{"product_id":"orillia-spirit","title":"Orillia Spirit","description":"\u003ci\u003e2017 Orillia Museum of Art \u0026amp; History Award, Historical Publications and\/or Research — Winner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe history of Orillia, told through the stories of its people, bringing to life the community’s heritage and significance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Orillia Spirit:\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMuddling through Canada’s first, and hilarious, experiment with daylight savings time, Mayor “Daylight Bill” Frost had it.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreating his own money and dreaming a drainage ditch would become a tourist attraction, Mayor Ben Johnson had it. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTaking his town’s electric company by force, Mayor J.B. Tudhope had it. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInventing early forms of medicare and the first RVs, dreaming of universities and folk festivals, battling for decades over liquor and rinks, ordinary people had it.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\nSomething about the place immortalized in Stephen Leacock’s classic \u003ci\u003eSunshine Sketches of a Little Town\u003c\/i\u003e has always inspired its people to reach for their dreams. Turn-of-the-twentieth-century leaders coined the phrase “the Orillia Spirit” to describe their drive to make the town a social, moral, and economic leader of Canada. The results have been comic, tragic, and heroic, as shown in this colourful history of Orillia.","brand":"Dundurn Group Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54252262719832,"sku":"9781459739604","price":25.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781459739604_7b276984-e68c-4519-add4-928703e688c5.jpg?v=1765270842","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/orillia-spirit","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}