Giving a voice to history
‘Living library’ to help celebrate Canada’s 150th in Port Colborne
Port Colborne Heritage and Marine Museum is planning a unique way to share the city’s history for the Canada 150 celebrations that will be taking place next year.
Abbey Stansfield is the project co-ordinator for the museum’s oral history project, which aims to help seniors feel more included in the community.
“A lot of people don’t feel that their life has been exciting or important enough, but that’s what this project is about: to show them they’ve all played a part in making the city what it is today,” she told city council on Monday night.
The project started in October but will continue until February, when it will culminate as a “living library.” The library will be open to everyone, but will focus on engaging youth with the seniors in the community. Youth will have a chance to “check out” a senior from the library and hear their story firsthand.
Stansfield described it as a way to bridge the gap between generations.
Ward 1 Coun. Dave Elliott said the idea is great.
“I think that is something that more cities should look into,” he said of the project. “To have younger people sit down and talk to older residents that had an impact on their city and hear their stories firsthand instead of just reading about them in a short little passage, but to actually have a chance to sit down and discuss and hear what these people have lived, is a great opportunity for our students.”
Stansfield will also be speaking with seniors and transcribing what they share with her in a booklet.
“One copy will be available at the (L.R. Wilson Heritage Research Archives) so people can research them,” she said. “The others will actually go to the participants so they have something to give to their families, and they will also receive a tintype.”
A tintype is a popular type of photography from Confederation in 1867. Stansfield said the museum has found a photographer who is able to do tintype photography and he will be doing portraits of each person involved in the oral history project.
“We’re going to make an exhibit of these portraits,” she said. “(It) will be there during the living library day.”
The living library day will be Feb. 21 at the L.R. Wilson Heritage Research Archives. The entire project is called This Place Matters My Canada: Oral History and Living Library Project. People interested in participating can contact Abbey Stansfield at 905-321-8859 or projectcoordinator@portcolborne.ca.
It was also shared at council that the museum applied for and will receive a Canada 150 Fund grant of $22,800 to go towards other Canada 150 community events.