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PO Box 523, Station B,
Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6

PO Box 523, Station B, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6
Monday, 01 January 2024 20:05

The Ottawa Mission Past & Present

Our final speaker series session of 2023 was held via Zoom on the evening of November 29th. We were excited to welcome Peter Tilley as our guest to talk with us about The Ottawa Mission, its history, its role and the ongoing challenges that it and our community face. Given the housing and opioid crisis we are experiencing today, Peter’s presentation could not have been more timely. Peter is the current CEO of The Ottawa Mission, having joined them in June 2013. Before this, he had spent 14 years as…
Our final in-person speaker presentation of 2023 took place on the afternoon of November 12 and was again hosted by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. We were pleased to welcome Marc Aubin, author, community historian, former President of the Lowertown Community Association and member of the King Edward Avenue Task Force, who spoke to the 60 attendees about the devastating effects on the Lowertown community of urban renewal projects that took place between the 1950s and 1970s. He began by giving us a brief history and description…
Monday, 27 November 2023 15:00

Blog Announcement

The Historical Society of Ottawa is excited to announce we’re launching a blog! Are you a historian, heritage professional, or member of the public who is actively engaged in historical research related to the Ottawa area, who is interested in sharing your research? While you may be familiar with our other publications, including our pamphlets and Ottawa Stories, this platform provides a space for those interested in showcasing their work in a shorter blog format. As a start, we will publish one blog post a month which will be posted…
Wednesday, 08 November 2023 06:00

Phyllis Turner Ross

We were fortunate to have two guest presenters for our Zoom speaker session of October 25, 2023. Paul Litt, an author and Professor of Public History at Carleton University, (cross-appointed to the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies), met with us live via Zoom while Brenda Norris, daughter of Phyllis Turner Ross, sister of John Turner and a remarkable individual in her own right, graciously pre-recorded an interview with Paul Litt and Ben Weiss to share with us. Paul told us that Phyllis Gregory’s parents were both from the Maritimes.…
Tuesday, 24 October 2023 21:19

Animal Tales of Ottawa

Randy Boswell, noted journalist, educator, researcher and frequent presenter for the Historical Society of Ottawa was our guest speaker at our in-person session of October 21, 2023, hosted again by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. Randy, who estimates that he has written some 400 – 500 animal based stories throughout his career, thoroughly entertained his audience, which despite inclement weather and Queensway closures, numbered 37. Randy noted that Ottawa has lots of green space, waterways and semi-wilderness areas and as such is a wonderful place for animals…
Our first virtual speaker session of the year was held on September 27, 2023, and featured a pre-recorded presentation by Jim Stone, supported by Merv Sarazin who introduced Jim and remained with the presentation to answer questions and provide additional background. Jim, a retired Foreign Service officer and amateur historian, focussed his presentation on the life of Grand Chief Pierre Louis Constant Pinesi (1768 – 1834) and the turbulent times in which he lived. Jim also provided a more general history of the Alongkin* peoples of the Ottawa area in…
Almost 50 guests attended our first speaker presentation of the year, hosted by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on September 9, 2023. Prior to the presentation, Dianne Brydon, President of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa took a few minutes to describe some of the outstanding events they have in their upcoming season. For more details on their organization and their presentations, please check out the BIFHSGO website. We were then pleased to welcome Peter Atkinson, a retired educator from Ottawa, who spoke to…
Rogers TV kindly recorded the lecture series on Ottawa's history given by Phil Jenkins for the Historical Society of Ottawa in April 2023. Here is a list of the episodes:  Episode 1 - Bytown’s Beginnings, Part 1 (Discovery)      Episode 2 - Bytown’s Beginnings, Part 2 (Port of Nepean)         Episode 3 - Bytown’s Beginnings, Part 3 (Colonel By)       Episode 4 - Bytown’s Beginnings, Part 4 (The Capital of the Dominion)       Episode 5 – Post-Confederation Ottawa, Part 1 (French Influence in Ottawa)           Episode 6 – Post-Confederation Ottawa, Part 2 (Development…
Sorry, this event is full! Phil Jenkins, renowned historian, author, columnist, lecturer, musician, and songwriter will explore the musical and visual arts and architectural movement throughout our city's past. This will be a three part series, Saturday afternoons starting 1pm, at the Sunnyside Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on September 16, September 23, and October 7, 2023. To register, visit the Ottawa Public Library website.
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