The Shoebox of Memories

As a historian and author delving into the rich tapestry of Dundee Quebec’s history, during my research interviews I was often presented with a shoebox brimming with old photos, newspaper clippings, memoirs and family memorabilia. Sorting through these snapshots of the past is like uncovering hidden treasures, requiring a systematic approach to navigate through them. 

Copying only those items that followed my book themes and strategies, I conducted many, many interviews, taking notes and backchecking. I bought many history books, borrowed others, studied old newspapers back to the mid-1800s and searched the internet for infill history. History is history – it’s the interpretation of it that creates reality. 

For over 30 years, while working more than full-time in civil engineering, road and bridge construction, I always set aside time researching and writing about Dundee and southwest Quebec. I visited historical landmarks, read plaques, took photographs, checked cemeteries, interviewed and collected facts for my books. 

In my spare time, I constantly wrote and edited to produce a journey through time, splicing together fragments of the past to paint a vivid picture of Dundee and Huntingdon County's heritage, its connection to First Nations, its settlers and their struggles in the 1800s. With each Dundee trip, photos taken, books read, documents copied, interviews taken, and old newspapers read, I preserved a piece of history for generations to come, especially those researching their ancestral past.