Custom Woodturning Guaranteed to also Turn Heads at Old-Fashioned Christmas
November 8th, 2013
Claude LeBel has been turning wood for seven years and now his beautiful handcrafted creations are turning heads.
Claude will be among the talented artisans taking part in Goulbourn Museum’s Old-Fashioned Christmas – Art & Craft Sale on December 1st. Through his business, Redefined Wood, he makes and sells wooden pens, pencils, bowls, platters, serving boards, spatulas, bottle stoppers, mini styluses, toaster tongs, honey dippers, candle holders, and more.
An active member of the Valley Woodturners in Ottawa, Claude has also acted as an assistant instructor for the beginner’s woodturing course offered by the club. He has studied under world-renowned woodturners such as Mike Mahoney and Jimmy Clewes. Passionate about his hobby, Claude’s artistic flare adds to the beauty and uniqueness of his creations. Form and function are important elements in his designs because he believes his creations should not only be nice to look at but should be used and enjoyed as well.
Look for Claude in the vendor tent during our Old-Fashioned Christmas on Sunday, December 1st from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and get a head start on your Christmas shopping!
Hope to see you there!
Lest We Forget – Wartime Exhibit at Stittsville Public Library
November 6th, 2013
Throughout the month of November, the Goulbourn Museum will have wartime artefacts on display at the Stittsville branch of the Ottawa Public Library. The exhibit contains items from both the First and Second World Wars such as military hats and a civilian gas mask. Visitors will also be able to read a collection of wartime correspondence written by Pte. Sefton Stewart. Although the young soldier’s letters made it home to his family in Richmond, he did not.
The exhibit will be on display at the Stittsville Library until November 30th.
Oodles of Free Family Activities Planned for Old-Fashioned Christmas – Art & Craft Sale
November 5th, 2013
Save the date! On Sunday, December 1st from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the Goulbourn Museum will be hosting an Old-Fashioned Christmas – Art & Craft Sale.
Get an old-fashioned photo taken with Santa and a head-start on your Christmas shopping at this holiday celebration featuring local artisans, baked goodies, old world entertainment and festive crafts.
There will be oodles of free fun and activities for all ages. Children can write letters to Santa with expert help from The Calligraphy Society of Ottawa, play with old-fashioned games and wooden toys, and watch rope making demonstrations by Tom Stephenson of The Kettle Boys. Each child will even get a handmade skipping rope to take home!
Families can don period costumes, pose for a photo with Santa in our Village Store, and take home a vintage keepsake of the day. There will be free hot chocolate and hot apple cider for everyone, and Pizza All’Antica will be onsite making authentic Neapolitan wood fired mobile pizza.
Our list of handmade vendors features something for everyone including jewelry, woodwork, pottery, Christmas greenery, stained glass art, hand-painted textile, chocolates, baked goodies, natural soaps, hair accessories, and more!
Sure hope you’ll join us!
Seeking Vendors for Museum’s Old-Fashioned Christmas Art & Craft Show
September 10th, 2013
BECOME A VENDOR
Goulbourn Museum is accepting applications to our Old-Fashioned Christmas Art & Craft Sale being held at the Goulbourn Museum, 2064 Huntley Road on Sunday, December 1stfrom 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
In the past we have held an Art & Craft show exclusively. This year we are expanding to include festive Old-Fashioned Christmas fun including a children’s station for writing letters to Santa, old-fashioned photos with Santa, charming old-world entertainment and more.
We are currently seeking talented crafters to fill 14 vendor positions
in a variety of specialties such as clothing & accessories, home décor, Christmas greenery, art, bath & body, toys, textiles and baked goods.
in a variety of specialties such as clothing & accessories, home décor, Christmas greenery, art, bath & body, toys, textiles and baked goods.
Note:This will be an outdoor event in a heated tent. Vendors must dress appropriately.
HERE’S HOW TO APPLY:
Send an email to marketing@goulbournmuseum.ca with:
Your name
Your business name
Contact info (web/blog/facebook/etsy)
A description of your handmade goods
A minimum of 3 quality photographs (Jpeg only, please)
Indication of whether you will need a table (at an additional cost)
Send an email to marketing@goulbournmuseum.ca with:
Your name
Your business name
Contact info (web/blog/facebook/etsy)
A description of your handmade goods
A minimum of 3 quality photographs (Jpeg only, please)
Indication of whether you will need a table (at an additional cost)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This is a juried event. Vendors will be chosen carefully to ensure a balanced representation of each category.
Applications will be accepted by email only.
Only complete applications will be considered.
Acceptance letters will be emailed by October 15, 2013 and will include a contract for you to sign and return with payment.
This is a juried event. Vendors will be chosen carefully to ensure a balanced representation of each category.
Applications will be accepted by email only.
Only complete applications will be considered.
Acceptance letters will be emailed by October 15, 2013 and will include a contract for you to sign and return with payment.
CRAFTER FEES:
Space rental is $40 (approx. 6’ x 3’). Please add $10 table rental fee, if required).
Fees must be paid and contract received no later than October 30, 2013, if accepted.
Please do NOT send payment until you have received notice of acceptance. Please do NOT send payment until you have received notice of acceptance.
From the Depth of our Collection
August 23rd, 2013
Stephanie Miles has spent the past two months working as a Collections Assistant at Goulbourn Museum. Today marks her last day with us. During her time here she has spent hours meticulously going through our collection cataloging and photographing artefacts. This is one of her favourite finds:
By Stephanie Miles
While going through a few artefacts I was surprised to uncover a book on the legendary ocean liner the R.M.S Titanic. The book, The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters: Thrilling Stories of Survivors, was donated to the Goulbourn Museum in 2011 by Donna Foster.
Having been published in the year of the historic event, 1912, it is in surprisingly good condition for its age with the exception of its missing spine and the delicate nature of the pages.
This artefact led to many questions in my mind. Why was the artefact donated here to the Goulbourn Museum? Is it possible that a citizen of the former Goulbourn Township was a survivor or a relative of a passenger on the Titanic? If so then what stories might they be able to share about this ill-fated ship?
The Titanic sank approximately 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. Interestingly, 100 years earlier during the War of 1812, many ships carrying Irish soldiers enroute to Canada also sank off the coast of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland when their vessels hit rough seas.
Child’s Christmas present from 1925 safely stored in Goulbourn Museum’s collection
July 30th, 2013
By Jennifer Adams
This doll was given to a little girl as a Christmas present in 1925. Just over six decades later, in 1991, it was donated to the Goulbourn Museum and has resided in our collection ever since.
Many of you may recognize this doll from our Museum banner at City Hall. It was chosen, along with two other artefacts, to represent our family-friendly site. Even though her paint is peeling and her face is cracked and chipped, this doll’s ability to represent a much loved pastime of many little girls cannot be overlooked.
The mid-1920s in Canada was a time of great prosperity for some, but for others it was a time of poverty. Many families did not have the money to buy their children toys and some children worked so hard in the home and fields that there was not much time for playing. More often than not, if a girl did receive a doll it was on a special occasion like Christmas. Because a child would usually only receive one doll during her childhood, (if they received one at all), she would take extra special care of it. It not only had to last the rest of her childhood but there was also the hope of passing it down to her future daughter too.
This toy, known as a composition doll, reached the height of its popularity in the 1920s -1940s. The heads, and sometimes the limbs, of composition dolls were molded out of sawdust mixed with glue. Their heads were easier to manufacture and less likely to break when played with compared to porcelain dolls. Naturally, these American-made dolls gained popularity and German porcelain doll making companies lost favour.
The decades have taken their toll on this doll but like many women who can recall having a favourite doll, this one would have been loved and cherished by a little girl beginning on Christmas morning, 1925.
Question: At the height of the composition doll’s popularity, what famous person’s look-a-like doll was the most sought after?
Answer: Shirley Temple.
Early to mid-19th century style cloth dolls on display until the end of August
July 23rd, 2013
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| Two of the cloth dolls on display at the Goulbourn Museum. |
By Jennifer Adams
Now on display at Goulbourn Museum until the end of August is a wonderful collection of modern made early to mid-19th century style cloth dolls. These dolls were all handmade by members of the Ottawa-based cloth doll club All Dolled Up.
Each doll takes a lot of work to make, as well as time and patience to get it just right. The fine detailing on the faces requires trial and error until the final product matches the doll maker’s vision for the doll.
This style of cloth doll is reminiscent of the toys that girls would have had in the early days of Goulbourn Township when the War of 1812 was still fresh in everyone’s mind.
Among the 12 dolls on display at the Museum there is also a horse, two dogs and a duck. Sitting atop the horse is General Brock wearing his uniform and looking very dignified. Near him are a boy and young man, wearing pioneer clothing accompanied by their dogs and the firewood they have been collecting. The display case would not be complete without the women that also played a valuable role in our nation’s history. They range from a young girl to older women, some wearing pioneer clothing, others wearing gentry clothing. These dolls are shown knitting, collecting food from the fields and doing laundry.
In addition to the Goulbourn Museum, All Dolled Up has also had their dolls on display at art galleries and local functions.
Meet Jennifer Adams – Curatorial Assistant
June 20th, 2013
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| Jennifer Adams |
I am very pleased to be working at the Goulbourn Museum for the summer as a Curatorial Assistant. As a student in the Applied Museums Studies program at Algonquin College, having an opportunity to combine what I am learning in the classroom with hands on working experience before I graduate is very beneficial.
I previously obtained a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Anthropology from Laurentian University and this has proven to compliment my museum interests well. During my time at university I was able to take part in a six week archaeological field course put on by one of my professors in collaboration with the anthropology department. I, along with 11 other students, our professor and two graduates of the program excavated a 15th century Huron-Wendat site in Southern Ontario. We set up our tents in the field next to the dig site and spent long hours excavating, sifting dirt through mesh screens, cleaning and cataloguing artefacts and writing detailed accounts of our day. We found broken pieces of pottery, animal bones and beads and, of course many rocks. These findings all came from an area in old settlements called “middens” – 15th century garbage dumps. Archaeologists like to dig in middens because of the large number of artefacts they can find there.
After less than a month I am already feeling at home at the Goulbourn Museum. I am eager to see what this summer has to offer and look forward to working with the museum’s staff and volunteers these next few months.
Meet Sarah Norton – Community Programmer & Marketing Assistant
June 20th, 2013
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| Sarah Norton |
This is my first summer working at Goulbourn Museum as a summer student. My job includes a wide variety of tasks and each day I get to challenge myself and learn new skills.
I am entering my fourth year at Trent University in the Anthropology and Cultural Studies programs; I also play volleyball for the Varsity Women’s Volleyball team. After graduating this year I plan to attend Algonquin College and enter the Applied Museum Studies Program.
Goulbourn Museum has been an amazing opportunity and has allowed me to explore the many facets of the operation and maintenance of a museum. Some similar experiences I have had in the past include Boyd Archaeology Field School and acting as a summer student at the Arnprior Museum.
War of 1812 Historical Walking Tour at Beechwood Cemetery Sunday, June 9
June 4th, 2013
Costumed actors will bring historical figures from the War of 1812 to life at the 2013 Annual Historical Walking Tour at Beechwood Cemetery this Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m.
The tour includes five stops at the gravesites of men and women of note from the war including Sgt. Andrew Hill and his wife Maria Hill who were part of the 100th Regiment of Foot. Following the war, Sgt. Hill received 200 acres of land in Goulbourn Township. He and Maria opened a tavern named Duke of Richmond Arms and he also worked as a clerk in the commissary offices that supervised the military depot until 1822.
Don’t miss this stroll through beautiful and historic Beechwood, the National Cemetery of Canada. Refreshments will be served after the tour. Enter by Beechwood Avenue entrance. Tour and parking are free. Wear good walking shoes.
For more information call 613-741-9530 or visit Beechwood’s website for more information.
