Cantley's first annual country fair was celebrated for Cantley's 25th anniversary on the grounds of the municipal Town Hall. Cantley 1889 participated to tell about Cantley's heritage during the past 25 and 125 years.
At Cantley 1889's table under an outdoor tent we sold books on local history, memberships and gave out two free pamphlets - one summarizing Cantley's history and one explaining Cantley's successful struggle for independence from Gatineau (1983 to 1989). We played Pierre Belisle's videos of various events and projects related to Cantley 1889 and Cantley's history (as seen on our web site).
However, we are most proud of our display in the lower lobby of the Town Hall set up under our permanent photo display. A historic map of the Gatineau River (showing the river before and after the flooding after dam construction in 1927 - courtesy GVHS) stretched the length of the lobby. With it, we played the NFB film "La Drave" and exhibited logging artifacts. Another exhibit had about 20 artifacts from local pioneer farms, and was displayed as a guessing game. We also had a very popular genealogy display with handouts about how to trace a family tree, as well as photos and a photo album of Cantley and some of her early residents.
Cantley 1889 volunteers were pleased to meet so many visitors interested in Cantley's heritage and delighted at how long they spent examining our displays. We received many compliments... and heard some new stories about Cantley's past.