We all know people that have a seemingly photographic memory, yet recalling an event or a person does not in itself, make a memory of historical significance.

I had the greatest respect for the late Doug Thompson, a Wallaceburg District Secondary School history teacher. He had accumulated an incredible historical knowledge and was mesmerizing in sharing not just his knowledge, but his understanding of history and putting it in context.

I recall that at the beginning of one semester, we had a few discussions on just what can be considered “history.”

The one factor that sticks in my mind to this day is that the information MUST be written down. Otherwise, it is merely folklore. And we all know how stories tend to grow over time. One merely needs to attend a wedding or a funeral.

While originally, events needed to be preserved in print, in today’s modern culture, we also preserve history in the form of audio and video recordings.

This is why music notation was such an important innovation, and in today’s world, audio and video recordings. These are ways of preserving our music history.

All that I have just expressed is a result of a conversation I recently had with my good friend, and fellow musician, Chris Mann.

No locals need to be told of the Mann family’s contributions in chronicling the history of Wallaceburg. Frank, Al and David were all walking encyclopedias of local history, but that knowledge was a result of relentless research that has been well preserved in print, in the several books they have written, their collections of photos, interviews or, in David’s case, video presentation.

In retirement, Chris has picked-up the torch where other........

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