Friday, December 7, 2012

LAC is on Facebook


The Library and Archives Canada is on Facebook, and I read quite a few postings this morning, so that I could get a feeling of what the LAC has done with it.

They have a lot of pictures taken from their holding on the pages, and there were photos I have never seen before eg photos of Home Children, Danish Immigration, and you can read Sir Winston Churchill first speech to the House of Commons as prime minister on 13 May 1940.

They have 262 “likes” right now, and comments on the page, some of which are about the closing of interlibrary loan on December 11 – next Tuesday!

The Facebook page is on www.facebook.com/LibraryArchives

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Halifax Explosion, 1917

To add to my post I did yesterday morning on the Haliax Explosion, the Library and Archives Canada Flickr website now has put photos on the Internet.

The LAC says that the explosion was a “tragedy on a massive scale (which) happened on Canadian shores on December 6, 1917 when the French cargo ship, the SS Mont Blanc, and the Norwegian SS Imo, collided in the harbour at Halifax, Nova Scotia.’

The photos are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/sets/72157627774733594

2013 as the Year of Korea in Canada

A couple of days ago, I received this announcement from the prime minister’s office -

“Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that 2013 has been designated as the Year of Korea in Canada, which aims to highlight Korea's culture, traditions and diversity, and celebrate the contributions of the Korean community to Canadian society.

"Canada and Korea enjoy excellent relations based on 50 years of diplomatic engagement, close personal ties and an important commercial relationship," said the Prime Minister. "It is a privilege to launch the Year of Korea in Canada which will showcase Korea's remarkable culture and traditions and highlight the vibrant relationship our two countries enjoy."

The Year of Korea in Canada will feature a number of cultural and artistic events across the country. Events in Korea will also be organized to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, including Canada's contributions to help defend the country's freedom.

Read about Canada’s contribution to the Korean War, go to
http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/korean-war

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Twitter Will Preserve Memories of Halifax Explosion

There is a news story this morning in the online newpapers that the Nova Scotia Archives will collect stories about the Halifax explosion which happened on December 6. They are going to do this by the use of Twitter.

They are hoping that Twitter brings in new views and details about the explosion, and the period afterward when Halifax struggled to get on it’s feet again.

The project begins tomorrow which is the 95th anniversary of the harbor front First World War event that devastated Halifax.

About 2,000 people died, and thousands more were injured.

The hashtag is #hfxex1917

You may read about the explosion at the Nova Scotia Archives where they have a Virtual Exhibit, a Remembrance Book, and a film “The Way We Were: Nova Scotia in Film, 1917-1957.”

The website is http://gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/default.asp?Search=THexp

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Living Library Inspires Human Books to Share Their Stories

Here is a 54 m4 4 4 4 4 4 4 645notice that I received this morning. In part, the message reads  –

"Irena Szpak, Hyman Yanofsky and Adam Leclerc's lives are all open books, literally. Irena, Hyman and Adam have joined nineteen other people from the Ottawa region to volunteer as 'living books', sharing with the public their personal stories as they relate to conflict.

At age 14, Irena trained with the Polish Resistance and was later taken by cattle train to a work camp in Germany. She survived to have a family and emigrate to Canada; Hyman joined the Canadian army to fight Hitler by intercepting messages from the enemy as he travelled through Europe; and Reservist Adam Leclerc spent seven months with the POMLT (Police Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team) training Afghan police to deal with security issues.

The Canadian War Museum, in partnership with the Ottawa Public Library and CBC, brought the Human Library program to Ottawa. The Museum featured one-on-one conversations with individuals who have fascinating personal life experiences and stories.

For their innovative and inspirational project that redefined the meaning of the term "living history", the Canadian War Museum for "Human Library" is the recipient of the 2012 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Museums: History Alive! Presented by the Canadian Museums Association.

"We are extremely honoured to be the recipients of this prestigious award," said Mark O'Neill, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation which operates the Canadian War Museum. "The Human Library concept was a dynamic and engaging way to help our visitors understand the personal stories that have shaped and continue to shape Canada's military history."

On December 10, 2012, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will honour the Canadian War Museum for their achievements and contributions to furthering interest in and understanding of our history and heritage.

Announcements continue throughout the coming week and profiles of all the recipients, will be available at Canada's History Magazine at http://www.CanadasHistory.ca/GGAwards

Community Creating History


The Chinese Canadian community is interested in collecting stories so they can let people know about their history in Canada.

This project is designed to connect students, school educators, libraries, and community groups such as genealogists, and historians.

They connect people through web resources such as games, lesson plans, and also historical photos.

To read more about Chinese Canadian Stories, and their collection, read their blog at B.C. Heritage Fair at www.bcheritagefairs.ca/chinese-canadian-stories

Monday, December 3, 2012

New/Updated Websites, Blogs, and Newspaper Articles - 03 December 2012

I have come across the following websites, blogs, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too –

On Monday, Dec. 03, 2012 the will be a meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society at which Merle Kastner, will give a talk about "My Family Roots Trip to Romania and Ukraine”.

The talk will focus on the former Bucovina and Radautz, Fratautz, Czernowitz, Suveava and to Moldavia, and Piatra Neamt and Negulesti. She will talk about how she organized the trip and how you can do the same to visit your shtetls

The meeting will be held at 7:30 pm at the Jewish Public Library, 5151 Cote Ste-Catherine Road, Montreal.

You can call 514.484.0969 or visit http://www.jgs-montreal.org

On Saturday, 15 Dec 2012 at 1:00 pm at the City of Ottawa Archives, 100 Tallwood Drive, Room 115, there will be a meeting of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society in which Kurt Johnson, historical researcher, and Board Member of the Goulbourn Museum, will give a talk on the “Perils and Petticoats: Exceptional Women of the War of 1812”.

Remember that this meeting may be simulcast for members who can’t join the group in person.

For more information, go to http://ogsottawa.on.ca/category/events/branchmeetings

Do you know that Ancestry.ca is on Facebook? Read about the “12 Days of Christmas” on www.facebook.com/Ancestry.ca

Burnaby Village Museum Christmas Holidays www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca/EN/main/visit/events/events/heritage-christmas.html They have oral histories, library and artifact collection that you are invited to take a look at or listen to while there.

In case you missed my post earlier this week, Richard Watts, Times Colonist reporter in The Province is carrying a story on the B.C. Archives called B.C. opens archives to search family histories
www.theprovince.com/life/opens+archives+search+family+histories/7634449/story.html#axzz2Dv2GiJ5l

French connection: Voices of the past immortalized in Francophone digital collection
www.thewesternstar.com/Arts-Life/Features/2012-11-30/article-3130735/French-connection-Voices-of-the-past-immortalized-in-Francophone-digital-collection/1 Frank Gale from The Western Star newspaper tells how the Memorial University’s Digital Archives Initiative Collection was introduced to French communities on the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland.

Monument proposed for Bernard captains who explored Canada’s north www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2012-11-28/article-3129587/Monument-proposed-for-Bernard-captains-who-explored-Canada%26rsquos-north/1 A West Prince committee is hoping to erect a monument next year to recognize a pair of northern explorers who hailed from Nail Pond, Prince Edward Island - Captain Pierre (Peter) Bernard and his nephew, Captain Joseph Bernard.

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved