The Hamilton Memory Project

Show & Tell night at The Spec

This Thursday is shaping up to be a fabulous evening at The Hamilton Memory Project "Show & Tell" Open Forum. The idea is for people to search their attics and bring in interesting collectibles and memorabilia items from Hamilton's past that our experts can assess and maybe value. If you have something you would like to bring in please call 905-526-3313. If you just would like to come to watch or ask questions, you need to reserve a spot by calling 905-526-3535.
Margaret Houghton from the Hamilton Public Library is bringing in a sample of weird and wonderful items from the backrooms of Special Collections. The Spectator has a magnificent collection of Frank Panabaker paintings about Hamilton which will be on display.
And the star of the night will be the Westdale graduation ring that belonged RCAF airman Cyril Ridgers, who died in a Lancaster crash in Feb., 1944. The ring was reunited with his family in an emotional ceremony in Germany last week.
Think of it as a Hamilton Antique Roadshow, but we aren't going on the road with it.

Mark

Details:
Thursday March 30 7 pm to 8.30 pm
Hamilton Memory Project Show & Tell Open Forum
The Hamilton Spectator Auditorium
44 Frid Street
Hamilton
Reservation line 905-526-3535
The Open Forum will be live on Cable 14

Questions about sketches

A reader, Stella Dyack, sent in these digital pictures of sketches that she owns. They were passed on to her but she doesn't know very much about them.

She was wondering if anyone had any idea about where the sketches came from. She believes they are of Hamilton. The one looks like it is the Desjardins Canal. And the other looks like it could be Gore Park. But the Cify Hall building in the background doesn't make sense. Maybe it is some other city. Does anyone have any idea?

Mark

More postcards

In today's story "Postcards from the Edge, searching for the spirit of Hamilton" I mention Janet Forjan-Freedman's fascinating collection of Hamilton postcards. She has more than 1,500 of them and she has posted the cards on a website.It's
an impressive site to go through.
But there is also at least one other Hamilton postcard site called Postcards of Hamilton. Janet tells me postcard collecting has becoming increasingly popular and prices are going up because of Ebay and various antique postcard shows that are sometimes held.
As well as the pictures being interesting, often the written message is worth noting as well. I received a call from a woman today who had a 1915 postcard of the Macassa steamship that was a family keepsake because it was written by an ancestor.

Mark

A link to Hamilton history

As a footnote to the story about 1946 that ran on Tuesday, I see  there is a link through the Museum of Civilization to the Spectator's special  Hamilton Centennial edition which we ran 60 years ago. Find it here , about midway down the page. (The link on the page is to a 2 MG .pdf document)

The Museum's site also features a digitized collection of the Spectator's spectacular collection of wartime news coverage

Here's their description of that collection:

During the Second World War, the staff of the century-old Hamilton Spectator newspaper kept its own monumental record of the war. This collection of more than 144,000 newspaper articles, manually clipped, stamped with the date, and arranged by subject, includes news stories and editorials from newspapers, mostly Canadian, documenting every aspect of the war.

Worth a look.

Mark

Who's the man behind the murderess?

The Evans family in Hamilton took a special interest in the story package in today's Spectator about 1946. Not so much about the article, but about a photograph on the front page.
The family believes the  man smoking a cigarette behind Evelyn Dick is Ramsey Evans, who was a junior lawyer with J.J. Robinette. Marcia Evans, daughter-in-law to Ramsey,  phoned today wondering if we could verify the man's identity. But unfortunately our records don't say. Maybe there is someone out there who knows.
Also, on the subject of pictures, I was reminded about the fascinating career of Spectator photographer Joe Ballantine, The Spec's "first full-time shooter" who was hired in 1935 and stayed at the paper for 42 years.
Back in the big fedora and exploding flash days, he twice landed exclusive pictures of Evelyn Dick. I'll let my colleague Wade Hemsworth tell the story from his well-written obituary of Ballantine in 1999.

"The first time he tried to take her picture, during her murder trial, the cops told him to stop. When
he didn't, they arrested him and confiscated his camera with the film still inside. It was one of the few battles they would win. Usually Joe had time to hide the film.
Later, during the same 1946 trial, he and a Toronto Telegram photographer cooked up a diversion to put the entire Toronto Star team of seven shooters on the wrong trail. The Tely man handed Ballantine his camera gear and went into the courtroom. A short time later, he came bursting out, grabbed the gear and took off in a car. All seven Star photographers followed. The Tely man led them out to Stoney Creek and back, leaving Ballantine exclusive access to Hamilton's most notorious killer as she left court.
Later, Ballantine and the Tely man split the pictures."

Mark

Photographs of memories

This year is the 60th anniversary of the 1946 Stelco strike. And I've been going through old files and picture collections to put together a bit of a story. I was   surprised by how few Stelco strike photos there are. The Spec library only has about a half dozen. And Special Collections at the libary has about the same.
To help make up for the shortfall, it would be nice to bring to light amateur photos that were taken at the time. I wonder, too,  whether anyone snapped a picture of Pete Seeger when he came out to show his support on the line  in 1946.

Mark

Skyway crane crash

Sarah Pegg sent in some interesting pictures of the Skyway Bridge being built, including one memorable day (opening day, perhaps?) when a horse and buggy — complete with a driver in top hat and tails — showed at the Skyway's toll booth. Her grandfather worked on the project and took photos at various points. Other photos record the day in 1958 when a giant construction crane toppled, crushing several cars. Check out our Scrapbook (over there on the left) for more of her photos.

Does anyone have any memories of that accident - or the Skyway construction itself? Mark

Lister Block fire anniversary

Feb. 23 -- On this day, in 1923, Hamilton experienced one of its most spectacular fires.  The original Lister Block  — a five storey stone building constructed in 1886 —  was notable at the time because it was one of the first buildings in the city to have an elevator.
According to a web page from Special Collections at the Hamilton Public Library:

"At 2:36 a.m., police Constable Ross Wright, noticed the flames while patrolling the area on foot. The building had long been regarded as dangerously flammable. Despite the exterior being made of quarried limestone, the building went up in a flash because the interior walls and floor were wooden. The old fashioned design allowed the fire to spread rapidly across the building via the long corridors which were not equipped with fire walls."
Amazingly, the building was reconstructed by the end 1923, less than a year after the fire. This replacement building is the current version of the Lister Block that sits in such a disgraceful state in downtown today. (It has just been listed on thein Canada by the Heritage Canada Foundation)
Also interesting, that on the anniversary of this event,  that there is a story in The Spectator today about how the Lister Block  has been listed on Canada's top ten list of endangered heritage sites .
According to the story by Meredith Macleod:
"The crumbling monolith at King William and James streets was included in the Heritage Canada Foundation's list of forgotten or threatened buildings in its report card on the state of heritage conservation in the country for 2005. The report card also includes a list of the worst heritage losses of the past year."
The Lister Block is currently slated to be demolished to make way for a new office building that will incorporate a facsimilie of the old facade in its design.
Any stories or recollections about the LIster Block? Anyone remember the fire?
Mark

 

Thanks for the responses

Yesterday’s article in the paper about Hamilton memorabilia prompted a deluge of responses from readers. Thanks to everyone who is taking an interest in the memory project. It will take me a while to sort through the material but at first glance I can see that we will have no trouble whatsoever telling the story of Hamilton through the eyes of Spectator readers. This is a city that dearly loves its history and people thoroughly enjoy talking about it.
This morning I was interviewed on CHAM radio about the project, and Jason Farr says he will be checking back over the next several weeks to see how things are going. Did anyone hear it at 6.45 and 8.45 this morning (Feb. 22)?
As for the comments received on this blog. . .
Wm Gower was trying to find information about a James Street orphanage. I know that orphanage records are often sourced by genealogists for family history information. I would check with Special Collections, the Hamilton Public Library. They will point you in the right direction.
Gary Zoskey told me about a life story he is writing and asked whether he should send it. The answer is: of course. We’re not saying no to anything (well almost anything. And please don't send original items, or one of a kind items. Take a photo of it, instead)
Jim Boyd asked about restaurants during the 60s and 70s. I didn’t live in Hamilton then. But perhaps others might know.
June Segato has a CPR receipt book. I’m asking people to send digital or regular photos of memorabilia they have. And the interesting items will be posted. She might also want to consider bringing it to our Show us Your Stuff Hamilton night on March 30, which will be like the Antiques Roadshow on PBS, only focused entirely on Hamilton collectibles and memorabilia.
Stanley Clewlow’s response is exactly the kind of thing I am looking for. It would be nice if he fleshed it out a bit, up to 500 words. I will e-mail him directly.
And also thanks to Linda Arnold. I remember the Eaton’s elevators myself. It was a sad day when they did away with the white gloves. It was really the beginning of the end for Eatons. I will e-mail Linda directly.

Mark

The Past is Here

Welcome to The Hamilton Memory Project Blog, a discussion forum about local history and nostalgia to commemorate the city and The Spectator's 160th birthday this year.
My name is Mark McNeil and I'm co-ordinator of the Hamilton Memory Project, a multi-media, interactive look at the city's past, which will culminate in the publication of a special section of the newspaper on June 10.
Blogging is new for me, so I hope you'll be forgiving as I plunge in and try and see how things work. I'll offer you the first look at much of our work — and give you an insider's view of the project. I hope - with your help - to make this blog a meeting place to swap stories and pictures and reminisce about Hamilton's fascinating history.   
Some of the contributions will be developed into content for the Memory Project homepage (thespec.com/memory) and also used in the special Memory Project edition of the Spectator later this year.
Stay tuned. Check in each day. Content will updated regularly.
Mark