Fenelon Falls Then & Now Published, 2000
Many nights over supper, Marg Allen would talk with her daughter Kathy Arscott about how nice it would be to write a history of the village of Fenelon Falls. As Fenelon Falls’ Librarian from 1977 to 1993, Marg was someone who loved books, and knew a lot of people in the village. She had already helped to compile a history of Fenelon Township.
After she retired as librarian, Marg had more time to work on community projects. Having been an avid stamp collector since she was a girl, she and Kathy started to collect local postcards—which would help to illustrate the book. They decided to organize the book as a series of short histories of different properties in the village that were open to the public. It would be a lot of work to go around and talk to the owners and former owners of each business; along with everyone who helped community organizations to operate. Over several years, Marg, Kathy and Caroline Fenelius-Carpenter compiled each of the short stories. Countless people volunteered their time, sharing their stories and going through their photo albums, as the community worked together to write a history. The book came together just in time for the village’s millennium celebrations.
The original edition of Fenelon Falls Then and Now was much appreciated, and received minor updates in 2001. But it did not take long for the village to change significantly. Within a few years, many businesses had come and gone, and Marg began to talk about how nice it would be to update the book. Marg passed away in 2019, but in her memory, Caroline, Kathy, Belinda Wilson, Anne and Bob Gamsby updated each of the entries, for a 2020 edition.
Fenelon Falls Then & Now (2020) is available at the Fenelon Falls Public Library.
