By Jay Young This rain will never stop, I thought, as water cascaded from my apartment window and fell from the sky at record pace. On July 8th, Toronto experienced the greatest amount of rainfall in a single day ever recorded in that city. A torrent of 126 millimetres of rain hit the ground, more than a whole month’s average… Read more »
https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Dick-CHA-Presidential-Address.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadOn June 4th 2013 Lyle Dick delivered his Canadian Historical Association (CHA) presidential address, titled “On Local History and Local Historical Knowledge.” Dick spoke at the CHA Annual Meeting in Victoria, BC. A long time employee with Parks Canada, he is also the author of numerous books and articles on the history of Canada. Dick’s address is… Read more »
By Kaitlin Wainwright Making the Scene: Yorkville and Hip Toronto in the 1960s Stuart Henderson University of Toronto Press, 2011 394 pages, Paperback and ebook $29.95, Cloth $70.00 Stuart Henderson’s Making the Scene: Yorkville and Hip Toronto in the 1960s is an adventure back in time to Yorkville at what many would consider the pinnacle of its cultural history. Fifty… Read more »
by Mike Commito Ontario had its last spring black bear hunt fifteen years ago. Dating back to 1937, the province’s spring hunt was primarily for non-resident hunters. But spring hunting picked up in 1961 after the Department of Lands and Forests declared the black bear a game animal. By the mid-1990s, spring bear hunting had been well established as a… Read more »
By Merle Massie “My tap dancing just isn’t good enough,” she wrote. She: my daughter’s high school English teacher. Tap dancing: teaching (to pubescent, smartmouth, intelligent, tired kids at the end of June in rural Saskatchewan). “I remember a staff meeting conversation from some point where you were willing to come in and talk with students.” What’s the topic, Mrs…. Read more »
By Krista McCracken The image of Sudbury, Ontario has long been associated with mining, smelting, and a barren landscape. Perhaps most famously, the landscape of Sudbury has been said to be comparable to the landscape present on the moon. Similarly, the image of the towering Sudbury Superstack is one which holds sway in the minds of many Canadians. However, since… Read more »
By Kayla Jonas Galvin Company Towns: Corporate Order and Community Neil White University of Toronto Press, 2012 Cloth $55.00, ebook $54.95 I chose to review Neil White’s Company Towns: Corporate Order and Community because of my recent involvement in an interesting project within a company town, Kapuskasing, Ontario. For those unfamiliar with the term, a company town is one that… Read more »
From May 13-19, Toronto’s City Hall will feature “The Portuguese in Toronto,” a free photo exhibit. What follows are some reflections on how historians can engage with the public by one of the exhibit’s organizers. Raphael Costa On May 13, 2013, the Portuguese Canadian History Project’s (PCHP) photographic exhibit celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of mass Portuguese migration to Canada will… Read more »
By Colin Coates and Daniel Ross “The rise and fall of America’s largest socialist utopian experiment” -Program blurb from the 2013 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival This post, inspired by the documentary film American Commune (2013) by Rena Mundo Croshere and Nadine Mundo, takes two different looks at the history of a 1970s countercultural commune located in the southern… Read more »
ActiveHistory.ca is pleased to announce two exciting initiatives at Heritage Toronto, a charitable arms-length agency of the City of Toronto that promotes the city’s rich architectural, cultural, archaeological and natural heritage. Heritage Toronto Awards – Call for Nominations The Heritage Toronto Awards celebrate outstanding contributions in the promotion and conservation of Toronto’s history and heritage landmarks by professionals and volunteers…. Read more »
