Posts Tagged Waterloo

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

It’s been a busy month here at “History to the People” and I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about some seminars and workshops I have taken part in recently that have been both helpful and have given me further knowledge in this wonderful world of built heritage and cultural landscapes.

The first event was a four day workshop hosted by the University of Waterloo’s Heritage Resources Centre which took place at the beautiful Museum of Steam and Technology in Hamilton, Ontario from October 23-24 and November 6-7, 2010. Here, Professor Robert Shipley and his staff led a series of lectures, group discussions, and team exercises on the world of heritage planning. As someone who eventually wants to become a heritage planner, I had literally been waiting all year for this workshop to take place, and it was worth the wait!  (more…)

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

If you love a good story about a person’s rise from rags to riches yet never loses their kindness and compassion for others, then the third instalment of the “Canadian Castles” series is for you. Nestled in the heart of Baden Ontario, is a stunning Italianate home that was built in 1877 for James Livingston, a flax and linseed oil industrialist whose empire stretched as far west as Manitoba and south into the United States. On the home’s exterior, Livingston had been criticised for its “plainness” yet, on the inside, it boasted one of the finest collections of ceiling paintings and handcrafted local furniture anywhere in Canada. Considered the “Jewel of Wilmot Township”, Castle Kilbride was the Livingston family home for four generations and represented a little piece of Scotland that was so dear to James Livingston.   (more…)

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

Canada’s military has quite a distinguished history. From victory in the War of 1812 to its participation in Afghanistan, Canada has earned some hefty and significant battle honours. Canadians shocked the South Africans in the Boer War with their courage, were feared by the Germans in the Great War for their strength and ability to adapt to extreme conditions and earned the respect of many nations for its peacekeeping efforts in the Cold War. For its mere population compared to the powerhouse nations of the United States and Britain, Canada’s valour is quite extraordinary. Citizens of Cambridge and the surrounding areas had a chance to explore a local piece of that military history when the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada opened their doors during this past weekend’s Doors Open event for the Waterloo Region. (more…)

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

He was not welcome to some, laughed at by a few, yet in the end was  revered by many. William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s tenth and longest serving Prime Minister, with just three simple words uttered on September 3, 1939 would help raise Canada up from Dominion status to full autonomous nationhood. He also created a vast Canadian based Air Training Program that same year which has never been surpassed by any nation since. Yet, at the heart of Mackenzie King there was a country boy who loved the wilderness, a roaring fire, gardening and fishing. He had the pleasure of being able to do these things on his Kingsmere Estate in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec while he was Prime Minister. However, he wrote in his diary that the home with the fondest memories for him was the King family residence in Berlin, Ontario called Woodside. This home is now a National Historic Site and is beautifully maintained and operated by Parks Canada. Woodside was open this weekend for the Doors Open Waterloo Region event and hundreds of people came out to take a glimpse into the young life of one of this country’s greatest Prime Ministers.

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Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

This weekend was a great opportunity to get out and enjoy a Doors Open event across many parts of Ontario. From Ajax to Mississauga, from Barrie to Sudbury and from London to Waterloo, there was something for everyone to see and enjoy. Since I was in the Waterloo Region this weekend, I decided to take advantage of what the Tri-Cities area had to offer. There were a few places I visited including the Sun Life Financial building in downtown Waterloo.  (more…)