HH he Farr! BAW 2a A MARINE REPAIR & fon 985-3192 17300 Simcoe St., N. RR1, Port Perry See the Selection of Used Snowmobiles For Sale mr ---------- FE------------------ A di i 1st Port Perry Scout Troop for the 99¢ bop 8 hotdog Look for them to be back in September! 8x8' BABY BARN 339 Includes Trusses & Floor, Shingles, Stain, Plans and all Hardware SPRED SATIN CEILING WHITE #3470 13% FAST & EASY INT./EXT. WHITE 8% 9" 10" Exterior OLYMPIC STAIN 19% 15 year. ... Ovyear.... Semi Transparent & Solid Colour * QUALITY PRODUCTS « COMPETITIVE PRICING * QUALITY SERVICE Se