2015 Newslette ENG August Final

8/20/2019 2015 Newslette ENG August Final

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August 2015

Missisquoi Heritage NewsNewsletter of the Missisquoi Historical Society

www.missisquoimuseum.ca

2015Museum Season Begins

Stanbridge East celebrates its 125that the Museum!Cover Photo:

The photo on the cover page is from the opening day celebrations of theMissisquoi Museum held on May 31st 2015. Pictured in the photo are

Stanbridge East Mayor Greg Vaughan and MHS president François Reid

preparing to cut the 125th Anniversary of Stanbridge East cake. Photo:

Heather Darch

The Missisquoi Historical Society gratefully acknowledges the financial support

of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec and the Pacte

Rural of MRC Brome Missisquoi

Heritage Missisquoi is published by The Missisquoi Historical Society. It is intended as a newsletter to members of theSociety to provide interesting articles on Missisquoi County’s past and to eep our members! friends and volunteersinformed of new acquisitions by the Museum! publications available! upcoming events and other items of generalinterest. Comments and suggestions regarding the newsletter are welcome. "lease contact "amela #eal$e at thehistorical society o%ce for information at &'()*&+),-', or at infomissisquoimuseum.ca

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

President's Note …. Pg. 2

A Disaster Hits Hard.. Pg. 3

Our 50th Anniversary...Pg. 4

Remembering Judy… Pg. 5

Lightening Strikes …. .Pg. 5

Fenian Raid Book ….. Pg. 5

Special Projects……. Pg. 6

Activities &

Events……………… Pg. 7

This & That…...……. Pg. 8

Book Listing………… Pg. 9

Membership Form….. Pg. 10

http://www.missisquoimuseum.ca/http://www.missisquoimuseum.ca/


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Heritage Missisquoi -2- August 2015

Our President's Report

What a tough year we have had to start our

51st

year at the Missisquoi Museum. It waswith sadness that we learned about the illness

of our archivist Judy Antle in 2014. I am sorry

to report that Judy passed away in March this

year. This was a blow to all of us who worked

with Judy professionally and knew her

personally. We all felt the loss of her presence

in the historical society and of course our

sincere sympathies are extended to her family

and friends.

In April, our storage building known locallyas Bill's Barn burned to the ground with all of

its contents inside. This suspicious fire caught

us off guard and made us realize how

vulnerable historic sites really can be. From

these two difficult events, we had to regroup

and move forward and moving on has meant

making changes.

In the archives we welcome our new archivist

Rolande Laduke. Rolande is a retired teacherand well-known and respected in the

community. She is currently familiarizing

herself with the cataloguing methods and the

contents of our archives. Rolande has already

replied to all of the correspondence that came

in last year during Judy's sick leave and is

now taking on new requests for information

and research. On behalf of the board of

directors I would like to welcome her to the

historical society and certainly wish her well

as she takes on this new position.

After the Bill's Barn site was cleaned and

made safe for the community, the staff and

board of directors had several emergency

meetings to discuss the future of the site and

the immediate aftermath decisions that had to

be made. Following these meetings a special

strategic planning session was held between

the board and staff to determine not only how

we can recover from this disaster but how we

can recover in a stronger and more focusedway for our museum's future. The strategies

developed at this meeting and at other follow-

up meetings to come this year will ideally

help us to keep our mission clear and our

objectives and long-term goals manageable

yet progressive.

Finally, I would like to thank our very

dedicated staff Pamela Realffe, Heather Darch

and Rolande Laduke for their continued good

work. The challenges and difficulties we have

faced as a society lately were somehow made

easier to manage because of their level of

commitment and professional integrity.

Thank you to each and every member for your

continued support of the Society. I ask for

your assistance now as we recover and move

forward this year.

François ReidPresident

Missisquoi Historical Society

Board of Directors 2014-2015

Executive:

President: François Reid

Vice-President: Brendan O'Donnell

Treasurer: Donna Butler

Secretary: Marc Grenon

Directors and Portfolios:

Katherine Delaney: Paige Knight Gallery

& Communications

Claire Lanctôt: Strategic Planning

Marthe Lanctôt: Education

Brendan O’Donnell:

Cemeteries/Communications

Grace Getty: Walbridge Foundation Liaison

Kurt Alder: Grounds & Maintenance


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Suzanne Dubé: Communication


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A Disaster in Our Museum

The calls came into 911 just after 7:15The calls came into 911 just after 7:15

a.m.a.m.on Saturdayon Saturday April 11, 2015. Neighbours

on both sides of our annex known as "Bill'sBarn" at first thought the morning was foggy

with a few snow flakes in the air. When they

smelled smoke and suddenly realized they

could see flames shooting out of the upper

windows of the barn, it was already too late.

The suspicious fire resulted in complete

devastation of the structure and its contents.

While the historically significant collection of

farm equipment was no longer stored at the

site, the Missisquoi Museum lost its collection

of carriages dating from the 19th century, most

of the antique sleighs, its collection of school

desks and other 19th century items such as

animal husbandry equipment. Most

significant however was the loss of unique

historical objects from Missisquoi County

including the 1890s water wagon from the

Bedford Agricultural Fair and a horse-drawn

hearse made by carriage maker Ari O. Wescott

made in the early 1900s. The objects were tooscorched and burned to be restored. In

addition to these artefacts were practical items

such as display cases, mannequins, coat racks,

picnic tables, a bicycle rack, signage, extra

office desks and chairs and our Apple Pie

Festival tables.

The loss of the collection will be deeply felt by

the Museum and also by our community; the

cost in the end will not only mean dollars.

There is a loss of our history and heritage that

cannot be replaced. The board of directors was

extremely grateful to the local citizens who

alerted emergency services and to the

Stanbridge East and Bedford fire departments

that contained the blaze. It is obvious that no

historic building or collection is immune from

fire. Of the many disasters that can strike a

museum, a fire is among the most destructive.

Soon after the fire, the board of directors and

staff held an emergency meeting to discuss

options and strategies. The press wasinformed of our situation and a notice was

placed on our Facebook page to keep the

community updated. As site clean-up was

crucial for the safety of the community,

Excavations Giroux was contracted to clean

the site after the staff examined what could be

salvaged from the ruins. Precious little in fact

was recovered except for a jail house door that

once contained prisoners at the Cowansville

Courthouse, several wagon wheels, a horse

hitching brake and a stationary motor. The sitewas quickly levelled and cleaned and while

the historical society did have insurance, there

was not enough to cover the expense of the

clean-up of the site.

An inventory of the lost objects was quickly

provided by the curator for reference and the

objects that could be removed from the site for

cleaning were stored at the Cornell Mill.

Several think-tank strategy meetings will be

held over the summer months to determinethe direction the board should now take with

the land on which the annex stood,

addressing the issue of replacing some of the

lost items and the steps necessary to ensuring

that our museum sites are better protected

against the agents of destruction like fire, theft

and flooding. Strengthened by a renewed

commitment, the board will be creating a

strategy to ensure the safe-keeping of our

collection for future generations to enjoy.


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Annex Fire on April 11 2015

Photo: Donna Butler


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A Loo !ac at Our 50th Anni"ersary #ear

Our 50Our 50thth Anniversary year has come andAnniversary year has come and

gonegone , but in true historical society fashion –

let's look back! We had a successful year that

started with a 50th Anniversary party at the

opening of the museum exhibition "50 Objects

for 50 years" and ended with a special

anniversary supper held in November 2014.

Over 60 people sat down to a delicious meal

held at the community centre in Stanbridge

East.

Our Vice-president at the time, François Reid

welcomed the members of the society and

thanked our volunteer board of directors and

our many volunteers who help us throughout

the year for keeping history alive in

Missisquoi County. Through an appreciation

of our material and cultural heritage, from

financial donations and support offered in

hours of time and by the belief and trust that

the historical society is trying their very best

to preserve the history of our region of

Quebec, our volunteers remain the "life-

blood" that keeps our museum and the

historical society relevant and necessary.Mr. Reid also took care to recognize the

important contributions of the historical

society members who worked so hard to

establish the Missisquoi Museum 50 years

ago. It was their commitment to the idea that

Missisquoi County should have a museum

that resulted in the doors opening on July 19th

1964.

A special presentation was made to our

dedicated and hard working executivesecretary Pamela Realffe. Pam has worked for

the MHS for 40 years and has logged an

incalculable number of volunteer hours

during that time as well. It is her voice that

you mostly likely will hear on the telephone

when you call the office to ask a question. To

be sure, Pam will know the answer! The board

of directors also acknowledge the 24 years of

service given by Judy Antle to the historical

society until illness required her to resign her

position. Judy was not able to attend the

meeting but her commitment to the MHS and

the special relationship she had with

genealogists and researchers helped to make

our archives a well-respected aspect of the

historical society.

Guest speaker Michel Racicot of the

Cowansville Historical Society presented a

very interesting talk about the Campbell Farm

of Stanbridge East. Wealthy businessman

Charles Sandwith Campbell bequeathed his

farm and mansion located on the Ridge Road

to the Sweetsburg hospital (now the Brome-

Missisquoi-Perkins Hospital) to create a

convalescent home. Unfortunately, this project

proved more complicated than expected and

the hospital had to sell the estate to Colonel

Colin W.P. Ramsey some years later.

MHS board Secretary Marc Grenon and

Philippe Fournier. Photo: François Reid

Philippe Fournier, author ofLa Gazette des

paysanstook the opportunity to present a

cheque for $ 1200 to the secretary of the board

of the Missisquoi Historical Society, Marc

Grenon. This cheque represented the balance

of the sum of $ 7,000 from the profits of the

sale of the book Mr. Fournier had undertaken

to donate to the Missisquoi Historical Society.


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This donation has provided a big boost to our

fundraising efforts.

Thanks again to our volunteers and staff and

board members who helped to make our 50th

Anniversary special. On we go into the next

50 years!

Heritage Missisquoi

-5-

$emem%ering &u'y

It is with deep regret that we announce the

passing of our long-term archivist and friend

Judy Antle on March 13th 2015. Judy fought a

courageous battle against cancer with the

humour and the positive energy she had

throughout her life. Many of us worked with

Judy on various projects over the years and

we all know from experience that she was

goal oriented and loved a good challenge

when it came to research. Among her many

fine character traits that served her well in her

position as archivist was her loyalty, sense of

professionalism and her kindness whenworking with the public. We were often

amazed by her endless patience when

answering those complicated and sometimes

tedious genealogical questions. We lost a dear

friend and colleague and our deepest

sympathies are extended to Judy's family and

her friends.

Judy Antle in the historical society office in

2013 Photo: Heather Darch

Lightning Stries

At the end of the museum season and just aswe were getting ready to close for the year,

lightning struck our Hodge's Store. Despite

the power surge bars, our newly installed

audio and visual equipment suffered the

affects of a tremendous electrical jolt.

Fortunately, insurance covered the

August 2015

cost of a new television monitor so that our

"Mr. Hodge" can still tell his tales to our

museum visitors this year. The equipment for

the audio presentations that provided some

lovely stories from people who actually used

the store was also damaged and unfortunatelywill not be ready for this museum season.

(he )enians are *oming

Next year marks the 150th Anniversary of the

first Fenian Raid into Missisquoi County. On

June 7, 1866, a group of Fenians crossed the

border and held Pigeon Hill and the surrounding

area including Frelighsburg and St. Armand


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without any opposition and proceeded to

intimidate the communities by damaging

property and stealing supplies. By June 9, 1866,

the Fenians received word that Canadian militia

and volunteers were advancing and in response,

they retreated across the border. As they went

many discharged their rifles into the air and

carried their looted household articles. At the

borderline they were met by American troops

who disarmed them and placed the officers under

arrest.

To mark this event and as a prelude to the 150th

celebrations of Confederation, the historical

society is planning to publish a book about the

1866 and 1870 Raids. Local historian Laurent

Busseau will be writing the text and our staff

Heather and Rolande will be assisting him with

research materials and the search for funding tohelp finance the project. It is hoped too that a new

installation can be made in the exhibition to

present the Fenian Raids to the public. The quest

for funding is underway for this initiative as well.

Fenian Raid Medal MHS

collections

Heritage Missisquoi

-6-

)un'ing for +n"ironmental+qui,ment Successful

Thanks to a new grant from thePacte Rural the

Museum has received funding to purchase better

environmental controls to help combat the

humidity within our archives. While there is

currently a dehumidification system in place, it is

outdated and inefficient. The funding will allow

us to purchase a new system as well as

environmental monitors that will record

humidity levels for accurate readings.

Guaranteeing that our documents and

photographs can be stored in stable conditions

will ensure their longevity and will help us meet

the required standards for archival collections.

Oral History -ro.ect *ontinues

The oral history project funded by a Pacte Rural

grant continues and stories are being collected

using our new digital hand-held recorder. Marthe

Lanctôt and Heather Darch have been

interviewing people in our community who have

long memories and good stories to share. Do you

know of someone who has an interesting story

from Missisquoi County’s past? Should we be

recording their story before it's too late? Do

you have a story to share? Please be in touch

with suggestions or to offer your own story.

We’d love to hear from you!

+/hi%ition 2015

Town Square: Celebrating the125th Anniversary of StanbridgeEast

This year Stanbridge East celebratesits 125th

year as an incorporated municipality and the

Missisquoi Museum is pleased to present anexhibit featuring this lively little community.

The historic images and objects in this

exhibition serve to commemorate the 125 year

milestone and reveal the growth of an historic

hamlet into a community-minded and busy

village. The Museum is open every day from

11:00 to 4:30. For more information about

events and admission prices, please contact

Pamela Realffe at

August 2015

450-248-3153. Bring a friend and we hope to

see you this summer!

$ising )rom the Ashes

It sometimes is surprising how acommunity

can rally behind you when you have suffered


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a blow. The board of directors would like to

take this opportunity to thank some good-

hearted citizens who wanted to do something

to help the historical society after the fire at

Bill's Barn. We lost all of our picnic tables in

the blaze but thanks to Nicole, Pat Bob, and

Mike and we now have six brand new tables

sitting on the museum lawn ready for the

tourists to enjoy their picnics. When we had a

problem with our water well this past spring

too one amazing volunteer took care of the

plumber's bill for us. These little gestures

make all the difference and have certainly

helped us start to regain some ground that

was lost.

Perhaps you would consider helping us in this

way as well? Could you help us with a small

bill? Would you help us pay for a new table

for our Apple Pie Festival? Would you like to

help us purchase some museum and archival

supplies or help us with the costs in replacing

some of our display cases? It will be the little

gestures that will help us in the biggest way

and donating specifically to a need in our

historical society will ensure that projects,

equipment and supplies will be completed

and furnished. A tax receipt for your donation

will be issued.

Here's a list of some of the needs we have:

Tables for our activities – the cost of one table

is $70.00.

Dress forms – a dress form costs $160

Archive & museum boxes – one box costs $40

Display cabinets for exhibitions – a display

case costs $500

Contribution towards the clean up of debris

from the fire (total cost $11,000)Some outstanding bills in the amount of

$440, for digging of new pipe from the well.

Heritage Missisquoi

-7-

Shhh ts the Silent Auction

It's a Silent Auction year and weare now

collecting items that can be auctioned off at

our fundraiser that will be held in November.

If you have some very gently used items,

never-opened gifts from well-meaning

relatives, a skill that you wouldn't mind

sharing or a talent like cooking or baking that

someone would be happy to bid on, please

drop off your objects or call us to let us know

what skill you could donate to the auction.

Ma/ Mallette is here

Children's author and local educator Luce

Fontaine launched her new book "Max

Mallete: Le Secret du musée" at the Missisquoi

Museum. Illustrated by Irina Georgeta

Pusztai, the front cover depicts the Missisquoi

Museum with the familiar landmark of the

Pinnacle behind. A portion of the proceeds

from the sale of the book will come to our

Museum. Thank you so much Luce!

3,'ate on Our 4-itchn4*am,aign

Thank you very much to all of our members

and friends who have already contributed to

our annual Pitch-In fundraising campaign. To

date we have raised $8,000.

Contributing to the Pitch-In campaign allows

the historical society to use your donation

where it is needed most.


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August 2015

The museum-quality boxes we purchase each

year, all of our acid-free archival supplies,

maintaining the grounds of the Cornell Mill

and Hodge's Store, the materials for

developing our education programmes,

supplies for operating 3 busy offices,

equipment for oral history projects and

maintaining 18 heritage cemetery sites are just

some of the ways your donation is used. We

ask you to please make your gift to the

Missisquoi Historical Society this year. A form

is provided on the last page.

Stu'ent 6rants 7 6reat

Stu'entsAgain this summer we were fortunate to

receive two grants that allow us to hire

summer students. The Young Canada Works

grant gives us the opportunity to hire a

student to assist the curator in digitizing the

collection. A Service Canada grant has a

student scanning photographs in the archives

into a searchable database. We welcome Eliza

Dussault, Jeanne Leblanc-Cyr, Jessica Plouffe

and Félicia Boudreau to our staff. It is also

great to have Francine Marzialli back with us

again for the months of June, September and

October and Stephen Laduke as our caretaker.

Here *omes the A,,le -ie)esti"al Apples, Apples, Apples! What would

September be without the Missisquoi

Historical Society’s annual Apple Pie

Festival? This year, the 33rd Apple PieFestival will be held on Sunday afternoon

September 20th 2015. A better fall day can’t

be had and the pies can’t be more delicious.

With help from community volunteers,

from pie makers the county over, the

fabulous women from Avante and our

wonderful local musicians, a super

afternoon is always to be had. Join us and

bring a friend and help support the

historical society in its big fundraising

event. All of the proceeds raised during the

day are directed to the maintenance of the

museum sites and to the care and

conservation of the collections.

Heritage Missisquoi

-8-

(he 2015 -aige 8night 6allery Sche'ule

A great line-up of local artists is exhibiting

the Paige Knight Gallery of the Missisquoi

Museum:

May 28- June 20 : Studio 31 Artists, SandraFortier and students: Carolle Hébert,

Beverly Hébert, Barb Bellingham, Rolande

Laduke, Johanne Bourgoin, Cindy Butler,

Heather Darch.

June 21 to July 18: Judith Anne Epstein and

Lucino Veo

July 19 to August 15: Pamela Dillon

August 16 to September 12: Stephen

Laduke

September 13 to October 11: Bernice Sorge

If you are an artist or know someone who

would like to display their art in our Paige

Knight Gallery, please contact the Museum.

Outreach to Seniors

We have been very lucky to have a board

member who is also a teacher and has a great

interest in the senior citizens of our

community. Marthe Lanctôt and a volunteer

are taking our travelling museum boxes

into

seniors' residences in Missisquoi County. Our

boxes, filled with items that elderly people


11/14

will remember from their childhoods, are a

great way to not only start a conversation but

also keep one going as memories and stories

connect to the objects. Through the outreach

seniors' programme Marthe has also been able

to meet very interesting people who are

perfect for the on-going oral history project.

Thanks to Marthe and Monique Remillard for

their hard work and dedication to this

programme.

August 2015

9e ha"e a )ace%oo -age

Come and visit us on the Missisquoi

Museum Facebook page. "Like us" at

www.facebook.com/pages/Musee-

Missisquoi-Museum. The Facebook page is

public so you can view it even if you don’t

have a Facebook account. It is a great way to

keep track of what we are doing and to

share local history resources and

announcements.

History A"aila%le : nquire 9ithin

Have you thought about leaving a little piece

of your story or something to represent your

family's history at the Missisquoi Museum? If

you would like to donate objects such as

textiles, costumes, household furnishings,

personal items, agricultural equipment,

documents, letters, images or personal papers

pertaining to Missisquoi County or to your

own family, please contact the historical

society. Items must have some relevance to

Missisquoi County's history and be in good

condition for our collection. Your history is

our history and your inquiries can be sent to

[email protected]

(he Search is On

Despite plans to move the remaining

agricultural and transportation artefacts to theexterior exhibition shed at the Walbridge

Barn, these objects were unfortunately

destroyed in the Bill's Barn fire.

The shed at the Walbridge site can

accommodate six or seven additional

carriages, sleighs and machinery to

accompany the objects that are already located

there. We are looking for objects that are in

good condition, that were used in the fields or

on the roads in Missisquoi and date from the19th century up to the 1950s. If you have such

an item sitting in one of your sheds with an

uncertain future and would like to see it

displayed at the Walbridge site, please contact

the museum.

MISSISQUOI HISTORICAL SOCIETY – PUBLICATIONS1st Report 1906, 2nd Report 1907, 3rd Report 1908, 4th Report 1909 (photocopies)

$15.005th Report 1913, 6th Report 1960, 7th Report 1961, 8th Report 1965 (photocopies)

$15.009th Volume 1967 Here & There i !issis"uoi, 10th Volume 1967 The & #o i !issis"uoi

$ 7.5011th Volume 1970 Re%e'ous ith the st i !issis"uoi

$ 7.5012th Volume 197* !issis"uoi, + tore o- !emories 13th Volume 197 /ter the !ill$ 7.5014th Volume 1976 !issis"uoi 2olists 2ecies (photocop)

$15.0015th Volume 1978 !issis"uoi !emorim & 4orell 4oectios (photocop)

$15.0015e Volume 1978 ou'eirs %e !issis"uoi et les Reltios 4orell

$ 7.5016th Volume 1980 The Voice o- the Ri'er

Memento mori

Painted memorial, circa 1

Ruth Cornell 1778 - ?

Watercolour and ink on linen

Missisquoi Museum, VI-9-46,

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


12/14

$ 9.0017th Volume 198* emets o- !issis"uoi

$15.0018th Volume 198 Ro'ers, Reels % Rolists

$15.0019th Volume 1986 Re-lectios o- ester%

$15.0020th Volume 1990 usiess i !issis"uoi

$*0.0021e Volume 1996 uel"ues 4otes 4hoisi

$1*.00

hort /li Tour o- tri%e st : Visite ; ie% %u tri%e st NEW!!!$ 6.00

Histori"ue !issis"uoi Historic


13/14

4emeter Herite i ueec (H%oo !tthe =r-)$15.00The choolcr-t =milies o- chohrie, # % !issis"uoi 4out (@'i% llis) per? $35.00 4@?

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$1*.00=our esos i the ster Toships (. 2rmIe & !.E. +uclir)

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$*0.00The ster Toships

$10.00

#ote? lese iclu%e -9.00 er /oo -or poste & h%li

MEMBES!"# "$%&MAT"&$

''#lease be sure your (e(bershi) is u)*to*date by+he+,ing your address label

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14/14

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2015 Newslette ENG August Final