Diaries bring rural history to life in upcoming talk at Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre

On April 6, the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre is proud to host its annual Archives Awareness Week (April 2-6, 2024) event, this year highlighting the importance of rural diaries and what they can tell us about Bruce County’s past.

Guest speaker and founder of University of Guelph’s Rural Diary Archive, Catherine A. Wilson, will join the BCM&CC to discuss the importance of nineteenth and twentieth century rural diaries as a window to the past, allowing a peek into the daily social and work life of rural families and their neighbourhoods. The presentation will highlight a selection of Bruce County diarists and their interesting stories, as well as other diaries included in the University of Guelph’s online Rural Diary Archive and demonstrate how you can use the Rural Diary Archive from home.     

“Diaries bring the concept of archival materials to life and remind us that these are not just records but living pieces of the past which help us understand the human experience,” says BCM&CC Archivist Deb Sturdevant. “The BCM&CC Archives holds more than 100 diaries, and thanks to the recent work of six volunteers, over 2,000 diary pages have been digitized, with more digitization work planned throughout 2024.”  

Following the presentation and intermission, Catharine will provide more information for those interested in becoming a volunteer transcriber with the Rural Diary Archive. Attendees who bring their own laptop are invited to begin transcribing a Bruce County Diary with Catharine.  

Archives staff will also lead a behind-the-scenes tour of the archival storage area and an opportunity to view a selection of archival items not often on display.  

This event is free to attend but pre-registration is recommended. Visit brucemuseum.ca to register or call 519-797-2080. Admission to the Museum Archives will also be free throughout Archives Awareness Week from April 2-6.

About the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre 
The Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre offers adult and children’s programming, special events, and is home to the Bruce County Archives & Research Room. Our mandate is to preserve and make available the documentary heritage of Bruce County.

About Archives Awareness Week
Celebrated each year during the first week of April, Archives Awareness Week provides the opportunity to highlight the importance of preserving the documentary heritage of Ontario’s communities.

About Rural Diaries Archive
University of Guelph’s Rural Diary Archive was launched by Dr. Catharine A. Wilson in September 2015. The online database brings together more than 200 diarists who wrote from 1800 to 1960, including diaries from a variety of individuals, historical organizations, and museums, including Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre. With the help of volunteer transcribers, thousands of handwritten pages are being turned into typescript.