by Amy Zoethout | Aug 31, 2022 | Archives, Blog, Collection highlights
Brooklyn Wright, Huron County Museum assistant, is working on the Henderson Photographic Collection this summer and highlighting some of the stories and images from the collection. Gordon Henderson was a Goderich-based photographer who produced black-and white photos using a variety of mediums, such as negatives, glass-plate negatives, and cellulose nitrate film. The collection housed at the Huron County Museum and contains more than 10,000 negatives and photographs taken by Mr. Henderson from the 1930s – 1970s. Included in the collection are class pictures, summer camp pictures, wedding pictures, advertising campaigns, pictures of local events, buildings, businesses, and much more.
The second annual Goderich Labour Day Celebrations took place in and around the Goderich Square on Monday, Sept. 2, 1946. The celebrations were captured in part by the above image from the Henderson Collection, but the full extent of the festivities lasted all day, and a wide variety of events took place.
That morning, a parade was held, starting at Victoria Park and ending at the Square. The procession included many different community members, including labour unions, local businesses, bands, and the fire department. Goderich Bluewater Band, dressed as clowns, was one of the participating groups in the parade. Afterwards various contests took place; boys and girls races were held, as well as hurdle jumping, tug-of-war, a softball tournament and a beauty contest. There was also a speech by Col. Lambert, padre of the Christie Street Hospital in Toronto. He spoke to the crowd of his pride and gratefulness towards the soldiers of World War One and World War Two, but also to the working men and women who produced the firearms, minesweepers, parachutes, and other supplies needed for the war effort. The day was deemed a great success in the Goderich Signal-Star, with congratulations in order for the organizers, the local Trades and Labour Council.
What are your plans for this upcoming Labour Day?
The Goderich Signal-Star, 1946-09-05
by Amy Zoethout | Jun 24, 2022 | Archives, Blog, Collection highlights, Museum News, Project progress
Kyle Pritchard is the Digitization Coordinator at the Huron County Museum. With the Digitized Newspaper Collection nearing completion, the project sets its sights on historical records in the archival collection at the Huron County Museum Archives with the assistance of the Department of Canadian Heritage. Consider supporting the digital collection today by donating at the front desk of the Huron County Museum. You can search the digitized newspapers yourself for free at https://www.huroncountymuseum.ca/digitized-newspapers/
After six long years and the hard work of many, the Huron County Digital Newspaper Project is nearly complete. As the digitization of Huron County’s newspaper collection enters its final stages, the scope of the project is expanding to offer a greater variety of digital content for researcher and the community. Over the coming two years, select archival records held at the Huron County Museum will be added to the online web portal. This has been made possible after Huron County Cultural Services’ digitization project received news it had secured funding with the Department of Canadian Heritage as part of the Digital Museum Assistance Program. The goal of digitizing records in the museum archival collection is to transition our current online repository on the Digitized Newspaper Collection into a digital archive, where a wider variety of source material about local cultural heritage is available for local and academic research, and community engagement.
The Digitized Newspaper Collection has thrived over the last few years, despite the unexpected hurdles, delays and setbacks that have accompanied the trials and tribulations of enduring a global pandemic. In February of this year, the digitization project was awarded the Digital Access to Heritage Grant as part of the Museum Assistance Program, which is contributing to funding the next years of digitization. Huron County’s newspaper digitization also received the Ontario Library Association’s (OLA) Archival and Preservation Achievement Award back in February.
The Huron County Digitized Newspapers Collection began in 2016 to improve access to the enormous volume of local newspaper content previously only available on microfilm and in their physical format. The digitized collection now holds over 550,000 newspaper pages and receives between 7,000 and 9,000 online visitors per year. The papers preserve a century and a half of local historical content and are searchable using OCR (optical character recognition) technology. The collection is designed to assist researchers to advance our understanding of the history of Huron County and its growing community and has proven an invaluable tool for researchers in a wide range of topics, including political, social, cultural and genealogical history. The project aims to increase the accessibility of archival records at the Huron County Museum by increasing researchers’ awareness and knowledge of the collection.
DIGITIZING ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS
The expansion of the Huron County Cultural Services digitization initiative focuses on five archival collections at the Huron County Museum Archive between now and mid-2024. These are the J.G. Henderson Collection, Huron County Assessment Rolls, CKNX films, rural diaries and the Huron County Return of Inhabitants. The timeline for digitizing archival materials prioritizes the release of content based on popularity, preservation, and the materials contributions to local cultural heritage.
The first of these digitization projects is centred on the J.G. Henderson Collection. The Henderson Collection holds a large volume of materials, including a collection of photographs of particular interest to digitization. The collection is named after J. Gordon Henderson, a photographer who moved to Goderich, Ontario when he purchased a local photography business in 1939. Henderson was the principle photographer of the community during his lifetime. The files in the Henderson collection include local photographs like wedding portraits, candid shots, and captures of day-to-day life. The photography studio in Goderich relocated several times over the years, though most of the portraits taken during WWII were captured at the Hamilton Street studio. Throughout his forty years as a professional photographer in Goderich, Henderson only shot and developed in black and white film. All of the photographs held in this collection were taken by J. Gordon Henderson. Around 500 of these photographs have been selected for digitization based on their ability to highlight community activities and events. Those selected for digitization represent just a small part of Henderson’s collection of professional work held at the Huron County Museum Archives which are of benefit to public and academic research.
The second digitization project are assessment rolls located at Huron County Museum Archives for Goderich, Steven and Hay Townships dated up until 1940. This includes four archival series for Hay township, three archival series for Stephen township, and four archival series for Goderich township. Assessment Rolls provide details of homeownership within the county at various points in history, and are of particular use for demographic and genealogical historians. The records also allow for a closer examination of living arrangements and demographic change over time across the region.
The CKNX films will be the third records to be digitized. CKNX radio station was created by W.T. Cruickshank, which started broadcasting out of Wingham in the mid-1930s. In 1955, CKNX expanded to television broadcasting, becoming the first rurally-based television station in North America. CKNX was a pioneer in broadcast television and set the standard for other rurally-based television-stations across Canada. Crews from CKNX travelled all over Southern Ontario filming parades, schools, sports, and other significant events. The culturally significant films showcase how rural Canadians lived, worked, and enjoyed their time in the early-1960s. There are currently 36 CKNX films in the Huron County Museum Archives, which range in content from depictions of local scenery, architecture, organizations and businesses. The project will digitize half of this collection, prioritizing films with important historical value which showcase the local environment and activities involving community engagement.
The Huron County Museum Archives holds a small collection of historical diaries written by members of the local community which will be the fourth set of records to be made available digitally. The majority of the diaries date to the turn of the 20th century, with some written during the Victorian period and others written during the First World War. Historical diaries are hidden gems inside the archival stacks. Often underutilized, historians are only now beginning to discover the value of these rich sources of rural, family and community life. Eight of these diaries were transcribed during a research project in 2017, and their transcriptions will be made available online alongside the digitized diaries.
Lastly, the Huron County Museum Archives holds the Assessment and Return of Inhabitants records for 1842 to 1850, which will mark the final project to be digitized. Records from the return of Inhabitants can quantify the demographics of local populations over time and offer a window into the settlement of the county. These are popular archival records requested by researchers and the community at a higher degree of frequency than other records in the collection. Due to their age and wear, the digitization of these records is important for the long-term preservation of the original documents.
CONCLUSION
The next phase of digitization aims to diversify the digital content available within the collection by focusing on archival materials which capture local cultural heritage through a variety of mediums, which depict a fuller image of rural life and day-to-day experiences within the community. These include archival photographs, diaries, films and government records. The digitization of these archival records is an important contribution to local history and serves the benefit of preserving some of the most popular records in Huron County’s archival collection.
by Amy Zoethout | Aug 16, 2021 | Archives, Blog
Livia Picado Swan, Huron County Archives assistant, is working on the Henderson Collection this summer and highlighting some of the stories and images from the collection.
In keeping with our August theme of making lemonade from lemons, we take a look at some of the wedding photos taken by Gordon J. Henderson during the Second World War. The photographs highlight some of the men and women of the Royal Canadian Air Force who celebrated their marriages while stationed at one of Huron County’s air training schools. So far, staff know of 18 different weddings that Henderson photographed, which are all available to be viewed online.
During the Second World War, Henderson, travelled to air training schools in Goderich, Port Albert, and Clinton taking pictures of classes and other base activities. Many airmen came to his studio in Goderich to have their portraits taken to send home to family and friends. The Henderson Collection also includes wedding portraits, candid shots, and correspondence related to WWII air training in Huron County.
Haddy wedding – A992.0003.202a
Fannie Lavis and Cpl. Wesley F. Haddy, from Seaforth, were married on Aug. 6, 1945. Miss Lavis had two parties hosted for her by her friends before her wedding, including a crystal shower, according to the Huron Expositor, as found in our online collection of Huron Historic Newspapers.
Holmes Wedding – A992.0003.179a
Sgt. Cecil R. Holmes married Lorraine Eleanor Atkinson on June 10, 1944. Their wedding was held in the Dundas Central United Church in London, and the Clinton News Record reported on the event. During the 1940s, newspapers would describe the clothing, decorations, and events at the ceremony for their readers.
“The Church was attractive with Peonies, Ferns, and Palms, and was lighted with tapers held in candelabras. C.E. Wheeler was at the organ and the soloist was Miss Edna Parsons, who sang ‘Because’. The bride was given in marriage by her Uncle. A.G. Atkinson of Detroit. She was dressed in a filmy white net with panels of brocaded net adored with bows of white velvet and orange blossoms in the full skirt, which ended in a slight train. The dress was fashioned with sweetheart neckline and long sleeves. An illusion veil fell in three lengths from a flowered Headdress and she carried American beauty roses, “ (As published in the Clinton News Record, 1944-06-15, pg. 8, from our online collection of Huron Historic Newspapers)
Note that the dress in the description doesn’t match the image. It’s likely that Mrs. Holmes wore a different gown for her wedding than she did her wedding pictures. Wedding dresses during the Second World War were often shared or passed between women to aid in the war efforts and to avoid using excess fabric when rations were in place. Other women would simply wear a fine dress from their closet instead of a dress specifically meant for the ceremony.
Wagner Wedding – A992.0003.178a
Helen Marguerite Miller and Roy Wagner were married on June 5th of 1945, at Wesley Willis United Church in Clinton, ON. They went to the home of the bride’s family for a buffet lunch and reception.
“The bride, given in marriage by her father, wore a floor length gown of white brocaded satin, fashioned on princess lines with a sweetheart neckline. Her embroidered floor length veil was caught with orange blossoms and lily of the valley, and she carried a bouquet of white carnations, bouvardia, and lily of the valley.” (As published in the Clinton News Record, 1943-06-10, from our online collection of Huron Historic Newspapers)
As the Huron County Museum continues to digitize more images from the Henderson Collection, perhaps we will find more weddings celebrated by the men and women of the RCAF army bases in Huron County. There were many weddings held without a notice in the paper, making it a bit harder to find public information about the ceremony. I hope that the descriptions that do exist, and the smiling faces of the wedding parties, will let you imagine these beautiful times of joy during such a difficult era.
by Amy Zoethout | Jun 29, 2021 | Blog, Image highlights, Media Releases/Announcements
Livia Picado Swan, Huron County Archives assistant, is working on the Henderson Collection this summer.
Thanks to a grant from the Young Canada Works Heritage Programme, The Digitized Henderson Gallery is getting a new home! The original photographs, digitized by former staff member Emily Beliveau and funded by the Government of Ontario, will be moved to a website that can be continuously edited by museum staff, making it easier to update information about the photos as we learn more about them. We will also be adding upwards of 600 photos to the online gallery that have never been shared before!
A992.0003.281- Commandos at Sky Harbour, 1943
The gallery displays photographs taken by J. Gordon Henderson, a Goderich-based photographer who documented the classes and airmen at some of the Huron County’s Royal Air Force bases. The collection has more than just portraits, however. Throughout the summer, I will be sharing some interesting finds as I go through the 600 photographs that are yet to be digitized and posted to the gallery. Some of the training activities, weddings and celebrations at the bases have been documented, and give us a peek into the experiences of these airmen and their families.
To take a look at the website, visit https://kiosk.huroncounty.ca/exhibits/henderson-digitization-project/ . Keep in mind that the website is still in development and will continue to be updated throughout the summer. I can’t wait to share some interesting photos and stories with you all!
