Meetings

Unless otherwise noted, all meetings will be held at the St. Catharines Museum at Lock 3, 1932 Welland Canal Parkway, St. Catharines, Ontario. Free admission. Doors open at 7:00 p.m., presentations begin at 7:30. Guests are welcome.

Lecture Program – September 2018 to June 2019. Programs are subject to change.

Thursday, 27 September 2018: “Whiskey King,” by Canadian author Trevor Cole.
The remarkable true story of Canada’s most infamous bootlegger Rocco Perri, who operated in the Niagara Peninsula, and the undercover Mountie on his trail. Other books by Trevor Cole include: Norman Bray in the Performance of His Life (2004); The Fearsome Particles (2006); Practical Jean (2010); Hope Makes Love (2015). Copies of all works will be offered for sale.

Thursday, 25 October 2018: “Stories from the Front,” by Museum staff and Museum volunteers
The performance is an original dramatic production featuring local stories and music from the First World War including letters, diaries, and photographs of St. Catharines men and women. By giving voice to the letters, diaries and newspaper articles of St. Catharines residents, we honour both the men who fought overseas during the First World War and those they left behind at home.

Thursday, 22 November 2018: “175 Interesting Things to see in St. Catharines,” by Bill Stevens
This is not a lecture, but a 45 minute fast paced visual. Items include plaques, monuments, cenotaphs, buildings and many miscellaneous items. Binders with a hard copy of each item will be available to view afterwards for those wishing more information.

Bill Stevens was born, raised and lives in Port Dalhousie and is a long time member of the Historical Society of St. Catharines having served 20 years as a director, executive, past president and program committee member.

No meeting in December.

Thursday, 24 January 2019: “Show and Tell”
The Historical Society presents its annual evening of Show and Tell where Society members and friends are invited to bring in their family’s favourite local historical artifacts and step forward to explain their history and meaning.

Thursday, 28 February 2019: “The City of St. Catharines Civic Art Collection” by Rebecca Cann
St. Catharines has monuments, public art and memorials dating back to 1886. This talk will explore the outdoor installations and share interesting facts about the collection’s history, maintenance and role in community life.

Rebecca Cann is the former Cultural Services Supervisor for the City of St. Catharines who managed the development of an inventory, catalogue and maintenance program for the Civic Art Collection among other responsibilities. She is currently an arts consultant and instructor at the Centre for Arts & Cultural Studies at Brock University.

Thursday, 28 March 2019: “Update: The Archaeology & History of Welland Sailing Canalers.”
Update on the continuing two-year study of St. Catharines’ Shickluna Shipyards by Dr. Kimberly E. Monk from the Department of History at Brock University.

Thursday, 25 April 2019: “Postcards from Port Dalhousie,” by Roger Bradshaw and John Burtniak
Utilizing John’s extensive collection, they have collaborated to select numerous vintage Port Dalhousie postcards to display and describe in a book. For selected post cards they have photographed the current scene to achieve a past and present view.

Roger Bradshaw is the authour of self-published books on the ‘Historic Welland Canals’ and ‘Niagara’s War of 1812’. He also has been the tour photographer on Canadian battlefield tours in Europe.

John Burtniak is a retired Librarian/Archivist from Brock University and is active on various provincial and local historical associations. He is a noted historian, author, researcher, editor and collector.

Thursday, 23 May 2019: “St. Paul Street Stories” Nancy Cameron will recount stories of the Garden City’s most historic street. Tales of scoundrels and scandals, calamities and curiosities, murder and mystery, bootleggers, buried treasure, shipwrecks, spies, fugitives, fraudsters, and much more …

Thursday, 27 June 2019: Group lecture from the St. Catharines Museum at Lock 3 museum staff on the preservation of your historical treasures at home. They will describe how to handle and store objects.

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