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SUMMER 2017 NEWSLETTER
June 3: Walking Tours start
(Saturdays & Sundays at 11 am)
June 4: Janet Carnochan Day—Author
Fair and Confederation Celebration play, 1-5 pm
June 15: Lecture by Sandra Joyce,
7:30 pm
June 18: Famous & Infamous, 2 pm
July 1: Canada Day in Simcoe Park
July 3 & 4: Tall Ships event (Museum
booth by the water & walking tours)
July /Aug: Renegade History Theatre
(times and dates TBA)
July 16: Famous & Infamous, 2 pm
July 20: Lecture by Ron Dale, 7:30 pm
July 24-28 – Kid Curators Camp
(10 am – 4 pm daily)
August 7: Past is Present Heritage
Festival, 11 am - 4 pm
August 14-18 – Kid Curators Camp
(10 am – 4 pm daily)
August 17: Lecture by Jane
McGaughey, 7:30 pm
August 20: Famous & Infamous, 2 pm
Chronicles UPCOMING EVENTS
MUSEUM
NIAGARA HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM
CELEBRATING OUR VOLUNTEERS! On April 27th, we held our annual Volunteer Appreciation Lunch as a thank you for the work that our dedicated volunteers do year-round.
For us, volunteers are especially important because of our small staff. We have over 100 volunteers who help us in all aspects of running the Historical Society and Museum – from the Board of Directors who govern our organization to the collections committee who decide what to collect, to our newsletter folders and event volunteers, from our exhibitions helpers to our gardeners and maintenance volunteers. Everything they do, whether it’s every week or just a couple times a year, all of this work helps to fulfill our mission of preserving this community’s history for future generations.
Each year we are able to nominate 5 volunteers for the Ontario Volunteer Service Awards, beginning with 5 consecutive years and going up in increments of 5 years. We choose volunteers who have contributed significantly to the Society in terms of their time and years of service. The following volunteers received certificates and pins in May at a ceremony in Niagara Falls:
Steven Baxter – 10 years Kathy Heit – 5 years David Livett – 5 years Berndt Meyer – 5 years Pam Mundy – 5 years Stephen Steele – 5 years
Congratulations to this year’s recipients! The Museum is currently looking for more gardening volunteers. If you have a green thumb and enjoy working outside, please give us a call!
museum at the
Page 2
happening Chronicles
CANADA 150 LECTURE SERIES 3rd Thursday of each month from March to September. Lectures start at 7:30 p.m. JUNE 15 | SANDRA JOYCE Finding Family at the Tower of London (Home children) JULY 20 | RON DALE Draft Dodgers, Deserters and Rebels: Niagara as a Civil War Refuge AUGUST 17 | JANE MCGAUGHEY Ireland's Defender: Colonel James Fitzgibbon and Irish Immigration to Upper Canada SEPTEMBER 21| GAVIN WATT Forced Migration -- the Loyalists Settle Niagara Tickets are $10 or free for Niagara Historical Society Members. Reservations required as seating is limited.
GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY:
FAMOUS & INFAMOUS January - November | 3rd Sunday at 2 pm
Join us in the gallery each month for a presentation by a
local resident, followed by a lively discussion about the life and times of a famous or infamous person from the past.
FREE ADMISSION
June 18 Nicolae Ceaușescu July 16 Edsel Ford Aug 20 James Augustine Aloysius Joyce Sept 17 Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim Oct 15 William Maxwell "Max" Aitken Nov 19 Paul Joseph Goebbels [post 1939]
Summer 2017
Page 3
KID CURATORS
NIAGARA’S ROOTS | JULY 24 - 28 Celebrate Canada’s 150th by exploring different groups
who settled in NOTL! Includes trips out into the community and visitor presentations!
NIAGARA’S ATTRACTIONS | AUGUST 14 - 18
Campers will experience some of the popular attractions that draw thousands of tourists to NOTL every year!
CAMP HOURS: 10AM–4PM
COST PER WEEK: $125/CAMPER AGES 6-12
Space is limited and is filling up fast!
Presentation of 2016 Audited Financial
Statements
You are invited to attend an interim membership meeting to find out the
financial results of 2016. Join us before our lecture on June 15th. Our
auditors, Bridgman & Durksen, Chartered Accountants, along with the
Treasurer, will present our audited financial statements and the results
for the 2016 fiscal year.
Presentation is at 6 pm followed by light refreshments. The lecture starts
at 7:30 pm.
Chronicles
CURATOR’S CORNER
My goodness, the last few months have been a whirlwind! I joined the museum in late February as the Assistant Curator and I will be filling in for Sarah as Acting Curator while she is away on Maternity leave.
I received my Honours BA in Anthropology from the University of Guelph and then I went on to complete an Advanced Diploma in Applied Museum Studies at Algonquin College. I have been working in the cultural and heritage field for over 6 years and have had some fun and unique experiences thus far. After graduating from Guelph I took a job in Morden, Manitoba as an intern at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre where I helped excavate dinosaur fossils, completed various curatorial tasks, and tried not to freeze during the winter months. My newly found interest in paleontology lead me to become a Science Educator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta. I led hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists and students on interpretive walks and hikes though the badlands. I have also had the honour of working for the Senate of Canada in their heritage department and in my own local community museum in Dundas, Ontario.
I am excited to see what the rest of the year brings. I look forward to getting to know all our fantastic volunteers and members, so feel free to drop by the museum and say hello!
We are excited to announce that the exhibition Putting Down Roots is now open in our temporary gallery! This is our Canada150 exhibit that explores the various communities who have shaped and influenced Niagara-on-the-Lake. One of my favorite items currently on display is a series of postcards written by Albert, a Polish soldier in France, to seventeen-year-old Charlotte Masters in Niagara. Despite the language and cultural barriers between the locals and Polish soldiers, some romantic affairs blossomed in town.
One of the cards reads: Just a question please, dear Charlotte, can you please define 'love' as it really is? I must admit that it is not a question for you to answer but I wish it were so, do you ma bonne amie. I have made up my mind to come and see you in Canada and believe me I'll certainly keep my word.
Sadly, Charlotte married a local boy; the fate of the soldier she was writing to remains a mystery.
The Polish Soldiers who trained at Niagara Camp during WWI are one of many groups featured in Putting Down Roots. Even though they did not stay very long, they certainly influenced the community.
Come see Putting Down Roots to learn more about Indigenous Peoples, Loyalists, Home Girls, Irish, Confederate Refugees, Mennonites, African Canadians, Summer Residents, Temporary Workers and Syrian Refugees, and how they influenced the community!
- Shawna Butts
This is just one of seven postcards that Albert sent to Charlotte during the First World War.
Summer 2017
Page 5
Meet Rebecca Rizzo, Assistant Curator (maternity leave)
I am thrilled to join the Niagara Historical Society and Museum team as the Assistant Curator. Upon completing my Bachelor of Arts in Honours History at McMaster and Bachelor of Education at Lakehead, I went on to pursue a post-graduate certificate in Museum and Gallery Studies at Georgian College. Working in the cultural heritage field for the past two years, I am continuing to gain experience as a museum professional with previous work experiences at Casa Loma, the Fieldcote Memorial Museum and the Discovery North Bay Museum.
At NHSM, I will be assisting with the Collection Review Project, various exhibits and programs, and marketing and promotions. I am currently organizing the 2017 program for the Kid Curator Camps and will be running them this coming summer. With Canada’s
150th Birthday, the July camp will focus on the various cultures that have settled in Niagara-on-the-Lake. In August, campers will experience Niagara-on-the-Lake’s most notable attractions and develop an understand-ing of what the region is known for.
I am looking forward to working with you all and excited to see what this new experience will bring!
RENEGADE STREET HISTORY PROJECTS Through generous funding from the Niagara Region’s Niagara Investment in Culture grant, the Museum presents “Renegade Street History Projects”. A troupe of actors will present short vignettes at four locations. Each vignette will tell a different story from our community’s history. Renegade Street History will be popping up on August 11, 12, 13, August 18, 19, 20, and August 27th. 12:00 pm: Courthouse 12:30 pm: Queen’s Royal Park 1:00 pm: Simcoe Park 1:45 pm: Queenston Heights
See if you can catch them all!
Photos from First Fridays: A Royal Affair
Page 6
Chronicles
President’s Message
Summer’s coming! In the throes of winter, we pine for longer days and no coats! This year there is added excitement with Canada’s 150th. The summer months will be packed with activities and celebrations so do your best to attend at least one of the upcoming events being provided by the museum. Start it off by joining us at the Museum on Sunday, June 4th for Janet Carnochan Day! Besides readings by local writers (members of the NOTL Writer’s Circle) and musical entertainment, you can come experience the Confederation Celebration show produced by the NOTL Canada 150 Committee. Also at any time be sure to visit the new exhibit “Putting Down Roots”. Enjoy your summer, celebrate your heritage, and reflect on the privilege of living in this land of Canada.
Faith Bell, Society President
NOMINATION FORM FOR SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Name of Nominee: _____________________________ Address: ________________________________ Name of Nominator: ____________________________ Address: ________________________________ Seconded _____________________________________ Address: ________________________________ I, ____________________________________, agree to stand for election to the Board of Directors at the
Annual General meeting, October 12, 2017. If elected to the position for which I am nominated, I agree to serve for the term elected.
Signed: _______________________________________ Date: __________________________________
Board Nominations
The Niagara Historical Society is seeking
nominations for the Board of Directors
for a three-year term starting October
12, 2017. If you or someone you know
would be a good candidate for the
Board, please fill out the slip below and
return it to the Museum by August 1,
2017.
Summer 2017
Page 7
From the Acting Managing Director
I want to first congratulate Sarah Kaufman and her husband on the birth of their new daughter, Madeline. We are all looking forward to your return to the Museum in early 2018!
This year as we celebrate Canada’s 150th, we are reflecting on the various groups of people who have called Niagara-on-the-Lake home and shaped this community. We have a series of programs and events lined up including our monthly lectures, an author fair, “Renegade History” (more information to come), our annual heritage festival and cemetery tours.
There will be many Canada 150 activities happening throughout town. We are excited to have the NOTL Canada 150 Committee’s “Confederation Celebration” at the Museum on June 4th for Janet Carnochan Day, and then again at our Heritage Festival on August 7th. Join us in the courtyard for live music and an historical review of the past 150 years. Admission is free to both of these events.
2017 also marks the 225th Anniversary of the first Legislative Assembly here in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The weekend of September 16 & 17 will be busy with activities, including Doors Open Niagara-on-the-Lake. 20 sites of architectural and historical significance will be open for free this weekend. To find out more visit http://www.doorsopenontario.on.ca/Events/Niagara-on-the-Lake.aspx.
You will notice several new faces at the Museum this summer so make sure you introduce yourself. Shawna Butts has been with us since February and Rebcecca Rizzo joined us in April to act as our third person while Sarah is on maternity leave. At the end of May, two summer students will be joining us thanks to funding through Young Canada Works.
We look forward to seeing you at the Museum this summer! -Amy Klassen
WINDOW RESTORATION HAS BEGUN!
The Niagara Historical Society & Museum is excited to announce a restoration project on the exterior of our three heritage buildings. Thanks to the Ontario150 Community Capital Program, administered through the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) as part of the Ontario 150 Commemoration, the windows, soffits, fascia and trim on the Museum buildings will all be restored. In addition, storm windows are being added to Memorial Hall to help with the overall climate control inside the building. The grant awarded was $136,200 through OTF, with an additional grant of $15,000 from the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Niagara Region’s Heritage Restoration & Improvement Grant Program. With total project costs of just over $180,000, the Museum will be drawing the rest from the generous donations made in memory of the late John Walker.
CONTACT US 43 Castlereagh Street, PO Box 208 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0 Phone: 905-468-3912 | Fax: 905-468-1728
Visit us at www.niagarahistorical.museum
Niagara Historical Society & Museum
MUSEUM HOURS The Museum is open daily year-round . May-October: 10 am to 5 pm | November-April: 1 pm to 5 pm
The Museum is closed: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, NEW** Closed December 18 - 31
@NHS_Museum Niagara Historical Society & Museum
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Faith Bell, President David Hemmings, VP Museum Elizabeth Surtees, VP Society John Sayers, Treasurer Lorraine Joyner, Secretary Denise Ascenzo Martin Richardson Doug Phibbs Suzanne Hebert Chris Pratt Ron Dale Paolo Miele - Town Representative
HONORARY LIFE SUPPORTERS Joy Ormsby Richard Taylor Dr. Richard Merritt Christopher Allen Robert Knight
MUSEUM STAFF
Sarah Maloney Kaufman Managing Director [email protected]
Shawna Butts Acting Curator [email protected]
GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM:
www.niagarahistorical.museum
Amy Klassen Acting Managing Director [email protected]
Rebecca Rizzo Assistant Curator [email protected]
