The Importance of Living History

Judi McWilliams

Behind the Lens

Ontario Visited

War of 1812 Celebrations

During 2012, our War of 1812 Celebrations Website will be focusing on the promotion of the War of 1812; the War of 1812 Bicentennial Celebrations, its participants, its history and the people who organize and manage War of 1812 Bicentennial events. We will also focus on showcasing and promoting War of 1812 re-enactments and activities during the Bicentennial and beyond.

I have been on a quest to understand why History, the War of 1812 and “living history” is so important. Over the course of last year I asked several leaders, experts, re-enactors why they felt “living history” was important. Some of the responses have enlightened me and may be interesting to you also. The following are partial excerpts from Blog interviews posted in the past on our War of 1812 Celebrations website.

Mr. Chris Robins, High School History teacher - Cobourg … “I can see the students enjoy the history, that sometimes, until you get involved with re-enacting, you underestimate just how important history is. What I am very excited about is understanding why the men/women of the War of 1812 period of time fought the way they did.”

Anne Brooks, Current former Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Fanshawe Pioneer Village, London …“I think it is important for people to learn about their history.  The war of 1812 was a very large part of Canadian history and I really feel like people do not know a great deal about what happened.  It is important to celebrate the heroic actions of the soldiers who lived and died in the War of 1812.  You can’t move on to the future until you learn from the past.”

Ms. Sandra Shaul, City of Toronto, Museum Administrator, Special Projects, Bicentennial War of 1812 Museums - Heritage Services for the City of Toronto Cultural Services – Toronto …“the demographics of the Toronto area and region are not rural and have a very distinct audience from other areas”. “The region is composed of about 2.6 million people, 50% born outside Canada, thus creating a vast diversity of multi-cultural and diverse ethnic backgrounds; “if you understand the context of the War of 1812, you will see how it has led to who we are today”.

(To Be Continued)