GUEST SPEAKER – Samantha George, curator of Parkwood Estate
Introduced by Dave Andrews, Sam gave a brief updated on the activities during COVID at Parkwood. She noted that the film industry was there for most of the time which allowed her to keep her staff on duty at Parkwood. Thanks to “Nightmare Alley” and Langdon’s “Lost Symbol” by base don Dan Brown’s novels. The revenue from the film shoots will help to pay for the restoration of the portraits of Colonel Sam’s daughters that have been in the dining room since they were first created.
Tonight, Samantha, who has been the curator now for 22 years, wanted to share what she has been working on during the last 18 month: Adelaide McLaughlin.
Sam noted that Adelaide passed away in 1958 and Colonel Sam in 1972. As a result, there were little information available , particularly when the Oshawa Times and the Oshawa Museum had their fires. Samantha was able to find an address book of Adelaide’s and then she was able to use the names in the book and by researching these names and the organizations they belonged to, she found the relationship back to Adelaide.
Adelaide was born in Kinsale, Ontario. Samantha found a 1893 letter, Adelaide graduated teacher’s college in Ottawa (during which time she was active in the suffrage and temperance movements and was part of the National Council of Women), and returned to Whitby to teach, and then Tyrone where she met Colonel Sam. Sam and Adelaide married in 1898. They moved to Oshawa (to a house on King Street), had 5 daughters and then in 1917, moved into Parkwood.
At that time, Sam and Adelaide had not cracked the establishment (in Toronto and Montreal). For example, they could not purchase a home on Bridlewood and instead, built Parkwood.
Sam was able to review the ledger of Verna Conant and the United Empire Loyalist archives, showing that Adelaide joined UEL, as did Lady Eaton. By 1924, they were being noticed. The daughters all rode horses and won ribbons at the Royal Winter Fair, again establishing a place in the establishment.
Adelaide had Chrysthanemums grown in the greenhouses (300 different varieties) and showcased them by hosting the Mum Tea.
In 1927, Adelaide was featured in Saturday Night magazine which gained her national exposure.
Adelaide was a very good golfer, being a member of the Oshawa Golf Club and the Mississauga Golf Club , winning tournaments which allowed them to then become members of Rosedale Golf Club.
In the 1930’s she assisted the Ontario Government with high school curriculum. She was involved in progressive movements in the arts, education and hygiene. She also very interested in the working conditions of the female staff (more than 40) at Parkwwod. She had great affection for the staff.
In 1939, when WW II started, Adelaide was asked by the Red Cross to set up blood donor clinics across Canada, and was President of the Airforce Auxillary, at the Oshawa Airport. She set up knitting bees and packed POW kits at Parkwood and donated them to the Red Cross and did many speaking tours across Canada. During the War, women worked in factories and the children, in many cases were left at home during the day to fend for themselves. Adelaide saw the need and assisted with setting up the first day care facilities in the country.
In 1946, at the end of the war, Col. Sam and Adelaide spent more and more time at their home in Bermuda and at Cap-Chat, Quebec
She passed away in 1958.
Four of her grandchildren died in the 1990’s and the great grandchildren, now in their 40’s have no memory of Sam and Adelaide.
Did you know that Parkwood has a You Tube Channel? Many excellent remembrances are there, thanks to Samathna George. (see: https://www.youtube.com/user/ParkwoodEstate/videos )
See also: https://www.parkwoodestate.com/
https://www.parkwoodestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Adelaide-McLaughlin.pdf
Past District Governor Ted Morrison, who worked in the gardens as a student, thanked Samantha with a certificate of our appreciation.
Meeting adjourned Approx 8:20 pm
UPCOMING MEETINGS:
MAR 2 – BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING AT 7:00 PM
MAR 5 – BINGO – RED BARN – Evening – 5 PM – Team # 1 – Linda Porritt, Ted Morrison, Sharron Morrison, Lennis Trotter
MAR 8 - Regular Weekly Meeting – 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM . Oshawa Golf Club . Speaker: _Martin Franssen, Detective - Durham Regional Police Service Fraud Squad
MORE ROTARY INFORMATION:
OUR REGULAR WEEKLY ARE NOW AT THE OSHAWA GOLF CLUB
MAR 8-14 – World Rotaract Week .
MAR 9, 16 & 23 – Rotary Leadership Institute – (3 nights) 6 to 8 pm - Rotary Leadership Institute - Part TWO – Spring 2022 - Join us for an engaging session to learn and grow your knowledge of Rotary. RLI is a three part course and each part consists of three 2 hour sessions. When registering here for part 2, you are registering for all three sessions. Register here: https://rotary7070.org/event/rli---part-2---spring/
MAR 15 - Regular Meeting - 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM . Oshawa Golf Club
Speaker: St Patrick’s Day Party at The Golf Club. Spouses invited. Sign up with Sue MacKinnon
MAR 22 – World Water Day
MAR 22 - Regular Weekly Meeting – 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM . Oshawa Golf Club
Speaker: Yves Gadler, Chief Executive Officer, Lakeridge Health Foundation
For more info see: https://lhfoundation.ca/
MAR 26 – BINGO – RED BARN – Matinee – 11 AM – Team – Sue MacKinnon, Bill Creamer, Larry and Kay Hurren
MAR 29 - Regular Weekly Meeting – 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM . Oshawa Golf Club
Speaker: Pastors David & April McNeilly, Salvation Army, Oshawa
For more info see: https://saoshawa.ca/
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 officer at the next club meeting.