cktimes.ca Archives for Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Local publications make great Christmas gifts
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
I am not sure where the time has gone (I wonder if people in every time period felt this way?), but the calendar says that it is December and that dreaded task of coming up with ideas for Christmas is, once again, upon us. Although it is, for most of us, a rather daunting and tedious task, we may be able to offer some assistance.In the last few years, our area has been blessed with a number of local authors publishing some very good material that would make, for almost everyone on your list, a great Christmas gift or at least a terrific "stocking stuffer"! From our experience, there are very few people who do not enjoy a book on some aspect of local history and, in Chatham-Kent, we have a plethora of choices!
Bryan Prince and his wife Shannon (Curator of the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum) are, as it has been mentioned several times in this column, superb, dedicated and extremely creative historians. They have done some really marvelous things over the last few years with regards to the development and, promotion of black history and this past spring Bryan published his first book for young adults entitled I CAME AS A STRANGER: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. This well-written creation (Tundra Press, Spring 2004) would make a perfect Christmas gift for any young adult. Copies can be obtained by phoning the Buxton Museum at 352-4799.
Al Mann and Wallaceburg's history are, in most people's mind, synonymous. The Mann name has a special relationship with this area's history and Al, like his father, is an extremely hard-working, knowledgeable and prolific writer of history who consistently turns out fascinating insights into the history of the Wallaceburg area. His latest effort is one that I spent an entire afternoon transfixed by and I know you will as well. It is published by VanWell Press and is part of its popular LOOKING BACK series. Its title is ST. CLAIR RIVER – CANADIAN SHORELINE and it contains page after page of wonderful pictures and concise descriptions of the people, ships, islands and events that have transpired along this river over the last sixty years. Containing pictures from a variety of wonderful sources (including the incomparable Louis Pesha) this book is a must for anyone who has had even a passing relationship with the St. Clair River. To get your copy, give Al Mann a call at 627-3296 or look for it in the local Coles Bookstore.
If your interest in local history tends to be of the bizarre or supernatural kind then you absolutely must have a book just recently (November 2004) self-published by well-known, retired librarian and local historian Sheila Gibbs. Her book entitled GHOSTS OF CHATHAM-KENT has been selling like the proverbial "hot cakes" and the easy conversational style of her concise, compelling and vivid descriptions give even hard-core skeptics reason to pause and consider the fact that, just possibly, ìwe are not aloneî. Available at several gift stores around Chatham-Kent, it can also be obtained by phoning Sheila at 351-2958. A word of warning ñ donít put off buying this book as there are only a limited number printed and this eerie book is on a lot of peopleís Christmas lists!
Well-known journalists and historians Jeffrey and Marie Carter have completed (with the help of the Ontario Trillium Foundation) their well-researched, detailed and valuable book on Dresden's history. Their work, entitled STEPPING BACK IN TIME – ALONG THE TRILLIUM TRAIL IN DRESDEN, is full of fascinating facts, anecdotes, pictures and insights and we plan on using information from this book for future articles on the Dresden area in 2005. It is available at C.J. James Bookstore in Ridgetown and if you phone the Dresden Branch of the Chatham-Kent Library (683-4922) I am sure that they can provide other stores that sell it as well. This book is interesting for anyone whether you know anything about Dresden or not as it is local history at its best.
Our books entitled THERE WAS A TIME (Chamberlain Mercury, 1998) and IMAGES OF CANADA – CHATHAM (Arcadia Press, 2002) are still available, in limited quantities, by phoning us at 351-2058 as are the poetry of noted local writer Patricia Weaver Blonde (available at Sumpthin Dífrnt Boutique).
THE OLD HOME TOWN FOREVER (Dominion Press, 1975) by Ridgetown historians Betty Watson and J.K. Button is still available at C.J. James Bookstore in Ridgetown as is the book on Duart (enthusiastically reviewed in this column a few years ago) entitled DUART - IT'S ABOUT TIME
We are sure we have inadvertently missed many other local authors and their newest publications but we have attempted to provide you with at least a starting point for your Christmas shopping trials and tribulations. Share your community with others through the written word. They will be gifts that your loved ones will treasure forever and ones that no one will even think of wanting to return on December 26th.
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
