Places we made appearances at previously this summer:

• May 3, 2012 – Commemorative Selkirk Stamp at Ross House.
• May 6, 2012 – Lady Selkirk’s Fashion Show at the Time for Tea with the Winnipeg Symphony. Tickets are available from the WSO.
• May 6, 2012 – Adding ambience to Manitoba Museum.
• May 12, 2012 – Manitoba Day with historic demos and displays at the Manitoba Museum.
• May 16, 2012 – The school program A Visit with the People of Red River at the Saint Boniface Museum.
• May 16, 2012 – A reception in the late afternoon on the 16th at Manitoba Museum again – only this time we’re the guests (numbers limited for that – details soon).
• May 26, 2012 – A Garden Party for Doors Open Winnipeg at Government House
• June 16, 2012 – Manitoba Highland Gathering in Selkirk, MB. Here are some photos.
• July 1, 2012 – Celebrate Canada Day with us at Fort Gibraltar.
• July 14, 2012 – We were out in full force for Cuthbert Grant Day at Grant’s Old Mill. Here are some great pictures of the event by Leif Norman.
• August 8, 2012 – We providedg ambience and demonstrations at a private event at the Manitoba Museum again.
• August 12-18, 2012 – We provided a display at the Scottish Pavilion for Folklarama.
• August 24-26, 2012 – Our 7th Annual Fall Gathering, where we live like the original settlers for the weekend at an encampment in Whittier Park Fort Gibraltarwas a lovely success .

OUR CELEBRATION OF THE 200th ANNIVERSARY OF THE SELKIRK SETTLEMENT, SEPTEMBER, 2012

• Sunday, September 2 – We joined the Selkirk Settler Parade from the Thistle Monument down to the Forks and then celebrated with a Ceilidh gathering and flag raising
• Tuesday, September 4 – There was a half day of interpretive activities, a visit from Baron Selkirk, and a commemoration of the Transfer of Land documents from the Hudson’s Bay Company to Governor Miles Macdonell. Also front and center were John Wills, Alexander Macdonell (Greenfield) and Benjamin Frobisher of the North West Company as well as Hugh Heney and William Hillier representing the HBC. It was a wonderful day at La Verendrye Park.
• Thursday, September 6 – The Mayor of Selkirk hosted Lord and Lady Selkirk and presented keys to the city to Lord Selkirk. There was a rededication ceremony at historic old St. Peter’s Dynevor Anglican Church and Cemetery and a tribute to the memory of Chief Peguis, friend and benefactor to the settlers.

I just wanted to send you all a sincere and heartfelt “Thank You!!!” for all the assistance you provided on the day of the Arrival Ceremony.

For Sarah-Jane, Kira-Lyn, Jackie & Nancy – for being pressed into being Greeters at the park entrances right before the event started & receiving Debbie’s special 5-second training on the major events of the day – thank you!

For Timothy & Joshua – for handing out a great number of Selkirk Flags alongside the Greeters – thank you!

For Vanessa & Kaley – for helping with the “Settlers Punch” and for helping me make sure those folks in their many layers of wool, standing in the hot sun or under the flys and marquees had plenty of water on hand – my thanks!

For my Cookie-Hander-Outers and Punch Pourers (all the McInneses & Gehmans) – great job all of you – thanks very much! (and I’m so relieved that you were unfazed by the wasps!)

For Jackie – who tirelessly (and almost single-handedly!) kept refilling the Volunteer Luncheon serving plates, making sure all our folks had a good selection of foodstuffs – a most appreciative thank you!!!

Jo-Anne & Olivia also need some kudos for the VIP-tent debacle & Bill F. for helping corral the public AWAY from the cannon fire…Sylvie, Sharon & Fran (and Zaley) for the displays monitoring, & Maryse & Sophie for agreeing to do Childrens Games (but no children present). Honorable mention for those helping with take down (Louis, Chris, Janet, Nancy, Bill, Olivia, Ed, Carol, and I think I’m missing some names… {yeah, you’re missing Maryse, Sophie, Judy and Russell})

I am extremely grateful to all of you who gave so generously of your time & were always willing to help out no matter what was requested. Events like these simply could not take place without folks like you!

Wishing you all a restful week!
Thanks,
Debbie

Four years ago, Barry and I learned there would be celebrations for the Selkirk Settlement bicentennial. We knew this was something we wanted for MLHS – it would be a wonderful showcase for what we do and who we are. The two of us instantly had a vision for an outstanding event. The overall celebration plans then suffered a collapse at the top, and it took almost two years before a new umbrella organization took the reins – The Bicentenary Committee of the Selkirk Settlement. That committee grew to some 20 people representing a great variety of Scottish organizations, and although MLHS interprets far more than just Scots, we certainly were an ideal fit.

We took our dream to the Board of MLHS who immediately agreed with the vision. We created a Committee of our own. Carol Douglas, Louis Gagne, Bill Fernie, Debbie Young, Olivia Arnason and me, with Barry attending until “broken leg”. Meetings – meetings – meetings. More meetings. Meetings. Grant applications. Meetings. Provincial grant; federal grant. Meetings. As a committee, we each had unique skills that moved the planning in all its directions. Barry: research and scripting and always attention to historic truth in the story and in costuming; Bill: contacting the men for participation, getting prices and carpentry; Judy: everything to do with the actual ceremony and all invitations outside MLHS; Debbie: contacting the women for participating, organizing everything and everyone not part of the actual ceremony, getting prices and supplies; Carol: agreeing to do everything nobody else could take on; keeping Judy calm; Olivia: getting prices, creating the much-commented-upon Settlers’ Brew; Louis: all I know is whenever I asked for something or could something be fixed or moved or assenbled – Louis did it.

Arguments and discussions – Why does our event have to be on a weekday? The first day of school? Will Lord Selkirk attend our event? Will people take a day off work for this once-in-a-lifetime event? Will all the other groups support us? Why are we undertaking such a huge responsibility? What if it rains? What if nobody comes?

Well – they came – the weather was perfect – all the People of Red River came alive and gathered together for the day and it was indeed a magnificent event.

We would like to recognize the following:
ALL OF OUR MEMBERS who portrayed the PEOPLE OF RED RIVER – both of quality and the more common sort. Every one of you contributed to the picture of life at Red River. The amazing feature of the day was the fact that all of you went ahead more or less on your own without prompting or prodding and simply did your “thing”. The whole day brought the People of Red River to life through your individual contributions.

Kevin Walters for cutting through all the red tape and organizing so many of the detail of setup challenges
Phyllis Fraser and Lawrence Proutt, co-chairs of the Bicentenary Committee for their support
Shelly Glover, MP, representing the Federal Government
Minister Flor Marcelino, representing the Province of Manitoba
Councillor Dan Vandal, representing the City of Winnipeg
Dr. Philippe Mailhot of the St. Boniface Museum for introducing the historic context in French and English
Jean-Marc Lafond for carrying on with the historic context
Larry Fisher who organized an impromptu concert
The “Gentlemen” for their entertaining presentations
D’Arcy Stearns & Company for sharing their musical talents and for confusing the Scots with their unique “bagpipe”
Maryse Gagne for playing the cello in the VIP tent even if the VIP’s didn’t go there much
Kirby McRae for piping the parade and at other times during the day plus two more lads that showed up later
Lara Arnason for lovely harp music
Kaiti Reider and the little Nisimis fiddlers
Colin Mackie and the Festival du Voyageur lads for their participation
Rob Tisdale for providing libation for the gentlemen in the form of half a bottle of “Famous Grouse”
Gary Styrchak for his table display of 19th century penmanship
Alex Borger who took on the ever popular role of a surgeon at Red River
The Gehman family and McInnes Family for displaying and demonstrating all the farm tools including the quern
Angela Temple for taking walks around the village with her friendly ram
The members of the Voyageur Corps from Fort William who attended along with their cannon
The Forces of Lord Selkirk under the command of Captain Matthey (Frederick Carsted)
The members of the Red River Voyageur Corps under the command of Chris Black
The flag party – Louis and Louis-Simon Gagne
La Brigade de la Riviere Rouge for ferrying those NWC men across the river and parading to La Verendrye Park
Orille Haugen with his huge Metis flag and two ox carts
Cpl. Houle of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for talking with us and with the public
All of the members of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders who never tired of talking to our visitors
The outstanding display put on by La Compagnie Franche de la Marine
the members of the City of Winnipeg Police mounted patrol
Michelle Gervais representing Tourisme Riel / CDEM with her displays and her volunteers who handed out brochures and flags
Jocelyne Pambrun with her beautiful display of Metis costume
Miguel Villefaure “Etchiboy” with his display of sashes, etc.
Paulette Duguay with her L’Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba table display
Shirley Delorme Russell with a display from the Louis Riel Institute
St. Boniface Hospital for providing additional parking spaces at no cost

And finally and most importantly, for the presence of Lord Selkirk of Douglas, for his eloquence, good humor and enthusiasm for everything we were doing. We also have to note that so many visitors came, not for the Settlers’ Brew, but simply to meet Lord Selkirk.

We – Barry and Judy – and all the Arrival Committee thank all of you for bringing this ambitious dream to such a wonderful fulfillment on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. It was by far the largest undertaking we have ever planned – and YOU – all of YOU played a part and made the dream come true.

I, Barry, add my specific thanks to Jackie, Maryse and Sophie who loaded the motor home with all of the bits and pieces from the marquee, and all those, including my son Russell, for loading Judy’s van with the rest of our worldly MLHS possessions, including the cursed flag pole and dumb flower pots.

I, Judy, add a mea culpa in advance if I have forgotten anybody – which is likely.

August 24-26, 2012 at Fort Gibraltar
Modern and historic camping; on site security
Hot dog roast Friday evening
Saturday pot luck supper; pork, roast chicken and bread provided
Dessert Competition
Expanded children’s games Saturday and Sunday
New demonstrations
See attached brochure for more details

Fall Gathering 2012 Page 1

Fall Gathering 2012 Page 2

Recreation of Governor Miles Macdonell’s marquee. The Governor travelled in style. (Taken at the Selkirk Highland Gathering, 2012)

The new replica flag of the 5th Earl of Selkirk in parade size, flown for the first time at the Selkirk Highland Gathering on June 16th, 2012. The replica’s coat of arms was designed by Gary Styrchak and Claire Starling made five parade sized replicas for us, one of which will be presented to Lord Selkirk in Scotland in August by the Lord Selkirk Boys’ Pipe Band.

This year’s VISIT WITH THE PEOPLE OF RED RIVER school program is done. As always, it was a lot of work, with a lot of our members contributing their time, expertise and help. As always, the kids (about 250 altogether) really enjoyed the experience and at least one of the teachers would like to book for next year!! Our program is curriculum based, and good teachers know the value of what we offer.

This year, we had a few changes of stations plus some new station leaders and new assistants. I think it was Chris’s idea to raise the marquee and use a divider to enable it to take two of the quieter stations and that worked very well. Barry and I updated the station notes as required, and I have now packed almost everything back into their places. WHEW! Thanks to those who helped load up at 52 Southmoor – unload at the Museum – and then pack up again in a real hurry as soon as the last kid hit the road.

Claire shouldered the largest amount of responsibility in this year’s VPRR. She not only attended meetings with Carmene at the Museum to plan the rotations and the best way for the kids to experience a variety of stations, but she organized most of the equipment in our basement, got supplies we needed, and then kept the day running smoothly. I know I put in quite a few hours, but I also know Claire put in many more!! Let’s hear a round of applause for Claire – well done indeed.

Ever in the Past….

Judy McPherson
Chair
Manitoba Living History Society
2012 – Bicentennial – Selkirk Settlers

But it’s the scale and the depth of our demonstrations that were amazing to behold. Really. From our big flag – to Barb’s big family – to Rachel on the quern – Bill with his carpentry tools – of course the brand new beautiful wheelbarrrow! – Andrew at his clerk’s table – Governor Miles Macdonell – Nathan bending over his silver – to mention but a few. I know the museum was astonished to see so many of us and I hope they were astonished and delighted with not only our presence but our displays. We now have replicas of many of the tools that are hanging on the wall near the Selkirk Settler’s cabin.

Having all the other living history groups there was great as well – and did you see the size of the green Manitoba Day cake? Carol noted that it took several people to get it into Alloway Hall and that it was contoured like our province!!

Thanks all – you did Manitoba Living History Society proud!!

Next up – VPRR and then the Garden Party at Government House in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on the 26th.

Ever in the Past….

Judy McPherson
Chair
Manitoba Living History Society
2012 – Bicentennial – Selkirk Settlers

Drizzle and cold did not keep us away, and we had a great turnout of 16 for a small event. Quite a few dignitaries were present, and all kept their comments brief. Half way through the speeches Barb Rieder and her historic ducklings arrived, making everyone present smile. And what a great opportunity for photo ops with Minister of State for Transport, Steven Fletcher, who also took much time in his own speech to address the 5th Earl of Selkirk directly. Governor Macdonell was splendid as well. The rest of us – well – we’re Selkirk Settlers, so ordinary would be the word. Each of us was presented with a Day of Issue cancelled Selkirk Stamp. Check out the pictures here.

Second – Fashion show for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Ladies Association

It took at least ten hours to prepare a 15 minute fashion show. Hmmmmmmm. We seemed to be well received, and from Lady Selkirk (Janet) to Janet Gunn (Marie) – the women covered the spectrum of costume (Vanessa, Claire, and Maryse). The men were all splendid peacocks (Chris, Louis, Barry, Louis-Simon and Erle. Thanks to Debbie for cueing and taking pictures.

Third – the Manitoba Museum to add historic ambience for a national corporate reception.

For these receptions, we are guides to point the way from A to B, plus a few of us set up small demonstrations. While the guests are preoccupied with each other and food, nevertheless, last evening’s visitors stopped to chat with each of us, and I do feel they enjoyed our presence. We had 17 of our members attend which is a very good number. Alex tried to do amputations without success. Nathan demonstrated his skills at making trade silver, and Andrew set up his clerk’s desk in the HBC Gallery. The Nonsuch was opened, so some of us were stationed at or on the ship. The rest of us circulated and smiled and chatted, and were able to enjoy the leftover appetizers before heading home.

Next up:

• Manitoba Day at the Manitoba Museum on May 12th
• A Visit with the People of Red River on May 16th
• A Reception at the Manitoba Museum in the late afternoon on May 16th (numbers limited for that – details soon).

Ever in the Past….

Judy McPherson
Chair
Manitoba Living History Society