Windsor’s Community Museum News · PDF fileCaptain Wellman retired and presented this...
Transcript of Windsor’s Community Museum News · PDF fileCaptain Wellman retired and presented this...
Windsor’s Community
Museum News Summer 2015 Francois Baby House and Interpretation Centre
Museum Volunteer Group
2015 Volunteer of the Year Shirley F. Cheshire
Shirley was married in August of
1952. She has two children, Douglas
and Robert and three grand-
children, Alicia, Jessica and Daniel.
Shirley has been active in the Heart
and Stroke Foundation for 50 years.
She’s been a member of the altar
guild at the Church of Ascension
since September 1956.
She has also been a member of the
South Windsor Seniors at Paulin
Memorial Presbyterian Church and
the South Windsor Seniors Fun Band
since May 1955.
Shirley has been a member of the Museum Volunteer Group since 1999, and received a 15
year Volunteer Service Award pin this year. She has reported for the card committee, which
consists of Shirley, for the last 15 years and helped with our fundraising yard sales, sorting
and pricing and selling, taken a number of our bus trips and attended most of the Museum
Volunteer Group meetings, except the last one, when she was nominated volunteer of the
year.
Shirley wrote the following for the Museum Volunteer Groups’ 20th anniversary in 2006 .
During the building of the Ambassador Bridge, my brother and I would wander over from
our house on Rosedale Boulevard to Huron Line. The workers were very careless with their
change and I found dimes, quarters and pennies. After it was finished we used to watch
from our bedroom windows when the Shriners would visit and parade up and down the
bridge – laughing, playing their instruments and singing – the trees, at that time, were very
small and we could see very well what was going on. At that time the bridge was not very
busy and the Shriners literally took over the Bridge. This went on until late at night. At that
time our street was not paved – we were considered ―country.‖
This one picture of me and Captain Polluck of the Anglican Church Army was taken when
he visited our church from Ireland. He taught us many little songs such as ―Jesus Bids Us
Shine‖. He played games with us and we loved him. He was noted however for LONG
prayers and once when he visited our house I fell asleep during the prayer.
Clockwise:
Nel Small, Shirley’s son Rob
and Shirley Cheshire
Captain Polluck, Shirley
and a neighbor boy
Shirley and her grandson
Daniel
Page 2
Catherine Reynolds
Catherine Reynolds was born in Detroit sometime
around 1782. The Detroit census of that year indicates
that two daughters resided in the household of
Thomas Reynolds, the Assistant Commissary Officer for
the British forces at Fort Detroit. It is presumed that
Catherine was one of them.
Catherine grew up in a privileged household. Her
father had extensive land holdings in Essex and Kent
counties, and during the 1780s, the Reynolds family
owned at least one Black slave. When Detroit was
ceded to the Americans in 1796, the family moved
across the River to Amherstburg where Thomas
Reynolds continued his military career at Fort Malden.
As one of a small number of women in a military town,
Catherine would have been an eligible "maiden". But,
like many other North American women in this period,
Catherine chose not to marry. She was not alone in
this choice. In the early 19th century, increasing
numbers of well-to-do women chose to lead what was
known as a life of "single blessedness" in order to
develop their own special talents and abilities.
Catherine's special talent was drawing and painting.
Only two dozen or so drawings and paintings
executed by her have survived. In her paintings of
local scenes Catherine imposed the orderly and
restrained lines of the European Neoclassical style on
her Canadian surroundings. Her meticulous copies of
British and European scenes also reveal her sympathy
with European artistic conventions. It must be noted,
however, that many of Catherine’s works are unsigned
and that some of the art attributed to her may
actually have been accomplished by her sister
Margaret. Art historians are still arguing over questions
of attribution.
While her father lived, Catherine resided at home in
Amherstburg. Upon his death in 1810, Catherine, now
a confirmed "spinster", attached herself to the house-
hold of her brother, Robert.
Sometime between 1816 and 1819, a legacy enabled
Robert and his wife, Thérèse Bouchette des Rivières, to
build "Belle Vue", a substantial red brick Georgian
mansion outside of Amherstburg. It is generally
believed that Catherine helped design "Belle Vue".
Catherine died in 1864.
Top to bottom:
Catherine Reynolds
Horse Guards Parade London, England, 1985.5.23
Butterflies, 1985.5.7
View of Craig Millar Castle from the South, 1985.5.1
Page 3
Mark’s photographs can be seen in the outside cases at
Windsor’s Community Museum, 254 Pitt St. W. and in the
display cases at City Hall, 350 City Hall Square.
A Day's Work, 2015 Series by Mark Gasparovic
These photos reflect a component in Windsor's history by
showcasing a part of the post-industrial economy in
which we live today. The images attempt to capture the
"old school" machinery of the tool and
dye craft that was once common
place.
Many of the older machines have been
replaced with compact machines that
are highly efficient and operate on
technological precision. Although this
does increase production and
efficiency, it simultaneously decreases
human interaction and involvement,
resulting in a shift in our community.
With much of the industrial world
changing to the use of robotics there is
a removal of the human hand. In these
works I try to highlight where the human
hand can still be seen and why it is
important to do so.
Thanks to Calframax Inc.
2013, the city developed a plan to expand Windsor’s Community Museum into the ground
floor of the 401 Riverside Dr. W. building. After the resolution of some legal issues, the City is
happy to announce that the Chimczuk funds (which now amount to over $3 million) are
helping to fund this museum expansion, and that the name of the new museum is to be
the Chimczuk Museum. The Chimczuk Museum will house a permanent exhibition on the
history of the Windsor area (entitled The River and the Land Sustain Us), an Original Peoples
exhibition, a Hands On History exhibition for children and temporary exhibit galleries.
And in case you are wondering, the François Baby House at 254 Pitt St. W. is not closing its
doors. Rather, it will feature new exhibits: Windsor’s French Roots, Windsor and the War of
1812, and the Canadian Rebellion of 1838, and some other surprises.
The François Baby House is currently open featuring temporary exhibitions. The opening of
the new displays at the François Baby House and the Grand Opening of the Chimczuk
Museum are planned for this fall. Above: Folk Art painting by Joseph Chimczuk, 2014.11
And the name is....Chimczuk Museum!
The name of the museum on the ground floor of the 401
Riverside Drive West building (which also houses the Art
Gallery of Windsor on the 2nd and 3rd floors) will be the
Chimczuk Museum. Joseph Chimczuk, born in the Ukraine
in 1897, and who died 24 years ago, left the City of Windsor
1 million dollars to build a museum, archive and library. This
was an unexpected and generous gift. It was however,
insufficient to build a stand-alone museum building. In late
Museum Hours
10:00 — 5:00 Tuesday — Saturday
Sunday 2:00 — 5:00
Closed Monday
Upcoming Meetings and Speakers
3 September — Speaker to be announced
1 October — Speaker to be announced
5 November — Nancy Allen, After Midnight - Seeking
Freedom across the Detroit River
3 December — MVG Christmas party
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and everyone is welcome.
Museum Volunteer Group Events
Visit or Contact us
254 Pitt Street West, Windsor, ON
N9A 5L5
Telephone 519-253-1812
Facsimile 519-253-0919
Website www.windsormuseum.ca
Email: [email protected]
Can you Volunteer?
We are looking for volunteers to
staff the main desk at the museum.
Volunteers are crucial in providing
a presence on the main floor of the
museum for visitors, researchers
and school groups coming to the
museum. Not only will you greet
visitors but also sell items in the
Museum Volunteer Group Gift
Shop.
Commitment required: Three hours
twice a month, enjoy meeting the
public & learning about history!
Call the museum at (519) 253-1812
for details.
Sandwich Festival
Join Les Amis Duff-Baby for the
Dedication of the Jesuit Pear trees
and tours of the Duff-Baby House Saturday, September 12
221 Mill Street, Sandwich
Children’s Activities too!
Canada’s red and white maple leaf flag is instantly
recognizable but it wasn’t always our emblem. The
maple leaf flag was raised for the very first time just
fifty years ago, February 15, 1965.
Before that the Union Jack and the Red Ensign were
flown, but Canada didn't have an official flag of its
own. In 1964 thousands of proposed flag designs
were considered, and a bitter debate about symbols
consumed the House of Commons and the
country. After the maple leaf was finally signed into
law there was a rush to produce enough flags in time
for a raising ceremony on Parliament Hill.
See the museum’s flag which was one of the six new flags that
were flown for approximately one hour each on Parliment Hill in
Ottawa. Each flag was then taken down and given to the
Captain of the Queens Honour Guard. One such flag was
presented to Captain Don Wellman. The flag was taken to his
London, Ontario home and placed in a lower drawer for 35
years. Captain Wellman retired and presented this flag to the
donor, Dr. Jim Sweetman on his 49th birthday. 2003.8
Museum volunteer Elen Eng with Flag from the museum’s
collection. Photo courtesy The Windsor Star, Jason Kryk.