Long time local resident heads up GTHS as Acting President

(The Stittsville Public School on Main Street – now a part of Frederick J. Banting Alternate School – just prior to opening its doors in 1950. Orville Parks was the lead carpenter for the building of this new school. Photo: Parks family album)

The Goulbourn Township Historical Society recently held their Annual General Meeting via Zoom and a new executive was elected. Roger Young, with long roots in the Goulbourn community has been named as the Acting President to replace Robert Halberstadt. Robert has been the Acting President and then President since the fall of 2017. Robert’s commitment and knowledge will be missed as President, but he remains on the Board as Past-President – his dedication and experience will continue.

(Roger Young, Acting President of the Goulbourn Township Historical Society. Photo: GTHS)

Lee Boltwood becomes the new Vice-President. Her valued devotion and true to history facts and costuming will continue to bring accuracy to the reenactments in which the Society participates. Lee has been a member and Board Director for several years.

Susan Clark-Dow returns as Secretary to the Board. Her diligence for meticulous meeting minutes and response to emails continues. The keeper of the GTHS accounts is John Bottriell as Treasurer. Directors, both new to the Board but not as members, are Marguerite Evans and Brian Baxter. Brian has also taken on social media for the Society. Watch for his posts on the GTHS Facebook page. Marguerite will be overly attentive when the Bradley-Craig farm comes up in any conversation as she is a Bradley ancestor and has written many historical articles about the farm.

The membership secretary is Nancy Peppy and John Bottriell is also the webmaster and interim newsletter editor. There are vacancies that the GTHS would like to see filled. A director position, a newsletter editor and an archivist are positions awaiting for the history buff. If you are interested in any of these opportunities and love local history and working with a fun group, get in touch with GTHS at info@goulbournhistoricalsociety.org.

Roger Young’s family is well-known in the community, having been in Hazeldean since 1818 when they arrived as part of the Richard Talbot group of settlers coming from Tipperary, Ireland. His parents were Gordon and Audrey Young, owners of Young’s Groceteria that was located on Hazeldean Road since 1956 before being sold and is now a strip mall. The Young family name is still prominent today: Young Road, Young’s Pond Park, John Young Elementary School.

Roger writes in the current GTHS newsletter, “…As I drive along the concession roads, which I still know by their former numbers, I see old farmsteads, log outbuildings, cemeteries, former schools and cheese factories, and other reminders of our rural past. We know that there are still many changes just around the corner, as generations come and go; and we are fortunate that so much work has been done over the years to preserve and protect our history. This is a crucial time as we engage in this continuing effort to keep the past alive. Every generation seeks to ensure that it passes its knowledge and memories along, and that the exploits and lives of our forebears be remembered.”

The Society is the gatekeeper for many former Goulbourn Township family histories and are dedicated to keeping the history of the former township alive. If you are interested in the history of where you reside here in Stittsville and the area, visit the GTHS website where the opportunity to join can be found at their Membership link.

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