You may know him as the Newmarket History Hound, a longtime Newmarket resident who shares his vast historical knowledge about the town, its people, its successes and challenges with energy and passion.
Richard MacLeod, who is a go-to resource for anything about Newmarket since the town’s founding as a trading post and milling centre in 1801, conducts educational walking and speaking tours, gives presentations to local service clubs, and writes the heritage column, Remember This?, here at NewmarketToday.
MacLeod’s thoughtful insight helps residents make sense of Newmarket’s history, its place in the world, and how events of the past often shed light on what’s happening in the present and even the future.
"The idea of a Newmarket that knows where it came from will certainly, I hope, guide where it is headed," he recently told NewmarketToday.
His passion for the past encourages others to both appreciate and join in his drive to share heritage mementos and memories.
For example, Randy Allan Budd, recently shared a “treasure trove” of memories with MacLeod, which he then began sharing with the community on his Facebook page.
“This is a 1955 Newmarket phone book in terrific shape,” MacLeod said of the photo he posted of the directory. “Have a relative who lived here in 1955? I will look them up and tell you what their phone number was at the time!”
A flood of comments followed that post, in which a resident said their parent’s telephone number from 1955 is still in use today by another family member.
“There are some aspects of my history hobby that I just love. Presentations, particularly, to local groups are always a rush,” MacLeod said recently.
MacLeod’s historical musings often spark conversation in the community, and inspire people to think about our history as worthy of preservation.
Resident Herb Goodhoofd read MacLeod’s recent article about little known facts about Newmarket with interest.
“You mention dairies in town. I remember a fire in the early 1950s at the dairy stables located just west of Main Street, on the north side of Botsford. Milk and ice, as I recall, was delivered by horse drawn wagons/vehicles but after the fire the dairy moved to small trucks. Do you have any knowledge of this fire?” Goodhoofd said.
Chances are MacLeod does, but if not, he will sniff out all the details like a “hound” and happily share what he’s learned with others.
