Historian Jimmy Manson returns to the Old Court House
Brome County Historical Society
Winter just wouldn’t be winter in Knowlton without the Marion L. Phelps Memorial Lecture Series! Sponsored by the Brome County Historical Society, the six lectures are presented by Historian Jimmy Manson who has forgotten more than most folks will ever know about hockey, baseball, 1960s rock and roll, and, our favourite subject, the history of the Eastern Townships!
A native of Sweetsburg with roots in Mansonville, his family’s namesake, Manson earned a diploma in education at Mcgill University, which he promptly put to use in Jamaica teaching the history of the West Indies. Upon his return to Quebec, he enrolled at Concordia University where he attained first a bachelor and then a master of arts degree. After completing the latter in 1983, he taught Canadian history in public high schools, including Massey-vanier, and also worked as a freelance writer, covering the Montreal Canadiens and Expos for the Canadian Press for more than a decade.
In the early 1990s, Manson began teaching at Mcgill and Concordia. At about the same time, he also became an educational consultant for an organization called Routes to Learning, for whom he guided numerous historically themed excursions across Quebec and other provinces. His affiliation with RTL continues today.
Manson wrote his first book, “The Loyal Americans of New England and New York, Founders of the Townships of Lower Canada,” in 2001. It was published by the Brome County Historical Society, as were two subsequent books, “From Isolation to Integration: The Changing Face of the Eastern Townships, 18301867” (2004) and “A Smaller World: The Eastern Townships and the Imperial Age, 1867-1918” (2005). All three volumes are available for purchase at the “Bounty of Brome County” museum gift shop.
Since 2007, Manson has taught the history of Canadian-american relations at the Montreal campus of Champlain College (American). He also taught for a number of years at their Burlington campus but has recently retired from that engagement. Manson and his wife Dorothy live in Sweetsburg.
The 2018 Marion L. Phelps Memorial Lectures will take place in the Old Court House (15 St. Paul Road, Knowlton) beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 6, 13, and 20, and February 10, 17, and 24. The January lectures come under the heading: “Tragedy and Treason — Themes in Eastern Townships’ History, 1891-1939.” The heading of the February lectures is: “The Role Played by Prominent British Officials in the Early Settlement History of the Eastern Townships.”
The title of the January 6 lecture is “The Silent Enemy: The Spanish Flu Epidemic in the Eastern Townships, 19181920.” For additional lecture titles, please see the Community Calendar section of the Brome County News, visit bromemuseum.com, or call the BCHS at 450 243-6782. Admission to the lectures is by donation and everyone is welcome, especially fans of the New York Yankees, Manson’s favourite sports team! Refreshments will be served.