MAY 26, 2017 | THE WELLINGTON ADVERTISER | CANADA 150 | 5
Easterbrook, historical society carry on work started by Women’s Institutes By Chris Daponte WELLINGTON COUNTY - Ian Easterbrook has dedicated a large portion of his life to documenting and preserving local history. The Fergus resident’s unwavering commitment to that invaluable cause is rooted in a simple philosophy. “I think if you can tell a neat story and get people curious they’re much more likely to become a valuable member of the community,” said Easterbrook. He has been relaying those stories for the better part of three decades, as a key member of the Wellington County Historical Society (WCHS) and a volunteer at the Wellington County Museum and Archives. “Ian’s a mainstay. He’s been there for so long,” said Rob Black, who served as WCHS president from 2008 to 2011. “During my time with the board he was the go-to guy ... you could always count on Ian to get things done.” That hasn’t changed, according to Ron Hattle, current president of the society. “Ian’s a very committed person ... he’s always willing to help out,” said Hattle. “It’s wonderful. He’s been my righthand man ... he was always there.” Karen Wagner, archivist at the Wellington County Museum and Archives, lauded Easterbrook’s efforts at the museum, where at times he has volunteered up to 30 hours per week indexing, cataloguing and helping out in the reading room. “Ian is definitely very valuable as a volunteer,” said Wagner. “Without having an experienced volunteer like him, who was very detail-oriented and conscientious and able to do the cataloguing, we would have never been able to make all the records and donations that came in accessible to the public ... “Thanks to Ian’s diligence and interest ... we didn’t have a backlog.” Women’s Institutes Easterbrook, 77, says he - and others before him - has simply continued the work started eight decades ago by local Women’s Institutes. In the mid-1930s, he explained, Lady Tweedsmuir, wife of Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor General of Canada, took a great interest in Women’s Institutes (WI) in Canada and suggested Ontario branches follow the example of their English counterparts and produce local history books.
ROB BLACK
Historian - Ian Easterbrook of Fergus has been a driving force behind the Wellington County Historical Society for nearly three decades. Photo by Chris Daponte In 1940, a widowed Lady Tweedsmuir approved naming the books “The Tweedsmuir Village History Books,” after her late husband. Cindi Rabstein, a lifetime member who first joined the Coningsby Women’s Institute branch in Hillsburgh in 1978, said the institute’s work, specifically the history books, is “very important” for locals and outsiders alike. Also a director with the WCHS, Rabstein said the historical society and Women’s Institute share a long and storied relationship. “We’ve always been involved with the historical society,” she said. Now living in Belwood, Rabstein was born in England, arrived in Canada in 1963 and lived for decades in the Hillsburgh area. She said both the Women’s Institute and the WCHS are have been instrumental in paying tribute to the region’s heritage. “I’m interested in history ... I’m learning about different places,” she said of her involvement with both groups. “It’s very interesting to learn
about the history of Canada.” The Coningsby Women’s Institute is one of only seven remaining in the Wellington-Halton district. As area branches closed or were amalgamated, they sent their books to the county archives in Aboyne, where Easterbrook was one of those tasked with cataloguing them. “It was a massive project,” he said, but also extremely important. Prior to the Tweedsmuir histories, WI officials “ran the ship” when it came to establishing the WCHS in 1928, said Easterbrook. They were also responsible for opening the first county “museum” in a converted store on Mill Street in Elora in 1954. “Up until then there was a collection of stuff that travelled around and was brought out once a year and put on display,” he explained. Several prominent WI members he recalls the names of Isabel Black, Jean Hutchinson and Mildrid Lang approached the county in 1974 about the House of Refuge in Aboyne. They suggested the impressive building between Fergus and Elora,
RON HATTLE
which had operated as a county home for the aged since 1947, would make a great home for the local museum. County officials agreed, thanks in large part, Easterbrook says, to the WI connection. “They knew what the group was capable of,” he said. “It might not have been the same story if they hadn’t had the Women’s Institute behind them.” Getting involved Black said it was his late grandmother Isabel, a keen historian, who sparked his interest in the past. “She instilled in me an interest in family and history and local history,” said Black. His family, led by his great, great, great grandfather Hugh Black, settled in Fergus in 1834, opening Black’s Tavern, an inn at the corner of Tower and St. Andrew Streets (now the site of the CIBC bank). “It was just a given that I would join the historical society at some point,” said Black. Easterbrook said Black’s term as president of the WCHS was integral to the organization and ensuring the continuation of the society. For Easterbrook, it was in the 1980s, not long after the museum moved to Aboyne, that he and his family arrived from Guelph to a property just outside Alma. Shortly thereafter he was frustrated when he was unable to find a book on the history of former Peel Township. Then, at a display of Tweedsmuir books in Palmerston, his interest was further piqued in local history. In 1990, after leaving his job at the University of Guelph, Easterbrook was approached by Steve and Jim Gow and others to help out with the WCHS Wellington County History volumes. He has been involved with the project since its second volume (this year the society will publish number 30). In the early years he “hustled the thing to press,” Easterbrook said, adding he has also written several items over the years.
“These were stories I felt were worth telling, either because they were interesting or unknown,” he said of his motivation to become - and stay - involved with the books. Hattle explained the history books, which started as “the baby” of county historian Stephen Thorning, remain a major part of the society’s work. For Hattle, who joined the WCHS in 2010 and took over as president one year later, his interest in history was sparked by stories from his mother and his father, who ran a feed mill in Marden and several other locations. “I’ve always been interested in local history,” said Hattle, who expressed regret that he did not join the historical society sooner. He noted his close neighbour Marjorie Durnford was the curator for the West End WI Tweedsmuir history book and his mother and aunts were all WI members.
“It is important that an organization keeps local history at the forefront.” - Rob Black Resources When it comes to resources, like all present-day historians, WCHS members rely heavily on the internet. Easterbrook notes a recent piece he wrote about three Wellington men who fought in the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939 would have been “impossible” without online resources. But the Tweedsmuir histories remain an invaluable source, as do community newspapers, which he called “the first cut at local history” and “absolutely vital to historians.” “In some cases they’re the only resource,” Easterbrook said. Wagner agreed, stating, “Now we have the internet, but 150 years ago, everyone was finding out what was going on in their local community by reading their local newspaper,” she said. Easterbrook can get emotional
when discussing the Wellington Advertiser’s role in informing the community and documenting history since its inception in 1968. “That paper has really kept this county together for (decades),” he said, his voice breaking. “It stopped things from splintering off into different directions ... it really has engendered community.” He added the newspaper “is a shining example of democracy in action.” Membership/mandate The WCHS, which started with “three or four Women’s Institute members,” currently has about 170 members, including a 10-member executive committee, said Hattle. The executive consists of Hattle, secretary Helen Aitkin, treasurer Kathy Bouma, membership Ev Robson and directors Easterbrook, Rabstein, Beverly Henderson, Judy Howard and Willa Wick. While the society could always use a few more members, Easterbrook said “the committee at this moment is feeling pretty healthy,” which hasn’t always been the case. Like countless others, the WCHS does worry about replacing aging members, which is one of the reasons the society conducts an annual writing competition. “We’re trying to get young people involved,” Easterbrook said. He noted WCHS members also help out at the museum when students visit for school outings. The society works very closely in general with the museum and archives, Easterbrook said, stressing it is a very positive and beneficial relationship for both parties. Black, who said Easterbrook has been key in fostering that relationship, lauded the continuing work of the WCHS. “I think it is important that an organization keeps local history at the forefront,” said Black, noting the benefits of the group’s history volumes, meetings, public events and tours. “I think it is important that there is a group of people ... (with) that as a mandate. They do good work.” Hattle said members are constantly striving to carry on the work first started by Women’s Institutes all those years ago. “Our mandate is fostering awareness of the rich history of Wellington County,” he said. -With files from Olivia Rutt
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