U of L oral history workshops expand to Milk River

caroline.zentner — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 21:13:21 +0000

The Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is taking its oral history workshops farther afield thanks to the efforts of alumnus Dale Leffingwell (BASc ’71).

As president of the Milk River Historical Society, Leffingwell partnered with the U of L to bring an oral history workshop to the community on Saturday, Oct. 5. The workshop will focus on the basics of doing an oral history project, including interviewing and transcription.

“I attended an oral history session at the U of L a couple of years ago and I was fascinated because it seemed like a way to fill in the pieces of history in our area,” says Leffingwell. “Much of our history is just not written down. Oral history fills in the gaps and gives us a truer picture of what happened.”

Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta, Leffingwell approached Dr. Carol Williams, director of COHT and U of L professor, and plans for the workshop proceeded. Speakers lined up for the event include Williams; Dr. Carly Adams, a U of L professor and principal researcher with the Nikkei Memory Capture Project; Aimee Benoit, Galt Museum curator; Kimberley Lyall, motivational speaker and consultant; and Diane McKenzie, a U of L graduate student. Madison Allen, a history graduate student, is serving as workshop assistant.

“Dale is one of the most energetic and enthusiastic community historians I’ve ever met,” says Williams. “We are pleased to be running this workshop to train Milk River residents, both young and old, and U of L students who are involved with COHT about oral history methods.”

“What I’m excited about is that the U of L has engaged so many students,” says Leffingwell. “It’s so important to get young people engaged in our history. There are so many stories that can be saved through oral history interviews.”

The Milk River Historical Society has been a going concern since it was formed in 2016 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Milk River with a mini-museum. The society succeeded in getting a small but permanent location. This summer, they secured a 334 square-metre (3,600 square-foot) building for their museum collection.

Society members are also working on preserving an 1889 Northwest Mounted Police barracks that once sat on the Milk River Ridge observing the Fort Benton-Whoop-Up Trail.

“It was built with square nails,” says Leffingwell. “When completed, it will be a tribute to first responders, including the 1st Special Service Force, which became known as the Devils Brigade.”

The Devils Brigade was a joint Canadian-American Second World War commando unit. Members were extensively trained in stealth tactics and became the model for units like the Green Berets, Delta Force, Navy SEALs and JTF2. Highway 4 between Lethbridge and Helena, Montana, was renamed the First Special Service Force Memorial Highway in 1999 to mark the route Canadian volunteers took to join American volunteers for training in Fort Harrison, Montana.

Student research on exhibit at the Galt Museum

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 May 2015 17:06:44 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge undergraduate student research will be front and centre at the Galt Museum & Archives this summer.

Five students from Dr. Carol Williams' History 2800 - Women's History class will have exhibits at the museum from May 16 to Sept. 27.

"U of L students studying in the departments of History and Women & Gender Studies have access to many research and professional opportunities at the undergraduate level," says Williams. "The GALT exhibition partnership, developed in 2012 by myself, Wendy Aitkens, and other professional staff at the Galt Museum & Archives, is a premier example of this."

Five students from Dr. Carol Williams' History 2800 - Women's History class will have exhibits at the museum from May 16 to Sept. 27.

In essence, as part of the students' assignment for their course, students develop proposals for a public history display of their original research for the museum. Five finalists are selected by jury for the exhibit, affording an important professional development opportunity for undergraduate students.

"Each year the results are spectacular, and this year is no exception," says Williams.

The exhibition, Whither Girls and Women? Research by Undergraduate Historians, features original research produced by students Amanda High, Amanda Krawchuk, Diane McKenzie, Evan Woolner and Amanda Wolf. Students produced original research on any topic of women or girls’ history using primary sources, visuals and material objects retrieved from the Galt or other regional archives or private collections. Like all researchers tasked with the creation of original knowledge, students first reviewed how prior scholars had considered like-minded topics. Yet, the individual exhibits are diverse. Research skills learned in history courses serve students well no matter what career they pursue in the post university job market.

Following is a brief description of each exhibit:

It's Your Duty! - Recruitment propaganda in the Canadian Women's Army Corps in the Second World War - Amanda High

RIOT & DEBAUCHERY - Community opposition to Lethbridge’s Red Light District, 1880-1920 - Amanda Krawchuk

Strands of History - Women and commemorative hairwork 1865 - 1965 - Diane McKenzie

I Wouldn’t Marry Him...If He Didn't Have Running Water - Women’s roles on the family farm in Alberta - Amanda Wolf

Surviving A Plague - Experiences of southern Alberta nurses during the 1918 Influenza Epidemic - Evan Woolner

UNews - Diane McKenzie

U of L oral history workshops expand to Milk River

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Student research on exhibit at the Galt Museum

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