DOORS OPEN ORILLIA

MAY 23 & 24

ORILLIA – Two hundred names on a list with dates of birth, addresses and ethnic origin may seem ordinary. But this list has special local significance for Orillia. It is the list of the employees from the Tudhope Motor Company from 100 years ago. Who were these people, what were there jobs, are there still family members in the area?

Organizers are hoping to learn more when the re-built Tudhope building celebrates its 100th anniversary as a featured heritage property for this year’s Doors Open Orillia. The Tudhope Building, now called the Orillia City Centre, will be open for public viewing and tours on May 23rd & 24th along with 18 other heritage and cultural properties.

Lakehead University professors Reg Horne and Todd Stubbs have done extensive research on the Tudhope Motor Company and have created an engaging and informative presentation called The “Tudhope”: Orillia’s Car and the People Who Built It. The presentation will be shown on Saturday, May 23rd at 11am and Sunday, May 24th at 2pm in the Council Chamber at the Orillia City Centre. The Orillia Heritage Centre will also have many Tudhope and OTACO artifacts on display.

The complete Doors Open Orillia 2009 program features many special events and activities including a guided walking tour of our historic downtown, leaving every hour on the hour, from the Orillia Museum of Art and History. Explore Cecil Byers’ amazing Train Museum in Uptergrove. Visit the Orillia Central Preschool for an up-close look at its parapet gables and finials and its other unique features. Step inside our Carnegie Library for one last time before the proposed new library development. Enjoy lunch on the patio at the Leacock Museum National Historic Site. All these sites and more will be open throughout the weekend of May 23rd and 24th.

For a full listing of participating properties and times, visit the Doors Open Ontario website at; www.doorsopenontario.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_9739_1.html