Local historian Andrew Armitage and photographer John Fearnall have collaborated on a new book titled Leith, which combines historical stories and contemporary full colour photographs of the village located just north of Owen Sound. Leith will be launched at The Ginger Press in downtown Owen Sound at 7:00pm Thursday February 13. Everyone is welcome to attend and autographed copies ($20) can be reserved at 376-4233.

The village of Leith, just north of Owen Sound, was established in 1846 by Government Agent John Telfer who acquired a "plot or two of wild land, built a gristmill and laid out a village" according to the Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Grey published in 1865. Today, the village is home to about 100 permanent and summer residents; it also boasts classical music concerts, the Tom Thomson mystery and great swimming and hiking spots.

Both Andrew Armitage and John Fearnall live in Leith and have been exploring the area for many years. The old dock, the remains of which showed up in one of John's stunning drone photographs, sparked his interest in learning more about the history of the village (which also once had a distillery, gristmill, tannery, blacksmith shop and more). He turned to Andrew, who provided him with many of the stories in this book including the Ainslie Wharf, the sinking of the Hibou and the Leith Church. Andrew also introduced John to the North Sydenham Bocce Club (described in the final chapter of the book) which continues to meet year-round on a weekly basis.

Since 1987, The Ginger Press has published over 100 books of significant local interest including history, fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, children's books and more. They are available, along with many other books by local authors, at The Ginger Press Bookshop, located at 848 2nd Avenue East in Owen Sound or www.gingerpress.com.

source: media release, The Ginger Press