Northcott Donation to Huronia Museum

Bill Northcott is in the process of donating his photographic collection and his very extensive collection of post cards to the Huronia Museum. Bill is an active retired teacher from the Geography Dept. of Midland Secondary School where he taught for 32 years. Being very active in his community he has now written and published two local history books. His first was entitled Thunder Bay Beach a cottage community located in Tiny Township about 15 km north of Midland. Bill is now revising this book which originally came out in 1989. His second book was co-authored with Bill Smith and is titled “Midland on Georgian Bay” and was published by the Huronia Museum last year. It’s been 70 years since a history of Midland was compiled and published in a serious way, and Bill and his wife Joan played an important role in getting this project up and off the ground and seeing it through to publication. It’s a project that spans 20 years and over this time Bill has compiled quite a collection of material which he is generously donating to Huronia Museum

Bill Northcott - Co-Author of Midland on Georgian Bay

Bill Northcott - Co-Author of Midland on Georgian Bay

Research Time for Maintenance Staff

When spring arrives at Huronia Museum, the staff can start to see the effects of winter on our outdoor exhibit, the Huron Ouendat Village.  Last year were were fortunate to have been able to completely refurbish the longhouse and a very large portion of the village’s surrounding palisade.  The winter was, however, not so kind to other pieces of the exhibit and the museum’s maintenance staff has some  repairs to make in the next few weeks.

Pictured below are our Maintenance Manager, Calvin Watts, the Exhibit Development Assistant, Joey Hawke and a volunteer from Midland Secondary School, Robbie Laco all reading primary source accounts of burial practices of the Huron in the Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, so that the rebuild of the burial rack in the village is culturally appropriate and based in solid research.

Maintenance Staff and Volunteer in Research Centre

HM recent research

I asked Jamie Hunter what was going on in the way of research activities at the HM recently. The Penetanguishene Sports Hall of Fame is doing some research.  Also a researcher from the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes (Kingston, Ontario) is studying ships lists for the Playfair ship the Glennorkey. Ship’s lists contain information about ship’s personnel. The research is genealogical and is focused on the 1923-24 period.