Chronicles of Wellington

Members of the Chronicles of Wellington Group with some of the pieces presented to the County Archives last week. (L-R) Krista Richardson, archives manager, Prince Edward County Archives, Paulette Greer, Sheila McLaughlin and Liz Bosma of the Chronicles of Wellington project. Greer and Richarsdson hold a school photo taken on the front lawn of Wellington Consolidated School in 1931.

Collection handed over to County Archives

The story of Wellington, like all communities, is continually changing and evolving. Not just what it is and will be, but also what it has been. Perceptions of history, tradition and custom become altered and reshaped over time.

This is why it is critical to document the story of a place from the perspective of those who have lived its history, know its stories and have seen it with their own eyes. Before those eyes and their memories fade.

Paulette Greer knows this better than most. She has lived in Wellington and Hillier most of her adult life. She has gotten to know the people and the stories of Wellington. For years she kicked around the idea of writing a book—preserving these stories in print.

But a busy life and demanding business put this out of reach.

So instead, she brought together a group a few years ago to begin documenting these stories and gathering photographs, maps and other material—so at least it was in one spot.

“I wanted to make sure they were captured somehow,” says Greer

As the project grew, Greer realized she needed help. She called on her friend Liz Bosma. Bosma developed a methodology and structure for the project. She put form to a growing collection of material.

“The project needed structure and standardized process,” says Greer. “She made lists of things to do, she created a framework to complement my passion and connections.”

On this new basis, the group applied for, and won a Stark Family grant to conduct workshops in the community, encouraging interested participants to share their stories and contribute to the project.

The group acquired recording equipment and began to gather oral histories. Herb Cooper told stories of commercial fishing in the County. Betty Cronk talked about rural farm life. Dr. Sally Sarles spoke about caring for a community before universal health care. Lillian Denard spoke about the experiences of an English war bride raising a family in Wellington. Reg Bishop told stories of life on Lakeshore Road, now Huyck’s Point Road.

Bart Cunningham shared stories about growing up on Hubb’s Creek. There was so much to see and do around this bend in the waterway that, as young boy, he would regularly leave the house in the morning and not return home until dark. Cunningham contributed more than 100 photographs to the project before he passed away a few years ago.

The Chronicles of Wellington project now is ready to graduate to the next step. Last week, the group handed over hours of recorded tape, binders of transcripts, and boxes of documents and photographs to the Prince Edward County Archives.

“It was time,” says Greer. “We had taken the project as far as we could. We are grateful and pleased the Archives have agreed to make it available to anyone interested in the stories of this community.”

The collected resource is fully indexed. In time, the entire collection will be keyword searchable and accessible from the Archives online database, says County archivist Krista Richardson.

The County isn’t just inheriting a trove of documents and oral histories, it is also gaining a methodology by which other communities and groups may also use to document their stories. The methodology, developed by Bosma and the Chronicles of Wellington group, prescribes a process to manage documentation and collection as well as potentially troublesome legal matters of copyright—who actually owns the rights to the stories or history.

“This gives us a great set of tools to enable others to capture the County’s unique stories from those who lived it and saw it with their own two eyes,” says Richardson.