IN THE FLOW OF HISTORY FOR 200 YEARS:
PRESCOTT, ONTARIO LECTURE SERIES
PRESCOTT, ON 19 March 2010 – Throughout the 200 years since Col. Edward Jessup founded Prescott in 1810, the community has experienced remarkable events and witnessed the growth Jessup would have dreamed of for his town on the St. Lawrence River.
To commemorate Prescott’s rich history during its bicentennial celebrations, a series of nine Sunday-afternoon lectures from April to October will explore the town’s vibrant heritage. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on Centre Street will host the talks that begin at 2 P.M. Tickets for the complete series are $40 or $8 per lecture.
“Our program focuses on growth and change in Prescott, from its early days as a fort town to a growing community embracing change and technology into the 21st century,” said Gerry Brown, the Lecture Series Chair. “With focal points on the military, manufacturing and personal history, the series offers intimate portraits of hope, growth and change in Prescott.”
The talks delivered by historians, teachers and academics from Eastern Ontario begin April 18 with two presentations. Sandra Shouldice, who taught in Prescott for 31 years, will deliver an inaugural lecture on Prescott’s heritage. In a tribute to heritage volunteers and enthusiasts, author and historian Mark Jodoin will discuss the contributions of Edward Jessup, as well as Colonel Joel Stone and Captain John Deserontyon who founded Gananoque and Deseronto.
There will also be two lectures on May 30 and one per month from June to October. Through the lens of Prescott’s history the topics include: the War of 1812, the forwarding trade, the brewing industry and the Grand Truck railway.
To purchase tickets, contact the Prescott Bicentennial Office at 613-925-1861.
For information contact:
Gerry Brown
Prescott Bicentennial Committee
613-925-4250
IN THE FLOW OF HISTORY FOR 200 YEARS
Sunday, April 18, 2 P.M.: Introduction to Prescott’s Heritage
Sandra Shouldice will give an overview of our 200 year history, beginning with a glimpse into pre-settlement Augusta. A further look at the town Edward Jessup created will entail its military significance beginning with the War of 1812, Prescott’s growth as a transportation centre, later industrial and commercial development and finally progress and changes in the 20th century.
Sandra was born and educated in Ottawa and taught in Prescott’s Central School for 31 years. After retiring from teaching in 1997, she took a more active role in Grenville County Historical Society, Retired Women Teachers of Ontario, Friends of Windmill Point and the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada, for which she received the Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. Her real interest in and knowledge of area history comes not only from personal research but from a background of family stories dating back to her Loyalist roots in Augusta.
Sunday, April 18, 2 P.M.: How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Mark Jodoin, author of Shadow Soldiers of the American Revolution: Loyalist Tales from New York to Canada, will pay homage to American and Canadian heritage volunteers and enthusiasts in the St. Lawrence, Hudson and Lake Champlain valleys. Mark will detail Loyalists such as Major Edward Jessup, Colonel Joel Stone and Captain John Deserontyon who founded Prescott, Gananoque and Deseronto. The three are among the 11 founders of Ontario whose stories are told in Shadow Soldiers.
A writer of historical fiction and non-fiction, his articles on colonial history have appeared monthly in Esprit de Corps magazine. Mr. Jodoin is a member and past president of the Rideau Township Historical Society and a graduate of Carleton University’s School of Journalism. He began his career as a broadcast journalist with TVOntario and Global Television News in Toronto in 1979 and he later became a marketing entrepreneur working in Montreal, Houston, Los Angeles and New York. He resides in Ottawa.
Sunday, May 30, 2 P.M.: The Forwarding Trade in Prescott
John Reynolds presentation, beginning with the activities of the native Amerindians along the St. Lawrence, will follow the development of river travel. From the introduction of river craft larger than canoes to the coming of the railroads, and construction of a total system of locks on the Rideau and St. Lawrence, a whole way of life came and went. As interesting as the stories of events, are the stories of the individuals whose fortunes rose and fell with the prosperity of the river trade.
John Reynolds comes to us by a roundabout route. Born south of London, England, he has travelled most of Canada as a meteorological technician and a United Church minister. His undergraduate work was in History and English with post-grad Theology. John is retired after 20 years in the Prescott area. He has been active in the Forwarders’ Museum and from this grew his interest in local history.
Sunday, May 30, 2 P.M.: The Battle of the Windmill
Bob Garcia examines the final fling to free Canada from British domination. The bloody, short and significant 1838 Battle of the Windmill was a turning point emphasizing the strong ties between Britain and her remaining colonies in North America.
Bob is an historian at the Ontario Service Centre of Parks Canada, with research responsibilities for Parks-operated national historic sites across the province. From 2002 to 2007 he was the historian supporting the Fort Henry National Historic Site stabilization project. He joined Parks Canada in 1991 as the Resource Centre Specialist for Fort Malden National Historic Site. There he was involved with archives and collections management, exhibit design and the delivery of visitor experience programming. Bob was educated at McGill University, Concordia University and at the University of Western Ontario. Bob is a past president of the Essex County Historical Society and has had a long time interest in Canadian military heritage.
Sunday, June 27, 2 P.M.: The Brewing Industry of 19th-Century Prescott
Donna Warner asks, “What did our ancestors do in the winter?” Besides trying to stay warm, they brewed. Learn how our resourceful ancestors managed to transform what they had at hand, like spruce buds, into beer. Present day craft beer will be available for sampling.
Donna is the owner of Heritage Brewing and Scotch Irish Brewing located in Ottawa. After working as a teacher, a mother, a software implementer, she stumbled into brewing when her husband and his friends bought equipment from the Quinte Brewery. For the last 10 years she has worked to bring craft brewing back to Eastern Ontario where it once flourished. She is passionate about beer, especially the fresh, flavourful beer that a craft brewery can produce.
Sunday, July 11, 2 P.M.: Fort Wellington’s Involvement in the War of 1812
Raised in the shadows of Fort Wellington, Paul Fortier grew up with a deep interest in local and military history. As a young man he was instrumental in having the doors to the windmill at the Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site opened to the public and later was behind the identification, designation and restoration of the Stockade Barracks on East Street, Ontario’s oldest surviving military structure. Paul spent 10 years as a military curator and historian for Parks Canada and then that with another 10 years as a manager at the National Archives of Canada.
After 20 years with the government, he left to head his private company Jessup Food & Heritage which has delivered unique food services at historic sites in Ontario from Fort York in Toronto to Upper Canada Village. Today Paul resides in Kingston and recently oversaw the acquisition and transformation of Kingston’s oldest surviving church structure into a modern banquet and event venue operated by Jessup Foods. His love of Prescott and its fascinating history remains strong.
Sunday, August 15, 2 P.M.: 150 Years of Railroad - The Building of the Grand Trunk
William (Bill) Boulton will focus on the growth and importance of railroads for transportation and shipping. He will outline stations, past and present, and will detail Prescott’s rail lines and links with Ottawa and shipping on the St. Lawrence River.
Bill grew up in Lansdowne, graduated from Ottawa Teachers College and Ontario College of Education. He taught two years at Poole’s Resort, an eight-grade country school just west of Mallorytown Landing. He joined the Ottawa Public School Board in 1957 teaching Industrial Arts and retired in 1989. Bill is a founding member and past president of Leeds and 1000 Islands Historical Society.
Sunday, September 19, 2 P.M.: Prescott, the River and the War of 1812
Victor Suthren is a writer, seaman and historian specializing in North American colonial history of the 18th century. He has written 13 books, 18th-century naval fiction and non-fiction works, including a biography of James Cook and a history of the War of 1812. In October 2009, Victor published a major survey history of Canada’s relationship with the sea, The Island of Canada.
After university and summers in the Fort Henry Guard in Kingston, Victor entered the Canadian Parks Service as an historian, serving in Louisbourg and Halifax. He joined the staff of the Canadian War Museum in 1975, and from 1986 to 1997 was the Director General. An experienced seaman in traditional tall ships and longboats, he is the Honourary Captain to the Chief of the Maritime Staff in Ottawa. He is also commissioned in the Reserve as a Seamanship specialist. Recently, he has designed and led events featuring ‘tall ships’ and longboats, and has advised a number of film productions. He and his wife Lindsay are residents of Merrickville, Ontario.
Sunday, October 17 - 2 P.M.: Love, Lust and the British Soldier in the War of 1812
Love at first sight, loose morals, adultery, prostitution, domestic disputes, and the challenges of raising a family in the army; all were part of the love life of the British soldier. Robert Henderson’s lecture will reveal some of the strange, funny and entertaining affairs of the heart that occurred to soldiers 200 years ago, and along the way dispel the stereotype of Victorian-like propriety at that time. Each attendee will leave with the impression people two centuries ago were not that different from people today.
A former military curator for Parks Canada and archival technician at the then National Archives of Canada, Robert has spent 25 years in the military heritage field. After graduating from Carleton University, he filled a number of interpretative and educative roles at various historic sites, including Fort Wellington and Fort Malden. Since 1995, he has provided heritage products and services to museums, collectors, and the film industry through MilitaryHeritage.com. His interest in preserving and promoting the significance of the War of 1812 brought him to create the website www.warof1812.ca.
