NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORY
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The History Committee at the Orillia Museum of Art & History has finalized the 2022 Virtual History Speaker Series and the Carmichael Art History Lecture Fundraiser. There is an amazing roster of speakers scheduled to entertain and educate you with diverse topics about our rich local history.
As we celebrate our 15th year of offering the Speaker Series, the History Committee continues to support OMAH’s mandate to promote and celebrate our local history by offering our speakers virtually via Zoom again this year.
The First Quarter 2022 OMAH History Speaker Series
Starting off the season on Wednesday, Jan. 19, renowned local historian Dave Town presents “Yellowhead’s Revolt.” Town will recount the long-forgotten story of the two local Chippewa Chiefs who, at the great meeting of the Chiefs held in Orillia in 1846, stood defiant against not just the White Man but all their fellow Chiefs. The origins of residential schools in Canada began with this meeting.
Next up, in celebration of Black History Month, join us on Wednesday, Feb. 16 as we learn new insights into the Black experience of the War of 1812 and the history of some of the veterans from Oro Township. Fred Blair, who is one of the most knowledgeable local historians on the role Black veterans played in that war, will share his extensive research on the militia regiments with his talk Black Veterans of the War of 1812.
On Wednesday, March 19, we welcome John Savage as guest speaker. Savage is a descendent of Antoine Gaudaur, a fur trader and Orillia’s first non-Indigenous settler. Savage’s talk “War of the Woods” will recount the history of lumbering in our area, its economic dominance and the devastating impact the industry had on our local environment and Indigenous people, and how still today it shapes many aspects of the way we live.
Did you know that that the Canadian government operated a prisoner-of war camp, known as Camp 20, a few miles away in Gravenhurst between 1940 and 1946? On Wednesday, April 20, Judy Humphries, head of the Gravenhurst Archives, presents Gravenhurst’s Prisoner of War Camp During the 1940s. Humphries will tell the incredible tale of German POWs who were offered university courses, instruments to create a symphony orchestra, tennis on the lawn and sunbathing on the beach, amongst other luxuries. Oh yes, and there was a pet monkey too.
To see the complete roster of 2022 History Speakers and the Carmichael Art History Fundraiser and to register to receive a link to the talks, click here or call Monica at 705-326-2159 or email [email protected]
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