Happy Canada Day! A look at Our History Through Books of the Past
What is it Wednesday/ July 1st 2020
Welcome all to our blog! We are excited to start this journey with you of bringing O’Hara to you at home! We spent a while trying to decide what to share with you on our first “What is it Wednesday” and after much thinking we decided to feature today, on Canada Day, some of the Canadian History we have in our schoolhouse.
While many consider our country to be a relatively new one, turning today 153 years old, our country has a much longer past! When the O’Hara family first settled in Madoc in 1823 our country was not a country yet, rather the Dominion of Canada, a British Colony. As the O’Hara family established themselves in Madoc, our country as we know it today began to emerge. This brings us to our artifacts of the day!
The later generations of O’Hara’s and their fellow classmates at the beginning of the 20th century would have learned history as a subject in school, just as we do today. The History they learned was much different from what students today learn.
Pictured to the left are two textbooks from our collection of books in the Schoolhouse here at the Homestead. The blue textbook, published in 1921, was used in Ontario public schools to teach the history of Canada. The green textbook, published in 1914, was used in Ontario high schools to teach more in depth Canadian history.
There were a couple of interesting discoveries we made while looking at these artifacts. The cost stood out to us at first glance, as these books cost as little as 10 cents! Keep in mind though that 10 cents then was a lot more money than we would consider it today.
Another interesting aspect to mention is that the history covered in the books is much different from what we learn today! Topics focused on more heavily include settlement and disputes, that today we only cover in brief.
It was very interesting to us to see how the books were written. Today in History lessons we often learn about how in the past, and our present, our country has not treated Indigenous people the way they should. These textbooks demonstrate the type of thinking that idealized and praised colonizing and saw those who this land belongs to as primitive. Just from looking at them we can see how the way in which we are taught history can influence how we see the world! It is important this Canada Day to celebrate all aspects of Canada; the nation, the people, and the land!
Another really cool feature of these artifacts is the inscriptions found within. Just as students today often write in their books, so did students in the past! In the front of the high school textbook we can see the history of the people who owned the book. This book was passed through the family throughout the years. From these books we can learn not just the history of the past but of the people who learned from them!
Thats all from us for today! We hope you all have a happy Canada Day! Come back tomorrow to learn about the O’Hara Family History and if you’re in the area stop by the Homestead for a nice trail walk!
