Dollartown’s past celebrated with new signage across east Midland
By: Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: MidlandToday.ca, Sep 24, 2025
The Dollartown heritage of Midland was formally recognized during an unveiling of signs, which will be put at intersections throughout the east corner of the town.
Although a Tay Township community back in the late 1800s until annexation by Midland in 1913, the population of roughly 800 Dollartown residents (as per 1904) lived and worked in the area generally confined within Yonge and Russell Streets to the water’s edge. The area is named after Scottish-born Dollar brothers Robert, John and James who started a lumber yard and mill circa 1875.
In 2015, the town’s heritage committee recommended intersection signs be put throughout the area to recognize its importance and history, with town council approving 77 signs in late 2024.
Heritage committee chair René Hackstetter thanked members of the committee as well as many families who attended the unveiling of the first intersection sign at Bay Street and Aberdeen Blvd. during a ceremony on Wednesday; family names included Dunn, Contois, Paradis, Cruise and Edwards.
“This was a big win, and beyond all our modest expectations,” said Hackstetter on the town’s approval for the signage. “Marking a location sets the village’s context in an historical light, and asserts its importance to those who lived there, as well as its present inhabitants.”
Hackstetter noted with assistance from the Huronia Museum, informative QR codes would link interested parties to a town-hosted website where further details on Dollartown’s history could be found.
Historic intersections signs to be installed around the Yonge St., Russell St., and waterfront boundary. Derek Howard/MidlandToday
Dollartown resident George Dunn was represented at the ceremony by his wife Adrienne.
“He loved Dollartown,”she said. “He was always very proud that he came from here. (These signs) are a big part of the history of the town.”
Also in attendance were Larry and Diane Chapman, proudly sporting Dollartown shirts; the pair had previously been featured speaking about Dollartown in a ‘Do You Remember When?’ episode from the north Simcoe based Culture Alliance.
“My brother-in-law Albert (Cruise); he wrote this song called ‘Dollartown’,” Larry told MidlandToday. “All the lyrics are the history of us growing up down here in this area. It wasn’t the wealthiest area, but this is where we grew up and the friendship around here was just unreal back then.”
Mayor Bill Gordon said the signs are a physical, permanent way of honouring history.
He added: “It’s a tangible, passive way to honour the history of a founding part of our community.”
Historic photos of Dollartown are included in the hosted video on YouTube. The lyrics, written by Albert Cruise, begin as such:
When I was young in Dollartown
We had grain elevators and a railroad yard
We had a coal dock and a shipyard
We had friends that were true
who were most of the people we knew
We had a lot of room to run
Dollartown was number one.
Life4Kids Canada Applauds Midland Rotary Club’s Global Impact
By Fred Hacker, Oct. 1, 2025
MIDLAND, ON — Life4Kids Canada, a Midland-based international charity, has extended heartfelt thanks to the Midland Rotary Club for its unwavering support of vulnerable children in Nairobi, Kenya.
Life4Kids Canada funds 75% of the operating costs for a home that shelters homeless and abandoned boys in Nairobi, with the remaining support provided by a sister organization in Norway. The charity relies heavily on donations from Central Ontario, and among its most committed partners is the Midland Rotary Club.
The Club has not only contributed significant financial resources but has also played a key leadership role in rallying support from nine other Rotary clubs across the region. Additionally, it has successfully secured District Grants from Rotary District 7010 to further bolster the Life4Kids initiative.
Last November, a team of 11 Rotarians from Midland traveled to Nairobi to help build a library, computer lab, and fruit and vegetable garden at the Life4Kids home—tangible improvements that will enrich the lives of the 26 boys currently living there.
“These children are rescued from the streets, alleys, and dumps of Nairobi’s slums,” said Fred Hacker, Chair of Life4Kids Canada. “The Midland Rotary Club’s ongoing support is absolutely critical to our mission.”
The boys live in a nurturing family-style environment with live-in caregivers, attend local schools, and receive trauma therapy. For those who show promise and dedication, Life4Kids also offers continued education beyond the age of 18.
Shawn Nielsen, President of the Midland Rotary Club, emphasized the Club’s deep connection to the project: “Our members have taken a genuine interest in the home and the boys. It’s more than charity—it’s a relationship.”
Past President Cathy Tait reflected on her visit to the home: “It was an honour to witness firsthand the incredible care these boys receive. We were deeply moved by their resilience and the compassion of the staff.”
As the Midland Rotary Club prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary next year, its legacy of community service—both local and global—continues to grow.
Quest Art School and Gallery Launches Youth Committee to Empower Local Teens
By Stephanie Rumble, Sept. 25, 2025
Midland – Quest Art School + Gallery is calling on the next generation of change makers to step forward. Local youth are invited to make their voices heard, flex their creativity, and take an active role in shaping the future of arts and culture in North Simcoe.
To do this, Quest is launching its first-ever Youth Committee, a dynamic group of young leaders (ages 13–18) who will help design and drive programs, events, and community projects that reflect the interests and passions of their peers. Working alongside Quest staff and volunteers, committee members will have the chance to transform ideas into action and create meaningful opportunities for youth engagement across the region.
“Young people bring fresh ideas, energy, and perspective to the arts,” says Executive Director Lawrence Sagar. “We’ve heard just how much of a need there is for youth programming in our community, and by involving local youth directly in shaping it, we’re ensuring that what we offer truly resonates with them. By engaging them in this way, Quest remains a space where they will feel welcome, inspired, and connected.”
Committee members will:
- Meet once a month at Quest Art School + Gallery (2 hours per month)
- Collaborate on planning fun and impactful youth-focused events and activities
- Build leadership and teamwork skills
- Connect with other creative young people who care about art and community
“This is a chance for teens to leave their mark, grow their confidence, and gain hands-on experience in community building,” says Quest Board Member and Youth Committee Lead, Kelly Lapham. “Committee members will also have unique opportunities to work alongside our team and develop valuable skills in curating, event planning, marketing, social media, and public relations. It’s about empowering youth with tools and experiences that will serve them well into the future.”
Youth interested in joining the Quest Art School + Gallery Youth Committee can apply online at https://www.questart.ca/youth-committee-submission-form or contact Stephanie at communications@questart.ca for more details. Submissions are due by Monday, October 20th, with the first committee meeting scheduled for November 2025.
First Nations’ voices lead healing through dance, prayer and storytelling in Midland
By: Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: MidlandToday.ca, Sep 30, 2025
A 2025 commemoration for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was held at the Georgian Bay Native Friendship Centre in Midland Tuesday with roughly 100 attendees listening to Sixties Scoop survivors’ stories.
Ernie Sandy of Beausoleil First Nation spoke at length on what the elements of truth and reconciliation were in the context of the day.
“I have enjoyed teaching for the past 40 years,” said Sandy, “but it gives me great strength that I had the words, the knowledge, I’ve lived with racism, with bigotry – and through that, that’s how I rose to walk tall. ‘If it is to be, it’s up to me.’ This is what truth and reconciliation is all about.
“The truth is what happened; the stealing of thousands upon thousands of our children… from our families,” said Sandy. “The residential schools – it shouldn’t be called ‘schools’, it should be called ‘institutions of genocide’… to beat the culture, language and identity out of us.
“The word ‘reconciliation’ is when they say: ‘We’re sorry what they did to you, sorry for taking the children’,” Sandy noted. “It’s not about pointing fingers. Reconciliation is to say: ‘Okay, where do we go from here?’”
In 2015, 94 Calls to Action were recommended in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to advance reconciliation; a recent report from non-profit group Indigenous Watchdog cited that by September 2025, only 14 of those had been completed with 42 in progress, 22 stalled, and 16 not yet started.
On the incomplete Calls to Action, Simcoe North MP Adam Chambers told MidlandToday: “We all have to work together on looking at the rest of the recommendations and where we can together move forward on a path. The recommendations were set out for a journey and I think we’re on that.”
Penetanguishene Mayor Doug Rawson said that on a personal note, he’s not sure everything on the list will ever be completed.
“This is about building relationships, trust, and it’s not like we can say they’re done today. I think we have to be intentional about our purpose and meaningful with our intent. A need for pause and reflection with all communities.”
Song were played throughout the commemoration through the musical talents of the Smoke Trail Singers Drum Group, Equinox Drum Group, and the Zhawaani-Noodin Group, with attendees sometimes asked to join in on the dance.
Parry Sound resident Matt Rutledge (adopted name; original name Harvey Halvorson from Lac Seul First Nation) provided his story as a Sixties Scoop survivor. Rutledge passed around a 1970’s clipping of a Toronto Telegram article profiling the ‘Today’s Child’ adoption advocacy column, when he was put into the Mennonite Children’s Home in Red Lake, Ontario.
“I was taken from my mom and my family, uprooted,” said Rutledge,” and that was the plan.” He told how he had provided roughly ten years of outreach for displaced children during his years in the Greater Toronto Area. “Being adopted, we had a roof over our head and clothing, but one thing was missing – my mom, roots, culture, language.
“My adopted parents thought they were doing a good thing. They’re learning too. It was a dark history.”
Rutledge told MidlandToday: “I went through hard times in my youth and early adulthood when the goal of the Canadian government was to assimilate. I’m a survivor, but I’m still here. Chi miigwetch.”
Rutledge dressed in full regalia to represent the Horse Nation and its dances for attendees, many who hadn’t experienced its style. He told the crowd that it was when he was living in Ottawa where he was introduced to his first pow wow, which was where his healing began.
“It’s fairly new in this territory; we’ve always had horses,” said Rutledge. “It’s a part of my teaching and learning too, that the Creator gave us gifts of different animals. I’m honoured to be able to dance and be part of that Horse. It is medicine and healing.”
Nearly every attendee acknowledged Orange Shirt Day, honouring and remembering children within the residential school system. The gesture was to commemorate Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation on her first day of school in 1973, where she arrived dressed in a new orange shirt which was taken from her.
Nahanni Born, director for the Huronia Museum, was in attendance.
Added Huronia Museum executive director Nahanni Born: “We tell an important First Nations story in north Simcoe, and as beautiful as that story is it’s important to remember some of the more tragic times, and the things we have to thank through those survivors; we have to be thankful for the stories we get to tell today.”