Collingwood Historical Society
P.O. Box 181 L9Y 3Z5 Collingwood, ON, Canada

In the March 2021 edition of Stories of Collingwood titled: FRANCE CAME TO CANADIAN SHIPYARDS FOR SHIPS AFTER WORLD WAR II, David Vuckson writes about how in 1948 Canada Steamship Lines received a contract from the Government of France to build fifteen hopper barges to restore harbours along the coast of France and in the French colonies in northern Africa in the aftermath of World War II. The contract for the hopper barges was divided up among three of the CSL shipyards: C...ollingwood built three, while Midland and Port Arthur each built six. The photo accompanying the story (from David's personal family collection) is the first of Collingwood’s three hopper barges named, appropriately, Collingwood. It was the fourth steel ship built in Collingwood to carry the town’s name. The other three were a freighter (1907), a Corvette (1940) and an Imperial Oil tanker (1947). Both building berths were used in the construction of these barges, numbered Hulls 140, 141 and 142. David Vuckson is a great-grandson of pioneer Collingwood merchant, R. W. O’Brien. His roots in town go back to 1875. David and his wife Pamela live in Victoria, B.C. where, semi-retired, he writes Stories of Collingwood and still tunes pianos and the pipe organ at his church. For this and all of David's Stories of Collingwood, please follow the link: http://www.collingwoodhistoricalsociety.com/stories-of-coll

Happy Valentine's Day!

In the February 2021 edition of Stories of Collingwood titled: THE BEAT GOES ON-DAVID AND THE DRUM, David Vuckson recalls bittersweet memories of his aspirations to be a bass drummer growing up in Collingwood in the 1950s/60s. The photos accompanying the story are those of David on the bass drum in the Collingwood Civic Band at Sunset Point in 1965 and a special award that he received in Grade 13 as a student at Collingwood Collegiate Institute. David Vuckson is a great-grand...son of pioneer Collingwood merchant, R. W. O’Brien. His roots in town go back to 1875. David and his wife Pamela live in Victoria, B.C. where, semi-retired, he writes Stories of Collingwood and still tunes pianos and the pipe organ at his church. For this and all of David's Stories of Collingwood, please follow the link: http://www.collingwoodhistoricalsociety.com/stories-of-coll

In the January 2021 edition of Stories of Collingwood, David Vuckson looks at the state of whiskey drinking and its attendant evils in Collingwood from the time of the town’s founding in the 1850s and up into the 1880s. It also tells of the background of his O’Brien great-grandparents and the circumstances they encountered when they settled in Collingwood to conduct business and raise their family. The photo accompanying the story is Larry D. Cotton’s book Whiskey And Wicked...ness (available at the Collingwood Museum) which thoroughly details the culture of drinking in 19th Century Ontario. David Vuckson is a great-grandson of pioneer Collingwood merchant, R. W. O’Brien. His roots in town go back to 1875. David and his wife Pamela live in Victoria, B.C. where, semi-retired, he writes Stories of Collingwood and still tunes pianos and the pipe organ at his church. For this and all of David's Stories of Collingwood, please follow the link: http://www.collingwoodhistoricalsociety.com/stories-of-coll

Happy New Year and best wishes to all for 2021!

A safe and happy Christmas to all!

The December 2020 installment of Stories of Collingwood is titled: INDUSTRIAL FIRES IN 1965 LED TO DIVERSIFICATION IN TOWN’S INDUSTRIAL BASE A short version of this story appeared in the former Enterprise-Bulletin newspaper on January 23, 2015. In this much-expanded account of the Georgian China and Quinlan-Crawford fires that happened on May 29 and June 1, 1965, David Vuckson reflects on the subsequent additions to Collingwood’s industrial base with additional notations o...n some of the major 19th Century industries that came before in the north-west corner of Collingwood. The photo accompanying the story is that of the Georgian China fire. Thank you to Jack McAllister for supplying the photo by way of the Collingwood Fire Department. David Vuckson is a great-grandson of pioneer Collingwood merchant, R. W. O’Brien. His roots in town go back to 1875. David and his wife Pamela live in Victoria, B.C. where, semi-retired, he writes Stories of Collingwood and still tunes pianos and the pipe organ at his church. For this and all of David's Stories of Collingwood, please follow the link: http://www.collingwoodhistoricalsociety.com/stories-of-coll

The November 2020 installment of Stories of Collingwood is entitled: "DISPOSING OF COLLINGWOOD’S WASTETHEN AND NOW In this edition, David Vuckson looks back at how Collingwood disposed of its waste in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as the modern equivalent today. The photos accompanying the story are those of the Collingwood Waste Facility located on the 10th Line and the Collingwood Wastewater Treatment Plant at the foot of Birch Street.... David Vuckson is a great-grandson of pioneer Collingwood merchant, R. W. O’Brien. His roots in town go back to 1875. David and his wife Pamela live in Victoria, B.C. where, semi-retired, he writes Stories of Collingwood and still tunes pianos and the pipe organ at his church. For this and all of David's Stories of Collingwood, please follow the link: http://www.collingwoodhistoricalsociety.com/stories-of-coll

Have a safe and spooky Hallowe'en everyone!

Wishing all our members and friends a very happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving!

The October 2020 installment of Stories of Collingwood is entitled: "WHAT ARE YOU GOING THROUGH FOR, BOY?. In this edition, David Vuckson shares his education and career journey as a post-war Baby Boomer from small town Collingwood to Toronto and beyond. The photo accompanying the story is David’s graduation portrait... from York University in May 1969. David Vuckson is a great-grandson of pioneer Collingwood merchant, R. W. O’Brien. His roots in town go back to 1875. David and his wife Pamela live in Victoria, B.C. where, semi-retired, he writes Stories of Collingwood and still tunes pianos and the pipe organ at his church. For this and all of David's Stories of Collingwood, please follow the link: http://www.collingwoodhistoricalsociety.com/stories-of-coll

The September 2020 installment of Stories of Collingwood is entitled: THE DAY TELEVISION CAME TO STAY. This story originally appeared in the former Enterprise-Bulletin newspaper on September 25, 2015 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the beginning of Channel 3, CKVR TV in Barrie on September 28, 1955. This is an expanded version of that story for the 65th anniversary of the start-up of local television in Simcoe County and Central Ontario. The photo accompanying the s...tory was posted to If You Grew Up In Barrie by Bill Waters. For this and all of David Vuckson's Stories of Collingwood, please follow the link: http://www.collingwoodhistoricalsociety.com/stories-of-coll