No Claim to Greatness but that which comes from a Job Well Done: The Pioneer Myth in a rural Ontario town.

No Claim to Greatness but that which comes from a Job Well Done: The Pioneer Myth in a rural Ontario town.

Ellison, Jessica

Shedden Area Historical Society
Host contact: MacNeil, Eleanor

Dummitt, Christopher

TP-609

2010

U-Links Office and online

Coboconk

Rural mythology

This report is a case study combining oral history and literature reviews as a methodology to examine rural mythology. Several key informant interviews in the Coboconk area, along with a literature review, provide insight into the history of work and play in Coboconk. From its inception, this project has been an attempt to find meaning in the changing character of Coboconk by remembering and historicizing its pioneer past. Local history helps people to “understand, and accept, how the political and social system under which they live came about, and how force and conflict have played, and continue to play, their part in that evolution” (Thompson, 3). The task of uncovering the history of a town structured around pioneer and settler values is sure to bring a sense of comfort and stability to the community. Though times change, traditional values can remain. This paper has explored how a concept such as the frontier myth has created the foundation for community building, and maintains relations of kinship and friendship in a small-town setting. The local mill and the hockey arena are only two of many structures that support this concept, but they are the ones considered most important for this specific community. These two places, and the myths they have espoused, have created a sense of place and importance for Coboconk. The arena and the mill have confirmed frontier value systems and given them a justification.

Trent University