GUEST SPEAKER:
Devon Biddle introduced our Guest Speaker Samantha George Curator for Parkwood Estate. Samantha is responsible for all the artifacts and preservation of the history of Parkwood. She is on the Board of the Association of Culinary History of Canada, and she represented Canada as a food historian at Vimy 100 commemoration.
At our June Home Hospitality event, in conjunction with the Rotary International convention, one of Sam’s grandchildren , Peter Taylor, a Rotarian from Washington State, will be attending.
Parkwood celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2017. For 55 years it was the home of Colonel Sam and Adelaide McLaughlin who were considered the First Family of Oshawa, entertaining the Governor General, Prime Minister, Royalty, and movie stars.
The house itself has 8,000 items of historical significance and there are 15,000 items in the archives. The original home was built in less than one year at a reported cost of over $250,000 including furnishings.
They have started to compile an oral/image history of the staff of Parkwood and have been reaching out to connect with all of the former staff members and their families.
Samantha reviewed the history of a number of the items in the house and showed photos from both history and recent activities at Parkwood.
Parkwood has a partnership with Durham College for its Horticultural Program and students do hands on work. There is also a partnership with George Brown College in the Culinary History program.
There are some special events and tours coming up, including exclusive tours of the basement. There are now three different tours available: the Auto Baron’s Experience, The Servant’s Experience and the Art Collection Tour.
Robbie Larocque gave thanks to Samantha a great presentation, with lots of historical shots of the building and grounds, and updates on current and future restorations.
IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT, MAKE UP : Go online at www.rotary.org go to the club locator and find a club or clubs near your destination. Or you can add the free App Rotary Club Locator to your phone for instant look up of any club in the world. Please mail or fax your make-ups to Secretary Robbie Larocque, or give your make-up card to the attendance/registration