Ontario archeology, home movies can be enjoyed online
The Peterborough Chapter of the Ontario Archaeological Society (OAS) presents Nicole Brandon speaking on “Born in a Flame: The History and Archaeology of the Cassady Site, Niagaraon-the-Lake.”
This presentation is part of the chapter’s Women in Archaeology series. It will be conducted online via Zoom on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. and members of the community are invited to join in.
Brandon’s presentation features the history and archeology of Cassady Site, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. This site, settled in the late 18th century, is named after the first landowner, Samuel Cassady, who arrived from Ireland in about 1785 at the request of his Loyalist father who had fled the United States, joined Butler’s Rangers and called Niagara home.
Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc. from London Ont., where Brandon is the lab manager and senior material culture analyst, conducted an investigation of the site that is located in the heart of historic downtown Niagaraon-the-Lake during the summer of 2015.
The archaeologists uncovered the rich history of the town, including artifacts from key events such as the American occupation during the War of 1812 and the increased military presence in response to the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837.
Brandon attended Wilfrid Laurier University for her undergrad studies, then Memorial University of Newfoundland for her master’s degree. The focus of her M.A. thesis was an analysis of a stoneware assemblage excavated from the Colony of Avalon, a significant 17th-century English colonial site south of St. John’s, Nfld.
Brandon’s varied 20-year career includes participation on projects across Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, including excavations at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, one of Canada’s largest and bestknown archeological sites.
She is a contributing author to the book “The Ward Uncovered: The Archaeology of Everyday Life” and is currently writing a paper about a special artifact found at The Ward.
Brandon served four years on the OAS board of directors and routinely attends archeological conferences. She has presented papers at conferences for the OAS, the Canadian Archaeological Association (CAA), and the Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology (CNEHA). This presentation will be her first virtual paper.
To register in advance for this presentation, contact Sheryl Smith, president of the Peterborough chapter, at sherylsmith222@gmail.com.
Home movies
To celebrate Heritage Week (Feb. 15-21) Trent Valley Archives (TVA) is hosting a free public screening of “Vacation Time, Highlights from our Milner Collection of Home Movies.”
The footage was set to make its première on the TVA YouTube channel Monday at 7 p.m. to kick off the week, but will still be available for viewing after the première.
“We may not be able to stick our toes in the sand at a Caribbean beach resort this winter, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go on a virtual vacation! For Heritage Week … we’d bring a little island paradise to you by putting together some more footage from our Milner collection of home movies. In this footage, you’ll get a glimpse of people enjoying a trip to the Bahamas; lounging around the pool at their hotel, mingling with the locals, and enjoying a sunny cruise,” states a press release for the screening.
TVA decided to showcase audiovisual heritage this year during Heritage Week because “it can speak to us on many different levels. In candid photographs and home movies, we get to unravel a deeper layer of ourselves and our past by looking at how people lived their lives in a more intimate way.”
While watching the footage, TVA would like to know if you recognize anybody in the video. If you do, you can comment on TVA’s YouTube page, or contact them at 705-745-4404 or by email at admin@trentvalleyarchives.com.
To view this special video footage, visit youtube.com/watch?v=zvUQLYotp-0.