The collection reflects the publishing interests of Nick and Helma Mika. It comprises four main series: photographic files, reference files, printing process files and other materials. The collection is strong in local history materials, particularly relating to the history of the United Empire Loyalists, railways, and the city of Belleville.
The photographs are arranged by subject matter and cover activities in and around the town of Deseronto, Ontario. The majority date from the late nineteenth century and many depict the lumber-related industries of the Rathbun Company in Deseronto. There are also photographs of school groups, churches, railways, First World War airfields and portraits of Deseronto citizens.
List of 81 landowners in Hungerford Township and the village of Tweed who gave up land for the Napanee, Tamworth and Quebec Railway's extension to Tweed in Hastings County. The book lists names of occupiers, concession and lot and acreage of the land taken by the railway company. A note on the front of the volume certifies that the reference book was lodged with the Registrar of Hastings County on October 29th, 1888.
Printed ‘Rules of Order of the Municipal Council of the Town of Deseronto’ 18 Feb 1889
Printed pro-forma for a certificate of public recognition by the town of Halifax for service in the Second World War (with pencilled alterations to make reference to Deseronto instead), 1945
Printed booklet on ‘The Future of the Liberal Party’, address by Brooke Claxton, Minister of National Defence, 4 Aug 1948
Auditor’s report on road expenditures for the Town of Deseronto, 1949
Edition of ‘Roads and Road Construction’ journal, March 1951, Vol. 29, no. 339
Leases between the Town of Deseronto and the Deseronto Lions Club (of the Skating Rink) and Deseronto Boating Club (part of the old saw mill property), 1953-1954
Published report by the Select Committee on Indian Affairs on ‘Civil Liberties and Rights of Indians [Indigenous People] in Ontario’, 19 Mar 1954
Letter from J.D. Lee and Company to the Deseronto Medical Officer of Health, Dr W. H. Duffett, with two copies of blueprint relating to modifications to the septic tank of the Deseronto Public School, 4 Dec 1956
Collection of photographs from the Scott and Cooney families of Belleville, Ontario: 1) Streetcars and Tickell furniture factory on Foundry Street in Belleville, c.1895 2) Photograph of horses at the Quinte Exhibition grounds, c.1900 3-10) Photographs of the Quinte Exhibition (James Scott (1879-1947), the donor's grandfather, was the groundskeeper), c.1925 11) Page 9 and 10 of the S-A Conveyor, with photos from the Stephen-Adamson Christmas party, 1945 12) Photograph of children with Santa at a Stephens-Adamson Christmas party, c.1950 13) Photograph of Stephens-Adamson baseball team in front of the fountain at the Quinte Exhibition grounds (including Gordon Cooney, 1912-1968), c.1950 14) Gordon Cooney (father of Fay Bradshaw) and two other men having their hair cut at Seely's barber shop on Front Street in Belleville, c.1963
This collection contains a variety of materials relating to the history of Deseronto and Hastings County. Items include:
video of the 1989 Deseronto Centennial and Homecoming celebration, 4-5 August 1989, including performances of the Centennial Song, a Main Street parade, a baby show, karate demonstration and fireworks
File on the 1989 Deseronto Centennial celebrations
35mm slides of historic views of Deseronto
Morrison family snapshots of unidentified people
Photograph of an aircraft from Camp Mohawk on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, August 1917
Series of 120 photographs of Deseronto, taken around 1995. Many are aerial shots, others are of individual houses. A few depict individuals: Don Lindsay, Dennis Vick, Dick Beare, Joe Carter, Ed Gordanier
'A Building Code for Smaller Municipalities' by the National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, 1947
County of Hastings directories for 1983, 1984, 1985
County of Hastings receipts and expenditures statement, 1921
By-law to Regulate the Running At Large of Animals and for Other Purposes, Township of Tyendinaga, 6 August 1895
File of 'Deseronto Firsts' compiled by Ken Brown
File of photographs, press clippings and list of entrants in Deseronto's Easter Parade of 2006
16 photographs of empty lots in Deseronto, taken 2004
File of partial letters from Joe Goold to his sweetheart, Marnie, written while he was based in Detroit, 11 September to 11 October 1919, with blank postcards of Deseronto scenes and a letter from Elizabeth Goold to Bill Hunt concerning the letters
File on James Fairbairn including a newspaper extract and a studio photograph taken by him.
Typescript biography of Harry B. Free (Camp Rathbun flight instructor) by Margaret Crothers, 1991
File on the Dryden family, including a photograph of the Drydens at the Peterborough Lift Lock (https://flic.kr/p/9dmEYZ)
File of clippings about Gwen Lazier Braidwood, 2005
File of clippings about Deseronto mayor Glen Belcour, 1995-2002
Collection comprises: 1) Metal luggage tag “Deseronto Nav. Co. Ltd. Local 60”, c.1900 2) Fairbairn portrait of a group of young women, c.1900 3) Photograph of uniformed members of a Citizen's band (possibly the Napanee Citizen's Band), c.1900 4) Photo of Gibbards’ employees, Napanee (includes Wilfred French and his son), 1985
Photographs of members of the Ruttan family of Belleville, Ontario and houses in the Great St. James Street area of Belleville. The photographs include some reproductions, including one of a fire at Trudeau Motors in 1948. 111 photographs show construction work for the Quinte Conservation Green Energy Hydro Project at the McLeod Dam on the Moira River between College Street and Cannifton Road in Belleville between 2007 and 2009.
Negatives of photographs taken by John Fairbairn Anderson. They include images of dams, electricity generating plants, the Beal family cottage on Stoney Lake and photographs of places Anderson visited, including Orillia, Los Angeles, Peterborough, Young's Point, Sulphide, Port Hope, Muskegon (Michigan), Chicago and Trenton (Ontario).
Many of the negatives are associated with an index card, on which Anderson wrote the number of the negative, the subject of the photograph and the date it was taken. There were also a number of negatives with no associated card.
Record of sales made at William Clements' general store in Ivanhoe, Ontario, with name of customer, item purchased and price of item, 8 July 1905 - 3 October 1906
Reproduction photograph of C.P.R. station at Ivanhoe, Ontario, c.1920
Photocopy of page of information about the Ivanhoe General Store, taken from Ode to Ivanhoe by Janice Fleming , 1983
Records relating to water treatment in Belleville, Ontario. The collection includes:
'Minute Book' containing categorized notes on maintenance and repairs, dates of ice coverage in the Bay of Quinte, visitors, sick days, coal deliveries, etc., 1934-1959
Photograph taken outside the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Hall of members of the Order of Railway Conductors and Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen involved in the Grand Trunk Railway Strike of July 18 to August 2, 1910.
Materials collected by the Belleville Fire Department from members and former members of the department. They include photographs, correspondence, press clippings and fire call logs.
Eighteen photo-postcards of Hastings County scenes, taken by William Freeman. They include images of Bannockburn (2), Eldorado (4), Moscow (1), and Trenton (3). Items donated in 2011 include a photograph of Oran Tripp at Trenton, snapshots of the Rose family of Millbridge, a Model T at Bannockburn in 1911 and three C.N.R. engines at Bannockburn in 1912.
Two printed items: 1) Constitution and General Rules of the Electrical Employers' Association of Ontario and Accident Prevention Rules, 1914 2) Rules of the Electric Power Company Limited, Operating Office, Belleville, Ontario, c.1914
Photographs taken by members of the Cornell family of 47 John Street in Belleville, Ontario. Family snapshots, photographs of boats in Belleville Harbour, Presqu'ile lighthouse, cars, Billy Bishop's float plane.
The collection consists of three items: 1) Circular letters from the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario, filed in a binder by the Belleville office, 1915-1927 2) Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario reports on Frequency Standardization, 1948, with A.M.E.U. report on the reports 3) Belleville Utilities Commission contract for the construction of water purification plant extensions, 1969 with Gore & Storrie Limited, consulting engineers of Toronto
Grand Trunk Railway and Canadian National Railway materials collected by Cleland James Allison and Tom Allison, including:
Grand Trunk Railway Employees' Timetable 41 for Belleville and Montreal divisions, April 1922
Canadian National Railways Conductors' and Brakemen's seniority list, January 1940
Memorandum to C. J. Allison commending him for detecting a broken truck in Gananoque, 1 September 1944
Railway Operating Rules, 1916, 1929, 1951, 1962 *Texts of four talks on railway history given by Tom Allison, 1990-2005