Drawing, St. Catharines House on February 26, 1849

A drawing done on paper 50cm x 45cm and mounted in a frame under glass. This is a drawing of a meeting held at the St. Catharines House on February 26, 1849. The drawing was done from memory by W. Osborn who has signed the picture on one of the pillars on the right hand side of the picture. The caption under the picture reads "Act 1st Scene 1st". There is some dialogue, "Woodruff - 'He says gentlemen, my son holds an office under Government, of 400 pounds per year - he forgot to tell you, he sold his constituents at Cornwall' - Macdonald 'You're a liar'". The artist portrays a fight breaking out and lists the characters as Boyd , Rykert, Hobdon, Foley, The Sheriff, Woodruff, J.W.O. Clarke, McDonald, Lamb, Hamilton and Hathaway. There are some very slight wrinkles and tears in the drawing. They do not affect the drawing. [Rolland MacDonald (1810-1881) represented Cornwall in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1844-1846. He was called to the bar in 1832 and set up practice in St. Catharines. The quote on the drawing concerns the constituents at Cornwall. This meeting was covered in reports in the St. Catharines Journal on: March 1, March 8, march 15 and march 22, 1849. There is also an excerpt in William Hamilton Merritt's diary noting the riot and the sketch by Osborn].

Christian Education and the Ethics of Authenticity

A qualitative study was undertaken to explore the concept of authenticity in Christian education. The study was situated in the context of Christian schools in Ontario. Some of these schools have experienced declining enrolment and all of these schools face the challenge of being distinctive in a secular culture. To investigate the potential of the concept of authenticity for reclaiming the vision of Christian education, interviews were conducted with 3 experienced principals of Christian schools. Data analysis yielded an emergent conceptual framework of authenticity consisting of 5 concepts: authorship, relatedness, reflection, autonomy, and excellence. Authenticity was found to be a useful tool for school analysis of both the deep structures and the surface structures within Christian schools. To offset unauthentic tendencies that can arise within these schools, this study calls for an intentional use of the lens of authenticity to expose these tendencies and revitalize core expectations. Through the narratives shared by the Christian school principals, the study also develops a picture of the role of authentic Christian education in the development of the authentic Christian person.

Understanding the Intersection of Reformed Faith and Dutch Immigrant Culture in Ontario Independent Christian Schools: Principals’ Experiences and Perspectives

In the aftermath of World War II, a wave of Dutch Reformed immigrants arrived in Ontario, many of whom joined the Christian Reformed Church. Following familiar cultural patterns, history, and their Reformed Christian faith, these immigrants settled in Ontario with remarkable institutional completeness (Breton, 1964). They quickly established independent, parent-operated Christian schools across Ontario. The primary purpose of the schools was to educate children through a comprehensive biblically based school program, yet this religious purpose often intersected with a Dutch immigrant ethnic culture. Van Dijk (2001) states that “the schools were the most important organization in maintaining the religious and ethnic identity of Calvinists” (p. 66). In this qualitative study I explore the intersection of Reformed faith and Dutch Canadian immigrant ethnic culture in Christian schools through the experiential and professional lens of eight retired principals. Employing a theoretical framework informed by Berger’s (1967) Sacred Canopy, I suggest that the intersection of faith and culture was experienced in the schools and was embodied by the schools themselves. Findings point to this intersection being located in the participants’ experience of (a) Dutchness, (b) the struggle for Christian education, (c) the ties that bound the school community together, and (d) the cloud of witnesses that founded and continues to support and encourage the Christian school community. The study offers insight into a Dutch Reformed immigrant group’s experience carving out a niche for themselves on the educational landscape in Ontario. This study also offers suggestions on how Christian schools can broaden their canopy and become more ethnically and denominationally diverse in the future.

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Christian Myers of the Township of Cornwall

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Christian Myers of the Township of Cornwall, son of Michael Myers, United Empire Loyalist. He is granted 200 acres on Lot no. 18 in the 9th Concession in the Township of Mountain in the County of Dundas. This document is faded and part of the paper are missing or stained. Some of the text is affected. A small piece is missing from the crown land seal which is also faded. This was registered in Feb. 1803, Dec. 1, 1802