Summer of 76
If you wish you could go back to the summer of 76 to relive your youth or experience it for the first time, we have exciting news for you! One of our volunteers, Will Pearson, has created a new exhibit for the Trent Valley Archives titled “A Peterborough Summer: 1976.”
Featuring photographs he scanned from our Peterborough Examiner collection of negatives, the exhibit highlights what summer in Peterborough looked like 50 years ago through its thoughtful curation of snapshots taken by Examiner photographers in 1976.
The exhibit will be coming to Dreams of Beans Café (141 Charlotte Street in Peterborough) in August, and will officially open on Friday, August 7 during the First Friday Art Crawl from 6pm-9pm. After the opening, the exhibit will be available to view anytime the café is open between August 7 and September 2.
Prior to the exhibit opening, it will be popping up at the DBIA “Movies at the Park” event on Tuesday, July 28 at the Quaker Foods City Square on Charlotte Street.
We hope you’ll take the opportunity to be transported back in time this summer!
Have you seen the updated Heritage Gazette?
We are pleased to continue and expand on the pioneering work of archivist Elwood Jones and Steve Gavard as we explore the near and distant past in this full colour publication.
View the current and past issues
In acknowledgement of Doors Open Peterborough and all the other great events happening in our community, the Trent Valley Archives will be closed for the day this Saturday, September 12. We highly encourage you to check out Doors Open Peterborough, which is running from 10am to 4pm and features 12 sites that you can explore, including the Auburn Generating Station, the Murray Street Baptist Church, St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, the old Examiner Building, Showplace, and Sadlier House. In addition to the open sites, Trent Valley Archives tour guide Don Willcock will be leading three walking tours in Little Lake Cemetery (at 11am, 1pm and 3pm) discussing the monuments in the cemetery and the meanings behind them, and Gord Young will be leading three walking tours exploring the history of the Goose Pond area. Although we'll be closed this Saturday, we look forward to welcoming you next Saturday at our Open House from 11am-1pm!
Our annual open house is right around the corner! Although you are welcome to visit our archives building anytime we're open, our open house is the perfect opportunity for curious community members like yourself to learn more about the resources we offer and how we can assist you with your family, property, and local history research projects. This year, our open house will be taking place on Saturday, September 19. At our open house, we'll be celebrating the launch of our latest publication, Bowling on the Green, produced to mark the 125th anniversary of the Peterborough Lawn Bowling Club (PLBC) in 2026. Written by historian (and TVA archivist!) Elwood H. Jones with support from avid lawn bowler Steve Russell, the book chronicles over a century of local lawn bowling history. From its inception in 1901 at the Stevenson Green to the present day next to the McDonnell Street Activity Centre, the club has overcome many challenges and became the "home away from home" for countless athletes, professionals, businesspeople, and other community members. While the book is an essential history of the club and its activities, it also has broader appeal to anyone interested in learning more about sport and recreation in 20th century Peterborough, and the lives of the locations occupied by the PLBC. Copies of the book will be for sale at our open house for $40 each. Both authors will be in attendance, and will speak about the history of the PLBC and the process of researching and writing the book. If you want to learn more, you'll also have the opportunity to explore the archives of the PLBC, which are housed at the TVA and were an essential resource for the authors when they were researching and writing the book. Our open house will be taking place from 11am-1pm and you are welcome to drop in anytime. It's free to attend and open to the public, so we hope to see you there!
In the historical record, women's lives, like the ones captured in this photograph, can be fleeting. When doing research on the women in your family tree, you may have had a hard time finding anything about their lives beyond the men they married and the children they gave birth to, unless you're fortunate enough to have a sample of their writing or stories about them passed down through each generation. Despite this, we've managed to uncover the lives of several women whose stories extend beyond their family life. On our Women's History Tour in Little Lake Cemetery, you'll learn about the contributions they made to their community, the legacies they left behind, and why they are still worth remembering today. A diverse group, they include authors, philanthropists, educators, athletes, politicians, artists, military personnel and community caregivers. The tour is running just once this season, next Sunday, September 20 at 2pm, so if you want to attend, now's your chance! Tickets cost $20 each and can be purchased on Eventbrite, here: www.eventbrite.ca/e/womens-history-tickets-1988560881126?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true[Image Credit: TVA F375, Fairbairn Photograph Fonds.] Highland Park Funeral Centre & Little Lake and Highland Park Cemeteries
Have you purchased your copy of Bicentennial Reflections yet? Our latest publication chronicles the Bicentennial of the Peter Robinson Irish Emigration from start to finish, encapsulating everything our community accomplished during the bicentennial year. Designed to be the perfect companion to our Bicentennial Souvenir book, Bicentennial Reflections contains several highlights: ☘️ Historical context on the Peter Robinson emigration experiment☘️ Reflections on the Bicentennial year and our efforts to and plan and execute our August 1-10 events program by Nine Ships 1825 Board Members ☘️ Contributions from over a dozen community partners who participated in the Bicentennial, outlining the events they organized and the things they learned☘️ Transcriptions of speeches given by Nine Ships 1825 Chair Brendan Moher at key events☘️ A list documenting many of the key moments, presentations and events that Nine Ships 1825 was involved in☘️ 20 pages of full-colour photographs taken throughout the year☘️ A section highlighting the relationship that developed between our region in Canada and the Ballyhoura Region in Ireland, and the events organized by Ballyhoura Development CLG to mark the Bicentennial on Irish soil☘️ An article discussing the efforts we made to respectfully include Indigenous communities and further Truth and Reconciliation efforts with our commemorationContaining 120+ beautifully designed pages, the book is a labour of love from the Board of Directors of Nine Ships 1825 and everyone who contributed to it. Copies cost $20 each (a steal for the amount of content we packed into it!) and can be purchased both in-person at the Trent Valley Archives and on their website, here: trentvalleyarchives.com/shop/nine-ships-bicentennial-reflections/ North America and international shipping options are also available. Supplies are limited, so get your copy today!
Our second and final Mainstreet Music tour is TONIGHT at 7pm! There are still tickets available on Eventbrite, or you are welcome to bring cash directly to the tour. The tour meets at Quaker Square off of Charlotte Street. We hope we'll see you on the tour tonight!
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