Upcoming Speaker

OxHS Presents: Woodstock Museum NHS 75th Anniversary!

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Please join us on Wednesday, May 31st as Karen Houston, Museum Curator, discusses the founding of the Woodstock Museum, NHS and its ties with the community and with the Oxford Historical Society.

From Karen:

“The Oxford Historical Society created a committee to oversee the founding of a museum to highlight the history of Oxford County. The committee consisted of naturalists, historians, university professors and interested citizens. The museum was incorporated in 1947 when artifacts were temporarily displayed in the county courthouse. Members of the committee worked on fundraising, preparing future exhibits, and learning museum best practises.

The committee later acquired a permanent home for the museum on the top floor of the Old Town Hall, which housed the City of Woodstock’s council chambers and mayor’s office on the main floor. Artifacts were moved into the new space and displayed for viewing.

The museum first opened on Jan. 28, 1948, on the second floor of the Old Town Hall.

Originally called the Oxford County Museum, it was renamed the Woodstock Museum in 1985 when the City of Woodstock took over operation of the museum and its collection.

Today the museum continues to reside in the Old Town Hall, which is designated as a national historic site“

Presentation on the Woodstock Museum’s 75th Anniversary will be held at the Woodstock Museum, NHS, on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Doors open at 6:30pm.
This is a free event, all are welcome to attend.

Join the OxHS for Tonight’s Presentation: The Big World of Joe Boyle!

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Joe Boyle’s Machine Gun Brigade

Hello Everyone,

It has been a 100 years since Joe Boyle’s Repatriation and Brian ‘Chip’ Martin has prepared a special presentation honouring this event!
Please join the Oxford Historical Society and Chip Martin on Wednesday, April 26 at 6:30pm at the Woodstock Museum, NHS for his presentation: The Big World of Joe Boyle!

He grew up in Woodstock, made millions in the Klondike, challenged for hockey supremacy with miners from there, contributed to the First World war in unconventional ways and hobnobbed with European royalty.

Along the way, Joe Boyle was dubbed the “King of the Klondike,” and “Saviour of Romania.” It was quite the life for an Ontario boy whose efforts saw him decorated by Great Britain, France, Russia and Romania, but was considered persona non-grata by officials in his own country. He became so close to the queen of Romania that was he was forced to leave the country whose Crown jewels, reserves and archives he managed to rescue at the risk of his life.

Boyle caused fits to the Canadian government because he acted as a soldier of fortune and would not follow orders or explain his wartime activities. In the end, he depleted his own fortune and the Queen of Romania stepped in to provide suitable markers for his gravesite following his untimely death in London, England exactly 100 years ago. And it wasn’t until 40 years ago that his remains were brought to Woodstock with the help of the Canadian armed forces that had considered him a rogue pariah when he was alive

Joe Boyle is a figure not unlike Gravenhurst medical doctor Norman Bethune, who was considered a hero in a faraway land, but virtually unknown at home. Boyle’s story is of epic proportions.

From Chip Martin – The Big World of Joe Boyle

Chip Martin’s latest work – From Underground Railroad to Rebel Refuge: Canada and the Civil War; will be available for purchase, $25.00, cash only. For more information about this book go to: OxHS Upcoming Events

This presentation will take place at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. The meeting will start at 6:30pm. This is a free public meeting, all are welcome to attend.

OxHS Upcoming Presentation on Wednesday, April 26, 2023: The Big World of Joe Boyle!

by
Joe Boyle’s Machine Gun Brigade

Hello Everyone,

It has been a 100 years since Joe Boyle’s Repatriation and Brian ‘Chip’ Martin has prepared a special presentation honouring this event!
Please join the Oxford Historical Society and Chip Martin on Wednesday, April 26 at 6:30pm at the Woodstock Museum, NHS for his presentation: The Big World of Joe Boyle!

He grew up in Woodstock, made millions in the Klondike, challenged for hockey supremacy with miners from there, contributed to the First World war in unconventional ways and hobnobbed with European royalty.

Along the way, Joe Boyle was dubbed the “King of the Klondike,” and “Saviour of Romania.” It was quite the life for an Ontario boy whose efforts saw him decorated by Great Britain, France, Russia and Romania, but was considered persona non-grata by officials in his own country. He became so close to the queen of Romania that was he was forced to leave the country whose Crown jewels, reserves and archives he managed to rescue at the risk of his life.

Boyle caused fits to the Canadian government because he acted as a soldier of fortune and would not follow orders or explain his wartime activities. In the end, he depleted his own fortune and the Queen of Romania stepped in to provide suitable markers for his gravesite following his untimely death in London, England exactly 100 years ago. And it wasn’t until 40 years ago that his remains were brought to Woodstock with the help of the Canadian armed forces that had considered him a rogue pariah when he was alive

Joe Boyle is a figure not unlike Gravenhurst medical doctor Norman Bethune, who was considered a hero in a faraway land, but virtually unknown at home. Boyle’s story is of epic proportions.

From Chip Martin – The Big World of Joe Boyle

Chip Martin’s latest work – From Underground Railroad to Rebel Refuge: Canada and the Civil War; will be available for purchase, $25.00, cash only. For more information about this book go to: OxHS Upcoming Events

This presentation will take place at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. The meeting will start at 6:30pm. This is a free public meeting, all are welcome to attend.

OxHS Free Public Presentation on Wednesday, March 29, 2023: Virsa/Sikh Heritage Through My Family Presentation!

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The Saran Siblings, photo provided by Savrup Kaur Saran

Hello Everyone,

Please join the Oxford Historical Society for a special presentation celebrating Sikh Heritage Month on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. Doors open at 6:30pm. This is a free public event open to everyone.

Tonight’s presenter will be Savrup Kaur Saran, a former co-op student at the Woodstock Museum. During her placement Savrup had the opportunity to research Sikh heritage:

“To see the Sikh community represented through the Museum was nice and then connecting that with my own life was really cool,” she said. “I know a lot about Sikh heritage in general from my parents, but not as much about Canadian Sikh history, so it was really interesting to learn more about that.”

During her presentation Savrup will not only focus on her own family’s history, but that of the Sikh’s in Canada:

“I wanted to focus on that common immigrant Sikh story. There’s so much heritage and so many stories,” she said. “Sikh heritage is different for each family, but in my family, it goes back so far and in so many different locations from India to Fiji to Canada, and that same heritage lives through me and my brother today.”

This presentation will take place at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. The meeting will start at 6:30pm. This is a free public meeting, all are welcome to attend.

The month of April was proclaimed as Sikh Heritage Month by the Ontario government in 2013, as April is when the Sikh community celebrates Vaisakhi, a spring festival that also marks important events in the religion’s history.

As part of Sikh Heritage Month, the United Sikhs invite you to their open celebration in Museum Square on Saturday, April 1, 2023 from 1-3pm.

During the month of April the Woodstock Museum, NHS’s exhibit Sikhs in Canada, will be on display!

Information for this blog post was provided by the Woodstock Museum, NHS.

Virsa/Sikh Heritage Through My Family Presentation: Wednesday, March 29, 2023!

by
The Saran Siblings, photo provided by Savrup Kaur Saran

Hello Everyone,

Please join the Oxford Historical Society for a special presentation celebrating Sikh Heritage Month on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. Doors open at 6:30pm. This is a free public event open to everyone.

Tonight’s presenter will be Savrup Kaur Saran, a former co-op student at the Woodstock Museum. During her placement Savrup had the opportunity to research Sikh heritage:

“To see the Sikh community represented through the Museum was nice and then connecting that with my own life was really cool,” she said. “I know a lot about Sikh heritage in general from my parents, but not as much about Canadian Sikh history, so it was really interesting to learn more about that.”

The month of April was proclaimed as Sikh Heritage Month by the Ontario government in 2013, as April is when the Sikh community celebrates Vaisakhi, a spring festival that also marks important events in the religion’s history.

During her presentation Savrup will not only focus on her own family’s history, but that of the Sikh’s in Canada:

“I wanted to focus on that common immigrant Sikh story. There’s so much heritage and so many stories,” she said. “Sikh heritage is different for each family, but in my family, it goes back so far and in so many different locations from India to Fiji to Canada, and that same heritage lives through me and my brother today.”

This presentation will take place at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. The meeting will start at 6:30pm. This is a free public meeting, all are welcome to attend.

Information for this blog post was provided by the Woodstock Museum, NHS.