As a source, high school yearbooks certainly bring light to the achievements of Black students through the decades of the 20th century, but beyond this, they also offer unique insight into how these students navigated such a formative period of their lives. Though the Black student population in St. Catharines’ high school was small through most of the 20th century, students of colour made considerable impact in their school communities, from their academic successes to contributing their talents to clubs and sports teams. Black experiences, visible on the pages of local yearbooks, shows us all aspects of student life: friendship, school spirit, team participation, and aspirations.
Who Stayed? Historical Records After the Underground Railroad
There is no information available as to why this population change, although the historical record might help shed some light on some of the reasons, such as difficulty finding work due to discriminatory hiring practices, people moving to be closer to family or support groups in other communities, people moving back to the United States after the Civil War, etc. We can only speculate based on the historical information available. The numbers don’t illustrate motivations.
Should I Stay? Historical Records After the Underground Railroad
Our series this year will look at the lives of those of the Black community left behind – those few Freedom Seekers who stayed to build a new life and those, along with their descendants, who had been the backbone of the community’s efforts to help during the Underground Railroad.
Stories From the Front: St Catharines’ Wartime Sources Part Four
John D. Hills was taken prisoner of war by the Germans after the raid at Dieppe in 1942. He remained a prisoner until his liberation in 1945.
Stories From the Front: St Catharines’ Wartime Sources Part Three
Within days of Canada declared war on Germany in 1914 the 19th Lincoln Regiment and the 44th Lincoln and Welland Regiment were placed on active duty. The men from these regiments were charged with protecting potential targets in Niagara including the hydroelectric sites, bridges, railways and the canal.
Stories from the Front: St Catharines’ Wartime Sources Part Two
ohn “Jack” Hardy transcribed his diaries after the war to ensure that his experience fighting in Europe wasn’t lost.
Stories from the Front: St. Catharines’ Wartime Sources Part One
This November we are using the Museum’s blog to take a more in-depth investigation over four blog posts into a selection of the sources featured in Stories from the Front.
My Year with Mrs. Beeton Episode 11 – A Final Look and Celebrating with Christmas Pudding
In our last installment of My Year with Mrs. Beeton we take a look at the Christmas Pudding and try our hand at this interpid dessert! Our year comes to a close with a quick look back on the book that immersed us in 19th century domestic management.
How the Story Goes: Reexamining the Story of the First Welland Canal Part 4
The whole point of reexamining the story then is to show that the reduction of the narrative undervalues significant contributions and struggles and is an injustice to the memory of the people who built the canal. Can you imagine the labourers hearing the story as it is traditionally told and rightly crying out ‘what about us!? We dug the darn thing!” Or Merritt himself admitting “woah, woah, it was not that easy.” The simplified version risks undervaluing the accomplishments they all spent their lives (literally and figuratively) working for.
My Year with Mrs. Beeton – Part 10 – Invalid Cookery
As we approach the end of our year of adventures with Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, for our second to last post, let’s take a look at what Mrs. Beeton has to say about cooking for the sick.
How the Story Goes: Reexamining the Story of the First Welland Canal Part 3
There is no such thing as an easy infrastructure project. But when it comes to the First Welland Canal, it seems the project was plagued with bad luck.
How the Story Goes: Reexamining the Story of the First Welland Canal Part 2
Requesting a private company charter was the smartest move Merritt made in his entire career and pushed his competition out of the way, but it didn’t make him popular and it didn’t make the project easy.
How the Story Goes: Reexamining the Story of the First Welland Canal Part 1
The story of the First Welland Canal has been told over and over again by historians and canal buffs so that the story has shifted and changed over time. Facts, of course, mostly have remained the same, but the way the narrative is harnessed for others, and the way the story is constructed and relayed has changed. In my study of the historiography and the public’s perception of the narrative, I have discovered a few challenges with the telling of the history of the First Welland Canal.
My Year with Mrs. Beeton Part 9 – Milk, Butter, Cheese and Eggs, Oh My!
This month, the watchful eye of Mrs. Beeton takes us into the realm of the dairy and a look at milk, butter, cheese and eggs, both how to keep them and how to cook with them.
My Year with Mrs. Beeton – Part 8 – Carving at Table
As we approach Canadian Thanksgiving, we look to Mrs. Beeton to provide us some helpful advice on an important part of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner – how to carve the bird!
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the head of the household would be responsible for carving the meat in front of their guests and serving to those seated around the table. It is not unusual then that Mrs. Beeton devotes chapter 39 to the Art of Carving at Table.
My Year with Mrs. Beeton – Part 7 – Harvest and Preserving
Summer and Fall in Niagara are the time for harvest and to enjoy the bounty of nature. At the same time, the smart cook is looking for ways to extend the harvest so that it’s produce will last into the late fall and winter when fruits and vegetables would not have been easy to come by locally.
Mrs. Beeton has reserves two chapters of her book – chapters 36 and 37 – to all things related to preserves, jams, pickles and store sauces.
My Year with Mrs. Beeton – Part 6 – Meals, Menus and Table Decorations
As we move into the thick of summer – and maybe some relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions – our thoughts start to turn to gathering with family and friends and perhaps some special menus. This month we skip to chapter 64-66 of Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management where we get advice on Meals and their Importance and Arrangement, Table Decoration, Serviettes, and Menu Making – all the things we will need to plan any special occasion or even just the every day home cooked meal.
Picture This: Photo Albums
Photo albums are an interactive medium and tools for conversation and storytelling. Similar to the art of scrapbooking, the process of compiling an album involves organizational choices that, though they may seem insignificant at the time, collectively shape our memories of certain people, events, or experiences.
My Year With Mrs. Beeton – Part 5 – Soups and Sauces
After six chapters with Mrs. Beeton, we are finally prepared to dive into the kitchen and prepare something edible – if we are lucky!
This month, we will attempt to follow Mrs. Beeton’s advice by preparing one recipe from the section of the book that we are contemplating. This month, we have chosen from the hundreds of recipes that make up the soups, sauces, gravies, etc. to attempt a sweet sauce – sauce citron.
My Year with Mrs. Beeton – Part 4 – Final Prep to Cook
As we continue our household adventures with Mrs. Beeton, we are now finally getting closer to feeling somewhat prepared to actually cook something! But not yet! First we must learn the fundamentals of proper marketing or shopping as we would say here in North America and then we must understand the fundamentals of cookery before we stoke up the trusty kitchen range and pick up our first pot!
Picture This: Scrapbooking
The tradition or art of scrapbooking emerges from an inherent desire for individuals to leave a legacy. Tangible, but highly visual in nature, a scrapbook is a careful curation of images, clippings, and other ephemera that tells a story of someone’s life at a particular moment in time. Unlike a diary or journal, which are much more intimate and introspective, a scrapbook can be personal, but there is also a performative element of display, or presentation in the way each page is organized. Scrapbooks are curated with an audience in mind.
My Year with Mrs. Beeton – Part 3
Month three of my adventures with Mrs. Beeton and we are finally venturing into the kitchen. Before we are allowed to even consider trying to cook anything, however, we need to know all there is to know about being a housekeeper, what are the general duties of the Cook, and how to set up and arrange our kitchen. So this month’s adventure will get us up to speed on all we need to know before we start trying to cook anything!
My Year with Mrs. Beeton – Part 2
The Museum’s Curator and Supervisor of Historical Services, Kathleen Powell, takes us on a monthly adventure with Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management. Part 2 explores the role of the Mistress of the Household.
My Year with Mrs. Beeton – Part 1
This blog post series will explore one of the most well-known and best-selling self-help manuals in history: Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management. Over the course of the next year, this blog series will be exploring the world of late-Victorian and Edwardian household management.
Yearbook Flip – The Last Page
As 2020 draws to a close, this year’s final instalment of the Yearbook Flip series flips to the last pages of yearbooks in search of parting words and messages.
Beyond the stories told within their pages, yearbooks are also innate objects, each carrying a material history of their own. As an object, a yearbook is a fascinating material token of memory and nostalgia. To the yearbook’s owner, this object carries the weight of what this part of their life meant to them: the relationships made, the experiences had, the interests cultivated, and the paths chosen. Here, what matters are the bent pages and tattered covers, habitual signs of use; or the personalized markings with pen, pencil or marker, a result of our relentless impulse to leave a mark on the world.
Yearbook Flip – Battle for the Bands
Student music may not have had a dedicated page in the yearbook, but as the unsung hero at the foundation of school spirit, it is rather sprinkled across many pages. Music was central to student variety shows and plays, dances and formals, and sporting events. In yearbook snapshots where students are gathered together dancing or cheering or laughing, you can bet that there is music.
Yearbook Flip – Intro to Politics
With the U.S. Federal Elections approaching and looming large on seemingly every Canadian and American news outlet, we thought we’d […]
Yearbook Flip – High School Graduation
This year, due to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the graduation ceremonies of the Class of 2020 in St. Catharines and beyond look very different. This change in tradition and ritual does not diminish the incredible accomplishments and exciting opportunities ahead for the Class of 2020. Rather, it marks the special resiliency of this graduating class. This is a moment to create new rituals and new markers to celebrate this cohort of young people who are already proving they have what it takes to make real progress and positive change for our future.
Yearbook Flip: High School Humour
One of the many things that makes old high school yearbooks such vibrant, lively archival materials is the humour found within their pages. Our yearbook collection dates back to 1913, and even the earliest yearbooks, which read more like student newspapers, have sprinklings of inside jokes, light quips, and satire. It is an encouraging reminder that the youthful spirit of teenagers spans across generations.
Yearbook Flip: Elementary School Yearbooks
Many of us have old high school yearbooks at home, but an elementary school yearbook is rare. There aren’t many to be found in the St. Catharines Museum Collection either. That’s why I was excited to find a yearbook from Dalewood Public School.
Yearbook Flip: High School Variety Shows
In the era of the Ed Sullivan Show, student variety shows were a staple production in high schools. Though variety shows first gained their popularity on the radio, live television brought a new immediacy and intimacy between the viewers at home and the stars on stage. As variety shows saturated pop culture, it was only natural for the sensation to make its way into the high school auditorium. Variety shows became a fun opportunity for teenagers to showcase their talents among their peers, and emulate the celebrities they adored on television.
Yearbook Flip: Festive School Spirit
Ho ho ho, Santa Claus is coming to….high school! As the holidays season gets into full swing and St. Catharines decks its halls, it’s always fun to look back and reminisce on holidays past – including the festive spirit that filled the halls of St. Catharines’ high schools in our youth. This time on Yearbook Flip, we’ll look back to the 1960s and consider how the baby boomer generation got into the holiday spirit in their high schools.
St. Catharines Collegiate During the First World War
November 11th marked Remembrance Day, the 101st anniversary of the end of the Great War. When I was told that the St. Catharines Museum Collection had over 250 yearbooks spanning back to 1913, I was immediately curious as to what the St. Catharines Collegiate Institute yearbook would look like in the war years. So, I flipped through the Christmas 1917 edition of the Vox Collegiensis.
Yearbook Flip: Tourism and The Great Depression
While the 1930s is certainly characterized by The Great Depression, it also marked a move toward historical site reconstruction and the growth of heritage tourism. As historian Shannon Ricketts claims, it was the economic downturn that provided public works funding for serious conservation works. Depression relief funds granted by provincial agencies led to the restoration of various historic sites in Ontario; including Niagara.
Yearbook Flip: Into the Second World War
September 2019 marks the 80th anniversary of the Second World War. In the midst of the 1930s and Great Depression, political tensions in Europe grew strong enough for Canadians to feel the tremors. Adolf Hitler and the Nazis had been in power in Germany since 1933 and European powers, still recovering from the devastation of the Great War only two decades earlier, were willing to do whatever they could to avoid the outbreak of another war. The murmurings of impending conflict in Europe heard by the ears of St. Catharines’ youth?
Yearbook Flip: Nursing a Voice to Lead
Nurses Week, and International Nurses Day (May 12), celebrates the roles nurses play in saving lives and improving the health […]
Yearbook Flip: Girls Athletics
In reflecting on International Women’s Day last month, and the theme of #BalanceforBetter, I wanted to explore how female teenagers were represented in the sports pages of St. Catharines High School yearbooks. Due to traditional ideas of gender roles, athletics in North America have a long history of being male-centered and male-dominated. How did students work to address this imbalance in St. Catharines high schools in the twentieth century?
Yearbook Flip: The Revolutionary Sixties
How did teenagers in St. Catharines respond to the social and cultural revolution of the Sixties? Student yearbooks are a great way to explore how students reacted to the world around them.
Yearbook Flip: High School History Lesson
The St. Catharines Museum currently has 259 yearbooks catalogued in its archival collection. The yearbooks span the years 1913 to […]
A Farmer’s Life: Summer Snaphots
Frederick Thomas Lailey, the son of William H. Lailey came from Winona to farm in Grantham Township (now St. Catharines) […]