In Our Cases
Winter Wonderful: The Game of Carpet Ball
Civic Museum 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaDuring the cold winter months, both children and adults engage in seasonal outdoor activities, such as hockey or tobogganing. Winter evenings are often spent indoors, playing board games or watching movies. A hundred years ago, the game of carpet ball was a popular winter sport, played inside of course! Similar in gameplay to curling and…
Decolonizing Guelph’s Founding Story
Civic Museum 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaGuelph Museums is in the process of decolonization through the restructuring of our colonialist framework and by collaborating meaningfully with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. We are committed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and we strive to initiate dialogues and create safe spaces for truth telling. These guiding principles inform…
Indigenizing Galt
Civic Museum 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaGuelph Civic Museum was established in the 1960s to preserve and share this city’s local history. Since then, our founding story has been told through the narrative of the Canada Company. Founded by John Galt, who became its first Superintendent, the Canada Company is responsible for colonizing over two million acres of land on the…
Lacrosse: The Creator’s Game
Civic Museum 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaDewa’áo’:gajíhgwa’e’ is the Cayuga Nation word for lacrosse, which has multiple meanings: “they play with webbed sticks” and “to throw or pass the ball” and “hitting their hips. Lacrosse was gifted to the Haudenosaunee Peoples (Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca) from the Creator at the time of Creation. Other Indigenous Nations have their own…
Rotary in Guelph 1920–2020: 100 Years of Service Above Self
Civic Museum 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaImage: Rotarians of Guelph, 1921 The Beginning of Rotary in Guelph: On February 23, 1920, 25 local business leaders hosted a meeting to organize a Rotary Club in Guelph. Under the direction of Alex Stewart, the club held its Charter Night on April 9, 1920 at the Royal Canadian Café. The Rotary Club of Guelph…
Every Child Matters
Civic Museum 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaAcknowledging the legacy of Canada’s Residential School system and its impact on Indigenous communities, past, present and future. What is Residential School? The term “Residential School” refers to the education system that forced Indigenous children into mainstream “Canadian” ways of living. The practice removed Indigenous children from their families, languages, customs, and traditional teachings. There…
Her Story: Trailblazers of Guelph and Wellington County
Civic Museum 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaIn fall 2019, the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) approached Guelph Museums about an exhibition that would mark the 75th anniversary of CFUW Guelph. Through the stories of local women, who fought for the advancement of the status of women, the exhibition began to take shape. The goal was to write the history of…
Liberation of Holland 1945: Trooper Clarence Oliver James
Civic Museum 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaBetween 1939 and 1945, the Second World War was an international conflict fought on land, on sea and in the air. Canadian soldiers played a major role in the war, including many from Guelph. Some of Guelph's soldiers returned home, but many died in battle and as prisoners of war. The year 2020 marks the…
