Past Events
For a list of current events, see our Current Schedule of Events.
2008-2009: Lectures | Bus Trip
2007-2008: Lectures | Bus Trip |Historical Conference
2006-2007: Lectures
2005-2006: Lectures
Bus Trip to Erin - Sat, May 23, 2009
This year's bus trip is a joint venture of the GHS and the Guelph-Wellington
chapter of ACO (Architectural Conservancy of Ontario). The trip is on Saturday
May 23, 2009, and will be to mills and a printing press in the Erin area. The
cost of $40 includes bus transportation, admissions, and lunch in an Erin
restaurant. For more information, contact Paul Ross at 519-821-6268 or email him
at ann.paul(at)rogers(dot)com
Fall 2008 to Spring 2009 Lecture Series
Tues, Oct 7, 2008
"Downtown Guelph: An Evolving Landscape"
Ian Panabaker, Urban Design and Heritage Planner, City of
Guelph
Tues, Nov 4, 2008
"The Royal City Goes to War:
How the Guelph Evening Mercury
covered the First World War"
Annual Remembrance Lecture:
Jenn Annis, Doctoral Candidate, Department of History, Wilfrid Laurier
University
Tues, Dec 2, 2008
"Guelph's Methodist Heritage"
Ken Russell, Archivist, Norfolk Street United Church
Tues, Feb 3, 2009
"A Giant Love-feast:
National Unity, Canadian Identity and the
Celebration of Dominion Day"
Annual University of Guelph Lecture:
Dr. Matthew Hayday, Department of History, University of Guelph
Tues, Mar 3, 2009
"A Most Fortunate Court-Martial:
Admiral Sir Charles Kingsmill and the Royal Canadian Navy"
Dr. Rob Davison, Department of History, Wilfrid Laurier University
Tues, Apr 7, 2009
"Guelph's Lost Buildings and the Paintings of Evan Macdonald"
Annual General Meeting, Guelph Historical Society
Guest Speaker: Flora Macdonald Spencer
author of "Evan
Macdonald, A Painter's Life",
edited by Judith Nasby, Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2008.
Historical Conference to fund Environmental Disaster Relief
Fri-Sat, June 13-14, 2008
The Ontario Historical Society's 120th anniversary conference "From
Nature to Ecology, Landscape to Ecosystems: A Historical View of Ontario
Environments". The conference is being held at the University of Guelph.
The event features a Gala Evening on Friday, June 13,2008 in War
Memorial Hall. Proceeds from the Gala will go to the Canadian Save the Children's
Myanmar/Burma Disaster Relief Fund.
News Release:
June 10, 2008 - for immediate distribution
Conference Brochure & Registration Form:
page1,
page2
Bus Trip to Royal Ontario Museum - Tues, May 6, 2008
Trip to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto on Tues, May 6, 2008. Bus
leaves from Harcourt Memorial United Church at 8:30am, and returns at
5:15pm.
View the poster
Fall 2007 to Spring 2008 Lecture Series
Date: Tuesday, 02 October 2007
Title: Caring for Mind, Body and Soul: Guelph's Catholic Institutions to the End of the Great War
Speaker: Debra Nash-Chambers, Professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University.
As one of the first churches to establish itself in Guelph, Roman Catholic
religious institutions, schools, and hospitals remain prominent parts of
Guelph's social, cultural, and architectural landscape. Their colourful history
to the end of the Great War includes not only many accomplishments, much beauty,
and long service to the community's medical and spiritual needs, but also
violence and controversy.
Debra Nash-Chambers received her PhD in History from the University of
Guelph. She teaches Canadian and American History at Wilfrid Laurier
University. In addition to her work on Guelph's Catholic institutions, her
research interests include public, family, urban and legal history. "Remembering
Pilkington Township: Lives, Loves and Labour", co-edited by Nash-Chambers, was
published in 2006 by The Wellington County Historical Society. Currently, she is
President of the Guelph Historical Society, and is completing a book on family
and power in late Victorian Guelph for the series "Childhood and Family
in Canada" edited by Cynthia Comacchio and published by Wilfrid Laurier Press.
An update on the restoration work at the Church of Our Lady Immaculate will
be given at the meeting by a representative from the church.
Date: Tuesday, 06 November 2007
Title: Vimy Ridge Revisited
Speaker: Ken Irvine, Education and Events Programmer, Guelph Civic Museums
In his role with Guelph Museums, Ken Irvine accompanied several school
children to Vimy Ridge in April 2007 where they witnessed the re-dedication
ceremony along with the our Veterans and military personnel, the Prime Minister,
the Queen, and countless others. These ceremonies were broadcast across Canada.
Irvine will share his personal experiences of the emotional event. He will
provide this talk for our Annual Remembrance Lecture.
Ken Irvine has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of
Guelph, a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Medaille College, and a
certificate in Museum Studies from the Ontario Museum Assn. He is on the
executive of the Guelph Historical Society and the Heritage Planning Committee
for the Fergus Scottish Festival. Ken has worked for over 10 years designing and
delivering the education programs at both the Guelph Civic Museum and John
McCrae House as well as coordinating museum special events.
Date: Tuesday, 04 December 2007
Title: Guelph's Steam Rail Heritage
Speakers: Paul Breadner, Jim Hall, and Steve Host
Guelph's early development as a transportation and economic centre was tied
very closely to steam rail development in Southern Ontario. Waterpower provided
by local rivers played an important role for Guelph as a regional manufacturing
centre, but a lack of navigable waterways determined that the
goods, services, and people needed a strong rail transportation network to be
successful. This talk will illustrate how important rail infrastructure has been
to Guelph's development, and will pay tribute to our Steam Rail Heritage, and
honour Guelph's CN 6167 Northern Steam Locomotive as a legacy to Guelph's early
prosperity.
Paul Breadner and Jim Hall are both active members of the Guelph 6167
Steam Locomotive Restoration Committee, and Steve Host is President of the
Guelph Historical Railway Association. They will have items relevant to
Guelph's railway history on display and for sale.
Date: Tuesday, 05 February 2008
Title: The Cold Hand of Charity and Other Niagara Tales
Speaker: David Murray, Professor Emeritus, University of Guelph
This lecture will explore changing ideas, laws, and attitudes about social
assistance and crime in Upper Canada during the late 18th and early 19th
centuries. For this, our Annual University of Guelph Lecture, Dr. Murray will
draw from his recently published book, "Colonial Justice: Justice, Morality and
Crime in the Niagara District, 1791-1849".
David Murray, now Professor Emeritus, has been a member of the Department of
History at the University of Guelph since 1967. He is a former Dean of the
College of Arts and the author of a number of books. In 2008 he, with co-author
Susan Armstrong-Reid, will be publishing "Armies of Peace: Canada and the UNRRA Years"
through the University of Toronto Press.
Date: Tuesday, 04 March 2008
Title: If These Walls Could Speak: The Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge, 1877-1947
Speaker: Susan Dunlop, Curator, Wellington County Museum & Archives
Before the advent of social welfare, impoverished citizens relied on kindly
neighbours and on churches for support. Local government entered the picture in
1877 when the County built the House of Industry and Refuge between Fergus and
Elora. Known locally as "The Poor House", this institution offered food and
shelter to the "deserving poor" of our area. Today this building houses the
Wellington County Museum. This talk will discuss 19th-century attitudes and
responses to poverty, explore the living conditions of the inmates and staff,
and will show the behind-the-scenes process of how the House of Industry
exhibit, currently on display at the Museum, was put together.
Susan Dunlop is the Curator of the Wellington County Museum and Archives.
For two years she researched the House of Industry and Refuge in preparing this
major exhibit about the history of the institution.
Date: Tuesday, 01 April 2008 [Annual General Meeting]
Title: St. Andrew's Church: Celebrating 180 Years of Presbyterian Heritage
Speaker: Wilma Welsh, Past Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada
2008 marks the 180th anniversary of the congregation of St. Andrew's
Presbyterian Church, Guelph's oldest. Its membership has included many people
who have made lasting contributions to our city. The beautiful architecture of
the current church building has served as the site of the Guelph Historical
Society's public meetings for many years. A guided church tour and reception,
sponsored by the Anniversary Committee and the GHS, will follow the talk.
Wilma Welsh was the moderator of the 132nd General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada from June 2006 - June 2007, and was the first lay
woman to be elected to that office. While serving in this role, she attended 139
events in 70 locations. Prior to her retirement, she was employed overseas with
the International Ministry Office of the Presbyterian Church in Canada before
returning to Toronto to work for the IMO. Currently, Ms. Welsh is the mission
coordinator for Knox Presbyterian Church, Guelph.
The Guelph Historical Society's Annual Meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Fall 2006 to Spring 2007 Lecture Series
03 October 2006: In "Dancing to Perdition: Growing Up in Modern Canada 1920-1950",
Dr. Cynthia Comacchio will speak on aspects of adolescence experienced
between and immediately after the two World Wars. This talk is based on research
undertaken for her new book, "The Dominion of Youth: Adolescence and the Making
of Modern Canada, 1920 - 1950" which will be launched at the talk. Dr. Comacchio
is a Professor of History at Wilfrid Laurier University, and editor of the
series "Family & Childhood in Canada".
07 November 2006: In "Wellington County's Two Other War Poets", Greg Oakes will
explore the lives and literature of local war poets whose works have been
overshadowed by Guelph's more famous John McCrae (author of "In Flanders Fields").
05 December 2006: In "Canada's Arctic Rangers", Whitney Lackenbauer will discuss
his extensive research of the Arctic Rangers and their protection of Canadian
sovereignty in the Arctic. Dr. Lackenbauer is an Associate Professor of Modern
Canadian History at St. Jerome's College, University of Waterloo.
06 February 2007: Dr. Alan Gordon will present a talk entitled, "Public Use and
Representation of History". Dr. Gordon is a Professor of History at the
University of Guelph.
06 March 2007: Well-known local historian, Dr. Gil Stelter, will present "The
Church and the Community" in honour of St. George's Anglican Church celebrating
the 175th anniversary of its congregation. Dr. Stelter is Professor Emeritus
of History at the University of Guelph.
03 April 2007: Tom Fournier of the 41st Regiment of Foot Military Living
History Group will present "The War of 1812 Through the Eyes of a British
Soldier". Mr. Fournier will approach the talk from his unique perspective of the
war as an historical re-enactor.
Fall 2005 to Spring 2006 Lecture Series
04 October 2005 – Peter Ashton, a former teacher and a Board Member of the
Guelph Historical Society, will acquaint the audience with the literary
career of John Galt, founder of the Guelph Settlement. In a talk
entitled "Regional Realism: The Novels of John Galt", Mr. Ashton will
highlight the acclaim Galt received during his lengthy career as a prolific
and sometimes controversial writer. While most of
Galt’s novels reflected social conditions in Scotland, two were based on
colonial North America.
01 November 2005 – The November lecture will honour The Year of the Veteran.
Military historian Terry Copp will present his perspective on
"Remembrance in the 21st Century: What Every Young Canadian Should Know". He
will address the sacrifice and legacy of the men and women who served in
Canada’s armed forces and secured the freedoms and opportunities young
Canadians have today. Terry Copp is Professor Emeritus and the Director of the
Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies at Wilfrid Laurier
University in Waterloo, Ontario.
06 December 2005 – The December program will complete our tribute to the
Year of the Veteran. Bev Dietrich, Curator of Guelph Museums, has
responsibility for the collection at the Guelph Civic Museum as well as
McCrae House, the birthplace of military doctor and poet Col. John McCrae
of "In Flanders Fields" fame. Her presentation is titled "McCrae House and
Keeping the Faith for Which They Died". Ms. Dietrich will discuss the
historical significance of McCrae who died tragically during World War I as
well as development of the McCrae House Museum that has achieved status as a
National Historic Site. In 1995, Ms. Dietrich was a special guest in Belgium
for the 80th anniversary of the writing of McCrae’s poem. She has a detailed
knowledge of McCrae’s international reputation.
07 February 2006 - Dr. Catherine Carstairs will be the Guelph Historical
Society’s guest speaker from the Department of History at the University of
Guelph for the 2005/2006 lecture series. Professor Carstairs will share her
research from a newly published study of the legal, health and societal
consequences of illegal drug use in Canada in the first half of the
twentieth century. Her talk is titled "The Impact of Harsh Drug Legislation
in the Lives of Users, 1908-1961". Early in the last century, Canada had some
of the harshest drug laws in the world and, unfortunately, the effort to
curb the smoking of opium led to the switch to injecting heroine and other
patterns of drug addiction with a variety of tragic consequences.
07 March 2006 – Mrs. Shirley Reed, RN and Alumnus of the Guelph General
School of Nurses, will provide an historical tribute to the school that
graduated well-qualified health professionals for 86 years.
Mrs. Reed has actively sought to keep the memory of the Guelph General
School of Nurses alive. Her presentation is titled "A Book: The Graduate
Nurses of the Guelph General Hospital School of Nurses, 1888 – 1974". It is
based on her pictorial history of the nursing school published in 2001.
04 April 2006 – Susan Ratcliffe, Archivist and Publicist for the Guelph
Historical Society, will share her research on the historical significance
of the Speed River that separates the west and east ends of the city and was
so critical to the founding and economic development of Guelph. She has
chosen the title "The Speed River: Life Blood of Guelph".
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Celebrating Guelph's 183rd anniversary