Maryboro Lodge Personality: Marg Allen
In the 1980s, the Fenelon Falls Public Library was one of those places that most village residents visited regularly and Marg (Holliday) Allen was the familiar face that greeted them. After becoming a librarian in 1977, Marg loved her job and devoted herself to making the library the best it could be for the community. Many families would remember her from Storytime.
Born in Orillia, Marg Holliday’s family moved around as she was growing up. While living near Burnt River, her parents, Anna Mae and Fred Holliday, operated Holliday’s Hideaway, a tourist lodge on Four Mile Lake. Then they moved to Fenelon Falls, where they owned the Hearthstone—another accommodation located near the south shore of Cameron Lake. As her family moved, Marg would always pack up all the books that would have been left behind. Even as a youngster, she loved books.
Marg became a teacher, working in schools at Fell’s Station, Haliburton (Grades 4-6), Nogies Creek and Union Creek. While she was teaching at Union Creek, she met Clarence Allen, and they married in 1950. The young couple moved to Oshawa, so Clarence could take a job at GM—as many young men from the Kawarthas did in that era. Marg was remembered as being a very patient teacher, and when she retired from teaching, they returned to the family’s cottage on Fell’s Bay.
When she returned to live on Cameron Lake, Marg started volunteering at the Fenelon Falls Public Library. At that time, it was located on Colborne Street, beside the IGA. When librarian Evelyn Snedden retired, Marg was hired as her replacement. At the time, the library was fundraising to open a more modern facility on Market Street in the former municipal office (Fenelon Falls then had its office in Heritage House—it would later return to Market Street). Marg worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality, as many people volunteered and donated. Early in 1980, the new library opened—it was much larger, which allowed it to offer readers a better selection and have space for programming. She would oversee the move into another new facility next door in 1993. Soon after opening the second new library, she reached the age of 67 and was expected to retire. Many local residents would long remember seeing Marg at the library, with a book and a can of Coca-Cola in her hands.
After retiring from the library, Marg was active as a stamp collector, which led her to begin collecting postcards. She amassed an impressive collection of local images to complement her remarkable historical knowledge. She was part of a committee that wrote a history of Fenelon Township that detailed local farms, businesses and organizations. Then, as Millennium projects, she was instrumental in compiling village histories of Fenelon Falls and Burnt River. In and Around Burnt River and Fenelon Falls Then & Now remain the most comprehensive histories of these villages.
