Preserving the Stories of Glenreagh

Wilma Trowells | President Glenreagh Museum

When Wilma arrived in Glenreagh in 1960 as a young schoolteacher, she could never have imagined she would spend the next six decades helping shape the community she had come to love.

But that’s exactly what happened.

She married in Glenreagh that same year, built a life here, raised a family, and became part of the fabric of the village.

And after more than sixty years, there is still nowhere else she’d rather be.

“I don’t want to live anywhere else,” she says.

It’s a simple statement, but one that perfectly captures Wilma’s connection to the town she has called home for most of her life.

A Lifetime of Community Service

Like many people in Glenreagh, retirement didn’t slow Wilma down.

In fact, it opened the door to a new chapter of community involvement.

For more than thirty years, she has been involved with the Glenreagh Museum, helping preserve the stories, photographs and artefacts that tell the history of the district.

Wilma is quick to credit others for the museum’s success, particularly Mrs Webb, whose vision helped establish and grow the collection.

“We’re only the workers,” she says modestly.

But those workers have played an important role in ensuring Glenreagh’s history is preserved and shared with future generations.

Timber Runs Through the Story

It’s impossible to talk about Glenreagh’s history without talking about timber.

For Wilma, the connection is both personal and historical.

Her husband spent fifty years working in the timber industry before retiring, eventually operating his own mobile sawmill.

The industry supported local families, created livelihoods and helped shape the town that exists today.

“Timber is part of our history,” Wilma says.

And it’s a history that continues to be celebrated through the museum and the Glenreagh Timber Festival.

Walk through the museum and you’ll find photographs, stories and displays that help tell that story.

Many of the faces in those old photographs are familiar to Wilma.

“They were my neighbours,” she says.

It’s a reminder that local history isn’t something distant.

It’s personal.

Feeding the Festival

While many people remember the attractions, competitions and entertainment, Wilma’s memories of the Glenreagh Timber Festival come from behind the scenes.

For around three decades, she has been involved in helping make the event happen.

Not from the stage.

Not from the parade.

But from the canteen.

As part of the catering teams that supported the festival year after year, Wilma helped ensure visitors, volunteers and competitors had something to eat.

“Keeping people fed,” she laughs. “That’s very important.”

It may sound simple, but anyone who has organised a community event knows just how important those roles are.

The festival depends on volunteers willing to do the work that often goes unnoticed.

And Wilma has always been one of those people.

Putting Glenreagh on the Map

When asked what the Glenreagh Timber Festival means to the community, Wilma doesn’t hesitate.

“The Timber Festival has actually put Glenreagh on the map.”

Over the years, the festival has become one of the village’s most important annual events, attracting visitors from across the region while celebrating the industries and people that helped build the town.

For Wilma, its value goes beyond tourism or entertainment.

The festival creates an opportunity to share local history.

To celebrate community spirit.

And to ensure younger generations understand the stories that came before them.

Keeping History Alive

That belief is what connects Wilma’s work at the museum with her involvement in the festival.

Both are about education.

Both are about preserving heritage.

And both are about creating opportunities for people to learn about Glenreagh’s past.

Whether it’s through an old photograph, a museum display, a steam engine demonstration or a woodchopping competition, the goal is the same.

To keep the stories alive.

A Legacy of Service

As the Glenreagh Timber Festival approaches its twentieth year, Wilma’s story reminds us that community events are built by more than attractions and entertainment.

They are built by people.

People who volunteer.

People who preserve history.

People who quietly contribute year after year without seeking recognition.

For more than sixty years, Wilma has been one of those people.

Through her work at the museum, her support of the festival and her commitment to the community she loves, she has helped ensure Glenreagh’s story continues to be told.

And thanks to people like Wilma, future generations will be able to discover it too.

Wilma Trowells | President Glenreagh Museum