Workers’ Heritage Centre Museum
Past Activities & Accomplishments
| 1994 | Founded as a committee of the Ottawa & District Labour Council |
| 1994 | Received a “Workplace Heritage Grant” from the Ontario Heritage Foundation |
| 1994-1997 | Collected 45 Workers’ Oral History Interviews related to the following:
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| 1995 | Algonquin College Archival Student Placement (hosted two students) |
| 1996 | Summer Student Researcher/Preserving our Heritage/Young Canada Works/Heritage Institute |
| 1997 | Deposited with the City Archives interviews along with the other documents and photographs collected during the “Preserving Our Heritage Project.” Of note photos of the 1947-48 Ottawa Car & Aircraft (OCA) strike and UAW 641 records dating from the 1940s. |
| 1997 | Summer Student Researcher, Young Canada Works-Heritage Inst. / 125 Years of Struggle |
| 1997 | Summer Student Researcher, Summer Career Placements / 125 Years of Struggle |
| 1997 | Co-hosted Archive Day with the City of Ottawa Archives |
| 1997 | Produced two videos: “On All Fronts” and “Made In Ottawa” |
| 1996-1997 | "Houses of Labour" — Coordinated an "Artist-In-The-Workplace" project with local artist, c.j. fleury, that developed six works of art that commemorated the 125th anniversary of the 1872 founding of the Ottawa Trades Council. |
| 1999 | Summer Student Researcher/Writer – Summer Career Placements Grant/Working Class Walking Tour ‑ Lowertown-Vanier |
| 1998-1999 | Ontario Workers’ Arts and Heritage Centre Hamilton, Exhibition: “Preserving Our Heritage: The 1947-48 Ottawa Car and Aircraft Strike” |
| 1999 | Produced a short history of UAW/CAW local 641 |
| 1999 | Carleton University History Students, Masters Public History Class. Researched a Working Class Waking Tour of Ottawa |
| 1999 | Summer Student Researcher/Writer – Summer Career Placements Grant/Working Class Walking Tour ‑ Centretown-Lebreton |
| 1999-2000 | Summer Career Placements Grant – Local Union History Project |
| 2000 | Sponsored “The Rag Tag and Bobtail”in Construire une capital – OTTAWA – Making a Capital,” a Ottawa history millennium book project by the University of Ottawa |
| 2001 | 3 Nights of Workers’ History: three heritage talks presented over 3 months |
| 2001-2003 | Daniel O’Donoghue Street, a successful campaign to name a City of Ottawa Street and Park after this labour pioneer |
| 2002-2004 | Rideau Canal Workers’ Celtic Cross Monument Memorial erected a monument to the memory of those who died building the Rideau Canal |
| 2002 | Researcher, Young Canada Works Grant, Gamman House History |
| 2003 | Ottawa20/20 – Arts and Heritage Plan, identified as a partner in development of the Gamman House at 306 Cyr Ave. |
| 2003 | Museum Visioning Exercise, with Ronal Bourgeois and Elmer Pilon |
| 2003 | Algonquin College Museum Studies Student Placement developed a display for the board room of the Labour Council, “Where the Tall Timber Grew,” on the history of the lumber industry in Ottawa |
| 2003 | Incorporated the Workers’ Heritage Centre to rejuvenate 306 Cyr Ave and operate a heritage interpretation centre/museum at that location |
| 2003 | Assisted City of Ottawa in incorporating the Vanier Museoparc |
| 2004 | Heritage Designation for 306 Cyr Avenue; assisted in the designation process |
| 2004 | Algonquin College Museum Studies Student Placements (hosted two students): Teacher Education Kit: History of Canadian Child Labour and Exhibition: “Where the Tall Timber Grew,” the history of lumber in Ottawa |
| 2004 | Working to support a Heritage Conservation District for Lower Lorne Avenue a working class street in LeBreton Flats |
| 2004 | Summer Student Co-ordinator, Young Canada Works Grant / Museum Development |
| 2005 | Algonquin College Museum Studies Student Placements (hosted two students): Teacher Education Kit: Parliament Hill and Exhibition: Workers’ Heritage Centre Informational Panel |
| 2005 | May Day – “Expanding Ottawa's History,” a celebration at which Mayor Chiarelli handed over Gamman House at 306 Cyr Ave., Vanier to be used as Ottawa’s workers’ museum |
| 2005 | May Day – hosted the Launch of Mayworks First Visual Artists Directory: Ottawa's first Visual Artists Directory of Union-friendly artists |
| 2005 | Book Launch ‑ September 8, 7 PM. “My Union, My Life” by Jean-Claude Parrot, retired Executive Vice President of the CLC and former National President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers |
| 2005-2006 | University of Ottawa Education Department – three student placements produced classroom lesson plans and material to create the “Teacher Education Kit: Workers Who Built Parliament Hill” |
| 2006 | Oral History Workshop, co-presented with the Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa and the Human Rights Department of the Canadian Labour Congress on May 6, 2006 as a part of the Mayworks Festival. Workshop was facilitated by writer, radio producer, community activist and oral-historian Michael Riordan; 10 people participated from across the heritage community and beyond |
| 2006 | Algonquin College Student Placement – Museum Studies. Research report on the 1936 case of Dorothea Palmer who was arrested, tried and acquitted of distributing birth control information in Vanier |
| 2006 | Queens’ University Education Department Student Placement. Ontario curriculum based lesson plan on child labour |
| 2006 | Summer Student Researcher, Young Canada Works Grant / 40th Anniversary Heron Road Bridge Collapse |
| 2006 | Summer Student Researcher, Ontario Ministry of Culture Summer Experience Program/ Volunteer policy research |
| 2006-2007 | University of Ottawa Education Department – two student placements produced classroom lesson plans and material to create “Canadian Women During the Second World War” and “Domestic Life in Early Canada.” |
| 2006-2007 | Algonquin College Student Placement – Museum Studies. Two students spent their collections placement creating a database for future museum collections; another student spent her special project creating a fundraiser |
| 2007 | Museum Sustainability Plan. WHCM received its first year of funding from the City of Ottawa and was able to hire a part-time Curator |
| 2007 | Workers’ Heritage Centre Museum Back Door Concert, as part of Mayworks, was a successful fundraiser held at Biddy Mulligan’s Pub on May 1, 2007. Organized by Jenna MacDougall, an Algonquin College student, and featuring Healey and Juravich, and the Corkstown Ceili Band. The concert raised $625 to go toward the purchase of new back door for the Gamman House |
| 2007 | Museum Policy Developer, Young Canada Works Grant |
| 2007 | Heritage Programme Grant, $5,000 for windows restoration at the Gamman House |