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Fighting for Democracy: A Canadian Activist (from Peterborough) in Spain’s Civil War

Jim Higgins was an English orphan who migrated to Canada for farm work in Saskatchewan in 1928. The Depression of the 1930s triggered his activism in the causes of social equality and democracy. In the polarized climate of the time he joined 1700 other Canadian volunteers to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil War. In … Read more

The Archaeology of Nassau Mills: The Abandoned Plaster House in Context

Speaker Series: Co-directors James Conolly and Kate Dougherty present the result of an excavation and survey project in 2017 and 2018 at the historic Nassau Mills industrial complex, situated on the Trent University campus. As well as a general overview of the project’s findings and the interplay between written documentation and archaeological evidence, they focus … Read more

The Many Working Lives of Robert Romaine

Speaker Series: by Ken Brown. A recognized specialist in Peterborough business history, Ken Brown will examine the successful career of Robert Romaine.  Truly a businessman of many parts Romaine was a successful manufacturer of bricks, editor and publisher of the Peterborough Review, inventor of innovative farm machinery and, famously, printer of the Romaine Map of … Read more

PHS Talks Available on YouTube

The following PHS Talks are now available on the Hutchison House Museum YouTube Channel: Musician of Extraordinary Merit: Joseph Churchill Arlidge in Peterborough by Robert Arlidge The Cradle of Canadian Literature: Early Literary Writing in Lakefield and Peterborough by Professor Michael Peterman Personal Remembrances of Remembrance Days past by David Rumball Packed to the Doors: … Read more

Musician of Extraordinary Merit: Joseph Churchill Arlidge in Peterborough

Speaker Series: Mr. Robert Arlidge. Musician and teacher Bob Arlidge will describe the fascinating circumstances and work of his great grandfather who, after first immigrating to Toronto from London, spent two active years in Peterborough, 1891-92. Here he played a leading role in the musical life of the community. Hired as organist for St. Paul’s … Read more