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Faces of Georgeville - The Mary Landry Collection

In 2014 the family of Mary Landry donated a collection of photographic portraits to the Georgeville Historical Society. The collection comprised approximately 100 photos of local villagers, many of which have been on permanent display at the Murray Memorial Centre for years.

Mary Landry (1930-2014) hails from an old Sherbrooke family where she was initially raised before the family relocated to Arvida. Mary studied English at McGill, receiving her B.A. degree in 1950. Her association with McGill continued throughout her life, where she took undergraduate courses in music and art history during the 1980s as well as participating in the McGill Community for Lifelong Learning. She was also a member of the university’s choral society as well as the Island City Singers.

Shortly after graduating from McGill, Mary married Peter Landry, a future professor of the university. Later on, when Peter joined many of his professional colleagues in and about the village of Georgeville, the couple became seasonal residents of the Townships’ community.

It was about this time that Mary developed her passion for photography. She attended various workshops and studied under three Montreal area tutors. She developed her photographic skills in association with her love of people, nature and travel. Mary went on to exhibit her photographs in Montreal and the Eastern Townships.

Her greatest artistic achievement is associated with the village of Georgeville’s bicentennial celebrations in 1997. What started out as a project for the event evolved into a perpetual undertaking. Entitled the ‘Faces of Georgeville’, Mary described it as “an ongoing project to create a visual record of the longtime residents of the village… all the people who have made a significant contribution to the lasting development of this Eastern Townships community.”

What follows is a sampling of the ‘Faces of Georgeville’ collection donated to the Society.

 

Addie Atkin - A local historian

 

 

Jack Atkin - dedicated supporter of the community, jack-of-all-trades
and 'Uncle Jack' to the whole village.

 

 

Buster Bernais - local handyman and stone mason.

 

 

John Boynton - historian, naturalist and churchman.

 

 

Bernard & Sylvia Drew - councilman, building inspector, school
bus driver, farmer, with his beloved wife.

 


Frances Evans - noted home cook, gardener, farm housewife and church organist.

 

 

Elwood Hand - antique dealer.

 

 

Allan Heath - man about town.

 

 

Edna McKelvey & Barbara Hutchins - long time friends and community supporters.

 

 

 

Bill Heath - avid fisherman and painter.

 

 

Ogilvy - & Kay Leslie - happy retirees and church supporters.

 

 

 

Neil McTavish - rural mailman, car salesman and garage owner.

 

 

 

Joan Murray - artisan jeweler and community supporter.