Explore more lectures, videos and recordings.
The View From Up Here
The View From Up Here is our most ambitious project to date. It is a podcast series that uses archival footage from the Lakehead region to put news and events from the past into perspective. The series combines the research and knowledge of professional historians with the archival material to bring the history to life. It focuses on international events or themes and how they were received at the Lakehead. Coming soon.
A New City
How did Thunder Bay get its name? Why were two almost identical names placed on the ballot when citizens were asked to make their choice from three options in the 1969 plebiscite? Was the result contrived by local and provincial politicians who wanted a clean break with the past? Or was it a genuine expression of the electors’ will?
Since 1970, historian Peter Raffo has maintained a continuing interest in the amalgamation of the Twin Cities. He has published several articles in Papers and Records on the history and consequences of this seminal event in the life of Thunder Bay. In 1995 he oversaw the creation of an Oral History of Amalgamation, which included interviews with politicians, city administrators and staff who had been involved in the process.
Looking Back at 1962
Before we opened the first film we imagined that we would find recordings of the nightly news, as though we were watching the newscast. We then discovered that what we had were all of the clips used for the evening news but none of the actual broadcasts. And, of the 1,955 reels of film containing almost 500,000 feet of footage, only one reel came with a script written at the time. This was the 1962 year-end reel consisting of the highlights for the year and it aired on December 31, 1962. We recorded Marv Saxberg, a retired radio and television news presenter, reading the script. Saxberg’s voice and style reflect the style of enunciation used at the time. Coming soon.
The Lakehead in Frame
Join members of the Reel Memories team, Dr. Ron Harpelle, along with Lakehead alumni Katie Green and Dr. Tom Peotto, for a presentation on their research into the first 20 years of the local television news at the Lakehead. The presentation will take participants through the process involved in the preservation of the footage and provide glimpses into daily life at the Lakehead in the 1960s and 70s. Originally aired May 26, 2021.
Reel Memories of the Lakehead 