The Ontario Historical Society

North York Historical Society April 2021 Meeting: "Memories of North York" with Bill Aird
2021-04-28 19:00 (America/Toronto) | online
Speaker: Bill Aird, VP of the NYHS Board
WWI was followed by a rapid expansion of the city of Toronto. The growth of population north of the city limits quickly caused problems with the largely agricultural region north of the city. For a number of reasons which will become evident in this talk this led to the beginning of North York as a region separate from York County.
North York had a unique history during the Great Depression. WWII was followed by a great urbanization; changing North York from a rural farming area to the current urban giant. You may be reminded of fond memories, or things you didn’t remember or even things you didn’t know about North York. Enjoy!

North Toronto Historical Society April 2021 Program: College Street
2021-04-28 19:30 | online
There’s a wide variety of building types and architectural styles on this long east-west street that passes through several neighbourhoods. Learn about the many churches, schools, commercial buildings and academic structures between Yonge Street and Lansdowne Avenue.
Architectural historian Marta O’Brien will cover these plus several remarkable University of Toronto buildings.
REGISTER NOW!
Email: membership@northtorontohistoricalsociety.org. We will send you an invitation with details on how to join the online meeting. You can join us on ZOOM by internet or phone.

Folk Art Collecting: David Field
2021-05-04 19:00 | online
Presented by Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives
Join local folk art collector David Field, and take a wandering trip around, thinking about folk art – what does not apply; how does one define it; what does one appreciate when one views and acquires folk art. There are some categories and regional differences that are worth thinking about, and lastly – a love affair with a few pieces that I have had over the years.
About the Presenter:
Folk art – I buy it, I research it, sell it, I collect it and I live with it. For over 40 years I have been interested in folk art in all its forms. I grew up professionally as an engineer but fed my esthetic side as a collector and dealer in folk art. I acquired my first piece in the Middle East in the 1970’s – a painted window shutter. On return to Canada, and purchasing an 1850’s house in Eastern Ontario, I worked at learning about and acquiring folk art pieces that spoke to me. I have written for the former Upper Canadian on folk artists. My folk art collection has been on display at the Lennox & Addington Museum and I continue to deal in folk art and Canadiana as Croydon House Antiques.

“Andrew Denike: My Loyalist's family in Europe and North America” — Presentation by Nancy Conn, UE
2021-05-05 19:30 | online
A Virtual Branch Meeting
A former high school teacher, Nancy Conn, U.E. began working on her family history over four decades ago.
She joined the UEL Association and received her certificate in 1979. In those days showing descent from names in William Reid’s book, Loyalists in Ontario, was sufficient proof.
Her father’s family is of Irish and English origin, while her mother’s is much more varied. It includes Scottish and Huguenot forebears as well as New England and New Netherland ancestors. In 2017 Nancy successfully proved her descent from two of the Mayflower Pilgrims, John Alden and Priscilla Mullins of Plymouth Colony.
Nancy’s Loyalist ancestor is Andrew Denike of the New Jersey Volunteers, who settled in Kingston, Ontario.
In May she will speak about his family in both Europe and North America. From a poor emigrant, his great-great-grandfather Conradt Ten Eyck became one of the wealthiest citizens of New Amsterdam. She will continue with three generations of his descendants down to her great-grandmother.
Nancy has made many trips to Salt Lake City, researched at archives and museums in Britain, Europe, New York and New England, and visited locations where her ancestors lived. Currently many sources are also available through the internet.
She set out to publish a book on the ancestry of each of her eight great-grandparents. In 2018 she produced the volume on Andrew Denike’s line, both antecedents and descendants. Research uncovered a myriad of facts as well as conundrums and perennial further questions.
Presently she is working on the last book, trying to do justice to over fifty families!
Explore the life, times and family of Andrew Denike, U.E.

Nature in Photography: Bill Bickle
2021-05-11 19:00 | online
Presented by Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives
Join local wildlife photographer Bill Bickle as he shares with you stories of local species that he has photographed. Marveling in the beauty of nature, Bill will tour us through Eastern Ontario by showing off the majestic creatures he has been able to photograph in their natural habitats. Following the presentation, Bill will be available for a live question period.
About the Presenter:
An interest in nature was formed early for Bill. Photography as a passion came later. Now both come together to produce beautiful images as he captures birds, animals and flowers in their natural surroundings. It is the love of nature’s flora and fauna that stimulates Bill’s extensive research into habitat and characteristics of his subjects. Armed with this knowledge he then commands patience most would not endure, waiting for the ultimate posture, lighting and, sometimes surprising interaction that results in some of his most outstanding photographs.
Bill’s ability to anticipate action before it happens allows him to capture images that, for many, would be halfway out of the frame. The crisp clarity of his work allows those who only witness nature from a distance to realize the beauty of his specimens up close and personally. Perhaps even encouraging us to take a closer look ourselves next time we encounter nature’s gifts.
It is this combination of creativity and camaraderie with nature that provides a calm and rewarding harbor for Bill. And it is his dedication in search of engaging images that will continue to provide us all with a view of nature we may not otherwise experience.
Bill has been featured and won several National and International Photo Competitions, including National Geographic International Competition, Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Canadian Geographic Magazine & 8 times been awarded Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year since 2008.

Kingston Historical Society Presents Heather Home & Janice McAlpine: "Community Archiving: the Kingston LGBTQ Archives as Collaborative Model"
2021-05-12 19:00 | online
Community archiving is a documentation strategy aimed at working with a community to create archives, the objective being to have stories of the past told by those intimately involved in the activities, and resulting outcomes, of that lived experience. It is not about establishing a history; it is about revealing a history. The presenters will look at this type of community work in the ground-breaking creation of the Kingston LGBTQ collection at the Queen’s University Archives.
Heather Home is an archivist at Queen’s University specializing in cultural and social records; Janice McAlpine is a Kingston community member.
To register, and to receive all the details of how to connect, please email Paul van Nest at pvannest@cogeco.ca.

The Historical Society of Ottawa: The Assassination of D'arcy McGee
2021-05-12 19:00 | online
Guest Speaker: James Powell, author of the blog “Today in Ottawa’s History”
A shot rang out and one of Canada’s most passionate Fathers of Confederation fell dead in a pool of blood on Sparks Street. HSO member James Powell transports us back to the scene of Canada’s first political assassination.
This speaker series will take place via Zoom. Register to attend by using this link.
All are welcome to attend without charge.

Toronto Railway Museum: Virtual Film Screening: The Ties That Bind + Q&A
2021-05-13 19:00 - 21:00 | online
With the Foundation to Commemorate the Chinese Railroad Workers in Canada, we’re proud to present the next event in our 2021 lecture series
About This Event
Join us on May 13 for a screening of the Foundation to Commemorate the Chinese Railroad Workers in Canada (FCCRWC)’s film, The Ties that Bind with a post-show Q&A with a representative from the Foundation and Toronto Railway Museum historians. The Ties That Bind preserves a seldom told part of Canada’s history and we are pleased to present the film as we celebrate Asian Heritage Month in May.
About Ties that Bind
Between 1881 and 1885, over 17,000 Chinese men came to Canada to work as labourers on the construction of the western section of the transcontinental railroad. Today, many Chinese Canadians are direct descendants of these men. The Ties That Bind: Building the CPR, Building a Place in Canada tells their story, and how their forebears contributed to nation building.
The famous “Last Spike” photograph tells only one part of the story. The people looking at the camera are white. Not one Chinese man is present. In this final moment, the story of the Chinese railway worker – their labour, sacrifice, and struggles – is omitted from the historical record.
The Ties That Bind examines the struggle of the Chinese Canadian community to establish an identity and roots in Canada. Through archival evidence and research about the men who came from China to build the transcontinental railway in the 1880s, and the use of oral testimony of their descendants, The Ties That Bind preserves a seldom told part of Canada’s history.

Uncertain Harvest: The Future of Food on a Warming Planet
2021-05-13 20:00 - 21:30 | online
Ian Mosby and Sarah Rotz talk about how to eat our way out of a mess in Uncertain Harvest: The Future of Food on a Warming Planet
About this Event
A menu for an edible future.
In a world expected to reach a staggering population of 10 billion by 2050, and with global temperatures rising fast, humanity must fundamentally change the way it grows and consumes food. In their new book, Uncertain Harvest, authors Ian Mosby and Sarah Rotz bring together scientists, chefs, activists, entrepreneurs, farmers, philosophers, and engineers working on the global future of food to answer questions on how to make a more equitable, safe, sustainable, and plentiful food future.
As a historian and as a social scientist, Mosby and Rotz look to the past to help us better understand our culinary future. They explore our ongoing history of mostly failed predictions and use that to look at contemporary predictions of a food future dominated by robot farms, cultured meats and photosynthesis-hacked GM rice.
Join us for an engaging Zoom presentation by the two authors, followed by a Q&A period. Save today on the ticket price by becoming a member of the Culinary Historians of Canada and continue to save on future events!
Participants will receive a coupon code to receive a 15% discount on the book from the publisher.

Peterborough Historical Society May 2021 Talk
2021-05-18 | online
PHS Monthly Meetings and Speakers Program go Virtual
In face of the challenges and continued risks of resuming on-site monthly meetings, we have decided instead to produce monthly virtual PHS Talks that may be viewed on the YouTube channel of Hutchison House Museum. The plan is to schedule them to be posted on the third Tuesday of the month, the traditional date of the regular monthly meetings. Notices of the talks will be publicized in the usual manner, including on this webpage.
May 2021: Ken Brown, “The Many Working Lives of Robert Romaine”

History of Millinery in Canada – A Show and Talk with Norma Shephard
2021-05-18 19:00 | online
Presented by Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives
Join Mobile Millinery Museum director Norma Shephard for a discussion of 20th Century Canadian Millinery Designers. Among other discoveries, learn which designer is considered by experts to have been the greatest in Canadian history and why; which designer had a reputation for making any woman look beautiful; and which Canadian millinery designers are excelling at their craft today.
About the Presenter:
Norma Shephard is the founder and director of the Mobile Millinery Museum, a unique travelling museum whose “working hats” have raised funds for diverse causes; from homeless teens in rural Ontario, to cancer research and diagnostic equipment, to a women’s and children’s shelter in Israel. Shephard’s use of hats, shoes, and bridal gowns as cultural story blocks to prompt the telling of tales, myths, and legends transforms audience members into folklore informants, eager to share their own reminiscences.
Recognized as an historian and authority on vintage costume, Shephard has appeared on Canada A.M., CBC Morning, CBC Fresh Air, CBC Ontario Today, CH Morning Live, Breakfast Television, Canadian Living Television, This Morning Live, Main Street, CKCO, The Source, and Neighbour to Neighbour and has been featured in numerous print media. Shephard is the subject of a biography by Patricia Boyle, entitled The Hat Lady. “What Martha has done for the domestic arts, Norma is doing for museum curatorship,” says Boyle. “She has taken material history out of the archives and into the community, presenting it in new and exciting ways. When I realized that Norma was being recognized internationally I knew it was time for a book.”
In 1985 she earned a Canadian Achiever’s Award for entrepreneurship and since founding her museum in 1999, has penned and photographed Accessorizing the Bride; Vintage Wedding Finery Through the Decades (Schiffer Publishing), 1000 Hats (Schiffer Publishing), In Step With Fashion: 200 Years of Shoe Styles (Schiffer Publishing), Lingerie; Two Centuries of Luscious Design (Schiffer Publishing) and Dear Harry; The Firsthand Account of a World War I Infantryman. Col. Gordon Atkinson, retired, said of Dear Harry, “…fascinating and evocative of war … a tome of obvious labour and love. Tim Cook, First World War Historian at the Canadian War Museum and author of Shock Troops said, “As a student of Canadian history your book was a thrilling opportunity to gain insight into a little taught era in our heritage.”
As an editor and writing coach, Shephard has assisted others in achieving their dream of being published. She writes regularly on the subject of history for Canadian and American magazines, and her latest book for Schiffer Publishing, Darlings of Dress; Children’s Costume 1860-1920 is available now from Schiffer Books and amazon.com.

Port Hope and District Historical Society AGM 2021
2021-05-19 19:00 | Ganaraska Conservation Authority Meeting Room, 2216 County Road 28, Port Hope, Ontario, L1A 3V8, Canada

North York Historical Society May 2021 Meeting: “SNATCHED! The Unusual Kidnapping of Beer Tycoon John Labatt” with Susan Goldenberg
2021-05-19 19:00 | online
Speaker: Susan Goldenberg, NYHS Director
The kidnapping in 1934 of John Sackville Labatt, president of the big internationally well-known Labatt’s beer company, of London, Ontario, set several firsts in Canadian history. Labatt was the first important Canadian to be kidnapped, the first to be kidnapped for a high ransom, equivalent to $3 million today. It was the first kidnapping in Canada to come to trial. Kidnapping is a very serious, nasty crime and a wrong man was convicted.
But there was also bizarre humour which made it a very unusual kidnapping.

Revisiting Colonial Dinnerware with Sequoia Miller
2021-05-20 13:00 | online
Presented by Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives
A collection of ceramic tableware on view in Toronto’s Gardiner Museum depicts idealized scenes of nineteenth-century Canadian life. Manufactured in England, these objects and others like them participated in the colonial project by imagining and asserting both national and colonial identities. In this virtual program, Sequoia Miller, Chief Curator at the Gardiner, will discuss how seemingly decorative objects such as these engage complex questions around colonialism, political economy, and cultural authority. Dr. Miller will also consider the role of museums in offering new and critical interpretive strategies for thinking through problematic historical objects.
About the Presenter:
Sequoia Miller is a historian, curator, and studio potter. He is the Chief Curator at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto. Miller holds a PhD in the History of Art from Yale University; an MA from the Bard Graduate Center for Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture; and a BA in Russian from Brandeis University. Recent curatorial projects include RAW and Ai Weiwei: Unbroken at the Gardiner and The Ceramic Presence in Modern Art at the Yale University Art Gallery. Before re-entering academia, Miller was a full-time studio potter based in the Pacific Northwest.

Myseum Intersections Festival | ChinaTOwn: Virtual Exhibition Launch
2021-05-23 16:00 | online
Presented by Linda Zhang, Assistant Professor at Ryerson’s School of Interior Design (RSID) at FCAD, along with a class of fourth-year RSID students, this immersive and interactive project seeks to identify Chinatown’s future heritage(s) through the affects produced by interior architecture, lived experience, collective storytelling, atmosphere, and memory. Through a conceptual digital exhibition, we seek to uncover untold stories and build a collective, intersectional vision for the future heritage(s) of Toronto’s Chinatowns.
Each of the projects featured in ChinaTOwn explores what marginalized communities have known for some time—namely, that all that is written is not necessarily all that is, and what is remembered extends far beyond what is recorded. ChinaTOwn tells the forgotten stories, willful omissions, and accumulation of silences that exist beyond Toronto’s official heritage definition of its Chinatown neighbourhoods. The project aims to put personal stories and individual memory in conversation with state-sanctioned narratives.
Join us for the exhibition launch event to hear from the artist and designers themselves and delve deeper into the histories and ideas behind their projects.

Little Wanderers: A Literary History of the British Home Children in Canada
2021-05-25 19:00 | online
Presented by Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives
Between 1863 and 1939 as many as 118,000 children came to Canada under a British program of child migration. These “Home Children” journeyed to Canada from the UK in search of a better life. Following the advice and help of Victorian social reformers, these little migrants hoped to leave behind a life of poverty and/or class discrimination limiting their opportunities and happiness in the Old World. In Canada, the children were often sent to work on farms or in domestic service. They would have a profound role in shaping the future of their adopted countries. Many went on to have their own farms or businesses; some dedicated themselves to defense of their country in war; a majority stayed in Canada and had families of their own. Indeed, some estimate that as many as one in ten Ontarians are descendant from Home Children. Sadly, this history is not always happy; many of the children were abused, neglected, and exploited by appalling working conditions and poor wages.
But why was migration viewed as a reasonable solution to poverty in the first place, and why was Canada the selected destination for these displaced youth? Our presentation on the “Little Wanderers” seeks to answer these questions by looking at some of the influential literature from the period. We will discuss works by prominent social reformers documenting the dire situation of the working-class and poor people in the Victorian city. We will also consider how the idea of child migration might have been normalized by Victorian children’s adventure fiction – with their tales celebrating colonialism as a means to self-reform and social belonging. Our talk on the “Little Wanderers” will conclude with a selection of texts specifically depicting the experiences and reception of the Home Children in Canada, including the legacy of these young migrants in their adoptive country.
About the Presenter:
Brooke Cameron is Associate Professor of English at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She is the author of Critical Alliances: Economics and Feminism in English Women’s Writing, 1880-1914 (University of Toronto Press, 2020), as well as multiple peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on gender and economic themes in Victorian literature. Her current research on the British Home Children in Canada is supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant (SSHRC). She and her graduate student, Alicia Alves, recently developed a virtual archive of the library history surrounding the Home Children (also titled, “Little Wanderers”). Cameron is at work writing a book project on Victorian social reformers and child migrants.
Alicia Alves is a PhD Candidate at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Her work focuses on Victorian and Edwardian children’s literature, but she is also interested in children’s literature more broadly. She has published an article and a book chapter on this topic, and is currently completing a dissertation on “A Child’s Best Friend: Human-Animal Hybridity in Late-Victorian and Edwardian Children’s Literature.” Alves was co-creator with Dr. Brooke Cameron of a SSHRC-funded virtual library display focusing on children’s literature and the Home Children for the W. D. Jordan Special Collections at Queen’s University Library.

Hastings County Historical Society Presents, "The Small Pox Epidemic of Hungerford and Area in 1884"
2021-05-26 15:00 | online
In partnership with the Hastings County Historical Society, the Belleville Public Library will be hosting an informative talk via Zoom on Wednesday, May 26 at 3 pm. Evan Morton, the curator of the Tweed & Area Heritage Centre, will speak about the profound effects of the smallpox outbreak that happened in the Hungerford area in 1884. Mr. Morton was born and raised in Tweed and was a founding member of the Tweed & Area Historical Society.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jitOVuTRRhSML_ypSj9zrw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
For more information, please contact Shannon Bryan at 613-968-6731 x 2049 or email sbryan@bellevillelibrary.ca.

Thunder Bay Museum Presents, "Reel Memories of the Lakehead: The Lakehead in Frame"
2021-05-26 19:00 | online
Reel Memories of the Lakehead is a public history project dedicated to the preservation and exposition of the visual history of the Lakehead region through historical film footage. Join members of the Reel Memories team, Katie Green, Tom Peotto, and Ron Harpelle, for a presentation on their research into the first 20 years of the local television news at the Lakehead.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
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Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
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International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kd2ALCbEv9

North Toronto Historical Society May 2021 Program: Jean Lumb: A Woman of Many Firsts
2021-05-26 19:30 | online
Jean Lumb, C.M., was the first restauranteur and first Chinese Canadian woman invested into the Order of Canada. She and her husband owned Kwong Chow Restaurant that introduced Chinese food to the who’s who of Toronto. A trailblazer and community spokesperson whose legacy lives on today, Jean played a pivotal role in changing immigration laws that separated families and in saving Chinatowns in Toronto and across Canada. Her daughter, author Arlene Chan, will tell Jean’s remarkable story.
REGISTER AFTER MAY 1, 2021
Send email to membership@northtorontohistoricalsociety.org.

UE Loyalists Bridge Annex Virtual Conference & Historical Event 2021
2021-05-27 - 2021-05-31 | online
Join the rEvolution – Come Be Part of the Story
Join the rEvolution has never been a more apt slogan than it is now. Bridge Annex, the 1st virtual branch of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada (UELAC), is proud to announce we will be hosting the first virtual conference in UELAC history!
Innovation is what Bridge Annex was founded on, and the pandemic has shown us this foundation allows us to take our vision for an interactive and memorable conference & historical event and apply it to a virtual platform. Think virtual is boring? Think again!
We’re producing a mix of multimedia and live elements to engage our audience. The opportunity of a virtual conference is that we can produce expanded content and bring in partners from across Canada and the US to participate and share their knowledge. In fact, our list of possibilities just keeps growing because of the enormous enthusiasm and sense of cooperation from our many partners on this journey.
We are pleased to announce that our major partner Cornwall Tourism is on board. Their support has been critical to developing our vision for sharing the rich history of the region – Loyalist and more. We’ll be hosting live elements on the ground from Cornwall and Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry (SDG) Counties throughout the conference weekend.
Our tagline still holds true: Join the rEvolution – Come Be Part of the Story. Our conference and historical weekend will allow you to connect with others and participate in meaningful ways. We’re excited to share our new promotional video to share a taste of what is to come. Further details will be posted on our website in the coming weeks: www.uelbridgeannex.com/2021
It’s going to an incredible journey, so in May 2021, Come Be Part of the Story!

Myseum Intersections 2021: ChinaTOwn: Future Heritage(s) of Toronto’s Chinatowns
2021-05-27 19:00 - 21:00 | online
A digital symposium exploring the past, present, and possible futures of how we define and develop chinatowns.
What could the heritage future of chinatown look like? The ChinaTOwn digital symposium, presented by Prof. Linda Zhang of Ryerson School of Interior Design at FCAD, will begin the discussion by looking at the history and origins of architectural motifs that we now recognize in chinatowns today.
From the first Chinatown in San Francisco, to the world’s fairs that fascinated visitors with false portrayals of Chinese culture, the symposium will explore exactly what defines the “Chinatown-ness” that we know today, and how we arrived at that definition.
The symposium will also introduce some of the realities and challenges faced by Toronto’s existing chinatowns today, as businesses are forced to move out and new policies affect the livelihood of these communities. These findings will be presented as part of our speakers’ bodies of work, art and activism.
Throughout the symposium the project will connect back to the exhibit installations to help us respond and develop what a heritage future might look like for chinatowns in Toronto.
For more information and to register please visit: http://www.myseumoftoronto.com/programming/myseum-intersections-chinatown-future-heritages-of-torontos-chinatowns/

Toronto's First Post Office: Into the Vault Collections Tour
2021-06-03 19:00 - 19:45 | online
Explore Toronto’s history without ever having to leave the comfort of your home, as you go behind the scenes at our Museum! Tucked away on the upper floor of Toronto’s First Post Office is an area dedicated to our collection, a storage room that’s home to objects currently not on display. Few but our Curator have ever ventured into this space.
Join her for an intimate chat as she gives a rare peek into the Vault. Along with learning about the types of artifacts we collect, you will find out about their life behind the scenes – who uses them, who borrows them, and what current projects we have under way. You will also get an opportunity to ask her all your pressing collections questions!
This event is free and will take place June 3 at 7pm via Facebook Live.

The Historical Society of Ottawa: Project 70,000: Canada Welcomes the Refugees of Southeast Asia 1975-1980
2021-06-16 19:00 | online
Guest Speakers: Michael Molloy & Robert Shalka, Co-authors “Running on Empty” Canadian Immigration Historical Society plus Rivaux Lay, former Cambodian refugee
Mayor Marion Dewar rallied all of Ottawa behind Project 4000 and similar outcries of compassion echoed in communities across Canada. Learn about the largest and most ambitious resettlement effort in Canada’s history and how Canadian immigration policy was forever changed.
This speaker series will take place via Zoom. Register using this link.
All are welcome to attend without charge.

ICAP Chat with Adriana Davies on "Alberta's Italian History"
2021-06-16 19:00 - 20:00 | online
Join ICAP members Antonella Fanella and Maria Cioni as they engage Adriana Davies in discussing her findings. 5pm Alberta Time (7pm EDT)
“I want to make the people who lived ‘Alberta’s Italian history’ come alive,” says the author and ICAP member. Inspired by her family’s story and her new book, Dr. Davies will talk about why it is important to contribute to the Italian-Canadian historical narrative and how her research went beyond archives and museums to weave community histories and family material into her book. Adriana’s work– to find, identify and bring together a vast array of materials– ensures that Alberta’s Italian-Canadian narrative will not be lost.
Join ICAP members Antonella Fanella, author of “With Heart and Soul Calgary’s Italian Community” and Maria Cioni, author of “Spaghetti Western How my Father brought Italian Food to the West” as they engage Adriana Davies about her new book, “From Sojourners to Citizens, Alberta’s Italian History”.
ICAP members free. Non-members, donation or membership please.

The Crowd Went Wild! Canadian Baseball's Love Affair with the Railway
2021-06-17 19:00 | online
Join us for the next online lecture in our 2021 series! Discover the role the railways played in popularizing baseball in Canada.
Join us on June 17 for the next online lecture in our 2021 series: The Crowd Went Wild! Presented by Canada’s premier baseball historian, William Humber, discover the role the railways played in popularizing baseball in Canada.
Canadian baseball’s biggest myth is how Americans imposed it on us. Not so! We shared with them the modern game’s evolution from its folk roots. In some ways, Canadians had an even bigger role. The railway system brought this early role to full maturity. Its independent growth in Ontario, between 1854-1873, was railway reliant. Railway porters were likely the first African-Canadian team in 1869. In 1934, Babe Ruth started his epical trip to Japan with a rail stopover in Moose Jaw. The crowd on a Saskatchewan platform went wild!
To this day the GO train or subway takes most people to Blue Jays games and the VIA stopover in St. Marys Ontario is a homerun drive to Canada’s Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Toronto Railway Museum's Online Lecture: "The Crowd Went Wild! Canadian Baseball's Love Affair with the Railways''
2021-06-17 19:00 - 20:30 | online
The Crowd Went Wild! Canadian Baseball’s Love Affair with the Railway
Join us on June 17 for the next online lecture in our 2021 series: The Crowd Went Wild! Presented by Canada’s premier baseball historian, William Humber, discover the role the railways played in popularizing baseball in Canada.
Canadian baseball’s biggest myth is how Americans imposed it on us. Not so! We shared with them the modern game’s evolution from its folk roots. In some ways, Canadians had an even bigger role. The railway system brought this early role to full maturity. Its independent growth in Ontario, between 1854-1873, was railway reliant. Railway porters were likely the first African-Canadian team in 1869. In 1934, Babe Ruth started his epical trip to Japan with a rail stopover in Moose Jaw. The crowd on a Saskatchewan platform went wild! To this day the GO train or subway takes most people to Blue Jays games and the VIA stopover in St. Marys Ontario is a homerun drive to Canada’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
About William Humber
William Humber of Bowmanville entered Canada’s Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 for championing the game’s history in Canada. Author of 12 books including five on baseball, he is often asked to comment on baseball by amongst others the CBC and the Rogers Sportsnet. For the past 43 years he has taught a “Baseball Spring Training for Fans” course, (on-line this year), preparing fans for the season ahead. He is a respected member of the Society for American Baseball Research’s 19th century research community.
About the Toronto Railway Museum (TRM)
The Toronto Railway Museum (TRM) brings people together by telling stories of Toronto’s railway heritage. The Museum is located in the heart of downtown Toronto and is typically open year-round. TRM presents exhibits, tours, educational programs and publications that broaden the understanding and appreciation of Toronto’s rich railway history. TRM is committed to telling the stories of the railways, and welcoming conversations of its varied experiences through its lecture series, exhibits and integrated programming with a mission to learn from the past to make the future better.

Town of York Historical Society Presents Natasha Henry on "Emancipation Day in 2021: The History, the Present, & National"
2021-06-17 19:00 - 20:30 | online
Join us for an evening with author and historian Natasha Henry as she discussed her books on the history of Emancipation Day in Canada!
Along with looking at the history of emancipation in Canada, she will highlight the commemoration of Emancipation Day during the last year in the context of social unrest and the global COVID-19 pandemic. Henry will also discuss the recently passed bill, M-36, that was unanimously passed to have Emancipation Day recognized federally and share what it should mean for Black Canadians.

Writing Family History – The Anatomy of a Legacy Family History Book - Part 2
2021-06-19 13:00 | online
Dream of creating a family history book that you can hand down to generations to come. In this presentation, learn the anatomy of a great family history book with example pages. Discover the options for creating and printing your book. Learn how to take your book from conception to completion in a reasonable amount of time.
What attendees can expect to learn:

How to determine the scope and span of your book
Explore a variety of page styles to include in your book
Learn to create a book budget
A brief look at copyright and permissions
Learn how to create a plan and keep your project on deadline
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Register for this free event: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EeMBKG40RhC87SXIskuklA

Coptic Museum of Canada Workshop (on Zoom): Making Music with Bottles!
2021-06-19 13:00 - 14:00 | online
Join us in a fun and creative experience!

Sitting at home during lockdown looking for a fun activity to do with friends and family?
Wanted to play music but not sure how to start?
Don’t read music notes and don’t have a musical instrument?

Not to worry, we can teach you how to make your own instrument, tune it and enjoy playing your own music!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

5, 6 or 7 glass bottles (pop, beer, water)
355 ml (12oz) bottles, should all be the same size
Water jug
Download free app: Tuner Lite

To safely resume its activities during the pandemic, the Coptic Museum of Canada has decided to offer workshops through the Zoom platform.
The first workshop will be held on Saturday June 19 from 1-2pm: Making Music with Bottles! facilitated by Nagaty Banayoty who together with his friends came up with the idea of playing music by whistling into bottles when they were university students in Egypt and could not afford an instrument. The idea was an instant success! They performed concerts for over five years and were eventually able to purchase a set hand bells.
Once in Canada, Nagaty joined the Ingram Ringers. He also runs groups of hand bell ringers and bottle whistlers! Handbells and bottle whistling are not a Coptic heritage but Nagaty’s story illustrates his creativity and is an example of cross-cultural engagement.
The workshop is free for anyone from Grade 7 to seniors.
This is an introductory workshop with demonstrations of how you can make music with (recycled) bottles! There will be breaks to ask questions.
Preregistration is required: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdw8yJ9faSeF4_V2Oa9PQfRPVVkpmSNS932JeRX1sCIBzOkgA/viewform
Registration deadline: June 13, 2021

Myseum: From Weeds We Grow: Birch Bark Basket Workshop
2021-06-19 13:00 - 15:00 | online
Join us for a Birch Bark Basket making workshop which is part of the STEPS Public Art “From Weeds We Grow” series.
Led by First Nations artist Lindsey Lickers, this workshop is a reflective exercise that not only allows participants to not only participate through creation, but to dive deeper into their current relationship with the land base they reside on and the environment at large. This workshop will also explore how this relationship with the land has been strengthened by the knowledge learned and shared during the workshop.
Rooted in an expanded understanding of the importance of connecting to land, creation utilizing natural materials combined with personalized symbolism of these learnings, will be actualized through the medium of basket making.
The aim of this workshop is to share one way that Indigenous peoples honour this relationship through craft and provide an opportunity for participants to experience first-hand the interconnectedness in all things, while also honouring their own experiences, histories and relationships with the basket serving as the keeper of this new awareness.
We welcome those who don’t want to or are unable to participate in the making process, but want to learn more, to join.
Following this workshop participants will have created a miniature birch bark basket used in medicine gathering. An online exhibit will present the final work alongside the creative process and learnings.
For more information and to register please visit: http://www.myseumoftoronto.com/programming/from-weeds-we-grow-birch-bark-basket-workshop/.
