Category Archives: Past Lectures

“Immigration to Atlantic Canada: Historical Reflections”

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John Reid, Saint Mary’s University

Presented in conjunction with the Immigration to Atlantic Canada Conference. The public lecture will take place in the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Theatre at Pier 21 at 8:00pm, following our Annual General Meeting at 7:00. 

Abstract:
This lecture will present a broad analysis of historical immigration patterns in Atlantic Canada, setting migration within an Indigenous context and distinguishing between Newfoundland and the Maritime region. The twin processes of Indigenous dispossession and settler colonization will be considered as contexts for Atlantic Canada’s roles and responsibilities in a world increasingly shaped both by the need to recognize the rights of Indigenous peoples and by the forces of global migration.

Click here for a bio of John Reid.

“Outslicking Sam Slick: The Mysterious Stranger (Henry More Smith) in Nova Scotia: 1812‐1815”

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Gwendolyn Davies, University of New Brunswick

Note: This lecture takes place at our Annual Banquet at the Dalhousie University Club. Space is limited! See below for ticket information. 

Abstract:
In 1812, a charming young English trickster swept through Rawdon, Windsor, Halifax, and Pictou leaving behind a trail of identities and audacious thefts. Condemned to death in New Brunswick in 1814 for horse theft, he was nonetheless back in Nova Scotia in 1815 embarking yet again on a life of audacious crime and inspiring Sheriff Walter Bates’ 1817 bestseller, The Mysterious Stranger.

Click here for bio of Gwendolyn Davies.

NOTE – ANNUAL DINNER AT DALHOUSIE CLUB

Tickets for this event must be purchased by Friday, 15 April 2014.  Seating for this event is limited. If you are interested in attending, please notify Rosemary Barbour at 902 424-6070 or email Rosemary.Barbour@novascotia.ca to ensure your ticket reservation and before submitting payment.  To reserve tickets please print and complete a copy of the reservation form available here, and then mail it along with a cheque (made payable to the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society), to: The Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, PO Box 2622, Halifax, NS B3J 3P7.  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RESERVATION FORM.

“The Triumph of the ‘Larger Unit’: Origins and Impact of the School Consolidation Movement in Antigonish County, 1923 to 2012”

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Paul W. Bennett, Founding Director of Schoolhouse Institute and Adjunct Professor of Education, Saint Mary’s University

Abstract:
The modern school consolidation movement, pioneered in Alberta between 1913 and 1919, eventually emerged a decade later in full force in the Maritimes. In April 1923, Pastor James Boyle of Havre Boucher, Antigonish County, NS, dismissed the one school “district unit” as a relic of the past and signaled the advent of school consolidation to address the impoverishment of rural schools. Building upon research undertaken for Vanishing Schools, Threatened Communities (2011), this lecture will explore and analyze the origins, extent and impact of the first school consolidation movement in Antigonish County from the 1920s until the full adoption of the “Larger Unit” as provincial policy in 1954.

Click here for a bio of Paul W. Bennett.

“Surviving War and Adapting to Village Life: Ella Barron, A Dutch War Bride in Ingonish, Cape Breton”

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Ken Donovan (ret’d), Parks Canada Historian

Abstract:
Cornelia Aletta Iske (Ella) was one of 48,000 war brides who came to Canada after 1945. During the war, Ella’s family of nine children struggled merely to survive. Ella met Alex Barron of Ingonish and they were married in Holland in January 1946. Arriving in Cape Breton in June 1946, she and Alex eventually raised a family of 10 children. Some adjustments, however, were necessary: Ella spoke Dutch; she was a Protestant in a Catholic community; she was a city woman in a village.

Click here for a bio of Ken Donovan.

“Valiant Nova Scotians: The Province’s Recipients of the Victoria Cross”

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Col. John Boileau (ret’d), Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, Canadian Armed Forces

Abstract:
Since Queen Victoria instituted the Victoria Cross in 1856 it has been awarded 1,363 times, including to 98 Canadians, five of whom were Nova Scotians. In an illustrated talk, John Boileau explains the background to the creation of the Victoria Cross, the history of the award over the years and a detailed description of the lives and military actions of the Nova Scotia recipients of this prestigious gallantry decoration.

Click here for a bio of Col. John Boileau.

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“Material Life and Landscape along the St. Mary’s River in Northeastern Nova Scotia, 1840-1910”

Meghann Jack, PhD Candidate, Department of Folklore, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Abstract:
The nineteenth century Nova Scotia countryside was a dynamic landscape where ideas of improvement, industriousness, and convenience characterized the way farmers patterned and negotiated their material surroundings. This talk analyzes the material motivations of St. Mary’s farmers in relation to the architectural expression of their farmsteads. The focus is both spatial and temporal, showing change in one small region over time. An examination of architectural choice and conceptualization, and the experiential realities of farm life and labour, demonstrates how farmers used their barns and farmhouses––buildings that reflected both economic and cultural concerns.

Click here for a bio of Meghann Jack.

“The Legacy of Gordon Sidney Harrington, 1909 to 1925”

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Carole MacDonald

Abstract:
Touted as successor to the Hon. R.B. Bennett as leader of the Federal Conservative Party and considered one of the most progressive premiers of Nova Scotia (1930 to 33), Col. Gordon Sidney Harrington, former legal counsel for the United Mine Workers of America (UMW), was Minister of Public Works and Mines from his election in 1925 and maintained that portfolio while Premier. Harrington dedicated his life (and his health) to Nova Scotians, particularly coal miners and their families, and to Canada as deputy minister of Canadian Forces Overseas in the latter part of the First World War. His life was one of great achievements and profound tragedy.

Click here for a bio of Carole MacDonald.

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“In defense of Mi’kma’ki: Mi’kmaq military power in Northeastern North America (1675-1761)”

Tod Scott, Independent Reseacher

Abstract:
Starting in the last quarter of the seventeenth century until the end of the Seven Years War, the Mi’kmaq successfully defended their land, families and way of life through seven colonial wars against the British.  These efforts kept British settlers from migrating into Mi’kma’ki.  From the west the Mi’kmaq successfully projected their power along the Kennebec region of present day Maine. In the east they demonstrated they were a power to be reckoned with by frustrating British economic activities and settlements in Newfoundland. When British settlers finally migrated into Mi’kma’ki in 1749, the Mi’kmaq were able to contain them in British fortified enclaves until a peace was established in 1761. 

Click here for a bio of Tod Scott.