Community outreach is important to TDHS. Until recently, that mission was primarily accomplished by having the public come down to visit the museum itself. But with limited hours of opening, few of the public had the opportunity to see what TDHS has to offer. Modern technology is changing all of that!
Through the use of the internet and of social media, TDHS has the ability now to reach out to a wider audience. To that end we have started our Quick Reminiscences Project (or QR code project for short). Every building and building site in town has a rich and fascinating history of which few of the residents of today are aware. That history could be available almost instantly with the use of a QR scanner on a cell phone.
We envisage a future where every business in town has a QR code visible which can be scanned by a visitor to discover the history of that building. This project was started in the fall of 2023 to coincide with the 175th anniversary of the founding of the village. At that time three building histories had been completed.
The first building ever erected in town was the tavern of the town’s founder Captain Henry Eckstein. That tavern stood at the northeast corner of the intersection of Hope and Woodstock Streets in the centre of town. If you visit D and D Homestyle Cuisine Café today and use the QR scanner on your phone, you can discover the story of Tavistock’s founding and the names of the many businesses that once occupied that historic block.
Similarly, if you visit the Raja Restaurant on Woodstock Street South, you will discover that the town’s bank and post office once occupied that site. And as you enjoy a coffee and doughnut at Tim Hortons, you can learn the history of the railroad that was once so central to the industry of the town.
In April of 2024 in time for the Annual General Meeting of the TDHS, another QR Code history was prepared, that of the building that currently holds the Tavi Chill deli and ice cream parlour. Though it is a rather inconspicuous building, it also has a very rich history. It was the shoe store of Hugh Hotson whose son Frederick was once the Champion Orator of all of Canada. Enjoy his story as you eat your ice cream.
The Quick Reminiscences Project is an ongoing project. You can access all of the completed building histories on the internet using the link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zvjdEC2K8RzPgkYHnoIM4yXDArs-Tv9r .