Breaking the Silence: British Home Children in Canada

For immediate release

April 3, 2013

Breaking the Silence: British Home Children in Canada

Ottawa-Over 120,000 children came to Canada as domestic servants and agricultural labourers from the British Isles between the 1860’s and the 1940’s. Only now are many Canadians learning that a family member was a Home Child.

The Ottawa Public Library in partnership with Ontario East Home Child Family and the British Home Child Advocacy & Research Association will present information and provide assistance in finding their stories.

Date: Saturday, April 6, 2013

Time: 1:00-4:30 p.m.

Location: Main Library, 120 Metcalfe Street, Mezzanine and Auditorium

For more information, visit www.BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca or contact InfoService at 613-580-2940 or InfoService@BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca.

This program is free and registration is not required.

Living Library Inspires Human Books to Share Their Stories

Here is a 54 m4 4 4 4 4 4 4 645notice that I received this morning. In part, the message reads  –

"Irena Szpak, Hyman Yanofsky and Adam Leclerc's lives are all open books, literally. Irena, Hyman and Adam have joined nineteen other people from the Ottawa region to volunteer as 'living books', sharing with the public their personal stories as they relate to conflict.

At age 14, Irena trained with the Polish Resistance and was later taken by cattle train to a work camp in Germany. She survived to have a family and emigrate to Canada; Hyman joined the Canadian army to fight Hitler by intercepting messages from the enemy as he travelled through Europe; and Reservist Adam Leclerc spent seven months with the POMLT (Police Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team) training Afghan police to deal with security issues.

The Canadian War Museum, in partnership with the Ottawa Public Library and CBC, brought the Human Library program to Ottawa. The Museum featured one-on-one conversations with individuals who have fascinating personal life experiences and stories.

For their innovative and inspirational project that redefined the meaning of the term "living history", the Canadian War Museum for "Human Library" is the recipient of the 2012 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Museums: History Alive! Presented by the Canadian Museums Association.

"We are extremely honoured to be the recipients of this prestigious award," said Mark O'Neill, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation which operates the Canadian War Museum. "The Human Library concept was a dynamic and engaging way to help our visitors understand the personal stories that have shaped and continue to shape Canada's military history."

On December 10, 2012, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will honour the Canadian War Museum for their achievements and contributions to furthering interest in and understanding of our history and heritage.

Announcements continue throughout the coming week and profiles of all the recipients, will be available at Canada's History Magazine at http://www.CanadasHistory.ca/GGAwards

Culture Days in Canada

Culture Days will take place in Canada on September 28, 29, and 39th, and it is “A collaborative coast-to-coast-to-coast volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities for three days.”

There will be a special event in Ottawa on the weekend of September the 29th, and it will be Genealogy on the Internet.

A hands-on introduction to some of the most important online genealogical research sources. Internet experience is required, and will be presented by Genealogy Librarian, Diana Hall.

The events will be at the Ottawa Public Library - Main Library, and it will be Saturday, September 29, 2012 from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM. The library is at 120 Metcalfe, Ottawa, Ontario.

To see events all across Canada, go to www.culturedays.ca/en

The second event (not associated with the Culture Days) is that The Friends of The Beechwood Cemetery Foundation will be hosting a historical lecture on the early history of Beechwood and Ottawa, given by local historian Glenn Wright (the president of the British Isles Family History of Greater Ottawa) on Sunday, September 30, 2012.

The event will take place at Beechwood, the National Cemetery of Canada, 280 Beechwood Ave. The talk will begin at 2:00pm, and will be followed by light refreshments.

Space is limited, so please register by calling 613.741.9530 or emailing info@beechwoodcemetery.com

The website is at www.beechwoodcemetery.com