New museum exhibit features new angle on signs, signs...

Jen Gibson, collection and exhibitions specialist with Annandale National Historic Site, displays the deed to George Tillson for the land where Tillsonburg now sits as part of the exhibit What’s Your Sign: Part 2. The exhibit features a variety of items with signatures that will appeal to people of different interests. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

If the latest Annandale National Historic Site exhibit had a theme song, it would be Signs by Canadian rock group The 5 Man Electrical Band.

Titled What’s Your Sign: Part 2, the exhibit will feature important documents from the town’s archives with signatures integral to the town’s history. This includes some fascinating pieces of history, from the original deed for the land Tillsonburg sits on to a basketball signed by the 1952 Livvies basketball team that represented Canada in the Olympics to signed quilts.

Jen Gibson, collections and exhibitions specialist, explained Part 1 of the exhibit, held two years ago, featured signs, whereas this one is signatures.

“This is part two, but a completely different twist on names and signs,” she said. “The name is the same, but the theme is different.

The signatures and autographs in the exhibit are diverse and cover a broad spectrum of interests, dating from 1802 to 2015.

“It’s basically a chance to get our archival exhibits out and shown,” Gibson said. “With a lot of the exhibits, we don’t get a chance to get the archival holdings out.

The most intriguing documents are likely those connected to town founder George Tillson. One is a deed of bargain and sale for the land where the town now sits, dating back to 1834. Astute readers will quickly pick up on the fact that Tillson first settled on the banks overlooking Otter Creek in 1825.

“We don’t know why it’s dated 10 years later,” Gibson said. “Some people think that’s when he paid it off.”

Many local residents may want to attend the exhibit to see if their signatures or their ancestors' signatures are on some of the artifacts. In this category is a Tillsonburg 125 flag that multiple residents signed as a town fundraiser, a Canada 125 flag signed by dozens of residents, and an autographed quilt from Rolph Street Public School’s 75th anniversary in 1987.

And then a few famed people have their signature in the exhibit. These include Liona Boyd, trumpetist and Tillsonburg native son Johnny Cowell, Olympic skater Barbara Ann Scott, hockey broadcaster Ron McLean, and others. In the political section are letters from former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and Premier William Davis, as well as local documents including former Tillsonburg mayor and Oxford County reeve J.C. Eichenberg and former councillor Sam Lamb.

The exhibit opened March 3 and will run until May 11.