Dorothy Turcotte
Name/Title
Dorothy TurcotteEntry/Object ID
901-66Description
In 1999, Dorothy Turcotte, along with Evelyn Walters was a founding member of the Grimsby Historical Society’s Archives Collection. They took on the task of organizing and cataloging the archival collection at the Grimsby Historical Society Museum (GHS) At that time there were approximately 7000 documents and photographs, and 55 Special Collections all recorded on spreadsheets and in paper files, one would have to come into the Archives to manually look at and review a collection including photos, newspaper article on people, events. The continually expanding collection moved from the basement of the Grimsby Museum and in 2000 to a small room at 16 Ontario St (Now Oggie’s Restaurant); moved again in 2001 to the upstairs of 16 Ontario St and then finally in 2004 to its present location at the Old Carnegie Library. As of 2024 the Archives has expanded to not only contain the original paper collection but has evolved to digital access to photos and other items in the collection online. There are over 60,000 individual entries, and now 383 Special Collections including photos, newspaper articles, reference material on Grimsby’s Streets, historical homes, research into WWI and WWII soldiers. In 2019 Dorothy officially retired from the Archives after having been a member for 60 years. In 2021 a dedication ceremony unveiling a bench located in front of the Archives was dedicated to Dorothy and her outstanding contribution to preserving Grimsby’s history. Dorothy was born in Hamilton on August 13, 1929. In 1960 she and her husband Jim and family in tow moved to Grimsby. Dorothy’s interest in history was sparked by learning about Grimsby Park an early summer methodist camp at Grimsby Park. It spurred her on to write about Grimsby Beach in The Hamilton Spectator. This prompted The Grimsby Historical Society to notify Dorothy that she was now a member of the GHS! Dorothy’s writing career began as a 13-year-old when she won a city wide (Hamilton) writing contest. She graduated from McMaster University in 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She wrote copy for radio ads for CKOC. She wrote about children, travel and history in several publications such as The Hamilton Spectator, The Family Herald, The Canadian Children’s Annual, Chatelaine. You could read her weekly columns “A Small Drop of Ink” in The Grimsby Independent and The Grimsby News. Dorothy, being a prolific writer, has written 17 books with a new one being released in 2024 at the age of 95. Dorothy has received many awards. In 2009 she was honoured with the George and Olive Seibel Award for outstanding contribution to the preservation of heritage in Niagara. In 2012 she was presented with the Ontario Lieutenant’s Governor’s Heritage Award for Lifetime Achievement. Dorothy was also involved in various community service organizations and committees: LACAC ( local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee, Grimsby Archives, Block Parent Committee Founder, Meals on Wheels, Coupon Exchange, Grimsby Heritage Advisory Committee, Grimsby Public Library, West Lincoln Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and the Grimsby Historical Society House Tours. She is the proud matriarch of 3 sons, 1 daughter, 6 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. Dorothy continues to reside in Grimsby and writes her blog A Small Drop of Ink on Substack. She once compared writing to chain smoking “Once you start writing you can’t stop.Category
Photos - GHS & Archives