Woodstock Sentinel-Review Negatives Collection

County Archivist Liz describes one of our latest, exciting projects at the Oxford County Archives: The digitization of a massive collection of photographic negatives from the Woodstock Sentinel-Review newspaper.

By Liz Dommasch, County Archivist

A number of years ago, we received a very large donation of Woodstock Sentinel-Review negatives ranging from the late 1940s up until the 1990s. Unfortunately, for many years this collection sat, unprocessed, in our offsite storage location… that is until COVID struck and Archives staff had to find projects that could be completed from home, and in the archives when it was safe to do so.

Beginning in 2020, I began the slow and sometimes painstaking process of processing and digitizing these negatives. As there are well over hundreds of thousands of negatives crammed into boxes, binders, and even a filing cabinet, it was a daunting project to start. Even more daunting was the fact that many of the negative boxes did not provide a date and there was no descriptive information to determine who was in the photograph and where it was taken. In some cases, I was able to recognize a location or event which helped narrow down the date the photograph was published in the paper, while other times I had to pay close attention to items in the photographs which would shed some light on when the photograph was taken (calendars on walls were a godsend!). In other instances, we relied on help from other local museums and heritage groups, as well as from the public through our Instagram and the County’s Facebook page. Once I was able to determine one photograph in a box, I could then search the Woodstock Sentinel-Review newspapers, which the Archives has on microfilm, for further information on each image.

With that said, it’s been a very slow process with thousands upon thousands more negatives to be processed, scanned, and identified. I’m hoping as things return to normal, and volunteers and students can return to the Archives, we will have further assistance with this project – whether it’s helping with the processing of the negatives into acid-free envelopes and boxes; digitizing each image; and/or searching the newspapers to help provide a date and further information about each photograph. If anyone is interested in assisting with this project (and we are happy to provide students with volunteer hours), please contact the archives for further information: archives@oxfordcounty.ca. 

The images I have arranged and digitized so far are fantastic and provide a rich history of not only Woodstock but communities across the County capturing events in places such as Tavistock, Norwich, and Tillsonburg. Please keep an eye out on our social media platforms for images from this collection! In the meantime, please enjoy some of my favourite photographs I’ve discovered so far.

"Monster Parade" participants on tricycles and bicycles as part of the Tavistock Centenary Celebrations. – 2 August 1948. [COA123 #1-23]

A toddler holding suitcase with a sign on it that reads “1949” – before November 1949. [COA123 #-144]

3-year-old, Dennis Magashazi, of Princeton, feeding baby deer with a bottle – before May 1950. [COA123 #4-267]

A young child seated in a boat ride, in front of a Merry-go-round and strong man game – before July 1950. [COA123 #6-208​]

Staff standing behind the counter at the Sportsman’s Grill - before January 1951. [COA123 #7-181​]

Group of children playing in snow around a hydro pole - before December 1950. [COA123 #7-85​]