
The Elgin Historical Society presented "Digitizing the Tweedsmuirs" on April 23rd at the Elgin County building. Helen Van Brenk, WI Tweedsmuir Curator, and Mary Clutterbuck of Boxall Women’s Institute explained how the books came about and provided highlights of their colourful contents. Elgin County Archives digitization assistant Krista Taylor provided background on how they have been digitized.

Above, some of the women who have been involved with digitization of the Tweedsmuirs in Elgin County. including several Women's Institute members who attended the presentation. Front, Jan Row, Krista Taylor, Marg Carroll, Mary Clutterbuck. Back, Donny Lyle, Eleanor lyle, Ann Brown, Marg Carroll, Ruth Campbell, Yvonne McCallum.
For almost 70 years, Women’s Institutes across Ontario have been preserving the records of their communities in the Tweedsmuir History books. Today these books are a treasured source of local history. In 2005, the Elgin County Archives began to digitize the Tweedmuirs of the many WI branches in Elgin County which once numbered 43. To date, more than 80 volumes have been scanned and are available on-line via the Archives’ website at www.elgincounty.ca/archives, allowing the original books to be preserved forever. It’s well worth some time browsing the contents which include many intriguing photographs from Elgin County's history