Winter 2021 Virtual Events

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In cooperation with Calgary Public Library, Chinook Country is going virtual for our fall programming.  

While we could not celebrate in person, Historic Calgary week went virtual for 2020.  Doug Coats attracted huge audiences with his audience favourites of Calgary’s Oldest Twenty Houses and also Calgary Welcomes the Car.  And Shaun Hunter presented the same talk that she had planned to give in Central United Church – Scribblers and Scribblers. It too was an audience favourite.   Shaun is also the historian in residence for Calgary Public Library so this worked out perfectly.  The library also provided speakers to do virtual presentations.   Consequently, our goal is to provide a presentation roughly every two weeks for the next little while.

Register for these programs on the Calgary Public Library site. Some of the links are listed below. The best way to find others is to go to the following URL and search for "Chinook Country Historical Society":

https://calgarylibrary.ca/events-and-programs/programs/

If you don’t live in Calgary, you do not qualify for a Calgary library card and you cannot register for these events without a library card. As a CCHS member, if you wish to participate in these events, please email us at info@chinookhistory.ca and we can send you the appropriate link.

August 13 | 6:30 pm

Join Shari Peyerl as she travels through time and across the land that is now Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. Learn how Indigenous peoples moved their goods without wheeled vehicles, how Glenbow residents contributed to our aviation history and to the first Apollo space mission, and more. In partnership with the Calgary Public Library

August 27 | 6:30 pm

From 1959 to 1963 there was a small disarmament movement in Canada. Opposition to the notion of nuclear weapons in Canada was politically challenging in Calgary. Nevertheless, many Cold War Calgarians spoke out against nuclear arms. Led by Dr. Nicole Marion-Patola, Know History. In partnership with the Calgary Public Library.
Register on the Calgary Public Library site, calgarylibrary.ca.

September 10 | 6:30 pm

Learn about the wide variety of knowledge found in Blackfoot Territory before contact. From large trade centres, successful brain surgery, and weapon making, to plant medicine, women warriors, and more. Led by Dr. Linda Many Guns, Professor, University of Lethbridge Indigenous Studies. In partnership with the Calgary Public Library.

September 24 | 6:30 pm

Join Storyteller, artist and author Karen Gummo who will share Mogensen family stories to celebrate the life of her father, Hugh Mogensen, born at Calgary's General Hospital in 1930. Enjoy a glimpse of early "East Calgary" , a trying time mixed with surprise and delight. In partnership with the Chinook Country Historical Society. Register on the Calgary Public Library website, calgarylibrary.ca .

October 8 | 6:30 pm

From Mounties playing rugby in front of the Deane House to R. B. Bennett performing a ceremonial kick off at Mewata Stadium during the Depression, the team we love had a parallel history with Calgary.  Shelly McElroy presents a fan’s perspective of the Stampeders.  No green allowed!

October 22 | 6:30 pm

Join Historian in Residence Shaun Hunter to find out about her project to map Calgary’s literary landmarks. Shaun will share her motivation behind the project, and a few of the treasures she’s found in the city’s storied landscape. In partnership with the Calgary Public Library.

November 5 | 6:30-8:00 pm

Join Aldona Jaworska as she discusses her book Polish War Veterans in Alberta: The Last Four Stories. These compelling post-WWII stories of resettlement in Alberta is social history brought to life through intimate first-hand accounts of a unique moment in our past. In partnership with the Calgary Public Library.

Sunday, Nov. 22 | 1:00-2:30 pm

Join English author Robert Nurden as he explores the life and times of his grandfather Stanley James who as a young man spent an eventful time the Canadian west before returning to England. James later became a prolific author who counted G.K. Chesterton and Bertrand Russell among others as friends.

Thursday, Dec. 3 | 6:30-8 pm

Join author, photographer, and Albertan Leah Hennel as she shares insights from her new book Along the Western Front. Explore this stunning debut collection of photography which represents a fresh perspective on contemporary cowboy culture and the modern ranching lifestyle throughout central and southern Alberta.

February 4 | 6:30 pm

One day, over a century ago, a young Englishman named John Burgon Bickersteth was walking through the backwoods of Alberta when he made a startling discovery. A hundred years before that, his great grandfather, Edward Bickersteth, walked through an entirely different hinterland and made a very similar discovery. Between both of them is Bertrand Bickersteth, another century away, working to piece together his connection to these Bickersteths, who he will never know, and this land, where he will always be from. Join Bertrand Bickersteth as he pulls all of the pieces together.