Home > Meetings and Events
Thornhill Village Festival
Thornhill Archives
Feedback
Privacy Policy
Webmail
| Meetings and
Events |
| Coming Events |
| May Meeting Saturday, May 25, 2013 Robert West Heritage Centre, 7780 Yonge Street Refreshments: 2:15 p.m. Meeting: 2:30 p.m. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Scott McLaren from York University. Topic: Fire Across the Border: Saving Souls in Upper Canada, 1790-1820 Members - free; Non-members - $5.00 On a cold winter night in 1790, a young Methodist preacher with a withered arm crossed the frozen St. Lawrence River into what would soon become Upper Canada. His name was William Losee and he was only the first of a small army of American preachers to cross the border during these early years. The extraordinary revival that followed wherever these preachers went soon became so pronounced that it was dubbed the "Canada Fire" by observers on both sides of the border. This talk will explore how this revival took root, why these American preachers were so successful in their efforts to convert colonists in Upper Canada, and how this brand of revivalism was complicated by a spike in anti-Americanism following the War of 1812. Scott McLaren holds a PhD in religious cultural
history from the University of Toronto. He is a
faculty member in the Graduate Program in
Humanities and Associate Librarian for Humanities
and Religion at York University. His work has
appeared in a variety of scholarly journals
including the Papers of the Bibliographical
Society of Canada, Christianity and Literature,
and Renascence. He is currently working on a book
for the University of Toronto Press on the
relationship between reading and religious
identity in early Upper Canada. |
| 10th Annual Bus Trip & Mystery Tour Saturday, June 8th, 2013 8am to 6pm Price $55 per person includes travel by highway coach & entrance fees Departure from Holy Trinity Church, Brook Street, Thornhill (south parking lot); please be there by 7:45 am to ensure a prompt departure Tour Director & Bus Guide - David Rawcliffe (co-author of SideRoad GuideBooks) Open to members of the General Public Seats on the 10th Annual Bus Trip & Mystery Tour must be reserved: Telephone: David at 905-881-3952 and leave a message OR email David at festpub@thornhillhistoric.org Payment should be arranged with David Full Flyer available here: [DOC] [PDF] |
| Past Events |
|
2012 Annual General Meeting |
|
2012 Mystery Bus Tour Departure from Holy Trinity Church, Brook Street,
Thornhill (south parking lot); Tour Director & Bus Guide - David Rawcliffe
(co-author of SideRoad GuideBooks) Full Flyer available here: [DOC] [PDF] |
|
May Meeting From the publisher's website:
Feasting and Fasting is an introduction to the
foods and beverages that were a central part of
how our ancestors celebrated important events.
Food brought families and communities together
to pay tribute, to honour, to celebrate, to
mourn, and to be comforted. |
| SPOHT's 8th
ANNUAL "MYSTERY" BUS TRIP Saturday, June 11th, 2011 Meet at Holy Trinity Church parking lot at 8:45 a.m. Bus leaves at 9:00 a.m. and returns by 5:00 p.m. The morning destination is the Bell Homestead National Historic Site, which includes both Melville House and Henderson House. The former was the Bell family home, while the latter was the first telephone exchange. Lunch will be planned individually in Brantford. Afternoon drive is the "Mystery" part of the trip. Cost will be $42.00 (Bus & Admission) To register, please send your cheque with name(s) and telephone number(s) to SPOHT (Attn. Bus Trip), P.O. Box 53120, 10 Royal Orchard Blvd., Thornhill, ON L3T 7R9 OR contact David Rawcliffe at 905-881-3952 or festpub@thornhillhistoric.org. |
| Heritage
Night Meeting Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Heintzman House, 135 Bay Thorn Drive Refreshments - 7:15 p.m.; Meeting - 7:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be Kate McAuley, Assistant Curator at Toronto's First Post Office. Her presentation will be accompanied by visuals and sample letters, as well as by examples of 19th-century writing equipment. DON'T MISS THIS INTERESTING EVENT! |
| SPOHT
Heritage Night Tuesday, February 19, 2008 St. Volodymyr’s (St. Vlad’s) Church Hall , 15 Church Lane Guest Speaker: Peter Wokral, Heritage Planner for the Town of Markham and Chairman of the Heritage Committee of Scugog Topic: Kerosene-Age Lighting; the History of Home Lighting, 1850 - 1900 Mr. Wokral will bring his collection of kerosene lamps for display. Members are invited to bring their own antique lamps for exhibition and appraisal. Refreshments: 7:15 p.m. Presentation: 7:30 p.m. |
| SPOHT Annual General
Meeting Thursday, November 29, 2007 St. Volodymyr's Church Hall, 15 Church Lane [MAP] Refreshments: 7:15pm. Meeting 7:30pm History on the Move Guest Speakers: Bill and Vivian Wylie, will speak about the planning for and relocation of the historic David Chapman house from Yonge & Clark to John & Henderson in 1980. They will show video footage that was taken during the move as well as before and after photographs of the restoration project. There will also be panels on photographs from the Thornhill Archives, showing the many other buildings that have been relocated around Thornhill. This is an opportunity for you to join or renew your membership. |
| Thornhill Village
Festival - Saturday September 15, 2007 We would like to thank the sponsors, volunteers, community groups and many others who helped make the 31st annual Thornhill Village Festival such a great event. The Society for the Preservation of Historic Thornhill (SPOHT) has been the proud host of the Thornhill Village Festival since 1977. |
| Spring Meeting -
Thursday May 17, 2007 St. Vladimir’s Church Hall, 15 Church Lane, Thornhill, ON [MAP] 7:15 Refreshments 7:30 Presentation Guest Speaker: Christine Moore Topic: Lavender Through the Ages: Fact and Fiction Christine is the author of Growing Lavender: A Guide for Cooler Climates, the first Canadian book about growing lavender. She is also the Past President of the Greater Toronto Rose and Garden Society. Christine will share some of her findings from her extensive research about lavender. She will also describe the uses of lavender through the ages. |
| SPOHT Heritage Night
- Thursday, February 22, 2007 St. Vladimir’s Church Hall, 15 Church Lane, Thornhill, ON [MAP] 7:15 Refreshments 7:30 Presentation Guest Speaker: Wilf Cowin GREETINGS FROM YESTERYEAR Wilf Cowin has an extensive collection of historical picture post cards which he will share with us. Wilf will not only share his collection of post cards through a slide presentation but also his memories of why and how he began his hobby. Everyone is encouraged to bring their postcards to share. Wilf purchases post cards. So if you’re interested in parting with some of your collection, this might be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. |
| SPOHT Annual
General Meeting Tuesday November 28, 2006 St. Volodymyr's Church Hall, 15 Church Lane, Thornhill Refreshments 7:15 Meeting 7:30 A short business meeting included a vote on the recommended changes to the constitution and the election of a slate of officers for 2007. Guest speaker: Adam Birrell, SPOHT, Thornhill Archives & Special Collections chair. Topic: "Thornhill: Stories in a Changing Landscape" Using selected examples, Adam gave an overview of the changes in land use and appearance of the Thornhill area from early settlement to the present day. |
| 30th Annual Thornhill
Village Festival Saturday September 16th, 2006. Website |
| 3rd Annual SPOHT
Mystery Bus Tour Saturday June 10th, 2006 - 9:00am to 5:00pm "H.M.S. Nancy and the crew that would not give up" Visit Nancy Island Historic Site at Wasaga Beach. Hear the fascinating, yet hidden, story of the ship and the crew's exploits during the War of 1812. See the keel of the Nancy and other artifacts, as well as a nineteenth-century lighthouse. Experience an audio-visual display...all on a secluded island in the Nottawasaga River. Lunch (not included in the tour price) will be available at restaurants or picnic facilities in Wasaga Beach. Enjoy an afternoon Mystery Tour through Ontario's countryside, interspersed with MYSTERY STOPS! Tickets are $25 (including transportation and entrance fees). For more information call Betty Goulden at 905-771-7557. |
| May Meeting: Tuesday
May 23, 2006 Join us as Ron Brown, author of many books on Ontario's heritage, speaks about Ghost Towns of Ontario. Time: Refreshments 7:15pm, Meeting 7:30pm Place: St. Vladimir's Church Hall, 15 Church Lane, Thornhill, Ontario. |
| Heritage Night -
Thursday February 23, 2006 We were pleased to welcome Mike Filey as our guest speaker at our annual Heritage Night on Thursday February 23, 2006. His presentation was "Toronto, Then and Now". The meeting, which was open to the public, was very well-attended and we were very pleased to welcome several new members. |
| SPOHT Christmas
Outing - Saturday December
10, 2005 For our 2005 Christmas outing we visited the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum for 'A Candlelight Christmas'. The tour, led by costumed interpretors, explored the development of Canadian Christmas traditions in the 19th century. Many thanks to our hosts at the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum for a charming and informative evening. Visit our photo gallery for pictures from this event. [Photo Gallery] SPOHT Annual General Meeting - Tuesday November 29, 2005 On November 29th, 2005, SPOHT hosted its Annual General Meeting at St. Vladimir's Church. Highlights of the year's developments and events were presented, the election of Executive members was held, and the meeting was accompanied by a display of items from the Thornhill Archives. This year, two members have decided to step down after many years on the committee. Marie Baker has stepped down from the position of SPOHT Secretary after more than twenty years of service. Pam Birrell has stepped down from the position of Programs Coordinator having served on the executive for about seventeen years. Both Marie and Pam will be missed on the committee for their dedication and comradery which they offered for so many years. We are pleased to welcome Betty Goulden to the executive. Betty has kindly taken over the position of Programs Coordinator from Pam Birrell. So far we have not found a person to replace Marie Baker as SPOHT Secretary. We were pleased to welcome four new members at our meeting that evening. If you would like to become a member or would like to renew your membership, please see the online membership page. The 29th Annual Thornhill Village Festival - Saturday September 17, 2005 For more information about the Thornhill Village Festival and other associated events please visit the Festival website The Thornhill Village Festival is hosted by the Society for the Preservation of Historic Thornhill. [More information] >> June SPOHT "Mystery" Bus Tour On Saturday, June 11th, 2005, 47 SPOHT members and friends boarded a coach bus and embarked on the second annual SPOHT "Mystery" Bus Tour. This year we visited The Joseph Schneider Haus Museum and Gallery in Kitchener, a Pennsylvania-German-Mennonite farmhouse built c.1816 and outbuildings. After that we made our way to the village of St. Jacob's for lunch and a browse along the historic main street. From there we were on the road again for a tour of some fascinating sights in Waterloo Region. We made a stop at the West Montrose Bridge that spans the Grand River and later we passed the Badlands on the Old Baseline Road. We owe a special thank you to Pam Birrell and David Rawcliffe who organized this very enjoyable trip. See Photo Gallery May Meeting On Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 historian, George Duncan, senior Heritage Planner with the Town of Markham, spoke on the history and architecture of a rapidly disappearing feature of our landscape - the Ontario Barn. George Duncan's talk was complemented by an Archives display on Thornhill barns. This was a free event, open to the public. |
| Heritage
Night SPOHT's Heritage Night event held on February 21, 2005 was a real treat! Dorothy Duncan, former Food Editor of Century Home Magazine, delighted us, and our taste buds, with her talk on Canadian Heritage Cooking. We learned a lot about our home-grown culinary delights and were treated to some delicious samples! Dorothy Duncan kindly donated a copy of her new book, "Nothing More Comforting: Canada's Heritage Food". It is an appetizing addition to the Thornhill Archives library. |