St. Peter's Secondary School Celebrating Its 100 Anniversary This Year

St. Peter's is celebrating its 100th anniversary in Peterborough this year—the school opened its door at its original location on September 2, 1913 with 59 students. The official anniversary weekend takes place this year on Thanksgiving, October 11th and 12th. Contact St. Peter's with your own memories of the school here, learn more about celebrations here, and view pictures from past yearbooks here. Watch the video below from a history buff who happened to find some abandoned photographs from St. Peter's taken in 1916 and 1920 that will be used as part of the celebrations.

[YouTube]

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Why Moving The Canadian Canoe Museum To A Waterfront Location Downtown Would Rock

The Canadian Canoe Museum announced today (November 21st) that a feasibility study is being undertaken starting in January to determine in part what it would take to move to a waterfront location downtown from their current location for the past 15 years at 910 Monaghan Road.

It's never made much sense to be where it is (more than one person has remarked as such), and moving this excellent museum right down by the water in the core of Peterborough seems like an entirely logical thing to do. It would drive many more tourists and cottagers—and even locals—into the downtown area to visit the museum.

Imagine touring the Canoe Museum, then stepping outside it and going canoeing and kayaking on the Otonabee River and Little Lake. And afterwards, tourists and the like can eat and shop and take in some theatre downtown. Brilliant.

"During the years that we've been operating on Monaghan Road, it has become apparent to us that we will need to redevelop the Museum in order to achieve these goals, and so we are commissioning a feasibility study as the first step," says the museum's director James Raffan in a PR release.

Funding for the study comes from private donors and a grant from the Peterborough Community Futures Development Corporation.

Where do you think a great place for a new site would be for construction of a facility near the downtown?

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Remembrance Day Poem: In Flanders Fields

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Fields" sends a haunting message—lest we forget. Millions of poppies bloom around the world to remember the sacrifice made by the courageous men and women who secure the rights we enjoy. These poppies grew across battlefields of Flanders in World War I, and their red colour is an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

The red in the Red Pashmina Campaign is inspired by the red of the poppy. This Sunday, we will remember the blood spilled and reflect on how well we have carried the torch.

This video is a tribute to the fallen soldiers of war and the families they’ve left behind. —Maryam Monsef

[YouTube]

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Here's The Final Commencement Held At PCVS

PCVS held their final Commencement in the School Auditorium on Friday, October 26th. This is the last graduating class ever from this school, which the KPR closed last year.

[Related: PCVS: Then Now & Forever]

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Historic Birchbark Canoe Arrives at Canoe Museum In Peterborough

A historic Birchbark Canoe from the 1700s has arrived at the Canadian Canoe Museum. It is believed it was crafted somewhere along the St. Lawrence River, brought to England in the 1700s, then recently transported back to Canada. Although it is degrading, it is an excellent example for researchers to study.

The Canadian Canoe Museum is looking for outreach opportunities and would like to use this canoe to establish discussion to learn more about the canoe's history and also build a full sized replica for an exhibit.

Learn more from the outdoors blog Trail Swag.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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Peterborough Museum & Archives New Exhibition Avro Arrow: A Dream Denied

The current exhibition at Peterborough Museum & Archives is Avro Arrow: A Dream Denied, which tells the remarkable story of one of Canada’s greatest technological achievements. 

Decades have passed since the development and destruction of the Avro Arrow and Iroquois engine yet many still wonder "what-might-have-been."

Should the projects have been cancelled? Were they as good as their builders said they would be? What were the real reasons behind the cancellations? These and other mysteries are explored in this exhibition full of images, artifacts and explanations.

Avro Arrow: A Dream Denied was developed and produced by the West Parry Sound District Museum as part of the Travelling Exhibition Partnership Project.

Check it out at Peterborough Museum & Archives (Ashburnham Memorial Park on Museum Drive, 300 Hunter Street East). Admission is by donation, with free parking and barrier-free access. The exhibition runs through September 30th.

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A Look At Charming Fleming Place In Downtown Peterborough (And Impact Of Development)

I am writing to increase awareness around the development plans at Fleming Place in downtown Peterborough.

Fleming Place is a charming laneway lined with homes built in the early 1900s and equally old and historical trees.

Preparation for a development which includes the construction of a new apartment building in the open green space is already underway.  The plans includes the removal of the majority of these beautiful trees and an entire re-landscaping of the property.

In my humble opinion, Fleming Place is a gem—an urban oasis—the likes of which I have never seen anywhere else. Anyone who has ever lived or visited there (particularly in the summer) can attest to this. It feels like you have walked into an urban forest even though you are in fact directly downtown. The trees provide an incredible amount of shade, cool breeze, habitat and a living example of our community's history. There are several gorgeous perennial beds on the property that have been built, cared for and maintained for my tenants. These are likely to go along with the trees.

Mass cutting of trees has already occurred, and much more is to come. I encourage people to come and wander down the laneway and enjoy it while you can. The removal of all these trees is an irreversibly devastating decision. Trees and green spaces are part of the new plan, but a century of growth cannot be replaced. It is not likely that anything can be done to stop a development plan already underway, but expressing how important you think neighbourhoods like Fleming Place and urban trees are to our community and collective quality of life can't hurt!

—Jillian Bishop

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Neat Footage From Circa 1920 Depicting Lives Of British Girls At Peterborough Orphanage

This silent film, The Tide Of Immigration from Library and Archives Canada, is a compilation of various newsreels produced from 1919 to 1921 depicting the lives of immigrants in Canada. The final story in the film (starts at the 7:27 mark) is set right here in Peterborough, and introduces us to British girls living at Hazel Brae, an orphanage founded by Dr. Thomas Barnardo for homeless or destitute English children.

[YouTube]

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Dinosaurs Live! Exhibit At Indian River Reptile Zoo All Summer

They move! They roar! Yes, a neat new exhibit Dinosaurs Live! runs from June 30th to September 3rd at the Indian River Reptile Zoo, featuring life size dinosaurs with motion and sound. Make sure to check it out.

Here's the team working to assemble the life sized Tyrannosaurus rex for the exhibit.

[YouTube; Indian River Reptile Zoo]

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Today Is National Canoe Day!

Although numerous canoe related festivities took place this weekend, National Canoe Day is officially today (June 26th). The Canadian Canoe Museum—housed right here in Peterborough—is hosting an open house to celebrate, so stop in and explore some of our canoe heritage and culture.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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