Explore the Ancient Trails of Scugog Carrying Place at PHS Public Meeting,Tuesday, November 17
Oshawa Author Grant Karcich, will discuss his book Scugog Carrying Place: A Frontier Pathway at the November 17 Public Meeting of the Peterborough Historical Society.
It promises to be a fascinating follow-up to Alan Brunger’s talk in September on the Chemung Portage, believed to be the route taken by the Huron and Algonquin warriors who escorted Champlain through Peterborough in 1615. Grant’s book traces the documented history of the ancient aboriginal trails connecting Lakes Scugog and Simcoe though the Kawarthas to Lake Ontario from the 1790s to the 1850s.
The presentation will explore the beginnings and significance of this trail system and introduce the intrepid early surveyors, fur traders, missionaries and immigrant settlers who helped to transform the land from forests to agriculture to villages, towns and industrial centres and in their wake, left a devastating impact on First Nations People.
Grant has Master’s degrees in Anthropology and Information Science and a Bachelor of Education. He has been an administrator at several special and public libraries and has taught secondary school and a college course.
The November 17th meeting will take place in the Peterborough Public Library, lower level beginning at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are gratefully accepted at the door.
From Cards to Computers Janice Millard, Retired Curator of Trent Archives
to speak at PHS Public Lecture October 20.
Do you remember the fine oak filing cabinets and their neatly typed information cards that encapsulated all the information you needed for the books on the various floors? The books still exist but information arrives now in the wonder world of electronics.
Our speaker is Janice Millard, recently retired from Trent University as Curator of Archives following her extensive knowledge of books, documents, letters and other material that is now housed in the Bata Library. When Janice began 41 years ago, the library held about 1,900 books- fewer than some of the high school libraries. The library and archives have always worked closely together for “all things Trent” as Janice describes their various collections and responsibilities. Janice’s knowledge of this essential part of the university covers paintings, drawings, special collections, local documents, papers and letters.
Janice was an important figure for the Friends of the Bata Library who worked closely with her in determining what the library could and should acquire. Her background includes a degree in archaeology from McMaster and a graduate degree from the University of Victoria studying management of cultural institutions and galleries. Janice will have much to tell the audience about the staff, students and acquisitions as the Bata Library evolved.
The October 20th public lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Peterborough Public Library, lower level. Admission is free but donations at the door are welcome.
Janice Millard, recently retired from Trent University as Curator of Archives, with Tom Symons, Trent’s founding President and Vice-Chancellor at the PHS the PHS Annual General Meeting in March.
PHS Summer Excursion: Afternoon Cruise on Stoney Lake Thursday, June 25th
You are invited to join members of the Peterborough Historical Society for a two-hour afternoon cruise on scenic Stoney Lake, Thursday, June 25.
The ticket price (which includes bus transportation, lunch and the cruise) are $75:00 for PHS members and $85:00 for non- members.
The Canada Coach bus will leave Peterborough at 11:00 a.m. from the Car Park at Television Road and Hwy 7 ( across from the former Burnham Mansion) . It will return to the Car Park around 5:00 p.m.
Lunch on the patio at the Old Bridge Inn at Young’s Point will include a main course with salad, desert and tea or coffee. To facilitate the lunch, you will be asked to select your menu choice when you purchase your ticket.
The two-hour cruise leaves from Viamede Resort and will include historical commentary.
Tickets are available for pick up at the PHS office at 270 Brock Street, or reserve your tickets by calling 705 740-2600, leaving your name and telephone number. Seating on the bus is limited so book your tickets early.
How Peterborough Streets Got Their Names
Topic of PHS Public Lecture, May 19th
Local historian Don Willcock has conducted considerable research into the origins of Peterborough’s street names. He will share his findings at the May 19th Peterborough Historical Society Public Lecture.
Some street names are obvious like Water Street which runs parallel to and within sight of the Otonabee River or Walnut and Birch streets that have (or once had) these types of trees along them. Others, such as Brock and Wolfe were named for famous figures in Canadian history.
Such names as London, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen were copied from cities in countries of origin for Peterborough’s early settlers. British royalty has been another obvious source of street names: George, Charlotte, King, Queen, Prince and Princess.
Other streets have obscure sources for their names. For example, those named for local residents, or national and international figures, who were well-known in the past but may be unknown to most people today. Benson, Anson, Chamberlain, Douro, and Wellington are
examples. There are also street names that don’t seem to have any connection to Peterborough.
The PHS lecture on May 19th starts at 7:30 in the auditorium of Peterborough Public Library. Admission is free but donations are welcomed at the door.
Celebrating the 200th Anniversary
of Peace on the Great lakes
at PHS Public Lecture, Tuesday, April 21st
For the last three years, we have been remembering a series of 200th anniversaries marking events from The War of 1812 between the British and the Americans on the Great Lakes frontier. However, little attention has been given to the single most important outcome of that struggle – 200 years of peace between what would become Canada and our neighbours to the south. Of all the anniversaries, this is probably the one most worthy of celebration.
As guest speaker at the monthly public meeting of the Peterborough Historical Society on Tuesday April 21, historian Walter Lewis will explore the lasting impact of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on Christmas Eve 1814, in which Great Britain and the United States agreed to a peace treaty to officially end the War of 1812.
Over the next few years, that treaty and the agreements that followed helped shape the world for the next generation of settlers. In his presentation, Lewis will look at how the peace unfolded and how it affected Upper Canada.
Lewis has conducted extensive research on the Great Lakes. His website MaritimeHistoryOfTheGreatLakes.ca is one of the largest on the internet dedicated to the Great Lakes.
PHS Public Lectures are held in the Aylmer Street Public Library, lower level auditorium beginning at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are welcomed at the door.
This painting (courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute) shows British and American diplomats after signing the Treaty of Ghent to end the War of 1812.
PHS Annual General Meeting and Fundraising Dinner
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 Princess Gardens
Guest Speaker:
Landon Pearson
Renowned Advocate for Children’s Rights
Business Meeting: 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Cash Bar: 6:00 to 6:30 p.m.
Dinner: 6:30 p.m.
Tickets available at PHS Office
$35.00 for members $40.00 for non-members
“Every child is a new chance for the whole human race” – Landon Pearson.
Retired Canadian Senator and renowned children’s advocate Landon Pearson will be the keynote speaker following dinner. She is currently Chair of the Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights (LPC) in Ottawa.
A special focus of LPC is the promotion of the rights of Aboriginal children and youth. She is a board member of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation and the North South Partnership for Children.
Her remarks will focus on her insights into the challenges facing Aboriginal youth in today’s society and the impact of traditional oral history on their lives and sense of identity.
Michael Peterman to Speak At Public Lecture Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Michael Peterman will share his research into the life of pioneer writer Susanna Moodie at the Peterborough Historical Society’s public lecture on February 24th.
His latest book entitled Flora Lyndsay:Or Passages from an Eventful Life is an insightful examination of Susanna Moodie’s novel Flora Lyndsay, which was written in part prior to her better known book Roughing it in the Bush (1852) but published after it in 1854.. Although she fictionalizes herself as Flora Lyndsay, her book is autobiographical and provides a dramatic account of the planning and ocean voyage that brought the Moodies from England to Canada in the summer of 1832.
As a Trent professor emeritus in English literature, Dr. Peterman is a prolific author and editor with a particular interest in 19th and 20th century Canadian authors. He has devoted significant study to Susanna Moodie and her sister Catharine Parr Traill , who both wrote about their experiences in the backwoods of Ontario in the 1830s. His
The public lecture will take place on Tuesday, February 24, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the basement auditorium of the Peterborough Public Public Library. Admission is free but donations at the door are welcomed.
Eric Jackson Shares his approach to the Memoir Challenge
At PHS Public Lecture, January 20
Ever thought about writing your personal memoirs or perhaps a family history, but you didn’t know quite how to get started?
t the Peterborough Historical Society’s public lecture on Tuesday, January 20, Eric Jackson will share his personal experiences in undertaking to write his memoir and shed some light on the practical aspects, as well as the process of historical writing.
Eric is a former Head of History with the Peterborough County Board of Education. He was a founding member of the Canadian Studies Foundation and Director of one of its affiliated organizations, The Laurentian Project. He was born in Warsaw and spent his early childhood years in the village before the Jackson family moved to Peterborough. He attended Prince of Wales Public School and PCVS and went on to graduate with an M.A. in History from the University of Toronto.
Eric is in the final stages of writing a memoir, incorporating several genres: biography, family and social history and autobiography. His narrative runs through a mosaic of settings: late Victorian/Edwardian industrial England, the killing fields of Flanders, the idyllic village of the twenties and thirties and the esoteric environment of academia in the fifties.
The PHS Public Lectures are held in the Aylmer Street Public Library, lower level auditorium, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are welcomed at the door to help cover administration and rental costs..jpeg)