Canadian History Commons^™

Mcdougall Street Corridor, Willow Key, Irene Moore Davis

SWODA: Windsor & Region Publications

Recovering the stories: a brief pictorial history.

This commemorative booklet is part of a larger project: We Were Here: Bringing the Stories of Windsor's McDougall Street Corridor to Life.

Amex: Discord And Unity In The Canadian Vietnam-Era Anti-Draft Movement, 1969-1971, Doris R. Lanzkron-Tamarazo

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

During the American Vietnam War of the 1960s and early 1970s, a movement dedicated to opposing the draft and assisting draft dodgers and deserters emerged within Canada, where many of these war resisters immigrated. Exile groups were organizations in the anti-draft movement consisting entirely of American war resisters. One prominent exile newsletter was Amex: The American Expatriate in Canada. Amex’s reactions to events in the Canadian anti-draft movement during its second volume (1969-1971) demonstrate how despite frequently criticizing other organizations and individuals within the movement, it ultimately advocated for unity. Amex’s views on discord and unity within the anti-draft movement …

‘Death Of A Union Man’: Reconstructing Conflict At Windsor Chrysler During The Long Seventies, Heat Harvie

Major Papers

The shooting of UAW Local 444 President Charles “Charlie” Brooks in January 1977 by former Chrysler worker Clarence Talbot, allegedly over a grievance, brought the city of Windsor, Ontario to a standstill. Recently fired from his position as a relief worker at the Chrysler plant, Talbot was in a very vulnerable position where his ability to survive hinged on a successful grievance. Brooks was a beloved labour leader noted for his radical and colourful ways who had a long history of working hard for union and community members through his advocacy. The Ontario Supreme Court ultimately declared Talbot not criminally …

Skating The Line: Transnational Hockey In The Interwar Windsor-Detroit Borderlands, Nicole Pillon

Major Papers

Scholarship on the role of ice hockey in the development of the Canadian identity has neglected the unique experience of border communities in their discussions of the relationship between the formation of hockey fandom and Canadian nationalism. Usually focused on large hockey communities in Canada such as Toronto and Montreal, these studies examine the “Canadian” experience of hockey without considering the multi-faceted nature of border cities that were exposed to both Canadian and American ice hockey clubs.

This paper argues that professional hockey fandom in the Windsor-Detroit borderlands demonstrated that Windsorites’ shared socio-cultural conditions with Detroit, Michigan made them identify …

"So Long As We Still Live: Polish Efforts In Establishing A Military Recruitment Center In North America During The Second World War.", Peter Sawicki

Major Papers

Following their retreat to Great Britain in 1940, the Polish government and its military sought out fresh reserves to reinforce their depleted armed forces. With mainland Europe being overrun by the enemy, the Poles turned to the prospect of recruiting from the Polish émigré community on the American continent (Polonia). A generation earlier, over 20,000 Polish-Americans had enlisted to fight for the liberation of their homeland in the Blue Army. Seeking to recreate this success, the Poles established a recruitment center in Windsor, Ontario and a training camp in Owen Sound, Ontario. Despite their efforts, by 1942, the Poles only …

“The Most Modern Dining Hall In The City”: Chinese Immigrants, Restaurants, And Social Spaces In St. John’S, Newfoundland, 1918-1945, Miriam Wright

History Publications

The article looks at Chinese immigrants in Newfoundland, focusing on the restaurants they opened in St. John’s from 1918 through the mid-1940s. For the Chinese immigrants, restaurants were paths to economic stability and, for some, a way to establish themselves as respected members of the community. The restaurants were, however, also contested spaces, as civil authorities, drawing on racial, gendered, and class-based assumptions, saw them – and the social interactions taking place within them – as threatening to the moral order. This history of Chinese immigrants and their restaurants offers a diverse and complex urban history of St. John’s.

Interracial Marriage In North America: A Case Study Of Interracial Relationships In Chatham-Ontario 1901-1921, Marsaydees Ferrell

Major Papers

This study investigates the practice and frequency of marriages amongst bi-racial couples in Chatham, Ontario between the years of 1901-1921. With the use of census, birth, marriage records, and oral interviews this study both highlights and analyzes the population density and settlement patterns of bi-racial couples settling in the Chatham area. This study emphasizes how external factors affected the population size and settlement patterns of these families. It also finds a gradual shift away from the use of terms indicating mixed-race heritage such as “mulatto” suggesting a hardening of racial lines. This gradual shift reflects power relations in regard to …

Fracturing Falsehoods: Multiplexity In Windsor-Detroit's Organized Crime Networks 1900-1933, Lauren Rivet

Major Papers

In the Windsor-Detroit borderland, the period between 1900 and 1933 was characterized by the nation-state’s increasing legislative ability to enact interventionist measures to produce a regulated border. While the criminalization of alcohol in 1916 and 1920 by both the Canadian and U.S. governments respectively, enabled policy-makers to establish a transnational boundary, its implementation resulted in the production of legal asymmetries which forced the expansion and integration of the illicit economy into legitimate society through organizational actors and their respective enterprises.

Employing Chris M. Smith and Andrew V. Papachristos concept of multiplex ties in criminal organizations in conjunction with Willem van …

Facing Detroit: Assumption College As A Cross-Border Institution 1870-1948, Matthew R. Charbonneau Mr.

Major Papers

“Facing Detroit: Assumption College as a Cross-Border Institution 1870-1948” argues that Assumption College in Windsor, Ontario was more connected with Detroit and the US Midwest than it was with southern Ontario until the 1930s. It does this by considering Assumption College’s student population, alumni activities, and contemporary perceptions of the school. Emphasis is placed on exploring how the primary sources created by those who lived at Assumption College reveal that it was more connected with Detroit and the US Midwest than it was with Windsor or southern Ontario. The work of Michael Power and George McMahon, the two greatest contributors …

Sixties Scoop, Historical Trauma, And Changing The Current Landscape About Indigenous People, Shandel Valiquette

Major Papers

Through analyzing current literature on the Sixties Scoop and how it frames it origins and causes, many describe it as primarily assimilatory, even while acknowledging the historical legacies that contributed to problems in Indigenous communities and families. This paper will analyze the various perspectives on the Sixties Scoop, and argue that it was a complex process, a result of historical trauma related to colonial efforts and not a single, unified policy focused on assimilating Indigenous people into mainstream culture.

In pulling the thread of historical trauma rather than assimilation, this paper traces the streams of the past which help to …

The Gay Commute: On The Development Of Queer Community And Identity In The Windsor-Detroit Borderlands, 1945-1980, Graeme Sylvio Sylvestre

Major Papers

The development of queer community and identity has always necessitated the delineation of queer-friendly spaces as a locus for socialisation, sexual expression, and freedom from animosity and hostility towards queer sexuality. Within the urban area of post-war Windsor-Detroit, the threat of exposure and possible arrest affected the everyday lives of queer individuals, which necessitated a quest for private locales that were amenable to the expression of queer sexuality and gender identity. What is here referred to as “the gay commute” was a defining characteristic of the lived experiences of the white middle-class gay residents in the Windsor-Detroit borderlands through the …

Development Finance Institutions As Tools For Foreign Aid Distribution: A Comparative Analysis Of The Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Findev Canada And Deutsche Investitions – Und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, Kamal Mann

Major Papers

An understanding of how foreign aid has changed requires a thorough examination of the efforts taken in aid to address the widening finance gap in development, alongside the often-contested issue of aid effectiveness. This is particularly the case when looking at how aid should be paid for. Yet the question of how to best program and deliver foreign aid remains unanswered.

Aid remains one of the largest aspects of international transfers of resources that occur in the world, as such it is important to study it. The rise of Development Finance Institutions, which are publicly owned, private lending institutions helps …

Breaking The States: Windsor's Gateway Radio Market (1967-1999), Ron Leary

Major Papers

Windsor, Ontario was the most important gateway radio market within Canada throughout the second half of the twentieth century. The successful integration of two of its commercial radio stations within the highly competitive Detroit radio market, CKLW “The Big 8” and 89X “The Cutting Edge,” provided Canadian recording artists with an exceptional opportunity to break into the potentially lucrative U.S. popular music market. While the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s nationalist policies would prove challenging to implement within the borderlands context and require plenty of compromise, its Canadian content regulations nevertheless further enhanced the gateway radio opportunity for Canadian recording …

“We Are One Nation”: The Legacy Of The Coldwater-Narrows Reserve (1830-1836), Heather N. Smith

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

Simcoe County, Ontario has one of the longest histories of contact between settlers and Indigenous peoples within Canada. Yet, this area remains understudied by historians, with much of the literature glorifying Canada’s first settlers, while emphasizing the “uncivilized” and “savage” nature of Indigenous peoples. This article tells the remarkable story of the Coldwater-Narrows Reserve (1830-1836) in order to reveal Indigenous life, culture, and presence in the region, while countering problematic perceptions of Indigenous peoples and addressing fundamental gaps in historiography. A variety of primary sources are explored, including archival maps, correspondence, travelogues, journals, and illustrations. This story demonstrates how the …

Ghosts Of Quebec: Violence And Trauma At The Siege And Battle For Quebec, 1759., Nick R. Girard

Major Papers

Ghosts of Quebec spotlights the violence and killing in the Seven Years’ War and how it exemplifies a cycle of violence perpetuated by common soldiers. In doing this, the main analysis of this essay includes modern research on violence and killing as well as psychological combat trauma at the Siege of Quebec, 1759. The present literature on the Seven Years’ War often assumes a top down approach and emphasizes the roles of leaders and politicians without engaging the combat experience of common soldiers. Research on the siege and battle for Quebec follows a comparable methodology that leaves out the story …

Pierre Trudeau’S White Paper And The Struggle For Aboriginal Rights In Canada: An Analysis Of The Extent To Which The White Paper Was A Turning Point In The Struggle For Aboriginal Rights And Land Claims In Canada, Elisabetta A. Kerr

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

This paper contends that Pierre Trudeau’s 1969 “White Paper” on the status of Aboriginals in Canada was not a major turning point in improving the status of Aboriginals in Canada, but succeeded in inspiring activism and interest in the plight of Canada’s First Nations. The policy attempted to redefine the Canadian government’s relationship with its Aboriginal peoples, expressing the centrality of the government in Aboriginal affairs and reinforcing its obliviousness to the needs of Canada’s First Nations. The White Paper proposed to remove “Indian Status” for Aboriginals, and as a result was vehemently rejected. The effects of the proposed revocation …

Finding Boomer Harding: An Autoethnography About History, Librarianship, And Reconnecting, Heidi Lm Jacobs

Leddy Library Publications

No abstract provided.

The Poverty Of Bureaucracy: New Left Theory And Practice In The Canadian Labour Movement During The 1960s And 1970s, Sean P. Antaya

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

This essay examines the New Left’s impact on the Canadian labour movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Specifically, it argues that in large industrial unions such as the UAW, New Left ideas that were popular amongst the rank and file were stifled by the more conservative labour bureaucrats. However, in public sector unions and unions unaffiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress, New Left ideas were often able to flourish, and these more radical unions were sometimes able to obtain substantial gains for their members throughout the 1970s while also fostering a broader sense of class consciousness in Canadian society -- …

Spotlight On Essex County: 2009 Fall To 2010 Winter, Essex Free Press

SWODA: Windsor & Region Publications

Articles about Essex County on topics such as wind power, unsolved murders, Jack Miner, Holiday Beach, local writers.

Spotlight On Essex County: 2010 Fall, Essex Free Press

SWODA: Windsor & Region Publications

Articles about Essex County on topics such as local aviators, grain silos, lost communities, toll gates, pawpaw and Jesuit pear trees, wineries.

Spotlight On Essex County: 2010 Summer, Essex Free Press

SWODA: Windsor & Region Publications

Articles about Essex County on topics such as migrant workers, festivals, steamships, photography, fishing, wineries, birding, County Road 50, War of 1812.

Spotlight On Essex County: 2010 Spring, Essex Free Press

SWODA: Windsor & Region Publications

Articles about Essex County on topics such as homelessness, foster parents, inventors, sheep farms, the Osage orange, prohibition, Point Pelee National Park.

From 'Chrysler Girls' To 'Dodge Boys': The Emergence Of Women In Windsor's Automotive Industry, 1964-1976, Brandi Lyn Lucier

Major Papers

From 'Chrysler Girls' to 'Dodge Boys': The Emergence of Women in Windsor's Automotive Industry, 1964-1976 is a study of female auto workers' lack of equality in seniority at the Windsor Spring plant, a division of Chrysler Canada. While a small number of women worked in Chrysler's, Windsor, Ontario, parts plants during the 1930s and 1940s, few women worked in passenger car and truck assembly plants because collective agreements between the UAW and the auto manufacturer upheld sex-based job classifications and seniority lists which ultimately limited women's participation in the plants. Based on the idea that women were financial dependents and …

Sleeping Single In A Double Bed: Windsor's Widows At The Turn Of The Twentieth Century, Catherine Macneil

Major Papers

In the recent past there has been substantial historical research completed regarding gender and family roles in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Canada. Many of these histories provide examples of the role of women within the family and society; however, very few historical studies have examined the impacts of widowhood on the aforementioned roles. Studies of widowhood survey the impacts of not only losing a husband, but in many cases, a father as well. Families, households and often entire communities were affected when a person became widowed. Using the data gained from the 1901 manuscript census, as well as …

Her Stories: Lives Of Women In The Detroit River Region, Madelyn Della Valle

SWODA: Windsor & Region Publications

Her Stories pieces together the lives of eleven women who lived or traveled through the Detroit River region in the 18th and 19th centuries. Unfortunately, some of these women did not leave behind any records of their own making. Like so many other women from the past, some of their stories must be told using scraps and pieces of the better known histories recounted by men; a booklet based on the exhibition at the Francois Baby House: Windsor's Community Museum.

Exiles: An Archival History Of The World War Ii Japanese Road Camps In British Columbia And Ontario, Yon Shimizu

SWODA: Windsor & Region Publications

This book is the result of my unsuccessful attempt to write about the sugar beet experience which many Japanese had to endure as a result of their exile from the "Protected Area". My request in the "Nikkei Voice" for responses from the men who had had that particular experience in Ontario, resulted in two replies. Given the lack of survivor response, I decided instead, that I would research the Public Archives of Canada, on the Road Camps instead. This book, then, is the result of that research.

Separate And Different Education: A History Of Women At The University Of Windsor, 1920 To The Present, Mona L. Gleason

Major Papers

Although the experience of women in higher education has traditionally occupied a limited space in Canadian historiography, recent work by feminist and women's historians has uncovered a rich and complex field. The field is a relatively new one, less mature than in the United States and Britain, nevertheless historians are beginning to suggest new approaches to the history of women in Canadian universities. 1 Scholars have produced several institutional studies which analyze the historical experience of women at particular universities and which establish the groundwork for modifying our understanding the history of women in higher education in Canada.

Fort Malden National Historic Park Archives Guide, H. J. Bosveld

SWODA: Windsor & Region Publications

Since its establishment in 1941, and particularly during its early years of operation, Fort Malden National Historic Park has acquired variety of manuscript materials, both relevant and irrelevant to its themes. In keeping with the early procedures for the receipt of items into the collections, much of this material is in the form of now untraceable loans, creating potentially permanent custodial situation. Whether thematically relevant or irrelevant, much of the material is historically invaluable and there exists an ethical obligation for its proper care and accessibility to legitimate researchers.

Windsor Airport: 50th Anniversary, 1978, Canada. Department Of Transport

SWODA: Windsor & Region Publications

Windsor Airport 50th anniversary pamphlet

President's Report: An Historical Review Of The University Of Windsor, 1972-1978, J. F. Leddy

SWODA: University of Windsor Publications

University of Windsor president's report on enrollment, the library, degrees granted, and finances for 1972-1978.