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Midland's Bookmark

 
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About the Bookmark

On October 4th, 2011, the Town of Midland became home to a plaque commemorating author Sylvia Maultash Warsh’s novel, The Queen of Unforgetting, published by Cormorant Books. The plaque will display a passage from the novel set in Little Lake Park, where the permanent installation will be displayed.

The installation marks the eighth unveiling in the Project Bookmark Canada initiative, a charity that aims to permanently place text from Canadian works of poetry and fiction in the exact location described within the passage.

Warsh and Midland Mayor Gord McKay unveiled Warsh’s Bookmark at Little Lake Park. “Midland is honoured to have Sylvia Maultash Warsh’s novel, The Queen of Unforgetting, Bookmarked in our Little Lake Park,” said Mayor McKay. “This is a wonderful occasion to celebrate our community’s literary heritage.”

The unveiling in Midland is particularly special to Warsh. “I'm very honoured that The Queen of Unforgetting has been chosen to be part of Project Bookmark Canada,” she said. "It's a thrill to think of the words from my book going on permanent display in Little Lake Park in Midland, a place I've felt a connection to since I was young.”

Marc Côté, publisher of Cormorant Books, also shared his opinion on the Bookmark experience. “The idea of celebrating our country's literature by situating it in the very locations where the stories take place helps to make our stories and poems a greater part of everyday life. These plaques enrich our experience of walking in a park or crossing a bridge. They tell us that our nation isn't just the geography and history of a region, it's more than that because it lives in our imaginations in the specific settings of many different books.”

Thanking the town of Midland for their willful participation in the installation and unveiling, Project Bookmark Canada founder Miranda Hill said, “The Town of Midland has been instrumental in assisting us to Bookmark this site and to promote its role as a literary setting. It’s wonderful to see a community celebrate its stories in this way.”

About Midland

The Town of Midland is located on Georgian Bay, in Simcoe County, Ontario, and is the main town of the southern Georgian Bay area. Situated at the southern end of Georgian Bay’s 30,000 islands, it is the economic centre of the region. Its population swells in the summer months, as it is a popular seasonal destination of cottagers and tourists alike.

Midland was founded in 1871 when the Midland Railway of Canada selected the minimally populated area of Mundy’s Bay as the new station and end of the line of the railway. Settlers were soon attracted by the convenience of the railway, and the town thrived due to the shipping afforded by Georgian Bay and the lumber and grain trades.

Midland is home to a number of murals painted by the late artist Fred Lenz. Most depict scenes of past local businesses and images from Canadian history. They are scattered in and around the area, with the largest (depicting a meeting between Samuel de Champlain and a local native) painted on the silos overlooking Midland’s main harbour. Other notable attractions are the Huronia Museum, with nearly one million objects including artifacts pertaining to native and maritime history, the Jesuit mission of Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, now a living museum depicting missionary life in the 17th century and the Martyrs’ Shrine, a Roman Catholic Church commemorating the Canadian Martyrs, five missionaries who were martyred during the Huron-Iroquois wars.

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Midland's Bookmark
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