In the spring of last year I began work on a special project. The inspiration was this gorgeous building,  The Olde Kirk .

An old Presbyterian Church in Kirkfield, built in 1905, the place features a perfect little stage that is simply begging to be used, and a sound system that would blow your mind!!

I HAD to write a play. I had no idea what the play would be about, but this amazing building is THE perfect place to tell a story.

Amazingly enough, the very real story of the tiny railway town of Corson’s Siding – between Coboconk and Kirkfield – came to me.

I didn’t know at the time why that “hot bed of uncleanliness” was such a curiousity but I couldn’t stop researching the area.

Then, wonders of wonders, a fantastic resource that described daily life in Corson’s Siding – Mrs. Sangster’s diary – popped off a shelf and into my hands.

I hung on every word Mrs. Sangster wrote from July of 1899 until December of 1908.

To make it easier to find a reference I was looking for, I decided to digitize all of Mrs. Sangster’s diaries. Then, to make sense of all the people she was referring to, I decided to build a few family trees. Well, then I needed an index and then a map or two to visualize where everybody was… and the next thing I knew, I was well on my way to organizing a book.

The thought that cinched the whole book idea was – “wouldn’t it be cool if someone were to open my book and find their ancestor mentioned?” That would be very cool indeed! Decision made.

Introducing Mrs. Sangster and her diaries!