Arden_book

Jeff Green | Aug 28, 2008

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A 100-page book of historical photographs taken over the past 110 or so years in the village of Arden will have its official release this weekend, as part of the Inroads Studio Tour.

The book, entitled “Memories of Arden”, is a collaborative effort between Dave Johnston and Sarah Hale. Johnston, whose parents Max and Jean Johnston collected pictures during their years in Arden, has been cataloguing the extensive collection over the years, and he selected some of his favourites with the intention of putting a book together so they might be available to the public. Sarah Hale offered to help, since she has experience in the technical aspects of putting a book together, and the result is now hot off the presses.

As the book demonstrates, the years between 1900 and 1940 were the commercial heyday of Arden, when the village was a commercial centre complete with a doctors’ offices, a dentist, hotels, three mills, a funeral home and more.

It was the change in transportation that led to the commercial decline of Arden, as far as Sarah Hale can tell. “Between the advent of the automobile, and then the closing of the railroad in the ’60s, Arden went from being a commercial to a social centre,” said Sarah Hale.

Even as Halladay's General Store closes for good this weekend, Sarah Hale points out that Arden probably doesn’t have any less of a population than it did 100 years ago. “People don’t shop here anymore, but they still live here,” she said.

“Memories of Arden” is split into five groups of pictures: the business district, transportation, homesteads, schools, and churches. There is text accompanying the pictures, but it is the photographs that are the heart of the book.

David and Lorne Johnston will be on hand this weekend on the porch of the old Arden Hotel. They will have a computer slideshow set up and will be available to talk about the history of Arden, and to sign books.

“Memories of Arden” sells for $15.

The Inroads Tour runs all weekend, from 10-5 each day. Brochures are available throughout the region. For information, call 613-335-2073.