STORIES OF COLLINGWOOD 2019 - BY H. DAVID VUCKSON

January 2019 - FUEL FOR HEATING THROUGHOUT THE YEARS: FROM WOOD TO NUCLEAR ENERGY Read More

February 2019 - NEAR-DISASTER AT THE SHIPYARD Read More

March 2019 - COLLINGWOOD’S ORIGINAL REASON FOR EXISTENCE Read More

April 2019 - DOING THE LAUNDRY IN 1950’S COLLINGWOOD Read More

May 2019 - VETERAN SHIPS OF THE TOBERMORY/MANITOULIN ISLAND RUN—WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Read more

June 2019 - JUNE 22nd, 1959 WAS A BLACK DAY IN COLLINGWOOD Read More

July 2019 - THE ONE-TIME FISHERMAN AND A SNAPSHOT OF BYGONE COLLINGWOOD - Read More

August 2019 - ENTERTAINMENT IN MID-20TH CENTURY COLLINGWOOD - Read More

September 2019 - COLLINGWOOD TERMINALS OPENED 90 YEARS AGO - Read More

October 2019 - THE GLOBE HOTEL WITH A VIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN (1865-2012) - Read More

November 2019 - THE COLLINGWOOD CENOTAPH - Read More

December 2019 - ROBERT JAMES HEWSON (1881-1946)-THE GRANDFATHER I NEVER KNEW - Read More

Stories of Collingwood

Born, raised and educated in Collingwood and at York University, a descendant of one of the town’s pioneer families, David Vuckson has lived in Victoria, B.C. since 1977. His 5X great-grandfather Ferdinand Weber built pipe organs, harpsichords and pianos in Dublin, Ireland in the 1700’s and with an ear for music embedded in his DNA, music has been David’s life work as a piano player, organist, church musician, piano tuner and pipe organ tuner. Other major passions are his wife Pamela, history, writing, and genealogy. Semi-retired, David maintains a keen interest in his hometown and its past with his monthly Stories of Collingwood.

December 2022 - THE BIG FIRE OF 1953 - H. David Vuckson
On Sunday, February 1, 1953 a massive fire altered the appearance of downtown Collingwood. Happening as it did in the dead of winter, the fire presented a formidable challenge to firefighters. Frank Teskey, a reporter and photographer with the Toronto Daily Star for 40 years, in his dispatch the next day, said that the temperature in Collingwood was 6 below zero Fahrenheit which translates to minus 21 Celsius. Add to that a strong wind blowing and you can imagine the wind chill factor... Read More

"A window on the past to enrich the future"

STORIES OF COLLINGWOOD 2017 - BY H. DAVID VUCKSON

January 2017 - Stephen Leacock and the I.O.D.E. at the Grand Opera House Read More

February 2017 - The Pretty River Oil Scam Read More

March 2017 - The Craigleith Shale Oil Works Read More

April 2017 - The Carnegie Library Revisited Read More

May 2017 - The Message of the Bluebird Staged Read More

June 2017 - Victoria Public School - The Grand Old Lady of Maple Street Read More

July 2017 - Town Hall Monuments of the Past Read More

August 2017 - Death Knell On The Hamilton and North Western Railway Read More

September 2017 - A Depression-Era Collingwood Ship Makes its Final Journey Read More

October 2017 - David A. Manson, Seller of Pianos and Wallpaper Read More

November 2017 - Fred O'Brien Wore Many Hats Read More

December 2017 - Joel Underwood's Creek Read More

STORIES OF COLLINGWOOD 2022 - BY H. DAVID VUCKSON

January 2022 - THE COLLINGWOOD FURNITURE COMPANY—A FORGOTTEN INDUSTRY Read More

February 2022 - COLLINGWOOD’S “BIG MILL” 1867-1903 - Read More

March 2022 - PETERMAN’S PLANING MILL - Read More

April 2022 - DOORS, SASH, HARDWOOD FLOORING, & ARCHITECTURE—The Journey Of The Wilson Brothers - Read More

May 2022 - PROTECTING COLLINGWOOD FROM FIRE IN THE OLDEN DAYSRead More

June 2022 - THE SMARTS WERE CLEVER BUSINESS MEN Read More

July 2022 - THE INDISPENSABLE ICE MAN—A REAL COOL GUY Read More

August 2022 - H. B. O’BRIEN—BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY—1876-1949 Read More

September 2022 - ROBERT REGINALD O’BRIEN, THE END OF THE LINERead More

October 2022 - COLLINGWOOD’S “BIG BEN” - Read More

November 2022 - THE 1950’S—A TIME OF TRANSITION AT THE COLLINGWOOD SHIPYARD - Read More

December 2022 - THE BIG FIRE OF 1953 - Read More

STORIES OF COLLINGWOOD 2016 - BY H. DAVID VUCKSON

March 2016 - COLLINGWOOD NEVER HAD A PIANO FACTORY Read More

April 2016 - COLLINGWOOD SHIPYARD DID NOT ALWAYS HAVE CRANES Read More

March 2016 - COLLINGWOOD NEVER HAD A PIANO FACTORY Read More

June 2016 - THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE WAS ONCE THE COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACE Read More

July 2016 - SHOPPING FOR SHOES WITH X-RAYS Read More

August 2016 - GAYETY THEATRE TOOK ITS NAME FROM A TORONTO BURLESQUE THEATRE IN 1928 Read More

September 2016 - A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK AT SOME HURONTARIO STREET FIRES Read More

October 2016 - COLLINGWOOD WAS SPARED FROM A FENIAN RAID 150 YEARS AGO Read More

November 2016 - ICE CREAM CONES, BOWLING PINS & BICYCLES Read More

December 2016 - THE TRAGIC LAUNCHING OF THE TADOUSSAC Read More

STORIES OF COLLINGWOOD 2018 - BY H. DAVID VUCKSON

January 2018 - FROM GRAMMAR SCHOOL TO COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE - THE CONTINUING JOURNEY OF THE WISE OLD OWL AND ITS CONNECTION TO SEVERAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS Read More

February 2018 - THE UNSOLVED 1903 MURDER OF GLORY WHALEN Read More

March 2018 - THE ADVENTURES OF AN OFFICE BOY/MESSENGER IN THE COLLINGWOOD SHIPYARD WITH REFLECTIONS ON LAND USE ALONG THE WATERFRONT Read More

April 2018 - SCHOOL SPIRIT AT C.C.I. (WITH APOLOGIES TO THE HAMLET OF BOGNOR) Read More

May 2018 - THE S. S. JAMES CARRUTHERS—COLLINGWOOD’S TITANIC-STYLE DISASTER Read More

June 2018 - HEALTH CARE IN THE 1950’S, SMALL TOWN STYLE WITH DOCTOR BOB Read More

July 2018 - SCHOOL DAYS FIRST AID TRAINING, 1950’s STYLE Read More

August 2018 - THE REMINISCENCES OF A GRAVE DIGGER Read More

September 2018 - FOUNTAIN PENS, INK WELLS, BLOTTERS AND THE CHANGING FACE OF TIME Read More

October 2018 - THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ROBERT WEBER O’BRIEN—PIONEER COLLINGWOOD MERCHANT Read More

November 2018 - VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN ERA PASSENGER SHIPS AND THE EXTENSIVE USE OF WOOD BY BOAT BUILDERS Read More

December 2018 - REFLECTIONS ON THE CHRISTMAS SEASON IN MID-20TH CENTURY COLLINGWOOD

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STORIES OF COLLINGWOOD 2020 - BY H. DAVID VUCKSON

January 2020 - THE COLLINGWOOD “OLD BOYS” REUNIONS OF 1903 AND 1938 Read More

February 2020 - THE STREETS OF COLLINGWOOD—FROM DUST AND MUD TO ASPHALT Read More

March 2020 - COLLINGWOOD SHIPYARD HAD TWO DRYDOCKS Read More

April 2020 - "THERE GOES THE BOAT THAT DADDY BUILT!" Read More

May 2020 - A SHIPYARD LAYOFF AND A TABBY CAT Read More

June 2020 - GARDEN PRODUCE, PROPERTY TAXES AND SEPTIC TANKS Read More

July 2020 - A STUDEBAKER WITH OVERDRIVE Read More

August 2020 - C.C.I.’S OLD TYPEWRITERS WERE INDESTRUCTIBLE Read More

September 2020 - THE DAY TELEVISION CAME TO STAY Read More

October 2020 - “WHAT ARE YOU GOING THROUGH FOR, BOY?” Read More

November 2020 - DISPOSING OF COLLINGWOOD’S WASTE—THEN AND NOWRead More

December 2020 - INDUSTRIAL FIRES IN 1965 LED TO DIVERSIFICATION IN TOWN’S INDUSTRIAL BASE Read more

STORIES OF COLLINGWOOD 2021 - BY H. DAVID VUCKSON

January 2021 - COLLINGWOOD WAS A WELL-LUBRICATED TOWN IN 1875 WHEN MY ANCESTORS PUT DOWN ROOTS Read More

February 2021 - THE BEAT GOES ON—DAVID AND THE DRUM Read More

March 2021 - FRANCE CAME TO CANADIAN SHIPYARDS FOR SHIPS AFTER WORLD WAR II Read More

April 2021 - THE “BIG CANOE” WAS BUILT IN COLLINGWOOD Read More

May 2021 - THE COLLINGWOOD MILLING CO. WAS A FAMILY BUSINESS FOR SIX DECADES Read More

June 2021 - A HISTORY OF DRINKING WATER, COLLINGWOOD STYLE Read More

July 2021 - A TOWN CRIER OF A DIFFERENT SORT Read More

August 2021 - 160 YEARS OF REPORTING THE NEWS Read More

September 2021 - THE COLLINGWOOD CENTENNIAL OF 1958 Read More

October 2021 - LUMBER, BACON, NAILS, AIRPLANE PARTS, PLYWOOD AND FINE FURNITURE Read More

November 2021 - FROM NORTH-WEST TO SOUTH-EAST AND BEYOND Read More

December 2021 - THE CRAMP STEEL COMPANY AND ITS SUCCESSORS, COLLINGWOOD Read More