|
March 2024
RTHS is 50!
In 1974, Rideau Township was formed by the amalgamation of the townships of North Gower and Marlborough. In the same year the Rideau Township Historical Society held its inaugural meeting on September 18th. The first president of RTHS was Mr. Cameron Minor. He outlined what he felt should be the aims of the Society:
“a program of education in the township heritage with meetings on a frequent and regular basis and in various locations in the township and a programme of research.”
The Society was promoted by the newly formed Heritage Committee of Rideau Township, two prominent members of which were Coral Lindsay and Georgina Tupper. (“Georgie” Tupper was introduced to the January 2024 AGM as a charter member of RTHS.)
The 1974/75 Programme included:
- Dr. Mary Burns “Archeology in Rideau.” October, 1974
- Elizabeth Stewart “Genealogy of the Stevens Family” along with a film titled “Drylanders.” November, 1974
- Barbara Humphreys (charter member of RTHS) described her work of documenting and preserving heritage buildings. January, 1975
- Mr. Eldon Veitch of the Rideau (now Valley) Conservation Authority showed two films on the construction of the Rideau Canal and the work of the Rideau Conservation Authority. February, 1975
- Coral Lindsay and Georgie Tupper talked to the Society about local history and the importance of what local residents have contributed to their community. At the same meeting Owen Cooke talked about the history of the militia in the area. March, 1975
- Bill Dobson, a local antique dealer, brought along articles for the audience to identify. (This perhaps the origin of the “Bring and Brag” programme of today.) April 1975
- Mr. R. Latté and Mr. Robert Haig explained the work of the National Capital Commission Heritage Unit. May, 1975
- Anna Greer took the Society on a tour of Burritts Rapids and afterwards Janet Wright of Parks Canada spoke of Gothic Church architecture in Canada. June 1975
- Louise Freeburn, Fairmile Antique Shop, spoke on the history of lamps. October, 1975
- Bill Seward spoke on his collection of guns which have a connection to the history of Canada. November. 1975
- RTHS Pot Luck Supper and Social. December 1975
50 years later, I believe that we have done well to uphold the original tenets of the Society.
Doug Culham, President
|
|
|
Report on Our February Event
|
|
|
|
An Evening with Rawlson King
Our guest speaker at the 21 February meeting was Rawlson King, Ottawa's first Black City Councillor. He was introduced by Chairman Doug Culham, who outlined the many responsibilities Mr. King has as a member of some six different city committees. Doug pointed out that Mr. King was responsible for the creation of the City's Anti-racism Office and Strategy. Rawlson is a proud Carleton University alumnus and he and his wife established the Rawlson King and Linda Grussani Scholarship for Indigenous, Black and Racialized Students at Carleton in 2022.
|
|
|
Rawlson began his presentation on Black History Month with a summary of its history. Black History Month can trace its origin to 1926 when Carter Goodwin Woodson, a Black historian and author, proposed a Negro History Week as a means to celebrate the culture and achievements of Black Americans. In 1995 Canada recognized this month-long celebration on a national level, thanks mainly to the efforts of the Honourable Jean Augustine, Canada's first Black female Member of Parliament. She had secured unanimous legislative approval designating February as Black History Month throughout Canada. Black History Month has become an opportunity to honour and acknowledge the achievements and contributions of Black Canadians to Canada's history and culture.
In Ottawa, Black History Month honours the legacy of Black people who have made significant contributions to Ottawa's history and society. The celebration ensures that their stories, struggles and triumphs are remembered and passed on. In the words of Jean Augustine, "Black history is not just for Black people-Black history is Canadian history."
Rawlson then went on to talk about local history. The first recorded Black settlers in Bytown were Perry Adams and Henrietta Joyce. Their first child, Francis, was baptized in Notre Dame Cathedral in 1844. Among the first patients in the seven bed hospital, established by Elizabeth Bruyere and the Sisters of Charity, was Pierre Etienne, a young Black man who had been injured in one of the valley lumber camps. He was among the many Black workmen who had contributed to the development of Bytown which became Ottawa. Rawlson continued with a brief history of slavery in Canada. Slaves were brought north with the United Empire Loyalists. Research has revealed that there were some 600 in Upper Canada. He then told the story of John Baker. John was born into slavery in Quebec in the 1780s, and was owned by Major John Gray for whom he worked as servant and farm hand. When Major Gray died, John Baker and his family were freed. John then joined the British army and fought both in the War of 1812 in North America and at Waterloo in 1815. Rawlson pointed out in his address that slavery was part of our early history and that ongoing research is bringing more light into that part of the multi-cultural aspect of Canada's early history.
|
|
|
|
RTHS members & guests appreciating Councillor Rawlson King's presentation at Manotick United Church.
|
|
|
As an illustration of contemporary contributions from Black people, Rawlson told us about the late John G. Dennison, a Black immigrant from Guyana. Educated at Queen's College in Guyana, Laurentian and Carleton Universities in Canada, John served the government of Canada for some 25 years, in many departments, notably Citizenship and Immigration and Canadian Heritage. His unceasing dedication to fostering multiculturalism and community engagement was a hall-mark of his career.
|
|
|
In 2012 Rawlson was the first Black person appointed as a Citizenship Judge in Ottawa. Rawlson was also pivotal in the founding of the Cathedral Arts Program at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, and active in municipal public life, serving on the Ottawa Public library Board. In recognition of his lifelong dedication, the Black community has established an award in his name to honour people who contribute both to their community and to deepening arts and culture within Ottawa.
|
|
|
|
Among his many responsibilities, Rawlson is Council Liaison for Anti-Racism and Ethnocultural Relations. He spoke about the reaction in the community, Black, racialized and white, to his election as the first Black councillor in the history of Ottawa in 2018. He then told about a low point when a resident in his ward had a racial slur spray-painted on the garage door. While Rawlson stood with neighbours in the driveway, community members asked if he would be willing to lead the establishment of an Anti-Racism Secretariat. He initiated a discussion process, leading to the formation of an Anti-Racism Strategy covering all the various groups, Black, Asian, Indigenous, Hispanic, religious groups etc. The aim of this strategy is to enable substantive action to address the multiple barriers that groups face. The strategy will pro-actively remove all barriers from city policies, services and programs to help realize racial equity. He believes that this strategy is so very important because it resulted from the city government listening to the community and taking action.
In the Q&A following his presentation, Rawlson was asked about the place of Black History Month in relation to celebrations for other communities, such as Italian, Jewish, etc. Rawlson answered that there were ample opportunities for all such groups to celebrate their culture, and that the Strategy was there to enable this to happen. Another question concerned why he had opted for public service. He replied that he was always interested in serving, probably due to a strong family influence.
|
|
|
|
Bill Tupper thanked Rawlson King for a very interesting and thought-provoking presentation, and presented him with an Honorary Membership in RTHS.
|
|
|
"Rideau Recipes" features a recipe from the various cookbooks published by community organizations in Rideau Township in years past.
If you have a long-standing family recipe you would like to submit for consideration, please call 692-4036.
Happy Cooking!
CJ Rooney - RTHS
|
|
|
This month's recipe was found on a loose page by itself, rather than in a particular cookbook. However, according to the Campbell's Soup website, it is believed that a recipe for Tomato Soup Cake first appeared in an undated cookbook dated to the 1920s or 30s. In 1940 Campbell's Soups published a recipe for "Steamed Fruit & Nut Pudding", the "secret" ingredient in which was -- wait for it -- Campbell's Condensed Tomato soup.
It appears the recipe, in various forms, reached the height of its popularity in the 1950s, 60s & 70s (the Campbell's recipe book cover below is from the 1950s). Apparently Campbell's still gets frequent requests for some version of Tomato Soup Cake.
To read more about the history of this popular recipe, visit: https://quaintcooking.com/2020/07/21/history-of-tomato-soup-cake/ or https://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/newsroom/news/a-spicy-history-of-campbells-tomato-soup-spice-cake/
|
|
|
TOMATO SOUP CAKE
Courtesy of Mrs. Roberta Hobbs
1 egg
4 Tbsp. butter
1 cup sugar
1 can tomato soup
1/8 Tsp salt
1½ cups flour
1 cup raisins (optional)
2 Tsp. baking soda
1 Tsp. cinnamon
Cream butter & blend sugar. Beat in egg. Sift flour, soda & spices. Add to creamed mixture.
Bake 325F until browned & center is firm. Can be baked in pan of choice (loaf, bundt, square)
|
|
|
|
North Gower In The Fifties
Author Unknown
I am tired of this electronic age
where everything is done on line.
Before computers, cellphones and robots
we were doing fine.
There was a time when life was slower,
like in the fifties, in old North Gower.
Back then, if a farmer had a lot to plow
and winter was near,
he'd hire the man who wore railroad cap and gloves
named Howard Greer.
A farmer in need of plow points, draw pins
or a muffler for a Massey forty four
would go to Charley Craig
who had all that and more.
When a man's basement window broke
and the cold air was coming through,
Gerry Perkins replaced the glass,
made it look like new.
A lady wanted to go to the plowmen's banquet,
her hair was a mess.
Grace Wallace's beauty shop took care of that
and turned out a princess.
On a spooky eve, a poor man's lamp ran out of kerosene.
He went to Leach's store
bought some more,
The lamp was on that Halloween.
If on a winter day
a furnace stopped producing heat,
the owner called H. O. Wright,
who's service would not be beat.
If your snowplow broke
because some bolts were getting loose,
Harold Wright would weld it while in his shop,
you caught up on the news.
Come spring, a farmer wanted the seed cleaned for planting season,
He'd load it in his truck and take it to Meb Simpson.
If you did not know the seeding rate
for buckwheat on clay ground,
Wilbert Beggs could tell you that
to the nearest pound.
For groceries, feed or fence wire
Ed Cummings had everything you required.
And when another soul left this world to be with his or her maker,
for the rest to look its best, Ed was the undertaker.
For nails, screws or any kind of lumber,
the calendar on the wall had H. L.'s number.
When at school the pump quit,
the toilets you could not flush,
they called Bill Hicks, who had it fixed
before the morning rush.
A man needed work done on his house
but was too old to climb a ladder.
He got it professionally done
by hiring Percy Sadler.
If a line fence was in disrepair,
one neighbour didn't care,
not his problem,
Bert Bell would come out,
see what it's about,
and he would tell him!!
If on a summer day
a farmer was making hay
until the sweat turned to steam.
He could end the day at the Bide a Wee
where Bill Ashwood sold ice cream.
When the oats were ripe
and you wanted to harvest before the crop lodges
For a man with tractor and combine
you called Pete Hodges
I could name more people deserving of their due,
But my cell phone rang
and my mind returned to two thousand twenty two
Author unknown; copies permitted
Thanks to Bill Tupper for submitting this item.
|
|
RTHS Website
Be sure to stop by the RTHS website to keep up-to-date on RTHS activities and browse new content.
February's feature article is entitled, "Rideau's 'Corners' Communities"
RTHS Facebook Page
The RTHS Facebook page continues to add new posts daily (Monday to Friday). A sampling of posts in February include:
- Annual North Gower United Church Concert - 1975
- The Presence of the Past in Rideau Township:
- 6705 Rideau Valley Drive South (Kars)
- 2320 Roger Stevens Drive, North Gower (Masonic Temple)
- 6711 Lord Nelson St., Kars
- The Absence of the Past in Rideau Township
- 5670 Manotick Main St. (Boucher Farm)
- South Carleton girls win Junior AND Senior basketball championships (1962)
- Prominent Canadian artist W.H. Sadd - Manotick resident
- Restoration and rededication of M.K. Dickinson monument in Beechwood cemetery (2012)
- S.S.#2 (Watterson's Corners) square dance group (1959)
- Manotick fire of 1899
- Profile of St. Clare's Roman Catholic church - Dwyer Hill
- Reeve Craig news and wide tire bylaw (1897)
- Burritts Rapids Women's Institute and the arrival of light
- Student awards at North Gower and Manotick public schools
- Profile of St. Paul's church, Beckett's Landing
- North Gower Continuation School, grades 11 & 12, 1949-50
- Masquerade skating party in Manotick - 1880
|
|
|
The Rideau Township Historical Society always welcomes new members, as individuals or families. Monthly meetings and newsletters (September to June) are just the beginning of how members can participate in the activities of the Society. Opportunities are available to engage with like-minded people in all aspects of the pursuit of our purpose, which is to preserve and promote the history of the former Rideau Township. Whether your interests tend toward research, writing, communications, event planning, technology, artistic expression, historical interpretation or simply lending a hand, they can find expression with RTHS.
Click on the link below to view and download the RTHS Membership form on the RTHS website.
|
|
Our mailing address is:
PO Box 56, North Gower, Ont. K0A 2T0
|
|
|
The RTHS gratefully acknowledges the financial support received from the City of Ottawa.
|
|
|
|
