Working to preserve Ottawa's past
for future generations.
Although COVID-19 continues to prevent us from getting together in person, your Society is getting back in action—virtually! After a successful, virtual, Annual General Meeting held in July, Ben Weiss has organized three fantastic, virtual presentations to kick off our 2020-2021 speakers’ programme. Leading off will be Michael Kent, the curator of the Jacob M. Lowy Collection at Library and Archives Canada. Michael will be speaking to us about Ottawa’s Jewish history on September 16th. Up second on October 14th will be Jo-Anne McCutcheon from the University of Ottawa. Jo-Anne…
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HSO News
Tuesday, 05 May 2020 18:45
An Important Message from the Governor General of Canada
Dear members of the Historical Society of Ottawa, As patron of your organization, I wanted to send along my best wishes to you during these difficult times. I hope you are well. Wherever you are and whatever you do, you are facing a historic and unprecedented challenge alongside people and organizations from around the world. And you are tackling it head-on. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything and it is affecting every aspect of our society. This invisible enemy is scary and strong, and it has forced us to change…
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HSO News
Saturday, 18 April 2020 18:45
HSO Annual General Meeting Postponed
Written by The Historical Society of Ottawa
Owing to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, our President, Karen Lynn Ouellette, unanimously supported by the Society’s Board of Directors, announces that the Society’s Annual General Meeting, scheduled to be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, has been postponed. The meeting will be rescheduled once there is a clearer idea of when the emergency will be lifted and members can once again meet in safety.
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HSO News
Reception & Lunch, Plus Music by Paul Weber The HSO was blessed with exceptionally good weather for this event as the Society Members and other attendees arrived, registered and chose their seats in “Borden Hall” (in its previous incarnation, the church’s “nave” or main area). The dining area, its pews long since repurposed elsewhere and replaced by tables and chairs, was copiously illuminated by the sunlight shining through the hall’s many tall stained glass windows. A sumptuous buffet of sandwiches and soup, accompanied by a beverage service, provided no small…
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Special Events
Monday, 09 March 2020 22:37
John Reeder: Webmaster and Walker Extraordinaire Retires
Written by James Powell
Our website is a vital tool in the Society’s communications tool kit. It not only informs members of upcoming events and Society news, it is our prime means of disseminating information about the Society and interesting Ottawa historical stories to the general public. Its reach is global; we have visitors from around the world. Look for a forthcoming HSO article on our readership. Despite its success, few are probably aware of the person who built the website and maintained it since its inception. That person is John Reeder. In January…
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HSO News
An elaborate public art installation at the new Lyon Street light rail transit station in downtown Ottawa is sharing the origin story of the HSO with thousands of daily commuters. The undulating stainless steel sculpture commemorates and celebrates the 1898 founding of the Women’s Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa — later opened to men and renamed the Historical Society of Ottawa — and incorporates the entire 5,000-word text of a society-published pamphlet about the city’s early history. Individualized silhouettes representing the 32 women who were present at the first meeting…
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HSO News
The Historical Society of Ottawa’s Oct. 9 meeting was our first evening gathering at the main branch of the Ottawa library. We had many first-time attendees. Maybe the new time and location are the attraction. Or it may have been our guest speaker, who is well known in Ottawa for his passion for history. Neighbourhood historian François Bregha, described many prime ministerial homes during his Oct. 9 evening presentation.Sandy Hill is more than just a passing interest for François Bregha. He has lived in Sandy Hill for 34 years. In…
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Speakers Presentations
Most of our meetings don’t start with a sing-along, but then the guest speaker for our Nov. 14 meeting is no ordinary presenter. Phil Jenkins is an author and historian but he’s also a musician who, in addition to his own songs, performs songs by the Beatles — which is fitting considering that most of Phil’s life not lived in Ottawa was spent in Liverpool. In Phil’s own words, he lived in Ottawa in two shifts. His first was as a child, from 1952 to 1962. He returned to the…
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Speakers Presentations
On Sunday, Sept. 15th, 42 HSO members and their guests boarded a coach and headed out to Vankleek Hill, where they visited the local museum — housed in a recently restored 19th-century general store. Participants were then split into three groups for a leisurely walking tour of Ontario’s “Gingerbread Capital” guided by Denis Séguin, the architect responsible for the restoration, the town’s ex-mayor and a well informed resident whose family has lived in Vankleek Hill for five generations. In 1797, Simeon Van Kleeck, an United Empire Loyalist, received a land…
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Special Events
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