President’s Message - Let’s Work Together!
Dalnavert Lecture on Digital History
MHS Council member Wayne Arseny in NWMP uniform, at Emerson.
The Annual General Meeting begins at 10:45. Lunch served at 12:30 is followed by a guided bus tour. Our guide, Wayne Arseny, will show us the historic sites of Emerson and also Fort Dufferin. The tour replaces the MHS spring field trip this year.
Bus transportation to Emerson and return is available. The bus will pick up passengers by the steps of the Manitoba Legislative Building at 9:00 a.m. The bus returns to the Legislative Building at about 4:30 p.m.
The cost including bus trip from Winnipeg, lunch and tour is $30.00. For those using their own transportation to Emerson, the cost of lunch and tour is $ 20.00. Reserve by May 19 through the MHS office 204-947-0559.
Pay by cheque, Visa or MasterCard.
This is my last column as your President and, as a result, I have been thinking about the past two years, not because I want to dwell on past accomplishments or failures, rather that I think they serve as a springboard to the future. I remain firmly of the view that we are witnessing a dramatic change in society and the MHS needs to evolve to remain relevant in the 21st century.
Interest in history generally, and Manitoba history specifically, is widespread yet I feel our Society’s membership is not fully representative of that interest. One reason, I think, is there are numerous other organizations and informal groups for people to pursue their interests in specific aspects of history, outside of the MHS. I do not advocate for merger of these organizations, but I think we would be well served to work much more closely than we presently do.
For example, the Manitoba Genealogical Society is an excellent venue for those seeking greater awareness of their family history. I have used their excellent Resource Centre here in Winnipeg and attended their functions, and I am continually left wondering why the MHS does not work more closely with the MGS. I attended a MGS meeting in Brandon a couple of years ago where one of the keynote speakers posed the question: “What happens after you have worked out your family tree as completely as you can? Do you move on to other pursuits?” No, he believed that such people should strive to deepen their understanding of history – the events and circumstances that mould people’s lives – to provide context for understanding them better. There seemed to be general agreement with this statement and, at that point, I wanted to invite everyone to learn more about the MHS and how its programs could benefit them.
Our friends in the Manitoba Living History Society have a deep understanding of how ordinary people of the past lived because they do detailed research, make faithful recreations of historical clothing, tools, and foods, and reenact the lives of our ancestors. The members of the MLHS have much to teach us. We should know more about Manitoba’s multiculturalism, for which such groups as the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, and La Société historique de Saint-Boniface are important leaders. And there are numerous other groups doing great work, including Heritage Winnipeg, the United Empire Loyalists Manitoba Branch, the Military History Society of Manitoba, the Manitoba Antiques Association, the good folks who operate the Prairie Dog Central Railway, various museums and archives, and others of which I am regretfully ignorant. An important national resource, Canada’s National History Society, is based right here in Manitoba.
The problem as I see it is that the proliferation of groups relating to Manitoba history has split the pool of volunteers sufficiently that many lack “critical mass” needed to be fully effective. We need to be aware of what each other is doing. We should encourage our respective members to participate in each other’s events. We should share resources and avoid wasteful duplication where it exists. We should work together whenever and wherever possible. How do we achieve these closer working relationships? Some might argue this is a role for the provincial government. I disagree. I think the Manitoba Historical Society is in a unique position to provide leadership. We are not a funding or regulatory body so we do not wield power over other groups. Our mandate spans the province, and it is not specific to any ethnicity or interest. We have no political agenda. We have a distinguished record, developed over 127 years, of promoting interest in provincial history. Who better to promote synergy among diverse interests?
As a professionally trained ecologist, I believe fundamentally that there is strength in diversity; a diverse biological group is best equipped to respond favorably to the challenges posed by a changing environment. By extension, I believe that great good can come from closer links between historical groups that have, for a variety of reasons, gone their separate ways. There is a tremendous opportunity in strengthening relationships between groups that, whether they know it or not, share a view that the history of Manitoba is interesting and important, and should be brought to the attention of a much wider audience.
In closing, I wish to say that I have enjoyed the past two years very much. I have made friends with many outstanding people who I would never have met otherwise. I have learned so much that I would never have known otherwise. Yes, there were problems to confront, just as there are in any worthwhile endeavor. But none of them detracted ultimately from a profoundly enriching experience. Thank you for allowing me to have it. I intend, as your Past President, to remain active in the affairs of the Society, and I will work in whatever capacity my successor deems fit. I will especially offer my help to improving the dialogue between historical groups around the province – as well as those in our neighboring provinces and states – that should be talking, and I will help in the ongoing evolution of the MHS, to ensure that it is not merely functional, but exceptional. Best wishes!
William Ashdown
Andrew R. E. Amy
Jerry Lemay
H.
Jean Boyes
Claude P. Nolin
Robin Carter
Dr. Withaya Srichandra
Wade Cudmore
Liz Forrester
General Operations/MHS Operating
Dr. F. Chebib
L. Gordon Goldsborough
Lee Gibson
G. Roy Friesen
Lee Gibson
Mildred Hallama
Young Historians Thorlakson Trust Fund
Dr. T. K. Thorlakson
Maurice Joseph Prince, a MHS member for many years, died in Winnipeg on 23 March 2006. He was born in 1925 in Neepawa and lived most of his life in St. Boniface. He was active in his community as a spokesman for language rights, Canadian unity and the preservation of the French language. He was a director of the St. Boniface Museum for more than a decade. Also he was instrumental in establishing Lagimodière Gaboury Historical Park.
At its March 2006 meeting, the MHS Council recommended several amendments to the Society's Constitution. The revised Constitution must be approved by a two-third majority vote of members attending the Annual General Meeting on Saturday, May 27 in Emerson, Manitoba. Its full text can be viewed on the MHS web site at www.mhs.mb.ca/news/constitution2006.pdf and copies will be provided at the AGM.
Dr. Raj Pandey Hindu Centre, one of two Hindu temples in Winnipeg.
MHS member Joan Goldsborough in the temple
Dance performers at the dinner
Musical performers at the dinner
At a ceremony held at Dalnavert on Heritage Day February 20, the new Dalnavert Visitors Centre was given an award by Heritage Winnipeg "for the sensitive and sympathetic addition to a historic property, allowing the museum to maintain its original character." Awards were also made to long-time Dalnavert supporters Kathleen Richardson and Kathleen Campbell. At the same ceremony, other awards were made to Christine Common-Singh for her restoration of her home at 134 West Gate in the historic Armstrong's Point area of Winnipeg, to the Friends of the Cornish Library, also in Armstrong's Point, for their work on behalf of this historic building, and to New Life Ministries and its associated Lazarus Housing for the rehabilitation of the Ellice Cafe and Theatre at 585 Ellice Avenue.
Heritage Winnipeg President Céline Kear presents award to MHS President Gordon Goldsborough
Dalnavert Executive Director Linda Neyedly displays award presented for the Dalnavert Visitors Centre
Long-time Dalnavert volunteers Kathleen Richardson (left) and Kathleen Campbell (right) received awards from Heritage Winnipeg.
The final lecture in the Dalnavert Lecture Series, entitled "Maps and History in the Digital Age," will deal with the ways in which history can be brought to life with digital maps. Three speakers will take a look at this topic from three different angles. Gordon Goldsborough will talk about his use of GIS to map the distribution of early Manitoba automobile owners. Larry Laliberte, the GIS Librarian at University of Manitoba will give an example of what can be done by combining an historic map of the Wolseley Expedition route and the very modern tool, Google Earth. Professor Jock Lehr will talk about the use of GIS in his research on Ukrainian and Hutterite settlement patterns. The lecture will take place at the Dalnavert Visitor Centre Wednesday April 26 at 7 p.m. A reception will follow. Admission is $5.00 per person.
An exhibit on Charles Wheeler's contributions to Winnipeg architecture and art, including illustrations of his work (one of which is Dalnavert itself) and a presentation on Wheeler's legacy by Giles Bugailiskis is scheduled tentatively for opening at the Dalnavert Visitors Centre for Saturday, May 13. For updated information please check the MHS web site at www.mhs.mb.ca/news/events.shtml.
Saturday, May 20
Ukrainian Labour Temple
591 Pritchard Avenue, Winnipeg
We would appreciate for your donation of books, housewares, toys, tools, collectables, furniture, electronics, records and tapes [no clothing]. We need volunteers to unpack, sort and price articles during the days prior to the sale as well as volunteers to work on Saturday at the sale. Call Carl James at 204-631- 5971 to arrange pick up of donated articles or to volunteer a few hours to help make this sale a success.
Each year, the MHS hosts a Canada Day Program at Ross House Museum in Winnipeg's Point Douglas neighborhood which includes a barbecue and musical entertainment. This year, we are planning an expanded program in association with the Zuken Memorial Association. We will unveil a plaque commemorating the contributions of the late Joe Zuken (1912-1986) as a long-serving member of the Winnipeg School Board (1941-1961) and the Winnipeg City Council (1961-1983). The plaque unveiling will be done by invited guests, among them Professor Bill Neville, a former colleague of Mr. Zuken on council. This will be followed by a twenty-minute musical performance, the details of which are being worked out now. The barbecue will begin at noon followed by birthday cake. All are welcome to attend this fun, free event at Ross House, site of the first post office in Western Canada.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the McWilliams awards, making them one of the oldest literary prizes in Canada.
There will be readings by short-listed authors for the 2005 Margaret McWilliams awards (for excellence in writing about Manitoba history) on Thursday, April 20 @ 7:30 PM at McNally-Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park (Travel Section).
Clips from short listed audio visual presentations with introductions by their producers will be shown at Dalnavert Visitors Centre & Museum on Tuesday April 18 at 7:30 p.m.
The ceremony where awards will be presented is on Sunday, April 23 at 1:30 PM at St. John's College Chapel (University of Manitoba Fort Garry Campus). Centennial organizations awards will also be presented at this ceremony. The MC for the awards ceremony will be Ron Robinson, with awards presented by Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard.
The following publications are on the short lists for Margaret McWilliams Awards:
Scholarly History
The Courts and Colonies: The Litigation of Hutterite Church Disputes by Alvin J. Esau, University of British Columbia Press
The Missionary Oblate Sisters: Vision and Mission by Rosa Bruno-Jofre, McGill – Queen’s University Press
Institutional History
Blue & Gold: 75 Years of Bomber Glory by Bob Irving (Editor), Great Plains Publications
Memoir of a Living disease: Story of Earl Hershfield and Tuberculosis in Manitoba by Maurice Mierau, Great Plains Publications
54 West Gate: Stories of Ralph Connor House by Friends of Ralph Connor House, Friends of Ralph Connor House
Ante Nos Scientia by Lisa Pao & Barry Bills, PCI Reunion Committee
Local History
Phantom Lake: North of 54 by Birk Sproxton, University of Alberta Press
Au Pays de Gabrielle Roy by Annette Saint-Pierre, Editions des Plaines
Tadpole to Little Frog (In a Big Pond): The Memoir of a Young Man Growing Up in Manitoba During the Depression and War Years by Raymond R Bailey, Self-published
Historical Fiction
Turned Away: The World War II Diary of Devorah Bernstein by Carol Matas, Scholastic Canada
Popular History
A View from the Ledge: An Insider’s Look at the Schreyer Years by Herb Schulz, Heartland Associates
Winnipeg 1912: Diary of a City by Jim Blanchard, University of Manitoba Press
Audiovisual Presentation
Uncharted Surveyor, John Barnard Director, Farpoint Films
Bomber Boys, Jamie Brown, Frantic Films
Ken Leishman: The Flying Bandit, Jamie Brown & Lynne Skromeda, Frantic Films
Air Station Bay, Donna Marion, Blonde Indian Productions
May 16 is National Census Day. Be sure to check YES in response to the question “Does this person agree to make his/her 2006 census information available for public release in 2098 (92 years after the census)?”
Provincial government and college officials announced on March 7 that the historic Brandon Mental Health Centre is to become the new home for the Assiniboine Community College. The North Hill Development Consortium, which includes architect and development firms, will transform the 700 acre property into a college campus. The provincially designated historic nurses’ residence building will be a centre for culinary arts and hospitality courses. Plans call for gutting the BMHC’s main Parkland building and adding a new trades wing onto it. A student residence in the Valleyview building and a new housing development are to follow. The property would ultimately connect with the rest of the city through the Riverbank trail system.
An exhibition of photos by Tyrrell Mendis of Manitoba’s pioneer churches, Testaments of Faith, was held at the Dr. Vernon L. Watson Allied Arts Centre, Dauphin, from March 1st to March 31st. Other confirmed bookings of the exhibition are as follows: Morden - Pembina Hills Arts Council Gallery, 352 Stephen Street May 6 to May 27, 2006. Neepawa - Manawaka Gallery, 388 Mountain Avenue, June 1 to June 30, 2006. The Pas - Susan MacCharles Gallery, Sam Waller Museum, 306 Fischer Avenue, 3 February to March 31, 2007. For more information, contact The Impressionists, 491 Craig Street, Winnipeg MB R3G 3C2. Phone (204) 774-0677 or email tymendis@shaw.ca.
The Alberta Family Histories Society is pleased to announce the availability of the Brian Hutchison Genealogical Scholarship of up to $500 annually to a Canadian resident towards the cost of tuition and books, for the recipient to study the field of genealogy and family history in a recognized educational or accreditation program. The deadline for applications is December 31, 2006.The scholarship will be awarded in the spring of 2007. Further information can be found at wwwafhs.ab.ca/scholarship or by writing to:
Alberta Family Histories Society
712 – 16 Avenue N.W.
Calgary AB T2M 0J8
Attention: Scholarship Committee
The Rural Municpality of Mossy River is celebrating its centennial on July 28, 29 and 30 2006 at Fork River MB. There will be a Get Acquainted Street Dance on July 28 at 9:00 pm. On July 29 there will be a pancake breakfast, centennial opening ceremonies, bingo and sports competitions, a centennial banquet, a street dance and fireworks. On July 30 there will be and interfaith church service, pancake breakfast, raffle draws and a wind up. On hand for sale will be Memoirs "From the Past” RM of Mossy River History Book and the RM of Mossy River Homecoming Cookbook.
Friends of the Cornish Library are selling an attractively illustrated booklet, Leafing through Our History Cornish Library 1915- 2005 written and compiled by Patricia Thomson to celebrate the library’s 90 years in Winnipeg. The price is $5 per copy, plus shipping handling costs of 1.35 per copy. Proceeds from the sale of the booklet will be used to benefit the Cornish Library. Send your orders to: Friends of the Cornish Library c/o 94 East Gate Winnipeg MB R3C 2C3.
Gimli’s historic H. P. Tergesen and Sons store has received a grant from the Manitoba Prairie Icons Project to help it finance a five-year building restoration and preservation program. According to an article in The Interlake Spectator, March 31, 2006, the Prairie Icons Project is an initiative co-funded by the J. M. Kaplan Fund of New York and the Thomas Sill Foundation of Winnipeg. The goal of the Project funded by the two private foundations is to preserve threatened rural heritage landmarks in the northern Great Plains region of North America, particularly in North Dakota, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Lorna Tergesen, a co-owner of the store, said the money from the Prairie Icon Project is being used to replace the sagging flooring and its beams in the rear warehouse section of the 105 year old store on the southwest corner of Centre and First Avenue.
Doors Open Winnipeg needs volunteer ambassadors to represent buildings in this year’s event, in roles ranging from welcoming visitors to providing building tours. The event, which features culturally and architecturally interesting buildings, takes place May 13 & 14 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Shifts are four hours long or a full day and buildings will be assigned. T-shirt and bottled water will be provided. For more information call Cindy at Heritage Winnipeg at 204-942-2663 or visit: www.doorsopenwinnipeg.ca.
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada invites you to the inaugural lecture of the Sol and Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture Series guest speaker: Sir Martin Gilbert. His presentation is entitled The Jews of Arab Lands, and it will be held on Sunday, April 30, 2006, 8:00pm at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, 561 Wellington Crescent. Tickets: $36.00 (regular); $18.00 (seniors/students). For further information, please contact Fran Barrett at 204-477-7460.
Click here for the latest list of Centennial Farms.
Nominations for membership on the MHS Council are requested, and should be submitted to the MHS office at least two weeks before the Annual General Meeting, scheduled for Saturday, 27 May 2006. The Council is the governing body of the MHS, and is responsible for its general management and supervision of Society affairs. It meets on a weekday evening every two months (except during summer), usually at Dalnavert Museum. Councillors serve a three-year term. Completed nominations should include the name and address of the nominee, the name of the nominator, and an indication that the nominee accepts the nomination. Self-nominations are welcome.
Nominations are also being accepted for membership on the Executive Committee, which is responsible for day-to-day decision-making on behalf of the Council. It meets monthly, or as needed, usually at the MHS office. Executive membership is a two-year term. Positions on the Executive Committee include President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
This year the MHS will be holding its annual general meeting on Saturday, May 27 in Emerson, Manitoba. More details will follow in next Time Lines and on MHS web site.
In early February, MHS assisted The Dominion Institute of Toronto in its Memory Project Roadshow in Winnipeg. Created in 2001, the purpose of the project is to give school-age youth the opportunity to talk with Canadian veterans about their war-time experiences, and to collect memorabilia (photographs, documents, etc.) relating to wars in which Canada has been involved. The Memory Project stop at Gordon Bell High School on 7 February was, by all accounts, a rousing success. It was attended by many more veterans than had been expected, who brought a wide range of items for display. Volunteers made copies of documents and photographed artifacts while students from the school peppered the veterans with questions. Further information on the Memory Project is available at www.thememoryproject.com.
