2019-2020 Meetings & Events

Family Heirlooms - To Treasure or Trash and How Qualified Appraisers Can Help

7pm - 9pm - St. Andrews Parish Hall, 7 St Andrews Ave, Grimsby

Join us for the annual Pie Social and speaker Kelly Juhasz, principal of Fine Art & Appraisal Services, Toronto - an art advisory and appraisal consultancy offering a range of services and fine art needs. At the end of the presentation, you will: understand the current market trends for art, antiques and collectibles and how they affect value, champion the collection of family history and stories and importance of provenance, learn when and how to decide what to keep and what to give away and recognize how a qualified ISA appraiser can save you time, money and peace of mind. Check out the GHS website landing page for more details of the meeting!

Grimsby Doors Open - 10am-4pm

Carnegie Building 25 Adelaide Street, Grimsby, Ontario

Join the GHS volunteers at the Carnegie Building during Doors Open to explore and learn more about the Carnegie Building and the history of Communication in Grimsby. Lot's more to see and explore too! The theme this year is Communication and volunteers are busy researching and preparing displays on early communication like historical letters, maps and diaries, the history of the postal service in Grimsby, the evolution of the telephone in Grimsby, history of newspapers in Grimsby and how technology brings history to life!

St. Catharines Public Library Genealogy Fair

54 Church Street, St. Catharines, Ontario

Join the GHS Archive volunteers as they host a booth at the first St. Catharines Public Library Genealogy Fair. More information coming soon!

"Hamilton Proud 150" project - History of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

7:30pm-9:00pm - Grimsby Town Hall Chambers - 160 Livingston Ave., Grimsby

Larry Robertson, lead on the "Hamilton Proud 150" project with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats organization, will be sharing details on the 150-year history of football in Hamilton and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Larry will share details of uncovering the location of the meeting to found the Hamilton Foot Ball Club, the formation of the Tiger-Cats and learning about the people who have kept this team alive and progressing. We may be lucky enough to have some alumni and current players drop in for a visit too!

Trevor Cole - The Whiskey King

7:30pm-9pm - Grimsby Town Hall Chambers - 160 Livingston Ave., Grimsby

Trevor Cole is the award-winning author of four novels including Norman Bray in the Performance of His Life and The Fearsome Particles, both short-listed for the Governor General's Literary Award, and Practical Jean, winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. Trevor's latest book, published by HarperCollins Canada, is The Whiskey King, an epic nonfiction historical narrative nominated for the Speakers Book Award and the Heritage Toronto Award and winner of the 2018 Arthur Ellis Award for Canada's best nonfiction crime book. Trevor will take the audience back to the days of Prohibition to present the life and times of Rocco Perri, Canada's most infamous bootlegger and his wife and partner in crime, Bessie Starkman.

Evening at Nelles Manor - Member's Only

Time TBC - Nelles Manor - 126 Main Street West, Grimsby

Grimsby Historical Society member's are invited to join us December 11 at Nelles Manor for an evening of holiday spirit. More details coming soon.

History of Hamilton with Mark McNeil, Award-winning reporter and writer, Hamilton Spectator

7:30-9:00pm - Grimsby Town Hall Chambers - 160 Livingston Ave., Grimsby

Mark McNeil is an award-winning reporter and feature writer who specializes in stories about local history, Hamilton's steel sector, environmental issues and McMaster University. Mark is also a celebrated singer-songwriter who frequently performs in the area doing shows that feature his songs about characters and events from Hamilton history. Mark will perform a special version of his popular Hamilton Fringe Festival show Hamilton for Beginners. In words, song and photos, Mark will take the audience on a tour of the colourful, quirky history of the "biggest small town on the planet". As an added bonus, Mark will do a short presentation about the history of The Spectator, the oldest operating business in the city.

Annual Pot Luck Dinner featuring Megan Bidwell Tregunno

6:30pm - 9:00pm - Location TBC

Join Megan (Bidwell) Tregunno, Norma Bidwell's granddaughter, for a heartfelt discussion on the power of connecting, communities and recipe sharing. Megan grew up hearing fond memories about Stoveline readers, loved rolling up her sleeves in the kitchen with Norma, and eventually teaching her the 21st century tools such as email, as Norma wrapped up her final column years. Megan will bring a collection of Norma's tools from the kitchen, articles and special pieces from her years with The Hamilton Spectator. Please bring your own stories and copies of favourite recipes to share with others.

Tools to Protect and Enhance our Natural Heritage with Liz Benneian from Ontariogreen

7:30pm-9:00pm - Grimsby Town Hall Chambers - 160 Livingston Ave., Grimsby

Liz Benneian is a former journalist and newspaper editor, with a degree in Science, who has been leading environment advocacy and educational organizations since 2004. Currently, Liz is the Executive Director and Manager of Environmental Education for Ontariogreen, a charity that has provided free, curriculum-based environmental science presentations for more than 66,000 students in Ontario. Liz will share what we can do to protect and preserve our environmental heritage. We will learn about the natural species of trees that support our biosphere and how to create an environment that promotes health.

Tradition Home Historic Homes and Cottages to Go with Mel Shakespeare

7:30-9:00pm - Grimsby Town Hall Chambers - 160 Livingston Ave., Grimsby

Since 1969 Mel Shakespeare has been designing award-winning homes in the tradition of the early 19th century Ontario. Mel understands the sensitivity and respect our forefathers had for the materials at hand and their careful management in creating pleasing spaces. Mel and his team create beautifully restored early log homes from salvaged, vintage log buildings for their clients across North America. Mel will share his experience relative to some of the vintage homes his team has built over the past 30 years.

Natasha Henry - President, Ontario Black History Society

7:30pm-9:00pm - Grimsby Town Hall Chambers, 160 Livingston Ave, Grimsby

Natasha Henry is an educator, historian and curriculum consultant specializing in the development of learning materials that focus on the African diasporic experience. She is the author of Firsts (2014), which was awarded the Gold Medal Moonbeam Children's Book Award for Multicultural Non-Fiction as part of the Sankofa Black Heritage Collection. Natasha has also developed the education resources for several exhibits and web-based project on the Black experience in Canada, including the CBC miniseries, The Book of Negroes.