QAHN's 2021 Heritage Talks Online presents
"Why do archives matter?, with Nancy Marrelli
Thursday, May 6, 2021
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
“Of all national assets, archives are the most precious, they are the gifts of one generation to another, and the extent of our care of them marks the extent of our civilisation.” Sir Arthur Doughty, Head of Public Archives of Canada, 1904-1935
Archives tell the tale of the past. They acquire, organize and make accessible the documentary heritage that tells the stories of people, institutions, and events so they can be revisited and examined by future generations. Archives also play an important role in democratic society, helping to keep governments accountable. Community Archives like the Italian-Canadian Archives of Quebec strive to document and make available the history of important and often neglected parts of our society. The history of the communities comes alive through the very diverse stories of the people, organizations, and institutions that grew out of the communities they document. These archives preserve the grass roots history that is so vital to a full understanding of who we are and what we have done.
Nancy Marrelli is an archivist, writer, and publisher. She is Archivist Emerita at Concordia University, co-publisher of Montreal’s Véhicule Press, and she is Director of the fledgling Italian-Canadian Archives of Quebec at the Casa d’Italia.
This event will take place live on Zoom, as well as on Facebook Livestream.
To participate on Zoom, https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvc-qvqj0sG9F56vhdLyX56VbRr4D...
To view on Facebook Live, click here.
Click here to view the entire 2021 QAHN Heritage Talks Online program!
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QAHN's 2021 Heritage Talks Online presents
"Mifflin Wistar Gibbs: A Father of Confederation," with Dr. Dorothy Williams
May 11, 2021
7:00-8:00 p.m.
Mifflin Wistar Gibbs was a pioneer in British Columbia; some would say he was “A Father of Confederation.” This African-American played a pivotal role in making sure that the American flag never flew over British Columbia. By all accounts, Gibbs was wealthy and his means allowed him to wield power and influence in early Victoria. Unlike many of British Columbia’s colonists who favoured annexation to the United States to the south, Gibbs advocated that the colony join the new Canadian Dominion to the east. In 1868, when the time came to vote at the Yale Convention, it was Mifflin Wistar Gibbs that turned the tide of the convention and BC joined Confederation.
Dr. Dorothy W. Williams is an award-winning author who specializes in Canadian Black history. Her company blacbiblio.com Inc promotes African-Canadian history and heritage using The ABC’s of Canadian Black History Kit.
This event will take place live on Zoom, as well as on Facebook Livestream.
To participate on Zoom, https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vfuGurz8tHtR2MiyhVqxJkGkaYWx...
To view on Facebook Live, click here.
Click here to view the entire 2021 QAHN Heritage Talks Online program!
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QAHN's 2021 Heritage Talks Online presents
"Textile Stories: the Bruck Mills and Its Legacy," with Suzanne Morin
May 20, 2021
7:00-8:00 p.m.
Few people know that the first yard of silk woven in Canada was produced in 1922 by the Bruck Silk Mills of Cowansville, Quebec, as well as the first Canadian flag in 1964. Once a leader in Canada’s textile industry, the Bruck Mills sparked a demographic boom in Cowansville and brought economic growth to the Eastern Townships. In view of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the mill, the Bruck Museum is planning an exhibition about its textile heritage. Stories will be told about the Bruck Mills, its founders and several generations of workers who witnessed its golden age and its decline.
Suzanne Morin is the executive director of the Bruck Museum in Cowansville since May 2015. She previously held the positions of creative director at Canadian Geographic Enterprises in Ottawa, and in New York City, as the art director of Audubon (the magazine of The National Audubon Society) and as a senior designer for Pentagram, an international design firm. She was also a design consultant for the American Museum of Natural History, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Canada Post.
This event will take place live on Zoom, as well as on Facebook Livestream.
To participate on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkcO-uqjMuH9LmtoouNh2DIV5ETTs...
To view on Facebook Live, click here.
Click here to view the entire 2021 QAHN Heritage Talks Online program!
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QAHN's 2021 Heritage Talks Online presents
"Fire and Ice Cream: Unpacking the 1819 Burning of a Montreal Confectionery," with Elena Cerrolaza
Thursday June 3, 2021
7:00-8:00 p.m.
Jean-Baptiste Girard and Sarah Moses, recent immigrants to Montreal from New England, owned a confectioner’s shop on Notre Dame Street where they sold ice cream and other delicacies and catered private events. Girard, formerly a Napoleonic soldier, was on business in St. Genevieve on October 27, 1819, when the shop burned to the ground, the sparks even causing damage to a bookshop across the street. Newspaper coverage criticized the disorganized response of the firemen, but did not mention the possibly shady involvement of Paul Kauntz (a rival confectioner) and John Burns (Girard’s troublesome brother-in-law) in the events surrounding the fire. This incident sheds intriguing light on early 19th century social relations and family strategies for survival in changing times.
Elena Cerrolaza teaches Art History and Humanities at Montreal’s Marianopolis College. Her interest in the history of fencing led to extensive research into the checkered career of Jean-Baptiste Girard – soldier, adventurer, fencing instructor, umbrella maker, circus performer, bailiff, and confectioner – and Sarah Moses, who escaped an abusive first marriage to become the matriarch of several important Quebec families.
This event will take place live on Zoom, as well as on Facebook Livestream.
To participate on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsd-GgrjwtHdzWAqYmAyiH8mVdP7I...
To view on Facebook Live, click here.
Click here to view the entire 2021 QAHN Heritage Talks Online program!
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2021 QAHN AGM & Convention
June 26, 2021, 10 a.m.
Zoom
Details TBA.
