Permanent Collection

The Barber Shop

This turn of the century barber shop was first owned by Eugene Dufresne then passed on to his son, Alex Dufresne, and it was originally located on Main Street in Callander. Alex Dufresne, who was instrumental in creating the museum, donated this and many other articles to the museum's collection. The barber shop was also used as a Credit Union where loans were given on a handshake. It was THE place to go and socialize.

Hanging on the wall are common kitchen tools: butter presses, a potato masher, a coffee grinder, and a toaster. The cast iron oven was donated by a resident of Callander and carefully restored by one of our board members; it is not original to the house. On the opposite wall is a display of common tools used at the turn of the century.

This room was Dr. Dafoe's refuge from the front of the house, which was used as his practice. He would sit and enjoy his favorite programs on the radio. Because there were few radios at the time, the doctor would sometimes bring the radio outside onto the porch when there was a special announcement from the Government or Queen. There is the original telephone, which provided a direct line to the nursery; the Quints never came to the house, instead, when he was needed the doctor would receive a call and head over to the nursery. The medical display cases contain artifacts from Dr. Dafoe and his brother William, who was a gynecologist in a Toronto area hospital.

Used as a library. Dr. Dafoe added this room because he wanted a comfortable, warm place to read his beloved books; he had at least fifteen hundred volumes. At times, if he liked you, he would lend out his books. This room currently houses are very popular, "When Hollywood Came to Callander" display. On the walls are various original movie stills from 3 movies that were filmed in Callander during the late 1930s, staring the Dionne Quints. There is also numerous Quint artifacts and memorabilia from the height of "Quintmania"

The doctor would come in this room to wash up and mix medication for his patients, as there were no pharmacies in Callander in those days. Even though the house was sold twice after his passing, the owners found the dispensary quaint and left is as it was.

We have more exciting rooms in our Permanent Collection. To view these, please select it from the menu bar under Exhibits.