Golden Tales
Chronicles of our Community
Welcome
We hope you will enjoy reading the stories that have been shared and documented through the “Golden Tales: Chronicles of our Community” project. Our interviewees opened their homes and hearts to us, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to record and save these stories for future generations.
Participants
Explore individual contributions and stories by clicking/tapping on each geographical section below.
Participants
Explore individual contributions and stories by tapping on each geographical section below.
Golden Tales: Full Publication
Download the full Golden Tales booklet by clicking/tapping on the image below (PDF, 4.72Mb)
You may also download the pages for individual participants by navigating through the geographical sections above.
About the Project
“Golden Tales: Chronicles of Our Community” was created as an initiative aimed at curating a treasury of narratives and portraits contributed by local seniors (aged 55+) who have either settled in or were born in the Municipality of Clarington. The project’s primary objectives were to foster inclusivity, forge social connections, and ignite inspiration through engaging interviews and events with older adults residing in Clarington.
When designing this project, Clarington Library, Museums & Archives hoped that the interviews with participants would provide them with the social setting to share their stories of how they arrived in Clarington, the families and connections they made, as well as where they worked and how they made their living. We also hoped that through the interview process, the participants would have an opportunity to be heard, and feel a deep sense of satisfaction knowing their stories are being recorded for future years.
From October 2024 to March 2025, we successfully interviewed dozens of community members and their families and made many connections along the way. We shared in birthday celebrations, took trips down memory lane, and celebrated the lives of past friends and family members. Each story was unique and important, and we are so grateful to those that took the time to share with us. Your voices and memories are important, and we will preserve and share your stories for generations to come.
The Clarington Library, Museums, and Archives gratefully recognizes the financial support of the Province of Ontario’s Seniors Community Grant Program.
Land Acknowledgment
Courtesy of Dave Mowat
When you hear about families who have been here since the 1820’s, they’ve been here that long because the treaties opened the land up for settlement. The boundaries of townships and counties began.
They called our people the Mississauga, or the Misi-zaagiing, which is basically “the people who live at the mouths of many rivers.” The salmon that were found in the tentacle of rivers that flowed from the Oak Ridges Moraine, produced such a vast array of abundant resources.
The fact that there were fewer Mississauga people than the wave of settlers dwarfed our history. Our people moved light on the land; they did not build towns and palisades as the Iroquoian people had. Rather they moved inland off the Big Lake (Ontario) in Fall to their winter grounds for trapping and hunting, and then towards the rivers and lake for fishing and gathering in the spring and summer.
In essence, our traditional economy moved south to north, whereby the settlement and development of the agrarian economy moved east and west. This was the intersection of the people.
“Asher & Adams’ Ontario [cartographic material]”, [1874], R11981-134-5-E, Library and Archives Canada.
Final Words
Share Your Story
Do you have stories to share or would you like to learn how to record an oral history of a family member? Please reach out to us at hello@cplma.ca and we would be happy to help.
Reflections
Lee Higginson, Program Lead
The Golden Tales project has been a gift. Getting to know a community in a mere fifty days of work is a monumental task and I spoke with about five percent of the people I wanted to. But, the dozens of people I was able to connect with left me inspired about Clarington, and more passionate than ever about the importance of local history, and it’s preservation.
The stories the seniors of Clarington hold dear are treasures, both now and for the future. I am so grateful to have heard so many of them. The participants invited me into their homes and into their lives with such generosity. These months have made me feel like family.
This project will end, but it’s impact will live forever. Thank you for sharing your stories.
Thank You
Clarington Library, Museums & Archives would like to thank all the interviewees and their families for their participation in this important initiative. The stories you have shared and the time you have spent with us have been overwhelmingly meaningful to everyone who has worked on this project.
CLMA is grateful to our Project Lead, Lee Higginson, for her hard work and dedication to this project. Lee met personally with each and every participant in this booklet, and her joy of hearing their stories and memories can be seen in the successful results of this initiative.
Our sincere appreciation to the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility of the Province of Ontario, for their generous support through the Seniors Community Grant program.
Through this project, we have actively connected with Clarington older adults and witnessed their joy of sharing tales of their life in Clarington. We cannot possibly thank everyone who has been involved but we wish to thank all who have contributed or assisted with this amazing project!
Funding
The Clarington Library, Museums, and Archives gratefully recognizes the financial support of the Province of Ontario’s Seniors Community Grant Program.
Media Release
March 19, 2025—Clarington Library, Museums & Archives is proud to announce the release of "Golden Tales: Chronicles of Our Community," being celebrated on Saturday, March 22, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Sarah Jane Williams Heritage Centre in Bowmanville.
Contact Us
Clarington Library,
Museums & Archives
163 Church Street
Bowmanville, ON,
L1C 1T7