Submitted by Kathryn on
When we heard that Sheila Olesen had a great story about renovating her house in Cookstown, we told her to visit the 100th Anniversary celebration of the Stroud Library. A team of dedicated volunteers and I were capturing the stories of Innisfil on video for the Our Stories project. When Sheila tracked me down at the event we sat down with an iPad and a microphone and boy, did Sheila tell me a story! During renovations of her home in Cookstown; she and her husband were expanding the old summer kitchen and creating more storage space, they discovered that their home was built on a log home foundation. An amazing discovery, especially if you just thought yours was a simple, siding-covered home. Those log beams were rich with history. As I listened to Sheila speak I realized she wasn’t just telling me about her home renovation discovery, she had told me a ghost story, she had told me a love story. She shared a part of her history.
Innisfil is a place rich with history and we are lucky enough to have the tools to capture the memories of our entire community! IPL is partnering with the Innisfil Historical Society, the Rotary Club, the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, Innisfil Heritage Committee and Heritage Lake Simcoe to collect the stories of Innisfil. Our Stories. This fall we will be collecting stories in and around Stroud. We are also connecting with the Chippewa First Nation of Georgina Island, sharing stories and supporting the efforts to have Lake Simcoe designated as a Heritage Lake.
If you would like to be involved in the Our Stories project, either as a volunteer Story Collector or a Storyteller, visit your nearest branch of the library or e-mail info@ourstoriesinnisfil.ca. Drop in to an Our Stories event to share a memory of Stroud with the story collectors or bring in any photos or documents to be scanned and shared.