On Sunday, October 29, the book launch for The Archaeology of Patterson Village: A 19th Century Company Town in the Township of Vaughan, Ontario was held in Port Hope at Furby House Books. The Furby House bookstore has been serving book lovers since 1989; and was the perfect venue for unveiling this book, the very first publication in Our Lands Speak Series.

Lou Pamenter of Furby House Books was our wonderful host tending to every detail including hors d’oeuvres and hot cider to treat our guests. Ruth Redelmeier—who wrote the supplement to the book which provided a history of the Patterson family and businesses—was also in attendance and joined me in signing as many of her family and friends were also present.

Quite a number of guests travelled from Vaughan and adjacent parts of York Region all the way to Port Hope, including my publisher, Sheri Andrunyk and her team from I C Publishing. My partner, Pat Cascagnette, attended with me as well, and between Pat and Sheri they were able to capture some of the essence and memories of the day through the pictures they took.  

I would add that it was a real pleasure to see Dr. Bruce Bowden, formerly of The University of Western Ontario, who has retired to Port Hope.

It was truly heartwarming and exciting to see so many people there to support the launch of this historical book, and it encourages me even more as I consider what future endeavours lie ahead.

I greatly appreciate both Lou and Ruth for their added assistance in making this event so enjoyable and successful for all. Many of our guests picked up more than one book to gift to their family and friends over the holidays.

The success of this event serves as an excellent beginning, and bodes well for future book signings and upcoming speaking engagements as we share this important work with the public.

I invite you to keep in touch and enjoy regular updates here on this website and blog. I will be sharing insights and snippets of the The Archaeology of Patterson Village journey and, in the not-so-distant future, the planned growth of Our Lands Speak Series.

Should you belong to a historical society, college, university, or community group that would like to learn more about Ontario archaeology, feel free to reach out to my team, or me personally, and we’d be happy to arrange a time for a presentation, reading, and/or signing.

Remember, our lands can and do speak volumes to us . . . Join me as I share with you what my fifty-plus years in this field has taught me. It’s truly fascinating.

By the way, if you don’t have your own copy of The Archaeology of Patterson Village yet, you can order via the I C Bookstore here, for the paperback and e-book (PDF), and here for the ibooks version.

Kind regards and thanks,

Bill Finlayson