Founders of the Museum
For Women’s History Month and in honour of the museum’s 60th anniversary in 2024, this online exhibit is a feature on some of the notable female founders of the Muskoka Lakes Museum.
Marion Catto
Marion Catto was the member of the Port Carling Historical Society who first pitched the idea of creating a museum in 1961. She was one of the foremost donors to the museum throughout its history, contributing her time, money, and over 300 artifacts. She is also the namesake of the Muskoka Lakes Museum’s special exhibition space, the Catto Gallery.
Lorraine Amey
Born and raised in Port Carling, Lorraine Amey was the first President of the Muskoka Lakes Museum. Her mother, Leila Cope, wrote ”The History of Port Carling”, which helped instill the value of preserving community heritage. Also serving as councilor in the village, she helped erect the Port Carling Community Hall. Following her death in 1981, the museum’s Board of Directors named the main wing of the museum building in her honour.
Dorothy Duke
Dorothy Duke was a founding Director and Secretary of the museum when it first opened. From 1962 to 1989, she spent twenty-seven years volunteering her time, and upon retiring from her post, was made an honourary director to recognize her achievement. She spent countless hours documenting the museum’s progress through photographs, correspondence, and paperwork. Much of the museum’s history has been preserved thanks to her tireless dedication to documentation.
Kitty Tassie
Kitty Tassie was the first curator of the Muskoka Lakes Museum, then known as the Port Carling Pioneer Museum. She attended the University of Toronto, pursuing both a BA and MA in languages while working as a librarian. After moving to Port Carling with her husband, Garth, she served as the Town Clerk for three years before becoming the town’s librarian and an organist at the St. James Anglican Church before the museum hired her as curator. Though reserved, she was a prodigious artist, with many of her pieces preserved in MLM’s collection. In 1979, after her husband died, she moved back to Toronto to pursue her lifelong dream of studying art.
