Heritage preservation

Ottawa House: Public History and Active History

March 19, 2012

By virtue of its very lack of polish, commitment to community artifacts, and desire to treat different social groups fairly, Ottawa House presents more than a frozen past. It is not perfect, but it shows an active past, where goods moved along a range of trade networks to reach destinations far from their starting points.

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Active History on the Grand: Historic Gardens

February 27, 2012

This article provides examples of historic gardens and landscapes in Ontario.

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Active History on the Grand: Heritage Trees in Ontario

January 2, 2012

I think that I shall never see, A poem as lovely as a tree. – Sergeant Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918) While many of us may be familiar with the designation of built heritage properties under the Ontario Heritage Act, recently municipalities have been using the Ontario Heritage Act to designate individual trees as heritage trees.  Municipalities [...]

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The Memorial Library: History without Historians

December 14, 2011

The failed campaign to “Save the Memorial Library” (STML) at Mount Allison University is a fascinating study of the importance – or, lack thereof – of history in contemporary Canadian culture.

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Active History on the Grand: History and Bricks

September 19, 2011

Two years ago Brant County proposed to sell eight community buildings to save costs. These buildings served as schools, daycares, museums, and community centres for the rural residents of Brant County. This article examines the fight to save one building, Langford School.

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Recreation to Re-creation: Restoring Natural Heritage in Public Parks

August 8, 2011

Growing up in Cambridge next to Soper Park, the park became an extension of my backyard.  I spent many days exploring the park, wading in the creek, catching crayfish and racing home-made boats.  As a child the creek seemed mysterious and ancient.  It was dammed with stone and concrete dams, and walled in with massive [...]

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Renaming Schools: A sign of a society in dialogue with its past

July 19, 2011

The Halifax Regional School Board’s decision to rename Cornwallis Junior High fits into a long Nova Scotian tradition of changing names with evolving social and political conditions in Nova Scotia.

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Active History on the Grand: The Greenwich Mohawk site and Community History

June 20, 2011

The Greenwich Mohawk brownfield site in Brantford represents both the city’s industrial past and its recent deindustrialization. The 1903 heritage designated Cockshutt Office building on the site is in jeopardy of being demolished by those who want to forget Brantford’s industrial history and recent failures.

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Active History on the Grand: Brantford Up-date

November 22, 2010

If you’ve read my previous blogs, you’ll notice that I talk a lot about Brantford, Ontario.  Since completing my PhD in History from McMaster University I’ve been working as the Executive Director of the Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre (CIHC), a not-for-profit organization in Brantford dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Canadian industrial history and [...]

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Colborne Street Breakdown II: Demolition and Community History

June 15, 2010

Colborne Street is the historic downtown of Brantford and by many accounts this stretch of buildings represents the longest stretch of pre-Confederation buildings remaining Canada, but Tuesday June 8th was a dark day for history, heritage and the city of Brantford.

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