Please join us for a spring conference about the Hidden Histories of Annapolis County.

The keynote speaker will be Brenda J. Thompson, author of A Wholesome Horror – Poor Houses in Nova Scotia.

Guest presenters will be Laura Churchill Duke, Warden Alex Morrison, and Heather Leblanc of Mapannapolis.

DATE: Friday, May 24th in the evening and Saturday, May 25th all day.

COST: $60  / Early Bird Registration Fee of $50 only available before May 1, 2024

Cost includes lunch (sandwich and salad) provided by Perky Loaf and coffee/tea and dessert provided by Paradise Historical Society.

Event Schedule

Friday Evening

7:00 – 7:30: Registration Check-In

7:30: Hidden History as a Quilt with Brenda Thompson  [Keynote Speaker and Discussion]

Saturday

9:00: Good Morning Coffee/Tea

9:30 – 10:45: Footsteps in the Snow and Discussion with Laura Churchill Duke

10:45 – 11:15: Break

11:15 – 12:30: The Forgotten Scots with Warden Alex Morrison

12:30 – 1:30: Lunch

1:30-2:45: Mapannapolis with Heather LeBlanc

2:45: Plenary Session – What next?

3:30: Closing

The conference is full. Thank you to all who registered. We look forward to seeing you!

Our Presenters

	KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Brenda J. Thompson Brenda brings unique gifts to the task of finding our Hidden Histories. She has a Master’s degree in Sociology from Acadia University, life experience as a ‘welfare mother’ and low-wage earner, a passion for local history AND a natural talent for cogent and compelling writing. She is well-equipped to help us clear the mists of nostalgia from the realities of our ancestors’ world. Sometimes her writing is touching and almost light-hearted, as in her monologue play based on the memoirs of Lester Beeler of West Dalhousie (side note: this was performed to the delight of all in the Paradise Community Hall once). Sometimes it is enlightening, as in Finding Fortune: Documenting and Imagining the Life of Rose Fortune. It can be searing, as in Vol 2 of A Wholesome Horror, the story of Poor Houses in Nova Scotia. And it can be unflinching, as in her newest work, Enslavers of the Maritimes. In 2019, Brenda established Moose House Publications to provide an outlet for writers in, and of, rural Nova Scotia. A browse through the Moose House website shows how many of us love to write and have much to offer. This company is a huge promoter of Nova Scotian history, arts and culture. Brenda lives in Perotte Settlement, near Annapolis Royal.
	GUEST SPEAKER: Laura Churchill Duke Laura is an Annapolis Valley journalist and the award-winning author of Two Crows Sorrow and Rooted in Deception. These true crime novels take us to an Annapolis Valley we have forgotten or never knew- rural life in the valley at the turn of the last century. She is not only a writer; she is a communication and public relations specialist who uses her creative and organizational skills to benefit others. It is she who organizes the signature event for Campaign for Kids each year- you know it as Burger Wars! And she is a team member of the successful local business, Your Last Resort, helping people to clear the clutter when they need to and make positive changes in their lives. Laura lives in Kentville with her husband, David, and her two sons, Daniel and Thomas, and several rescue animals. Laura's Presentation: Footsteps in the Snow On an early January morning in 1896, 15-year-old Annie Kempton is found murdered in her own home in Bear River, Nova Scotia. Within the next few hours, Peter Wheeler, a come-from-away of dubious origin, is blamed for the murder and subsequently arrested. The community right away focuses all their attention on this outsider. Laura will talk about the specific complications of jurisdiction and legal procedures in that time and place- e.g. Bear River lies in two counties - Annapolis and Digby- but also about the social fabric which was the setting for the events. We will be given access to her methods and thought processes as she researches and writes. Reviews of her books speak of them as “chair-gripping” and “visceral”. We may learn from Laura how it is that we can both recover a story that matters, one lost in time, and feel that story as if we were there. Footprints in the Snow is slated to be published in early fall 2024 with Moose House Publications.
	GUEST SPEAKER: Warden Alex Morrison Alex Morrison is currently the Warden of Annapolis County and has been a member of County Council for twelve years. He served over 40 years as a career Canadian Army officer, including with Canada’s North American Treaty Organization forces in Germany during the Cold War, Headquarters of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, and six years as a member of the diplomatic staff of the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. He has taught at Canadian and American universities and at Japanese security institutions. Alex is the Founding President of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre. Also, he is the author, co-author, editor, co-editor of over 30 books on various aspects of Canadian military history, and on international security affairs. Two titles are The Voice of Defence: the History of the Conference of Defence Associations, and, with Ted Slaney, The Breed of Manly Men: the History of the Cape Breton Highlanders. Warden Morrison's Presentation: The Forgotten Scots of Nova Scotia: Time for a Renaissance Alex Morrison contends that the contributions of Sir William Alexander to the development of Nova Scotia have been unappreciated and that the time has come recognize them. Until relatively recently, the location of the Scottish fort, “Charles Fort”, had not been firmly established. After much historical and anthropological “detective” work, the site is now well established and suitably marked. Learn more about why this matters, and how this person and this time have been so important to our province. .
	GUEST SPEAKER: Heather LeBlanc Heather LeBlanc is the principal of HAL Consulting Incorporated, established in 1997. Her interest in people and their communities has translated into ideas and action in rural economic development, community planning, education, culture and heritage. She has served as Executive Director of several boards and committees of non-profit organizations. She was instrumental in the creation and development of Mapannapolis, and has been project manager since its inception in 2012. This community legacy project, designed by the community itself, reflects her deep interest in the County’s cultural and heritage importance to the Province and Canada. Mapannapolis In 2011 a small group of seniors started talking about mapping Annapolis County assets. The consensus: the maps would have to be created from scratch. Traditional Annapolis County maps didn’t show what we wanted them to show. We wanted maps of our distinctive homes; we wanted to see the churches where we worshiped our whole lives, and where our people were buried. A map of Annapolis County should show how the tides were tamed, and the saltwater marshes recovered, and planted in grain. What were the stories of the early bridges and railway lines that tied our County together? Where were the maps of the very earliest European settlements here, and the names of the Scots and French and English who arrived here first? And before that, the Mi’kmaw: where were their travel-ways and settlements? Annapolis County Seniors and students from the Centre for Geographic Sciences (COGS) teamed up, students teaching seniors, and today mapannapolis.ca hosts hand-made, home-made maps using state-of-art digital map-making tools. Using their mobile app the maps offer self-guided tours which include thousands of heritage homes and structures; churches and their graveyards complete with inventories of the buried; community walks; existing and long-gone wharves; the thought-lost Acadian grave sites and remains of the St. Jean-Baptiste Parish Church discovered in 2018 at Fort Anne National Historic Site. Mapannapolis does not just map; it uncovers the hidden layers of our history. From the Acadian Deportation from Annapolis Royal to the first Black Loyalist settlements to the ever-evolving stories of our home communities, Mapannapolis maps our stories, helping us discover ourselves. Mapannapolis has been recognized by the Governor General of Canada for Excellence in Community History Programming.

Register and Purchase Your Ticket

The conference is full. Thank you to all who registered. We look forward to seeing you!