Do you look back at the places of Cambridge past like the Leisure Lodge or having a slice of cake at the Knotty Pine with a sense of longing for the good old days?
The McDougall Cottage wants to hear about it to help shape a future exhibit tentatively titled ‘The Power of Nostalgia’ opening in 2026.
“Nostalgia is really a universal experience and sense of place is really important in a sense of identity, that’s what we wanted to explore,” said Michelle Bartlett, head of content and experience at McDougall Cottage in Downtown Galt.
“Nostalgia is a funny thing, it kind of takes you back to a place, often in childhood, where you were happy … your brain kind of processes it through rose coloured glasses. If there were minor things that weren’t perfect or weren’t happy, your brain kind of filters that out.”
Although people can be nostalgic for a variety of things and forms, Bartlett said this exhibit is focusing on built places like schools, businesses, parks, workplaces, restaurants and recreational spaces.
The museum has reached out to the community with a survey to ask locals about specific places that hold a special meaning to them — which can be gone, still existing or existing in another form — to inform the content of the exhibit.
“There’s an option in the survey if they would like to be interviewed, or if they’re willing to be interviewed we can get in touch with them and chat with them more about that,” she said. “If they have any cultural belongings that they’d like to share, photographs or other items that are really meaningful to them about Cambridge or to the specific places that they’re talking about that would be amazing.”
The idea for this exhibit stemmed from a conversation Bartlett had with a proud Hespelerite friend.
“Whenever he talked about Hespeler, it was always very nostalgic and he got so wistful about it,” she said. “This place where you grew up really means something to you, it’s really a big part of your identity.”
Bartlett said the exhibit will mainly explore from the 1950s through to the 1990s but part of the survey will ask what decade they most associate their nostalgia with.
The survey is available online or in person at McDougall Cottage at 89 Grand Ave. S. until March 28. Participants who complete the survey can be entered for a chance to win a gift basket or gift card to local businesses.