Mark your Calendars: 2012

Mark your calendars for Friday, February 3^rd!  Back by popular demand, we will be hosting our second annual Trivia Night with quiz masters Roddy McFall and Serge Barbe.  This year, we will also be raising money for the Ottawa Snowsuit Fund (http://snowsuitfund.com/).    We hope to see all of you there!

In other exciting news, Ottawa has been selected to host the 2013 AAO Conference! To begin preparations, the AAO East will be holding an open meeting on Wednesday,  January 18^th  for anyone who is interested in participating in conference planning and/or have any ideas about the event.

Details to follow for both events in the new year.  Check back here for more info.  Happy Holidays to all from AAO EAST!

Happy Hour, Sept. 8, 2011

Hi All,

Welcome back from the summer fun.  To jump start our new work year we had a little Happy Hour down in the Glebe.  It was a well attended event and I am glad to say that our AAO President, Danielle Hughes, was able to make it out and meet some of our AAO East/Est Chapter members.  This is a launching point for a year packed full of actiivties, including, a Story Teller night, a workshop on the basic of archives/records management for some of our rural chapter members, and a review of our Chapter constitution.

Here are some photos from the evening festivities:

 A bird's eye view finds Margaret, our chapter president, in the centre of things. AAO President, Danielle Hughes is on the right, in the centre.  Moving in a circular pattern around Margaret we have Leah, Rebecca, Brian, Allison, Jennifer and Theresea.

 I guess we can surmise from Jennifer's smile that Happy Hour is indeed happy.  If you are getting a headache from that latest acquisition you really should come out and join in the fun and thought provoking conversation.

 All smiles for this shot.  Rob Fisher vetoed the photo I took just before this one and opted to pose for the camera, with the rest of the table succumbing to the photo op. Rob's in the back, Emery Leger is on the right and on the left is AAO President, Danielle Hughes.

I don't know how this happened but somehow I ended up in a photo, John D. Lund, to the right. Theresa Sorel, fellow archivist from the City of Ottawa Archives, is on the left.  I think this is retribution for all the photos I took of Margaret.  Guess who selected the photos to post?

AAO East gets involved in Culture Days

We are very excited about our next event.  We will be partnering with Ottawa Storytellers to present an event as part of Culture Days on Friday, September 30.  See our events page for details about this exciting event.

See Events Page

Coming.....Happy Hour Social in September!

Eastern Chapter, Archives Association of Ontario--Annual General Meeting 2011

The Eastern Chapter of the Archives Association of Ontario held its’ Annual General Meeting at the home of the new City of Ottawa Archives on May 26, 2011.  Members and guests were fortunate to have a sneak pre-view of the new facility before it was officially opened to the public. 

It was the perfect setting for our meeting as the 2010-2011 Executive presented an update to members on the past year’s activities.  Presented were the president’s report, and the treasurer’s report—financial statements and budget.  And importantly, the members had the opportunity to discuss the past year’s events and to make suggestions for the upcoming year. 

Carrying on with the business of the AGM, the Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, Brian Beaven, presented the slate of officers for the new executive and called for nominations from the floor.  The entire 2010-2011 executive agreed to stand for re-election and together with Jenna Smith who put her name forth for election, the new executive was formed.   

The 2011-2012 Executive consists of Margaret Dixon (president), John Lund (vice-president), Theresa Sorel (treasurer), Allison Gregor (secretary), Jennifer Wilhelm (communications officer) and Rebecca Geisbrecht (member-at-large) and Jenna Smith (member-at-large).
  

And then for the moment, all had been anticipating, City of Ottawa Archivist Paul Henry spoke briefly about the new archives building and took all those in attendance on a tour. The night concluded with the Executive, Chapter members, and guests mingling over light refreshments and snacks!

To: All AAO East members

 
This notice is provided on behalf of the Chair of the AAO-East Nominations Committee,  Brian P. N. Beaven.

The following slate of Officers for Archives Association of Ontario, Eastern Chapter, has been put together on the basis of formal and informal discussions, for nomination at the AGM on the evening of Thursday May 26 at the new City of Ottawa Archives. (See Events posting on this blog for further details.)

The following members of the current Executive have agreed to put their names forward for the following positions on the 2011-2012 AAO East Chapter Executive:
     *President- Margaret Dixon
     * Vice- President- John Lund
     * Treasurer- Theresa Sorel
     * Secretary- Allison Gregor
     * Communications Officer- Jennifer Wilhelm
     * Member at Large- Rebecca Geisbrecht

The 2010-2011 Executive agreed to increase the number of positions on the 2011-2012 Chapter Executive to include two additional Members-at-large.

Jenna Smith has approached the nominations committee and has been accepted by the incumbent officers as part of the slate for one of the new positions as Member-at-large.

There remains one Member-at-large position to be filled as of date of writing (May 19, 2011)

NOTE: As per the Constitution of the Chapter, nominations from the floor will also be entertained at the appropriate point in the agenda of the AGM on May 26.  Nominations may be for any position.  In the case of more than one nomination for any given position,  a ballot election will ensue immediately for the positions being contested.  If there are no positions contested, the election will be declared by acclamation.

This memo constitutes the summary report of the Nominations Committee to the membership
Brian P. N. Beaven
Chair of the AAO-E Nominations Committee for 2011-2012
brian.beaven@lac-bac.gc.ca
819-934-7333

Thanks for making our first Trivia Night a huge success!

On April 8, 2011, over thirty archivists (and friends!) gathered to celebrate Archives Week with AAO East's first pub quiz night.  Big thanks to our quiz masters Roddy McFall (Library and Archives Canada) and Serge Barbe (City of Ottawa Archives) for helping to make our event a huge success.  Here's a few shots of the event:

The quiz masters, Serge and Roddy

Theresa takes trivia very seriously.

The Irish delegation (plus Leah!)

Serge and Roddy hand out prizes

And here's a quick note from our quiz masters:


Serge and Roddy would like to thank the organizing committee and all of the participants for making the inaugural AAO-EOC Quiz Night such a success! In the excitement generated by the revelation of Paddington Bear's ancestry, however, they failed to provide the correct answers to the "Historical Images of Ottawa" section. See below for both the questions and answers.

1)      The two bridges seen in this photo are the Sappers’ Bridge (on the left) built in 1827 and the Dufferin Bridge built in 1872. Can you identify the building wedged between the bridges on the west shore of the Rideau Canal? (CA-0074)

A)  City Hall

B)   The Central Post Office

C)   The Russell Theatre

D)  The Water Works pumping station

Answer: B) The Central Post Office

2)      How many locks are there at the north end of the Rideau Canal where it flows into the Ottawa River below Parliament Hill? (CA-2690)

A.      Six.

B.      Seven.

C.      Eight.

D.      Nine.

Answer: C – There are 8 locks!

3)      In this photo, Queen Elizabeth II is detonating an explosive device to launch a construction project instead of the customary turning of the sod ceremony. Which construction project is it?

A. Ottawa’s former City Hall on Sussex Drive

B. The National Arts Centre

C. The Queensway

D. The Riverside Hospital.

Answer: C. The ceremony took place on 15 October, 1957 near Hurdman’s Bridge on the east shore of the Rideau River.       

4)       Elvis Presley gave two concerts in Ottawa on April 3^rd 1957, as part of his only tour outside of the United States? In what venue did Elvis perform to the screams of adoring fans? (Photo AN-49378-109)

A. The Auditorium

B. The Capitol Theatre

C. The Lansdowne Park Coliseum

D. The National Art Centre

Answer: A. The Auditorium was on the present site of the YM-YWCA on Argyle Street.

5)      The building seen in the photo stood at the intersection of Rideau and Sussex Streets. Built in 1905, it was the first commercial building in Ottawa to use a Chicago-style steel-frame construction. What was the building’s common name? (Photo CA-02935)

A.   The Daly Building.

B.   The Hunter Building.

C.   The Roxborough Building.

D.   The Transportation Building.

Answer: A. Originally built to accommodate the Lindsay department store, it was acquired by the A.E. Rae department store chain around 1909. The H.J. Daly Co. succeeded to that firm in 1918. The building was demolished in 1991.

AAO East AGM

Mark this date on your calendar--Thursday 26 May 2011.  AAO East will hold its Annual General Meeting 7-9pm.  For Details keep posted to our Events!

Answer - Trivia Teaser #3

Question: The first archival document was presented to Queen's University in this year

Answer: 1869

We hope that you can make it out to the Canal Royal Oak tonight for Archives Trivia Night!

Answer - Trivia Teaser #2

Question: This AAO East member is known for its collection of material from the once flourishing timber and logging industry.

Answer: The Arnprior and McNabb/Braeside Archives

Answer - Trivia Teaser #1

Question: Which of the following AAO East members was founded most recently?

Answer: Carleton University Corporate Archives (officially established in 1994)

Remember to vote on this week's trivia question and to join us for Archives Week Trivia Night on April 8th!

Archives Week Trivia Night

Come and celebrate Archives Week with some friendly competition at our Pub Trivia Night on Friday, April 8, 2011 at 7 pm at the Royal Oak on the Rideau Canal (upper level).  Come with a team of four or come on your own and we'll find you a team. Our general knowledge quiz is being specially written by local archivists Roddy McFall (Library and Archives Canada) and Serge Barbe (City of Ottawa Archives), who will highlight some of our local archives and collections.  

We'll be posting trivia questions in the weeks leading up to the event, so stay tuned! 

Heritage Day, Feb 22, 2011

The AAO East/Est Chapter Executives were in the thick of it at the Heritage Day Celebrations held at Ottawa's City Hall. It was a great turn out by the public at large and we were able to promote the AAO to various members of the Heritage community, including, the up and coming from Algonquin College. Thanks to Theresa, Margaret and Brian who hosted our table. Here are some photos from the event:

Margaret, chapter President, in period clothing. 

Theresa, Treasurer, and archivist for the City of Ottawa, standing beside the City Archivist, Paul Henry.

Margaret and Brian with Ottawa's Mayor, Jim Watson.  So what exactly did Brian say to the Mayor?  They are definitely having a good laugh.

Theresa and Margaret showing off their period clothing.  The clothes are thanks to Margaret. I do believe they were having fun this day.

Our display for Heritage Day.  A thanks goes out to the Archives Association of Ontario for providing the back board.  On the table we have material, such as, Skate Canada postcards from our last event and a live view of our Blog on the notebook.

John (me, VP) and Theresa standing in front of our AAO East/Est display booth.

Brian with the Town Cryer

And that wraps up our photo essay of Heritage Day!

The history of amateur skating came to life on Thursday evening, the 17th of February!

Emery Leger, archivist for Skate Canada shared stories, artefacts and his enthusiasm for the sport.   Taking us from the early days of skating to the coaching of future stars, AAO East members were enthralled with stories about Lord and Lady Minto, Barbara Ann Scott, Toller Cranston and Elizabeth Manley.  Complementing the stories were artefacts such a skating lantern, 19^th century ladies skates and the famous Elizabeth Olympic cowboy hat, as well as photos of skating legends.  Thanks to Emery for a great evening and his dedication in preserving the history of a truly Canadian sport.  See also: Coming soon Skate Canada Archives feature on the Community page of this blog.

Emery showing us "the" hat...

Andrew looks on. 

That is so cool!

Skating anyone?

Brian is ready to go!

Jennie and Yvette agree...what a great evening!  

Rain or Shine--AAO East Skate Canada Event is on Thursday 17 February 2011

Don`t Forget! AAO East Skate Canada Event Thursday 17 February 2011

Spotlight: Skate Canada

Thursday February 17, 2011, Royal Oak upper level, 221 Echo Drive (Colonel By Drive), Ottawa ON

6:00-9:00 pm

Lace up your skates and come and celebrate part of Canada's heritage with AAO East member Emery Leger, Skate Canada archivist and researcher.  Emery, an internationally certified skating coach, will be doing a short presentation at 6.30 which will include artefacts and photos from the Skate Canada Hall of Fame and Museum collection.  After grabbing a snack, we will head to the canal for a skate at 8 pm.  For those looking to improve their skating skills, Emery will be available as our own personal coach.

skating

Alternate date: in case of bad skating conditions or weather, we will hold the event on Thursday, February 24, 2011.

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Photos from the Blog Launch

Hi out there,

We had a wonderfully successful blog launch a couple of weeks back at the Royal Oak on Echo Drive.  Does anyone else out there have Martha and the Muffins, "Echo Beach" now running through their heads?  We thought we would share some of the photos that were taken at the event.  I have to apologize for the quality, my mind appears to have been elsewhere that night and I wasn't paying attention to whether or not my camera was focusing properly.  The upside is some folks are saved from their likenesses being posted here due to blurriness. 

Jennifer, the mastermind behind this blog!

A little discourse going on. I say, that's my drink on the table. Excuse me a moment.

Brian Beaven, a past President of the AAO East Chapter. Brian will be helping us at a table on Heritage Day, February 22, 2011, at Ottawa City Hall. I even hear that some AAO East execs will be in period costume.

What more do you want than food and conversation.

"Hey, what happened to the Guinness sign?"
"Guinness sign?"
"Yeah the one that keeps showing up in every photo in perfect focus."

National Flag of Canada Day!

Groundhog day is snowed under and the ground hog will be taking some time to dig his way to the surface. However, don't forget another special day in February, National Flag of Canada Day!  February 15th, is a day to consider the history of our country and the flag that represents all of us.  For more information check out, http://www.pch.gc.ca/special/jdn-nfd/index-eng.cfm.  Now everybody wave that good old maple leaf!

In the News - Farewell to Kodachrome

Hello AAO Eastern Ontario Chapter members and those with an inexplicable interest in all things archives.  It is my intention to post from time to time topics of interest from the news that relate to archives and archival records.  One will likely find in my posts a bent towards visual media and technology.  To start things off here is an article concerning the nail in the coffin for Kodachrome film: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/12/30/kodachrome-last-roll.html.

Or is it the end? A few years ago the demise of Polaroid film/photographs was announced but a small group of artists and interested parties got together to save the unique format through The Impossible Project. Here is a link to an article in The Star: http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/709943--polaroid-devotees-bring-back-film. And here is the website for The Impossible Project: http://www.the-impossible-project.com/.

From your friendly neighbourhood archivist geek, John Lund