Blogs

While you may already be a fan of our enormous collection of photos and documents from Innisfil’s history, you may not be aware that we also regularly conduct interviews with long-time residents and talk about their memories of Innisfil. This is a wonderful way to get a personal touch that we miss out on when reading as well as the best way to hear some of the stories that you won’t find in any history textbooks!

We currently have 128 clips from numerous interviews, and that number grows by the month! From former Innisfil Reeve Bill Gibbins, to the founder of Sandy Cove Marine Ted Dallimore to the students of Nantyr Shores, to former army singer and entertainer Shirlie Toro-Fralick, we have videos covering a huge span of topics. Today we are featuring the newest additions from lifelong Cookstown resident Geoff Dawney. Mr. Dawney has spent his life in Cookstown and cars are the name of his game as a former mechanic and car dealership owner. He also grew up on a farm and has a number of great insights into local agriculture, and many fond memories of the community spirit in Cookstown. This was probably best characterized in the video below wherein he describes some of the local stores, their owners, and how folks were known for helping each other out whenever it was needed.

Mr. Dawney also offers some great perspective on wages and the cost of living, as well as a great story about how he came to work his first job ever (and the size of his first cheque!)

Check out his eight other videos, as well as many others by clicking here!