Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre Welcomes New Executive Director, Dr. Karen Dearlove

The Board of Directors of the Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre is pleased to announce that Dr. Karen Dearlove PhD has accepted the position of Executive Director for the growing organization.  A resident of Cambridge ON, Dr. Dearlove has always had a passion for history and heritage in particular, as it relates to the rich stories of the communities located in the Grand River watershed. 
“The CIHC was fortunate to receive a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to hire an Executive Director, and extremely pleased with the quality of candidates we interviewed. Dr. Dearlove’s related experience and interest in our Industrial Heritage and her exemplary credentials made our hiring decision much easier. We look forward to working with her as she assists us in building and developing strong community relationships while taking our organization to the next level,” says Mike O’Byrne President of CIHC.

Karen Dearlove recently completed her PhD in History from McMaster University.   Karen has been active in local history in her hometown of Cambridge, Ontario.  She has researched, written and presented papers at national and international academic conferences exploring topics in local history.  Karen is a member of the City of Cambridge Archives Advisory Board, and with the Archives Board recently spearheaded the “History on the Grand: Industry and the Environment” local history symposium held 17 October 2009 at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Cambridge.  For the past year Karen has worked as a teacher/interpreter at McDougall Cottage, a community museum owned and operated by the Region of Waterloo.  At McDougall Cottage Karen has designed several programs, exhibits and activities, including a recent guided walking tour exploring the industrial history and heritage of Galt (Cambridge).  Since 2007 Karen has served as a community member on the Steering Committee for the new Region of Waterloo History Museum being constructed in Kitchener, Ontario.  She is also completing a Certificate in Museum Studies through the Ontario Museum Association.

Brantford: City of Industry Exhibit at Queen’s Park, Toronto

Pieces of Brantford’s industrial history are currently on display at Queen’s Park in Toronto.  The Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre (CIHC) compiled an exhibit of “Brantford Made” artifacts celebrating Brantford’s manufacturing history for the Community Exhibits Program at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.  The exhibit evokes Brantford’s history as the third largest manufacturer of exported goods in the early twentieth century.  By 1911 Brantford had established 125 working industries.  Artifacts include goods from Johnson’s Wax, Spalding baseballs, and items related to the Cockshutt Plow Company.  The exhibit was mounted at the end of September and will remain on display until March 2010.

Pictured left to right: Rob Adlam, Director of the CIHC; Dave Levac, MPP for Brant; and Justin Sharp, previous interim-Executive Director of the CIHC.

The CIHC receives grant from Brant Community Foundation...!

Funds were received from the BCF in May to assist the CIHC with the development of a new website and virtual museum component. We are very grateful to the BCF for its interest and support for our efforts to promote our industrial heritage in new and innovative ways!

President's Appreciation Day, at Spruce Row Museum, Waterford

Our President's Appreciation Day on Saturday March 14th was a resounding success! About 30 members and guests attended the morning strategic planning session and came up with great stuff and guidance for our Board of Directors! Lunch was served (yummy Pizza) and the afternoon concluded with special guest speakers, Krista Avey from Spruce Row Museum, and Bill Yeager, recently retired curator of the Norfolk Heritage Centre in Simcoe. See some photographs from the event in our Photo Gallery.

Thanks for your continued support!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 11, 2008

CANADIAN INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE CENTRE RECEIVES GIFT OF COCKSHUTT COLLECTION

BRANTFORD – The Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre (CIHC) is pleased and honoured to announce that it has been the recipient of a highly significant collection of archival material from William H. (Bill) Cockshutt and his son, Charles Dean Cockshutt. The large collection contains rare and unique documents from the international, Brantford - based company that was a household name in farm equipment for much of the 20th century.

A reception was held in Bill’s honour on Sunday November 9, at Spruce Row Museum, in Waterford. The announcement of this generous donation was made at that time to members, friends, and family and samples from the collection were on display. See Photo Gallery.

Bill Cockshutt, a great grandson of the founder of the Cockshutt Plow Company, joined Cockshutt Farm Equipment Limited in 1952 when he was sent to Winnipeg to join the marketing team. His father, Ashton was a part of the business from an early age, and his grandfather, W.F. Cockshutt was a Member of Parliament for Brantford. Bill’s son, Dean, has stated that he is “very pleased that the CIHC will take custody of this important piece of Canadiana” and that the quality of its contents, thanks to his father’s meticulous work, will appeal to future researchers.

Bill has been involved in the CIHC for many years, has served on the Board of Directors, and is a Life Member. The CIHC celebrated with him when he launched his book, About Cockshutt Bill was the first one to fully document the rise and fall of the company from the perspective of a family descendant. Many items in the archival collection are related to the research he conducted in the course of writing his book.

Among the items in the extensive collection are original 19th century brochures from the Plow Works and carriage manufacturing, catalogues from the 1880s to the 1930s, machine price lists, original engineering notebooks, the presentation by Canada Post when it issued the Cockshutt ‘30’ stamp, a set of 78rpm records of the Cockshutt Choir, pictorial history albums, and maps.

It is being housed at the Spruce Row Museum until such time as the CIHC has its own facility. The CIHC has partnered with the Spruce Row Museum in presenting the permanent exhibit of Cockshutt Farm Equipment, on display now at the museum. The exhibit represents different stages in the development of the company from the 1870s to the 1960s. Featured artefacts include a 1877 walking plow, an early cream separator, a Cockshutt ‘30’ tractor, wartime photographs, model tractors, equipment manuals, tie pins, tractor seats, and much more. The addition of this archival material to the CIHC collection nicely compliments the display and is the culmination of many years of developing the CIHC into a significant presence in the museum community.

The CIHC was established in 2001 to promote and to honour Canadian Industrial Heritage through public education and the preservation of historical data, resources, and artefacts. The organization relies on a variety of display opportunities, newsletters, a website, membership support, and community collaboration to carry out its mandate. Fundraising efforts include the production of DVDs featuring rare archival film footage, book sales, and special events. The development of a museum facility is still a high priority for the organization and it continues to seek community support and collaboration in order to achieve that goal.

For more information please call 519-732-1000 or email at info@canadianindustrialheritage.org