Old Time Christmas

Father Christmas, horse-drawn sleigh rides, music in the Harvey House and the Schoolhouse featuring the Good, the Bad & the Ugly, Roger-Lee Martin, Marven Condo and Nancy Vignola, traditional food & drink, outdoor fires, Tea Room, carollers, kid’s crafts and skating on the pond. Doesn't it sounds great!
It will be available Wednesday, December 26, 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. at the Gaspesian British Heritage Village, 351 Perron Blvd. West, New Richmond, in the Gaspe Region, which is in Quebec.

And there will be a Family Day on December 28 from 1:00 p.m. to: 4:00 p.m. which will be presented by the Town of New Richmond. There will be Dogsled rides, decorating gingerbread men, outdoor fires, treasure hunt, music, face-painting and other activities.

And it will be held at the Gaspesian British Heritage Village, 351 Perron Blvd. West, New Richmond, Gaspe.

The entrance fee to both events is $3.00 per person

For more information, go to www.villagegaspesien.com

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

A Special Invitation for a Victorian Christmas Eve

A very interesting notice came into the office this morning that the readers of this blog be interesting in attending -

The people at the Fairbairn House have invited you to the Victorian Christmas Eve event at Fairbairn House from 2 to 4 p.m. on December 24th.

Please come by and help decorate the tree, join in the carol singing, sip a hot cocoa or spiced apple cider, and sample our selection of home-made treats while enjoying the ambience of the newly renovated heritage home.

The 1861 builder William Fairbairn, with his wife Jean, will be in attendance to greet you in the old house, decorated in the fashion of the time.

The event is free, but we would be most grateful for an offering, such as a hand-made vintage-style decoration to add to our collection of decorations for the house, a small plate of homemade sweets, or a donation in our money jar at the house.

They look forward to seeing you on this special afternoon, with expectations that it will set a festive mood for the family celebrations to follow.

Come and stop by the FAIRBAIRN HOUSE HERITAGE CENTRE at 45 Wakefield Heights Road, La Pêche, Quebec just north of Ottawa.

If you wish to know more about the Farirbarin House, you ca go to www.fairbairn.ca/English/history.html

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

Toys and Games in Canada

The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) sent out this notice yesterday about the history of toys in Canada, and pictures on their Flickr album -

"The joyful holiday season is the perfect time to introduce you to the Library and Archives Canada collection of photographs related to games and toys.

Although toys and games have existed since the dawn of time, it was only in the 19th century that the ‟toy” really came into its own in Canada. It was also during the Victorian era that toys and diversion were deemed beneficial to children, thereby kick-starting the mass production of playthings. At first, toys mainly came from England, Germany and the United States, but between 1860 and 1915, some 20 Canadian companies began to manufacture them as well. They were made of wood and generally mimicked miniature furniture, cars or horses.

The First World War slowed toy production in Europe, giving the Canadian toy industry the opportunity to flourish. New toys were produced, particularly battleships and construction sets. This is also when manufacturers started using a wider variety of materials, which resulted in copper, tin, iron, lead, and rubber toys. Plush dolls and animals, small lead soldiers, bugles and trumpets, rubber balls, hockey pucks and even humming tops could also be found.

In the 1940s, plastic was introduced in toy manufacturing; it was used to make rattles, beach toys, tractors, trucks and construction sets, as well as an array of tools. In subsequent years, large multinational companies emerged and completely diversified the toy-making industry".

Various outdoor games, such as croquet and lawn bowling have become popular. Children also enjoy games of strength, string, and chance, which are featured in our new Flickr album at www.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/sets/72157631912501393

Update - LAC Changes “Search” Feature

My thanks go to Glenn Wright from BIFHSGO for pointing out that the new Library and Archives Canada landing page does have the search site that I talked about on yesterday’s blog “LAC Changes “Search” Feature”.

You can go to the top left portion of the page, click on “Discover the Collection”, and then go to “Search Help” and you will find the three search categories – Library, Archives, and Ancestors.

So while it is there, it is rather difficult to find. But now I know where it is on the LAC page.

Thanks, Glenn!

The website for BIFHSGO is www.bifhsgo.ca, and the website for the LAC Search Help webpage  is
www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/search/Pages/search-help.aspx

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

35th Anniversary of the Société de généalogie de l'Outaouais

The Genealogical Society of the Outaouais in Gatineau is asking you to remember the date of April 27th.

Because that will be the day that they will celebrate their 35th Anniversary by having a conference, an exhibition, and a banquet.

All are invited!

To keep up on the plans for April 27th, go to their site at http://genealogieoutaouais.com

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

3rd Annual Genealogy Show and Tell

On Saturday, February 23, 2013, the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia will have their 3rd Annual Genealogy Show and Tell at 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Akins A/V Room, Nova Scotia Archives, University Ave, Halifax, NS

The say that the Show and Tell the last couple of years has been fabulous and brought together people with many different research skills and stories about their families. Come and tell us about your research and meet other folks who may share your research interests.

How will it work?

Members are invited to take ten minutes to tell us about your research. We might have some questions for you or have suggestions on how you can further your research.

Have you written a book on your family history? Do you create heritage scrapbooks? Bring them along and tell us your methods and give us some tips.

Do you have an old family bible or other family items that would interest genealogists? Tell us how you acquired them and why they are important to you.

Are you new to genealogy? Browse our publications, pick up some handouts and research tips and get to know some fellow genealogists.

Don't forget to wear your family t-shirts, hats or buttons!

What if you are an "away" member and can't attend? Well, you can send us a brief description of your research including surnames and counties and we will display them that afternoon. Please limit your submission to 100 words and include an email address where potential cousins can reach you.

Do you have a blog, website or Facebook page you'd like us to know about? Send us the url and we will post it.

Member submissions can be emailed to ganslectures@gmail.com Please put Genealogy Show and Tell in the subject line.

There will be a door prize and light refreshments will be served.

Their website is www.novascotiaancestors.ca/events.php

© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved

LAC Changes “Search” Feature

Have you noticed the changes made between the old landing page of the LAC and the new landing page of the LAC in addition to the new layout?

There is one big change to me, and that is, on the new website of the LAC at www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Pages/home.aspx as opposed to the old website of the LAC at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html they have changed the Search feature!

On the old website one could search the federated search site on the top right hand corner of the website, and your search would be broken down into Library, Archives, and Ancestors. You could choose just one way to search, or you could search all three. You could clearly see which one you wanted to search first. I found it a very efficient way to search the holdings for my clients. Now you just get “results” of your search – the three fields are all mixed together.

I also see where there has been talk about the LAC making plans to digitize newspapers once again.

And when these plans are finalized, will the papers be indexed, as well as digitized? That is my question, and the answer will probably be " No."

Anyone who has had occasion (like myself) to work with the digitized Land Petitions of Upper and Lower Canada, know what a task it is to find anyone within the pages and pages of paper – it involves hours and hours of work on the Intertnet to find the exact record. They are not indexed by the  person's name!
© Elizabeth Lapointe All Rights Reserved