HARRISTON – The Wellington County Historical Society executive traveled to Harriston for its Aug. 15 meeting.
Seven members were hosted by the Harriston Historical Society, which has display rooms on the third floor of the Carnegie library building.
“We’re trying to start a tradition, where we as a board visit other societies to see what they do rather than just hear about it in emails or reports,” said one member of the county group. This is the second time the county board has been hosted by Harriston for a summer meeting.
After the meeting, the seven-member team viewed various displays in the Harriston Society’s John Webb Room, and the three-room exhibit, in the Art Gallery, of artifacts and memorabilia depicting the 160 years of the Harriston Fall Fair.
The county group was amazed at the numerous collections accumulated for this two-month display.
The Harriston group is very fortunate to have both a permanent display room plus storage area. As one visitor put it, “you have all this, and all we have is a few totes in a corner of a storage room at the museum”.
All were particularly impressed with the creativity and layout of the fall fair display, which has little niches mimicking the various categories of a real fair.
The Harriston Society was presented with a donation from the county group. This represents part of the society’s mandate of fostering public awareness of the history and heritage of Wellington County.
“With the hundreds of 8 x 10 pictures you have on display, and the inordinate amount of printer ink and photo paper you have gone through, this will help defray your stationery expenses,” said Wellington society treasurer Kathy Bouma as she presented a cheque for $100 to Harriston society co-chair Willa Wick.
Walking tour
The gathering concluded with a jaunt around town where the group saw the murals, sidewalk stencils, vintage-themed store window displays, and many of the original buildings as portrayed on the new brochure Downtown Harriston Historical Tour – a self-guided walking tour, and a summer project of the Historical Society with support from the Town of Minto and the Harriston Rising Committee.
