Category Archives: Uncategorized

Ken Donovan, retired Parks Canada historian at Louisbourg, has published widely on the social and cultural history of Cape Breton. He is immediate past -President of the Old Sydney Society , a non-profit organization that operates four museums in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. He has edited and co-authored seven books and published more than 60 historical publications.

John Boileau served in the Canadian Army for 37 years, retiring as a colonel in 1999. During his army career, he was stationed across Canada and in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Cyprus, in various command, staff and training appointments. He is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick, the United States Army Armour Officer Advanced Course, the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, the British Army Staff College and the British Royal College of Defence Studies. During his last five years of service he was Military Attaché at the Canadian High Commission, London, England, and was also accredited as Canada’s first Military Attaché to the Republic of Ireland.

In retirement, John has commenced a second career as a writer and has authored nearly 475 magazine and newspaper articles, as well as 11 books. In 2005, the Year of the Veteran, he wrote Valiant Hearts: Atlantic Canada and the Victoria Cross. His most recent book, Old Enough to Fight: Canada’s Boy Soldiers in the First World War, will be followed this fall by a companion volume, Too Young to Die: Canada’s Boy Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen in the Second World War.

John is a Governor and Past Chairman of the Nova Scotia Division of the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires. He is also a Director of the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo Society, the Nova Scotia Army Cadet League and Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) Regimental Society. He is a life member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Association (Cavalry) and the Halifax Rifles Armoury Association, as well as a member of the Royal United Services Institute of Nova Scotia and the Titanic Society of Atlantic Canada. John is currently the Honorary Colonel of the Halifax Rifles, as well as Chairman of the recently-formed Halifax Military Heritage Preservation Society. In 2012, John received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contributions to the history and heritage of Nova Scotia.

Meghann Jack is a PhD candidate in the Department of Folklore, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her dissertation is an examination of the built landscape of the St. Mary’s River valley in Northeastern Nova Scotia. Her research focuses on material culture––especially vernacular architecture–– the world of museums and heritage, and the folklife of Atlantic Canada.

Carole MacDonald has worked as a teacher, and in communications and community economic development with the Nova Scotia Government. In 2009, her book on her home town, Historic Glace Bay, was published by Nimbus Publishing in Halifax. Researching the book led to an interest in the life of Nova Scotia’s 11th premier, Gordon Harrington.  Col. Harrington had been a popular mayor of Glace Bay and deputy minister of Canadian Forces Overseas before entering politics in 1925 and becoming premier in 1930. Ms. MacDonald’s thesis, The Legacy of Gordon Sidney Harrington, 1909 to 1925 earned her a Master’s degree in Atlantic Canada Studies from Saint Mary’s University. Ms. MacDonald has a previous Bachelor of Arts in English and a Diploma in Education from Mount Saint Vincent University, as well as a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of King’s College. She continues to research the lives of Harrington and his wife, Katherine MacDonald.

Tod Scott, MSW is a social worker who publishes and presents in the social work field internationally.  He has a keen interest in Atlantic Canada Studies, which has led him to co-author with his brother Shawn Scott an article for the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society Journal. Tod has also assisted in the development of two CBC Radio documentaries on the colonial history of Atlantic Canada.  He has presented his work at various places including the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Saint Mary’s University, Parks Canada – Grand Pre National Historic Site and the Acadian Museum (PEI).

A cultural and social historian, Sharon MacDonald has written on women’s organizational culture and volunteer labour in Nova Scotia. Work on quilt and hooked mat history and her interest in social issues has led in un­expected ways to more transnational research, which culminated in a study on women associated with Gandhi and the Indian indepen­dence movement. Interest in the Bell Club originated when invited to produce an essay for club members upon the occasion of their 100^th anniversary.

We would like to solicit your views on several aspects of the activities and future direction of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society.

Please complete the questionnaire below, or download the form here: RNSHS membership questionnaire 2015 docx Completed questionnaires may be returned to the Society via email at RoyalNSHS@gmail.com or by regular post to The Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, PO Box 2622, Halifax, NS B3J 3P7.

We thank you for your participation.

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Dr. Dale Dauphinee is the former Chair and Professor in the Department of Medicine at McGill University who also served as the founding Director of the Division of Clinical Epidemiology at the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Associate Dean of Medicine (Medical Education) and the Director of the McGill Center for Medical Education Research. From 1993-2006 he was the Executive Director of the Medical Council of Canada where he established its first in-house research program, an external research grants program, directed their pioneering move to adaptive on-line assessment methods, and created the national physician identifier and physician credential verification services. During that time, he served as a Trustee of the American Board of Internal Medicine and received many awards for distinguished service. These include the John Hubbard Award from the National Board of Medical Examiners for excellence in contributions to medical assessment and evaluation, Honorary Membership in the College of Family Physicians of Canada and Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He sits on several editorial and international advisory boards. He continues to conduct research into workforce production, developing informatics infrastructure and assessment outcomes strategies, as well as consulting and advising universities, national professional bodies, governments, and health sciences educational programs internationally.

Ernest Dick is a self-described “Historian of Sound and the Moving Image” and a Consulting Archivist based in Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia. He is active with local heritage societies in the Annapolis Royal area and is a past-President of the Council of Nova Scotia Archives. Ernest is an occasional lecturer at Saint Mary’s University, where he has developed courses on the film and television productions of Atlantic Canada and on history as it is represented and misrepresented by film and video. He has written widely on sound and moving image archives and prepared exhibitions on Canadian film, radio and television.

Creighton Barrett is Digital Archivist at the Dalhousie University Archives and has taught at the Dalhousie University School of Information Management. He has spoken and published on intangible cultural heritage, archival collaboration, and personal archives. His article on personal archives found in Nova Scotia business collections won the 2014 Hugh Taylor Prize from the Association of Canadian Archivists. Creighton is an active member of the Council of Atlantic University Libraries and the Council of Nova Scotia Archives, and he also serves as Treasurer of the Ottoman Studies Foundation.