Around 1880 the whole of north Simcoe County was terrorized by the Black Swamp Gang who robbed farms and then intimidated the farmers into silence through barn-burnings and other threatened vandalism. The gang had formed around Big Sandy McDuff, the ‘baddest’ of the bad, a gigantic and temperamental Jarratt farmer – a tavern brawler who...
While breaking down his ancestral brick wall, which had him stumped for almost thirty years, Paul Barber, a Caucasian born and raised Canadian, found out that his through his maternal side, the Hendersons, he was part of African-American history. Join us to hear Paul Barber recount the family journey that led him to Orillia where, the...
Elizabeth Wyn Wood (1902-1966) became a nationally renowned professional sculptor at a time when it was extremely difficult for a woman to have a full-time career. Join us to hear Sylvia Browne tell the story of her connection with her grandmother, Elizabeth Wyn Wood, and how Wood's upbringing in Orillia and her exploration of the...
The Ontario Fire College (OFC) was established in 1958. For the next 63 years, fire officers and firefighters from across Ontario came to the OFC in Gravenhurst to prepare for their roles in saving lives and property from the hazards of fire in an increasingly hostile environment. Thousands of students from across Canada passed through...
The Mariposa Arts Theatre Foundation (MAT) turned 50 in 2020! MAT has provided exciting and innovative theatre and film productions to our community. It has inspired and nurtured homegrown talent, volunteers and audience members of all ages. John Chris Newton, a 30-year member of MAT for his talk: Mariposa Arts Theatre: 50 Years. Chris will...
