KAWARTHA LAKES-Kawartha Lakes Museum & Archives announced the acquisition of The Thursday Club of Fenelon Falls records.
The collection of records consists of the programmes of the Club dating back to the first meeting of the women’s only book club in April of 1931. Photographs as well as their minute books from every meeting details the evolution of the book club.
“We are so excited to form this partnership with The Thursday Club of Fenelon Falls to preserve this important part of Kawartha Lakes history,” says Zac Miller, archivist at Kawartha Lakes Museum & Archives.
Marking the Club’s 91st anniversary this year, shifting through the many programmes and minutes, one can see the names of women who have been underrepresented in the history books and institutional archives around Kawartha Lakes according to the museum. Names including Helena and Nyhl Graham, Peggy Long, and Mary McLaughlin appear often throughout the records.
“Our records have been passed from one executive to the next, and stored under someone’s bed, or in a closet. We really thought it was time to find them a more permanent home where they could be safely preserved and more easily shared. We’re grateful that KLMA could be that home” says Ginny Colling, current secretary for the Club. Collings continues that “with our archives preserved and digitized through the museum, they will be much more easily shared, not just with our members, but with the community at large and we can feel confident that they will remain intact for the next 91 years.”
Kawartha Lakes Museum & Archives encourages other community organizations or individuals to preserve their records with KLMA to share with the public a history that is of Kawartha Lakes, not simply about Kawartha Lakes.
