Monday, November 28, 2011

THE FIRST WORLD WAR FROM ABOVE - on TVO

Remembrance Day needn't be limited to just November 11th.

Tonight on TVO a documentary revisits the First World War - this time from above.  The productions puts together rarely-seen historical footage and photographs to give a new perspective on the war - and the destruction it inflicted on European towns and the countrysides.

Present day footage is also used to update the story and show the scars that remain on the landscape.

The First World War From Above airs tonight (Monday, November 28th) at 10 pm and repeats Thursday, December 1st at Midnight, on TVO - cable 2.

Here is the BBC description of the program:

The story of the Great War told from a unique new aerial perspective. Featuring two remarkable historical finds, including a piece of archive footage filmed from an airship in summer 1919, capturing the trenches and battlefields in a way that's rarely been seen before. Also features aerial photographs taken by First World War pilots - developed for the first time in over ninety years - that show not only the devastation inflicted during the fighting, but also quirks and human stories visible only from above. Presented by Fergal Keane.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vyrzh



Saturday, November 26, 2011

SUNNYSIDE OPEN HOUSE DECEMBER 10th

If you are unable to attend the Victorian Nutcracker Open House at Sunnyside Mansion today (November 26th), you will have another opportunity to tour this historic St. George house on Saturday December 10th, 2011.

David Bailey will again offer a tour of the restored home originally built for Dr. Kitchen, this time in support of the Brant Historical Society (which operates the Brant Museum & Archives and Myrtleville House Museum in Brantford).

Along with his fundraising partner. Mary Stedman, David invites people to Sunnyside between 12 Noon and 4:00 pm on the 10th (also the evening of the St. George Santa Claus parade which will travel past Sunnyside shortly after its 6:00 pm start time).

Sunnyside is located at 13 Main Street South, St. George.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

SANTA CLAUS VISITS ST. GEORGE FOR A PARADE DECEMBER 8th, 2012


St. George Santa Claus Parade

Presented by the St. George Firefighters Association.

Route: Downtown St. George.

Along High Street, turning at the Post Office,
then north on Main Street to arrive at the Fire Hall.

6pm start time - bundle up it can get cold!

After the parade, children can meet Santa Claus at the Fire Hall

and enjoy hot chocolate.




Wednesday, November 23, 2011

DIGITAL PROJECT LAUNCHES DECEMBER 10th

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S DIGITAL PROJECT IS READY TO LAUNCH!

Join us for a tour of the new virtual collection & a historical talk from a very special guest speaker.

Refreshments will be served.


Contact the Library for more information:  519-442-2433


http://images.ourontario.ca/brant


St. George Branch
78 Main Street N.
St. George, ON
Saturday, December 10th, 2011
Begins 1:00 pm

This project is a partnership between the South Dumfries Historical Society, Adelaide Hunter Hoodless National Historic Site, the Paris Museum & Historical Society, and the County of Brant Public Library.

Support for this project has been generously provided the Ontario Trillium Foundation (Thanks!).

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

WHO KNEW CONTEST - GREAT PRIZES TO BE WON

WHO KNEW CONTEST - GREAT PRIZES TO BE WON

  • Explore local history at www.interestingfacts.ca
    • Tuesday, November 15, 2011 to  Thursday, December 08, 2011
  • Web:

  • ENTER THE CONTEST BY WATCHING SHORT VIDEOS ABOUT LOCAL INTERESTING FACTS
    AND THEN ANSWERING QUESTIONS
    TO RECEIVE YOUR ENTRY BALLOT:

    VISIT www.interestingfacts.ca
  • To participate in the
    Who Knew Minute to Win It Giveaway!


    Only one entry per person is accepted per week. Please come back each week for new interesting facts!

    For the opportunity to earn extra ballots, stop into any of the participating museums and galleries below!

    Prize winners will be announced at the end of each week, with the Grand Prize winner being announced in early December, 2011!

    Good luck!

  • • Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead NHS
    • Bell Homestead National Historic Site
    • Burford Township Historical Society Museum
    • Brant Museum & Archives
    • Brantford Arts Block
    • Canadian Military Heritage Museum
    • Chiefswood National Historic Site
    • Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant
    • Mohawk Chapel
    • Myrtleville House Museum
    • Personal Computer Museum
    • St. George Museum
    • Woodland Cultural Centre

BRANT HISTORICAL SOCIETY TALK WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Lieutenant Colonel David Meehan, the commanding officer of the 56th Field Artillery Regiment, will speak about Brantford soldiers in Afghanistan at the next meeting of the Brant Historical Society on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011.

The talk will cover the 10 years of Canadian operations in Afghanistan and the role of Brantford's citizen soldiers. 

The talk starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Brant Museum and Archives at 57 Charlotte Street in Brantford.

Lt. Col. Meehan recently returned from Afghanistan.

For more information, contact Joan Kanigan at 519-752-2483, or by email at information@brantmuseums.ca

A Nutcracker Christmas at historic Sunnyside Mansion in St. George


Let The Nutcracker take you back in time to a Victorian Christmas...

 Join cast members of The Nutcracker Ballet at The Victorian Nutcracker, a fundraising event for The Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble hosted by David A.B. Bailey at his gloriously restored Victorian home, Sunnyside Mansion. 13 Main Street South, St. George on Saturday, November 26th 2011 from 12 noon until 6 p.m.

 Rediscover Christmas past in the gentle lustre of century old traditions, beloved heirlooms and precious Victorian era period pieces within the magnificent elegance of the 123 year old grand dame of St. George, Sunnyside Mansion. Linger with delightful characters from The Nutcracker Ballet before the warmth of the yule log's Christmas glow, sipping apple cider, savouring roasted chestnuts and gingerbread cookies.

 Or, stroll amongst the Mansions 28 sumptuous rooms taking in the splendidly ornate Venetian mirror resting on hand-rolled William Morris wallpaper, gleaming beneath a Czechoslovakian crystal chandelier; the twinkling fairy lights hung on fragrant boughs, laced with golden antiquities strung from the mantles of seven stunning marble fireplaces.

 Then, for something completely novel, have a picture taken with "Queen Victoria"!
 
Admission by donation ~ please give generously to the Canadian ballet Youth Ensemble.

For more information: (289) 775-5377




The Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble

145 Main Street East, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 1G4

* * * * * * *


Thursday, November 3, 2011

BRIEF VIDEO ABOUT LINDSAY HALL - OUR GUEST SPEAKER NOVEMBER 12th

Please take two minutes to have an introduction to our November 12th guest speaker Lindsay Hall - this YouTube video was prepared as background to her receiving the Governor General's Award for Teaching Canadian History in 2009:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gMA8tX5ghQ

To learn more... come out on Saturday November 12th at 2 pm at the Memorial Hall and meet Mrs. Hall and have the opportunity to hear about her teaching.

For more background on her teaching, visit the Online magazine for the Ontario College of Teachers and read an article they published about Mrs. Hall:  http://professionallyspeaking.oct.ca/september_2010/departments/exemplary.aspx


GORDON ROSEBRUGH HOLDER (1921 - 1945)


GORDON ROSEBRUGH HOLDER (1921 - 1945)
November is a good time to pause and remember the life of Gordon Rosebrugh Holder - a young St. George man who served his country and was killed in Second World War.
His story is told as part of the McMaster University Alumni Honour Roll Project. This project has been lead by Charles M. Johnston, Professor Emeritus of History, who was one of the first speakers to address the South Dumfries Historical Society after it was formed.

The Honour Roll Project seeks to tell the story behind every name on the McMaster Honour Roll.  We have our own plaques for those who served and who died in the Wars here in St. George.  You will find Mr. Holder's name on the front of the Memorial Hall.
Gordon was born on January 31st, 1921 and died on February 19th, 1945.   His story does not have a happy ending, but Dr. Johnston does a nice job of telling the story of his short life and the context in which it was lived.  Many people will be able to relate in some way to the young boy going to school in what is now called the St.George Old School and attending McMaster University.

What is harder to imagine is having all his plans put on hold to join a fight overseas - and then having those plans permanently ended.
For more about the Project, visit the website at:
For Gordon Rosebrugh Holder's story, visit:

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

More information on our Nov 12 Guest Speaker Lindsay Hall

LINDSAY HALL is our guest speaker on Saturday November 12th at 2 pm.  Here are some details of her background:

- Attended University of Western Ontario (Hons. B.A, M.A. in History and B Ed.)

- Eighth year teaching (six years at Huron Park S.S. in Woodstock, two years at Clarke Road Secondary School in London)

- Governor General's Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History - 2009

- History Department Head at Clarke Road Secondary School, London, Ontario

- Has travelled with students to Europe to honour the 65th Anniversary of the Battle of Ortona (2008), 65th Anniversary of the Victory in Europe (2010) and currently planning a trip for the 95th Anniversary of Vimy Ridge (April 2012)

Please join us for this free talk as Mrs. Hall discusses her approaches to teaching Canadian history to High School students in ways they can relate.

The talk is at the Memorial Hall, 32 Main Street South (next door to the Museum).


 

HERITAGE DAY WORKSHOP AND CELEBRATION


  

Grand River Watershed
15th Annual Heritage Day Workshop & Celebration
Friday, February 17, 2012    8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
South Dumfries Community Centre & Arena
7 Gaukel Dr., St. George, Ontario

Crossroads of Conflict, Pathways to Peace: Divided Loyalties


Morning ProgramModerator:  Kate Carter, Professor, Laurier Brantford

8:30-9:00 a.m.       Registration (refreshments will be available)

9:00-9:05 a.m.       Town Crier – Larry Davis

9:05-9:25 a.m.       War of 1812 Bicentennial Promotional Video - produced by the Brantford, County of Brant, Six Nations and New Credit War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee

9:25-9:30 a.m.       Welcoming Remarks – Ron Eddy, Mayor, County of Brant

9:30-10:00 a.m.       Historical Overview of the War of 1812: Role of the Grand River and its Residents – Ron Dale, Superintendent, Niagara National Historic Sites

10:00-10:30 a.m.   Why Commemorate the War? Adrienne Horne, Western Corridor Bicentennial Alliance

10:30-11:00 a.m.   Refreshment Break & Displays

11:00-11:15 a.m.   War of 1812 Trivia Challenge Karen Dearlove, Curator, Chiefswood National Historic Site

11:15-11:45 a.m.   Historical Vignettes – Performances by local thespians

Buffet Lunch – Displays

Afternoon Program – Moderator:  Sean Allen, Reporter, Brant News and Host, Talk Local Brant, Rogers TV

1:00-1:05 p.m.       Town Crier – David McKee

1:05-1:10 p.m.       Welcoming Remarks – Chris Friel, Mayor, City of Brantford

1:10-1:55 p.m.       A Desert Between Us and Them Bill Darfler, Yvonne Drebert and Zack Melnick

1:55-2:20 p.m.       Historical Vignettes – Performances by local thespians

2:20-2:50 p.m.       Personal Stories of the War of 1812 - Rick Hill, Grand River Territory of the Six Nations

2:50-3:20 p.m.       Quakers, Mennonites and Tunkers: Pacifists, Protestors and Participation in the War of 1812 Jonathan Seiling, University of Toronto

3:20-4:30 p.m.       ‘Victory’ Reception featuring ‘Pearls of Time’


Registration is free but space is limited.  All participants must be preregistered. 
Registrations will be accepted until Friday, February 10, 2012 or until the registration is at capacity. Donations to help defray costs will be gratefully received and can be made online at www.grandriver.ca or at the event.

 


Register online by visiting www.brant.ca and following the EZReg Register Online links or return a completed form to Krystyna Lazar, County of Brant, 66 Grand River St. N. Paris, ON   N3L 2M2   Email:  recprograms@brant.ca   Phone:  519-442-6324 ext. 3023   Fax:  519-442-3461





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HOSTED BY: Heritage Working Group of The Grand Strategy

SPONSORED BY:  City of Brantford, County of Brant, Grand River Conservation Authority,


ORGANIZED BY:  City of Brantford, County of Brant, Grand River Conservation Authority, Heritage Working Group of The Grand Strategy

McMASTER LIBRARY OFFERS ACCESS TO ARCHIVE OF HOLOCAUST TESTIMONIES

From the McMaster Daily News - November 2, 2011.
McMaster University has become the first Canadian institution to offer full access to videotaped testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses, nearly 52,000 in all, contained in one of the largest archives of its kind.
Recorded in 56 countries and in 32 languages-mostly between 1994 and 1999-the interviews are contained in the USC Shoah Foundation Institute's Visual History Archive, which can be accessed either remotely or on campus through secure access to McMaster University Library.
The USC Shoah Foundation was established in 1994 by director Steven Spielberg to collect and preserve the testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust.
There are accounts from Jewish Holocaust survivors, homosexual survivors, Jehovah's Witness survivors, liberators and liberation witnesses, political prisoners, rescuers and aid providers, Sinti and Roma survivors, survivors of Eugenics policies and war crimes trials participants.
Nearly three thousand survivors were interviewed in Canada, with 34 interviews conducted in Hamilton. "The testimonies will serve as a remarkable research tool for our students, faculty and the much wider community," said University librarian Jeff Trzeciak. "This tremendously rich archive can and will be used across all disciplines at the University, providing scholars with tremendous insight on the Holocaust."
A special launch event is to be held on campus November 4th, 7 p.m. at CIBC Centre, with keynote speaker Branko Lustig, the Oscar-winning producer of Schindler's List and one of the founding figures of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute.
His own testimony is preserved in the Institute's archive. In each testimony, a survivor speaks of life experiences before, during and after the war. Many show photographs, documents and artifacts or introduce family members and friends on camera.
Approximately 150 of the interviews feature walking tours, some conducted at former concentration camps, ghettos, mass graves or in front of a former family home. "Nearly 52,000 survivors and witnesses have shared their voices, shared their messages with the world," USC Shoah Foundation Institute Executive Director Stephen D. Smith said.
"They are eyewitnesses who have testified about what they saw and experienced during the Holocaust and across their lives. Their testimony is allowing historians to enter the past as never before, and scholars of wide-ranging disciplines are finding the archive to be of utmost value to their research.
The Institute commends McMaster University for making such learning opportunities possible in Canada." "These unique holdings are a mosaic of experiences that not only speak to the Holocaust in terms of a historical past, but also inform our current and future social and moral obligations," said Noah Shenker, an expert in Holocaust testimony and post doctoral fellow in the Faculty of Humanities and McMaster University Library.
"This has a tremendous influence on how we document and respond to other genocides, including those in Armenia, Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Darfur." Acquiring the archive is part of a commitment by the University to collect primary sources from the Holocaust, he said, such as the development of the Madeleine and Monte Levy Virtual Museum of the Holocaust and the Resistance.

WHO KNEW... LOCAL HISTORY COULD WIN YOU GREAT PRIZES??

Who knew learning about your community could win you BIG prizes!? Play an online game for the chance to win weekly prizes, and be entered in to win our grand prize - a $4000 cruise travel voucher! Visit any of the participating museums and galleries below for more chances to win!

http://www.interestingfacts.ca/

This week's prize is season tickets for the Brantford Blast 2011-2012 hockey season and tickets to the Sun Life Curling Classic!

Campaign partners: Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead, Bell Homestead, Brantford Arts Block, Brant Museums and Archives, Burford Township Historical Society Museum, Canadian Military Heritage Museum, Chiefswood National Historic Site, Glenhyrst Art Gallery, Mohawk Chapel, Myrtleville House Museum, Personal Computer Museum, the St. George Museum and the Woodland Cultural Centre.