Waterfront Heritage
News from the Owen Sound Community Waterfront Heritage Centre (CWHC)
April 2015
Waterfront Heritage is
published by CWHC
Our New Logo
EXECUTIVE MEMBERS
President :
Art Harvey
Vice President
Wayne King
Treasurer & Finance :
Linda Droine
Secretary:
Doris Fraser
Marketing &
Communications:
Maryann Thomas
Volunteer Chair
Holly Dunham
Building and Collections:
Wayne King
Membership:
Torben Hawksbridge
Dining Car Fundraising
Jan Chamberlain
Directors at large
Peter Bowers, Mary Smith.
Museum Manager
Wendy Tomlinson
————————————
——CWHC is a registered Ontario
Corporation: Number
1907436
CWHC is a member of the
Ontario Museum Association.
CWHC is a member of the
Ontario Historical Society
CWHC is committed to save
the documents, artifacts and
records of the Owen Sound
Marine and Rail Museum.
CWHC is committed to have
an open and transparent
Board of Management
Volume 3, Issue 1
In March the Community Waterfront Heritage Centre approved our new logo. The design was chosen to
reflect the solid underpinning
upon which we were created. In future
the logo will appear in all
our correspondence, advertising, and
official documents. It will set
us apart from being a simple museum.
Rather it is a centre for all to
visit, learn, participate, and enjoy.
Meet our Staff
Wendy Tomlinson : Manager/Curator
Wendy is a long time resident of Owen Sound, known locally for her
historical fashion-based lectures. She also works part-time in Visitor
Services at Grey Roots. Wendy is an energetic and creative person who
Amelia Kraemer : Volunteer Curator
Amelia has been working quietly in the back room sorting
artifacts, bringing our collection records up to date, and
preparing artifacts for our 2015 displays. Without her dedication
and talent we would be unable to operate efficiently.
HERITAGE
MEMORIES
Marie-Eve Charland :
Fundraising and Project Coordinator
for the Rail/Dining Car Project.
Heritage Memories is an exclusive program designed for seniors’ homes, schools, clubs, and special events by
our outreach coordinator John Ballard. We will bring the Heritage Centre to you complete with artifacts and
carefully selected displays selected especially for you.
IT IS FREE!
From our collection of several thousand objects in the Community Waterfront Heritage Centre we offer
educational and memory evoking packages for young and old.
IT IS FREE!
ABOUT this
NEWSLETTER
We have heritage photos and documents to arouse curiosity, inform, and
This Newsletter is one
enjoy.
of the regular editions
of the CWHC
IT IS FREE!
newsletter designed to
inform the community
about our attempts to
Give us a call today to schedule a program “Heritiage Memories”
save the waterfront
heritage of Owen
Sound .
Buy a Ticket
Although the program is free—you are always welcome to
See page 3 for
make a donation
information on how
you can help make our
new museum a success
John Ballard and Marie-Eve Charland show
some of the artifacts from the Heritage
collection
Waterfront Heritage
Page 2
The Railway Comes to Owen Sound
The sod turning for the Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway (TG&BR)
was a celebrated event at Weston, Ontario on October 5, 1869
by none other than the 19 year old HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of
Connaught. By1871 the line was completed as far as
Orangeville. It was not until August 1873 that the narrow gauge
railway made it to its ultimate destination in Owen Sound.
From its terminus in Toronto at the foot of Bathurst Street, regular
freight and passenger service wound its way though Klineburg,
Bolton, Dundalk, Proton Station, Shelburne, Markdale and
Rockford to Owen Sound with many stops in between.
The young Prince Arthur, Duke of
Little remains of that old railway. A winding trail in the public
domain is used by snowmobilers and hikers in the northern
section.
Ad for the first train to Owen
Sound, 1873
Connaught
The railway had a turbulent history. As freight traffic declined because of a depression
in the mid-1870s the TG&BR went bankrupt. It was seized by its creditors and
operations were turned over to the Grand Trunk. Shortly thereafter the Grand Trunk ran
into financial difficulties and merged with the Ontario and Quebec Railway, a
subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883.
Bring the Dining car to Owen Sound
All Aboard
Make a Donation to the Dining Car Project
Get a tax receipt
Cigars and Owen Sound
The President of the CPR, Cornelius Van Horne, was a famous cigar smoker
(he developed the taste while building the Cuban railroad in 1900). In
hospital towards the end of his life, he was forbidden by his doctor to smoke
more than three cigars a day. The next day, a package of custom made
cigars arrived for Van Horne. Each cigar was 2 feet long and requiring four
hours to smoke. The C.P.R.’s name and famous
logo (in its 1898-1917 version, showing the
beaver’s tail draped over the top corner of the
shield) was used by cigar manufacturer H.E.
Cooke of Owen Sound. H.E. Cooke’s operation
was located across the street from the present
day “Harb”, a well known drinking place in
town.
CPR Cigar box made by
H.E.Cooke of Owen Sound
It is not known if the cigars were merely
packaged or actually rolled here. Good
historical judgment would suggest the former.
Join us for an ice cream cone in 2016
Join us for an ice cream cone in 2016
Page 3
Waterfront Heritage
Page 4
Waterfront Heritage
Volume 3, Issue 1
Page 5
For the Love of trains—Internet Searches
There are lots of folks interested in videos about trains. The internet is full of wonderful action movies like the ones below.
Have a Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-TLjvSPF3o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6LRKS6NzHE
CNR 86 on the Owen Sound Way Freight from Palmerston at Chesley
July 1957. Don Wood
http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/CLC/cnr86.jpg
As published on trainweb
The website OLD TIME TRAINS has a wonderful collection of train images. For those interested in looking at old trains like the
one above, the website is a must. The magazine format has brilliant tidbits of information that everyone can enjoy.
Have a Listen
The Railways paid an important part in Owen Sound’s
industrial past. Here is an excellent re-broadcast about
the North American Bent Chair Company (Owen Sound)
on the GEORGIAN BAY EXPLORER, narrated by Ross
Kentner of CFOS.
http://www.radioowensound.com/podcast.php?
PodcastID=5728
Do you have photos of the rail history of Owen Sound ? We would like to have you share them with us.
Waterfront Heritage
Page 6
Check out our website at:
What Can You Do?
www.waterfrontheritage.ca
You can support a new museum as a financial
donor, a volunteer, a public advocate or a
committee member.
#
If you donate money a tax receipt will be issued
Make Cheques payable to :
Find former newsletters there
Community Foundation Grey Bruce
#
And mail to :
The Community Waterfront Heritage Centre, PO
Box 82, Owen Sound ON, N4K 5P1
Sample cheque for the Dining Car Project. The money goes
to a flow through account called Dining Car Project
Photo by Doris Fraser
Membership in your museum has
helped to keep our waterfront
heritage alive. It is important to
maintain and expand membership
support. You can help by encouraging others to join
with you. Together the community makes a
difference.
Your Name
Your Address
Date
Pay to the order of Community Foundation Grey Bruce___________$111111.11
11111111——————————————–———-—xx /Dollars
Ask your friends to become a member. Here’s how
Memo Dining Car Project
Our Membership form is on our website
Or
Your Signature
Call 519 371 3333
When you Spring Clean
Clean—
—Think of us
In conjunction with the HOTTEST YARD SALE and The
TUG Visit we will have a sale of our own Saturday, July
4. Bring in Your good stuff to help us raise money to
keep your Heritage Centre going. Good Quality stuff
may be donated for us to sell.
Think about us today. Bring your good stuff in anytime.
Our Annual General Meeting will be held June 17, 2015, 7:00 p.m. at the Legion (North
Atlantic Room). We are always looking for persons to serve either as volunteers, board
members, committee chairs/members. It is the people of Owen Sound and area that helped
save this Heritage Centre.
Your continued support in time, money, and ideas are needed to keep this important part of
our community alive. Join, Participate, and Donate. Come to the AGM.
CWHC is a member of the Ontario Historical Society