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
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
May 2022 - PROTECTING COLLINGWOOD FROM FIRE IN THE OLDEN DAYS - H. David Vuckson
There is a wealth of information on the early days of the Collingwood Fire Department in the book Ordeal By Fire—A History Of The Collingwood Fire Department 1852-2005 by Douglas G. Skelding, from which I have permission from Jack McAllister to quote. In addition, some of this story is based on a talk I gave about The Great Fire of September 1881 at the Collingwood Historical Society on October 2, 2017.The site of Collingwood (original name “Hen And Chickens Harbour”, so called because of one larger and several smaller islands near the entrance to the harbour) in its original state before the area was settled, was described as a dismal cedar swamp.... 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.
"A window on the past to enrich the future"
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 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 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
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 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