Easter is behind us, spring is on the horizon, and we’ve been busy in the archives! That feeling of hope at the end of a very (very, very, very) long winter is perhaps what’s underneath the pep in our step. Whatever it is, we’re gearing up for an eventful April.

Through the month of March, we participated in a campaign to highlight the work and collections of archives across the province. The project was headed by the folks at the Archives of Ontario. Here’s a snapshot of some of our posts in case you missed them.

 

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Highlighting the many faucets of our work and collections was a fantastic lead-in to Archives Awareness Week happening this week from April 5-9. In celebration of this annual nod to everything archives, we’re hosting several fantastic talks this month on topics we know our archival and genealogical communities will enjoy.

 

What Gravestones Can Tell You About Your Ancestors
April 6 @7:00 pm  

Laura Suchan, Executive Director of the Oshawa Museum, kicks off this week with an engaging talk on headstones and how they can provide insight into nineteenth and twentieth century life. What was your ancestors' relationship with the community? What popular culture existed at different time periods? What motif did the family or stone carver choose as a message about the deceased? Birth and death dates are just the beginning when it comes to headstones!

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Life on the Farm, Your Ancestor’s Place in Ontario Agriculture
April 8 @7:00 pm

The second talk for Archives Awareness Week is by Jane E. McNamara, genealogist, historian, author, the list goes on. Join her as she looks at the occupation of farming from the archival record. What does the archival record show us about our farming ancestors? It shows us that farmers had to react and adapt to changing conditions like climate, technology, economics, new markets and new competitors, and that farming was (and is) anything but a static and tradition based occupation. 

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Family History Series: Identifying, Dating and Preserving Photographs
Part I: April 20 @1:00 pm
Part II: April 27 @1:00 pm 

Back by popular demand for a two part workshop is Kyla Ubbink, owner of Ubbink Book and Paper Conservation. Join Kyla and learn the basics of the techniques behind different photograph types including Daguerrotypes, Tin types, Colodial-Chloride and Gelatin. You will also learn what time periods they were popular in, and how to identify and date them. Finally in part two of the workshop, explore agents of deterioration causing damage to photographs and what can be done at home to mitigate and preserve them for the future.

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