Amy Cosh

Amy Cosh was born in 1902. Her parents were both from local families. Her mother, Jane Junkin, was the eldest daughter of Bobcaygeon merchant Irvine Junkin, while her father, Hedley Vicars “Vic” Cosh, was descended from a family of masons and farmers. Her family lived in a distinctive brick home just north of the canal on the main street (now the site of the Riverwalk). Her family was very interested in learning and education. Jane served as secretary-treasurer of the Mechanic’s Institute (later called the Public Library) until her death in 1933. Vic was very interested in birds and was a taxidermist, creating a collection that was later donated to Bobcaygeon Public School.

Growing up in an era when most teenagers did not complete secondary school, and many families hesitated to invest in higher education, Amy was an excellent student. She won the County Scholarship, which enabled her to attend the Lindsay Collegiate Institute (later LCVI) for one year without paying tuition. To attend this school, she would have to board in Lindsay, which was not included. After working in G.W. Taylor’s office for a year, she went to the Peterborough Normal School, which made her a teacher. After gaining some experience teaching in public schools, she moved on to attend the University of Toronto, where she had an ‘A’ in every subject in her first year. She completed what was normally a five-year program in four years. At the time, it was highly unusual for a young woman from Bobcaygeon to even attend university. She went on to teach high school.

When her mother fell ill, Amy started helping her with her job as secretary-treasurer of the Mechanic’s Institute/Library, then replaced her mother when she died. Shortly afterwards, no one was available to serve as the librarian, so Amy stepped forward to temporarily fill the position, though the salary was just $50 per year. She had taken a course in Library Science and was very interested in books. She would serve as librarian for 34 years, until she died in 1967.

After a public meeting in 1887, the Bobcaygeon Mechanic’s Institute opened a reading room in January 1888. In the early twentieth century, Bobcaygeon’s Mechanic’s Institute was located on the second floor above the Hamiton Book Store on the west side of Bolton Street. Amy’s friend Dorothe Comber recalled, “the hardy children of the pioneers could climb the high and steep stairs. But by 1940, cars were making legs weaker. The library was moved to a very nice location in the former Orr store at the corner of Bolton and King”—a large stone building owned by the masonic lodge. This location was a significant upgrade over the previous location. In 1953, the library would again move to the old classroom attached to the Boyd Lumber Office at the corner of Canal and William Streets (now part of the Boyd Heritage Museum).

For a generation, Amy Cosh was the face of the Bobcaygeon Library, with her “darling personality” as Comber described. She felt it was her job to “enrich people’s lives,” and devoted herself to making the library the best it could be, as it became far larger and better able to meet the needs of its community. She was very attuned to the interests and feelings of the library’s patrons. “When books of doubtful value had been donated to the library I wished to discard them. Amy said severely, ‘Dorothe, people’s feelings mean nothing to you!’” For her years of dedication to her community, the non-fiction section of the Bobcaygeon library was named in her honour, and Dorothe wrote a history of the village in her memory.