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 YOU
CAN JUDGE THIS BOOK BY ITS COVER
Review by:
Lewis Zandbergen
Gleanings:
A History of Campbellford/Seymour Edited by Margaret
Crothers, Ann Rowe and Barbara Samson-Willis 560 pages,
photographs, maps, end notes, references, indexed Published
by Campbellford/Seymour Heritage Society
Once
in a great while a book comes along that's a delight
to the eye, to the mind and to the touch. And while
it's not good practice to judge books by their covers,
the cover of Gleanings is definitely apropos the rest
of the book. It just feels like a good book and it lives
up to expectations.
Anyone interested in the history or genealogy of the
Campbellford area will find this tome filled with fascinating
people, places and events. The elegant volume is crammed
to the covers with history, beginning with the very
dawn of the 19th century and leisurely sweeping the
reader along to the present day. Along the way we meet
people who are brought to life through the written word,
characters who inhabit almost every small town and even
share in some of the town's more, shall we say, disparaging
episodes. In addition, the book pays homage to many
of the hamlets and crossroads communities which provide
colour and depth to the tapestry of the amalgamated
municipality.
There's also a tinge of sadness in the loss of what
has gone before. Photographs of the mills which once
lined the banks of the river just below the Campbellford
bridge give only a fleeting glimpse of a variety of
buildings, some of which dated to the early to mid-1800s.
Especially fascinating is the final chapter which is
headed Vignettes. The first story relates the events
of an April Saturday in 1968. The tale was reprinted
from the Saturday, April 20, Toronto Daily Star and
has all the elements of a typical account of a wild
west showdown. Police Chief Sammy Baird, tough but fair,
read the Riot Act to a mob clamouring for the release
of three prisoners.
The team at the Campbellford/Seymour Heritage Society
has done a bang-up job of recounting the story of the
community in such a way as to never be dull. A tip of
the topper goes to the group from this historian and
genealogist.
It's tough to be critical about such a satisfying and
grand volume but I do have a couple of niggling problems.
There should have been even more photographs and maps
(I know, I'm being greedy) and there are several inconsistencies
and chronology problems but nothing really serious.
I was also pleased to see usually ignored members, in
particular the proofreader, of a writing team included
in the acknowledgements page. Proofreading is an often
thankless, under-appreciated chore and it's only appropriate
that those of us who perform the task of proofreading
books and articles finally be given credit for our contribution.
However, even the most dedicated proofer can slip up.
Check out page 11 and the Billy Bronson story. No matter
how many different ways I subtract 1781 from 1804, I
keep coming up with 23, not 13. And why is Billy spelled
two different ways? There are a few spelling blunders
elsewhere, some sentence constructions could have been
reworked and the word "that" is used way too many times
but even we proofreaders aren't perfect.
All in all, Gleanings is a fantastic new resource for
local history buffs who should feel indebted to the
members of the Campbellford/Seymour Heritage Society
for their excellent production. |
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