NEWS RELEASE
OMAH HISTORY COMMITTEE
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As is now a tradition, popular historian Dave Town recently kick-started the 2024 Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH) History Speaker Series.
Once again, he did not disappoint, captivating a large audience on Zoom with the subject of his latest book, The Orillia Spirit is Born.
The ‘Orillia Spirit’ defined our community for 40 years, between 1880 and 1920. Orillia was once famous for determination, vision and audacity. This vision inspired the town to take risks, step outside of the box and do great things.
The citizens of Orillia became aware of the energy and innovation that was happening in their little frontier town of only 3,000 people and wanted to celebrate.
A parade, the magnitude of which had never been seen before, was held to celebrate Orillia’s 50-year anniversary and many of its accomplishments. Five thousand people from Oro, Medonte, Barrie, Beaverton and other communities streamed in to watch.
Leading the parade were the Chippewas, although with their past experiences of giving up their land and white settlers encroaching on their land and taking over a road they had built, they were not necessarily in the mood to celebrate, and rightfully so.
Ninety pioneers marched in the parade, celebrating the homesteaders who came to the area with their families to farm land grants they were given sight unseen. Some, with perseverance, endurance and hard work, built shanties, cleared their land for crops and made a living off their land, though others left.
Next industrialists, with flatbeds, never seen before by Orillians in a parade, celebrated and demonstrated the products they were making and how they were made.
For example, Tudhope Carriage Company demonstrated how their carriages were manufactured and showed examples of the products they made. Brammer Foundry (Longs) designed and produced products from start to finish. On their flatbed was a shingling machine that produced 30,000 shingles per day and a pumping machine manufactured for the oil and mining industries.
Next the merchants, like baker George Vic, who owned a general store and built a mill driven by steam engines down by the waterfront, showed his line of baked goods and the grains and seeds produced by his mill.
A furniture maker showed how his furniture was built and Hatley the butcher had a wall of meat to demonstrate the products he processed and sold.
Finally, 600 children representing the future marched and they were followed by the Simcoe County Foresters Militia Company, who ended the celebration.
At that time, Orillia had the biggest economy in Simcoe County, surpassing Barrie. This was a celebration of what was being done and what could be done. It was a celebration of big ideas and the notion that Orillia was a special place where big things were being accomplished.
There were many movers and shakers that made things happen — for example, Harold Hale (Orillia Packet and Orillia Water, Light and Power Commission), B.F. Stewart (the X-ray machine) and Harriett Todd (women’s rights advocate) to name a few.
At a celebration that evening, former MP Herman Cook stated, “We are prepared to compete with our older neighbours in everything.”
The parade was a demonstration and celebration of big ideas and the community investing in themselves a celebration of the ‘Orillia Spirit.’
Thanks, Dave, for sharing your passion for our local history.
Click on this link to access OMAH’s YouTube channel to hear the recording of the talk.
Learn more about the ‘Orillia Spirit’ and what happened to it. And for even more details and to read about the rest of the story, Dave’s book, The Orillia Spirit is Born, is available in the OMAH Shop. Click on this link to purchase his book online.
Next up (Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 at 7 p.m. on Zoom)
Graeme Davis, registered professional forester, County of Simcoe, with his talk, The Simcoe County Forest — A Century of Growth and Renewal, will share the history of the Simcoe County Forest and how through a century of continued effort, Simcoe County has turned one of the most devastated landscapes into Ontario’s largest ‘community forest’ today.
To register for the talk visit www.orilliamuseum.org/2-24 or call Monica at 705-326-2159.
— Submitted by Mary Ann Grant
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