The Railway Club. Photo by Jolene Castillou Cumming
Farewell Herstory Cafe Party (with Special Guests) at the historic Railway Club
February 18th, 2016. Herstory Cafe supporters are invited join Jolene Castillou Cumming & Lara Campbell to re-connect with their old Herstory Cafe women’s history friends and meet new ones, as we celebrate 9 years of the Herstory Cafe and reflect on the importance of women’s history. Guest Speakers: Jean Barman, Lisa Smedman, M. Diane Rogers and Willeen Keough.
It is also the launch of SFU women’s history public talk series, Cafe Minerva, (to be co-hosted by Lara Campbell and Willeen Keough)
7pm-9pm, The Railway Club, Free admission. Refreshments: Light snacks at 7pm.
October is WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
OCTOBER 8, 2015
7:00pm – 8:30pm
Collecting with Purpose: Maisie Hurley and the Convergence of Activism and Native Art Appreciation in Vancouver
An illustrated talk by Dr. Sharon M. Fortney, PhD Anthropology, UBC
At the City of Vancouver Archives
In partnership with The City of Vancouver Archives and City Archivist Heather Gordon.
Dr. Sharon M. Fortney has Klahoose (Northern Coast Salish) and German ancestry, and an educational background in museum studies, anthropology and archaeology. Areas of interest and expertise include museum exhibits and programs, and cultural research using ethnographic, historical, archival and archaeological resource collections. She has published papers and reports on First Nations cultural centres, Coast Salish Art and First Nations engagement with NWC museums.
Squamish Chief August Jack Khatsahlano blessing Maisie and Tom Hurley, on their wedding day, with eagle down. Photo courtesy of Moira Movanna.
“Hurley was an aboriginal rights activist, the first woman to be admitted to the Native Brotherhood of BC, and the founder of Canada’s first native newspaper, the “Native Voice”… Maisie was also an artist, and created numerous pastel portraits of individuals she encountered in First Nations communities. She was given many gifts by native people, and acquired an extensive collection by this means.” Source: North Vancouver Museum & Archives, Maisie Hurley fond.
August 16, 2015 – The Jewish Women of Mountain View Cemetery Historical Walking Tour
by Chanel Blouin, Museum Assistant, The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia.
June 18, 2015 – Canadian Political Cartoonists View the Struggle for Women’s Rights. Charles and Cynthia Hou have coauthored several books, including three collections of historical political cartoons: Great Canadian Political Cartoons 1820 to 1914, 1915 to 1945, and 1946 to 1982. An illustrated talk by Charles Hou. SFU Harbour Centre.
April 9, 2015 – Lillian Alling, the Mystery Woman of B.C. and the Yukon
An illustrated talk and “dinner with the author” Susan Smith-Josephy, author of “Lillian Alling, The Journey Home.” Sylvia Hotel.
February 10, 2015 – Feminist Anarchism in British Columbia: 1960s-1980s
An illustrated talk by Eryk Martin, Simon Fraser University PhD History candidate. Railway Club.
November 23, 2014 – From Rationing to Ravishing: The Transformation of Women’s Clothing in the 1940s and 1950s. An exhibit introduction by Women’s History professor Lara Campbell, SFU Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies. Museum of Vancouver.
October 2, 2014 – CELEBRATE WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH – Frontier Femininity: Rodeo Cowgirls in B.C. An illustrated talk by Mary-Ellen Kelm, SFU History Department and author of “A Wilder West, Rodeo in Western Canada,” UBC Press, 2011. Co-sponsored by The City of Vancouver Archives, The Friends of the Vancouver City Archives and the Simon Fraser University’s Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies.
City of Vancouver Archives.
September 11, 2014 – Equality Deferred: Human Rights in British Columbia History by Dr. Dominique Clément. A talk on the historical origins of human rights law, with a focus on British Columbia and sex discrimination. SFU Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and co-presented by SFU’s Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women Studies, SFU Department of History and the Herstory Cafe. SFU Harbour Centre.
August 9, 2014 – Indigenous Plants and their Traditional Uses: A Walking Tour in Stanley Park with Cease Wyss.
A walking tour in Stanley Park with Cease Wyss, a Skwxw’u7mesh ethnobotanist, media artist, educator, and food security activist. Cease is a mentor who specializes in Indigenous Plants and their uses, for foods and medicines, Urban and Rural Agriculture, Indigenous Food.
Cease Wyss at Beaver Lake. Photo by Jolene Cumming
June 12th, 2014 – The Woman Who Shot Bill Miner: Photographer Mary Spencer.
An illustrated talk by Sherril Foster, author of “A Steady Lens: The True Story of Pioneer Photographer Mary Spencer.” Caitlin Press, 2013. Co-sponsored by the Vancouver Public Library Special Collections.
Bill Miner photograph by Mary Spencer. Photo: Vancouver Public Library Special Collections 748.
“In the early 1900s, Mary Spencer attracted a small audience with her breathtaking photographs of the local scenery and townsfolk of Kamloops. Although her name remains unfamiliar to most Canadians, this enigmatic young woman likely captured the most notorious and familiar images ever taken in BC—photos so widely known that it is likely a rare Canadian who has not seen her work… in May 1906, Mary was asked to photograph a special subject. She was hired by the Vancouver Province to cover the story of the famous train robbers Bill Miner and his gang. Mary’s photos of Billy and his cohorts captured the imagination of a province intrigued by BC’s first and most charming train robber.”
April 16, 2014 – HIGH BROWNS AND “GRANNY SHOES”: FOOTWEAR AND THE REINFORCEMENT OF GENDERED IDENTITIES IN THE RCMP IN 1974 Guest Speaker: Bonnie Reilly Schmidt. Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre. 515 West Hastings Street. Rm 7000.
This presentation will explore how the shoes that were issued by the RCMP to the first female Mounties in 1974 not only reinforced gendered meanings about women’s role as police officers, but served to maintain masculinity as the dominant image of the police force.
Bonnie Reilly Schmidt served as a police officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police between 1977 and 1987. Her dissertation titled, “Women in Red Serge: Female Police Bodies and the Disruption of the Image of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” was completed in October 2013.
February 21, 2014 – Rosie the Riveter Revisited: A Modern History of Women in the Trades. A roundtable presentation and discussion on the challenges and joys faced by women entering the BC trades in the 1970s. Moderator: Tamara Pongracz: Chief Instructor, BCIT Trades Access Dept. Panelists: Kate Braid: carpenter, poet and author, Judy Doll: carpenter, technical education teacher and overseas volunteer, Janet Lane: avionics mechanic, SkyTrain technician and technical writer, Marilyn Lanz: welder, piper, shipbuilder and teacher, Heather Tomsic: boilermaker, occupational health and safety. Co-Sponsors Special Collections Vancouver Public Library. Alma Vandusen Room, VPL Central.
Women shipbuilders at Wallace Shipyards.
November 21st, 2013 – ‘Stuck in the middle with you‘: The story of India’s transgendered Hijra community by Dr. Bidisha Ray.
Please join us for a talk which will explore the controversies, current politics and popular myths surrounding India’s oldest transgendered community, the Hijras. SFU Harbour Centre at 515 West Hastings Street, Room 1425. 7pm – 8:30pm. Co-sponsors: Simon Fraser University’s Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Dept.
Hijra and companions in Eastern Bengal
September 12, 2013 – The Women of Opening Doors in Vancouver’s East End: Strathcona with Daphne Marlatt, Carole Itter and introduction by James Johnstone. Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives and the City of Vancouver Archives. City of Vancouver Archives.
Carole Itter & Daphne Marlatt at the Vancouver Archives. Photo by Jolene Cumming
September 8, 2013 – Herstory Cafe display at the Stanley Park 125 Exhibition. VPL Special Collections, Central Library.
August 4, 2013 – Women of Mt. View Cemetery Historical Walking Tour, with M. Diane Rogers, Lorraine Irving and Jolene Cumming, in partnership with BC Genealogical Society. Mt. View Cemetery.
May 14th, 2013 – B. C. Saltwater Women with Vickie Jensen, writer, photographer and educator. Author of Saltwater Women at Work. Sylvia Hotel.
Guest speaker Vickie Jensen, author & photographer
April 7, 2013 – “Sex Talk in the City” exhibition tour at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV). A group field trip to the museum.
March 10, 2013 – “Poetry in the Park for Pauline”, with Mohawk Spoken Word Poet Janet Rogers, Victoria’s Poet Laureate, at the E. Pauline Johnson memorial monument in Stanley Park, marking the 100th anniversary year of her death in Vancouver. Special guests: Sino General and Murray Porter. Co-Sponsors: Stanley Park Ecology Society, SFU’s Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, SFU’s Native Studies Dept, SFU’s History Dept and UBC’s Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice.
Janet Rogers and Sino General, Pauline Johnson’s 100th anniversary at her monument. Photo by Jolene Cumming.
March 9, 2013 – “The Inspiration of E. Pauline”, with Victoria’s Poet Laureate and radio host, Mohawk Spoken Word Poet Janet Rogers. Performance poetry, audio recordings, video and power-point presentation at the Rhizome Cafe. Special guests: Garry Gottfriedson and Michelle Sylliboy. Co-Sponsors: SFU’s Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, SFU’s Native Studies Dept, SFU’s History Dept and UBC’s Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice.
December 2, 2012 – Herstory Cafe Book Club. “Incorrigible” by Velma Demerson. Sylvia Hotel.
October 11, 2012, WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH – Women and Co-Operatives: A Vancouver Historical Perspective. Speakers: Ellen Woodsworth on The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), Melanie Conn on the CCEC Credit Union, Christine O’Fallon on women and housing, Jesi Lamb on The Vancouver Women’s Health Collective and Pat Frouws on SFU Co-operative Family. Co-sponsors: City Councillor Andrea Reimer and The Women’s Advisory Committee. Council Chambers at Vancouver City Hall.
September 20, 2012 – Bella Bell-Irving and Social Power in an Upper Class Vancouver Family by historian, educator and author Robert A.J. McDonald, UBC Department of History. Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives and the Vancouver Archives. City of Vancouver Archives.
June 30, 2012 – 6th Annual Herstory Cafe Picnic. Cancelled due to rain.
April 25, 2012 – The Life and Art of Mildred Valley Thornton by author Sheryl Salloum. The Sylvia Hotel.
March 8, 2012 – Women in Trousers: What a difference a pair of pants made! An illustrated talk by Alexandra Henriques. SFU Harbour Centre Campus.
February 5, 2012 – The Women of Roedde House Museum Tour by Lara Campbell, Lorraine Irving and Jolene Cumming. Roedde House Museum.
December 10, 2011 – Herstory Cafe Book Club discussion group: The Concubine’s Children by Denise Chong. Rhizome Cafe.
October 27, 2011 – WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH. Bread and Roses: The History of Women in the Vancouver Labour Movement, an illustrated talk by Joey Hartman, president of the Vancouver and District Labour Council and vice president of The Pacific Northwest Labour History Association. Rhizome Cafe.
September 8, 2011 – Terrain of Memory: A Japanese Canadian Memorial Project, a talk and book launch by Kirsten Emiko McAllister, SFU. The Japanese Canadian National Museum.
August 14, 2011 – 4th Annual Herstory Cafe Summer Picnic at Camp Vivian. Tea Swamp Park.
June 26, 2011 – Crinolines, Crimes and Courage: Women of Mountain View Cemetery Historical Walking Tour by; Lorraine Irving, BC Genealogical Society and B.C. Historical Federation Director; M. Diane Rogers, Women’s History Network of BC and BC Genealogical Society and Jolene Cumming, Herstory Cafe. A Fundraiser for the Friends of the City of Vancouver Archives.
May 12, 2011 – Women with Green Thumbs: Celebrating the Creative and Curious Gardeners of Vancouver with Means of Production Artist’s Raw Resource Collective (MOPARRC). An illustrated talk by senior artist and accomplished organic gardener Catherine Shapiro. Hosted by Lori Weidenhammer aka Madame Beespeaker. Rhizome Cafe.
March 13, 2011 – History, Gender and Landscape, a Stanley Park Historical Walking Tour to mark International Women’s Day/Week with Jolene Cumming and Mahtab Eskandari, UBC.
January 20, 2011 – Awfully Devoted Women, Lesbian Lives in Canada 1900-65. Book Launch by independent researcher and historian Cameron Duder. Co-sponsored by Archive of Lesbian Oral Testimony, SFU Dept of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, SFU Dept of History and the UBC Press. Vancouver Public Library.
December 7, 2010 – The Herstory Cafe Book Club – Maria Mahoi of the Islands by Jean Barman. Rhizome Cafe.
October 26, 2010 – WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH. Women and Food: A Vancouver Historical Perspective with Guest Speakers: Cease Wyss: A First Nation’s Perspective; Meeru Dhalwala, Vij’s: Women and Indian Cuisine; Tracey McDougall: Hogan’s Alley’s Vie’s Chicken and Steak House; Edith Turner: Gulf of Georgia Cannery: Women and Cannery Work; Shirley Chan: Eating Stories: Laying It All on the Table; Devorah Kahn: Women and Farmer’s Markets and City Councillor Andrea Reimer. Host City Councillor Ellen Woodsworth and co-sponsors The Women’s Advisory Committee. Vancouver City Hall Council Chambers.
September 28, 2010 – The Impact of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House Books or How a Series of Children’s Books Helps Explain Anti-Government Sentiment in the U.S. A talk by educator and author Dr. Anita Clair Fellman at the Sylvia Hotel.
August 22, 2010 – Herstory Cafe’s 3rd Annual Picnic at Camp Vivian. Bring a book or archival photo and share stories. Trout Lake in East Van.
July 11, 2010 – The Modern Women: Drawings by Degas, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and Other Masterpieces from the Musee d’Orsay, Paris guided gallery tour. Vancouver Art Gallery.
June 24, 2010 – IMAGES – Kootenay Women’s Paper: A Primer on Feminism (1973-1991), an illustrated presentation by Dr. Marcia Braundy. Rhizome Cafe.
The Rhizome Cafe. Photo by Jolene Cumming.
April 10, 2010 – WOMEN’S HISTORY FAIR at the Vancouver Public Library. The Women’s History Network of BC’s “Women’s History Fair” was coordinated by Jolene Cumming and featured over 20 displays, exhibits, collections and programs from museums, archives, historical societies, cultural groups, schools and others on the history of the diverse women of British Columbia. Co-sponsored by the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, Herstory Cafe and the Vancouver Courier newspaper.
March 6, 2010 – Freedom of Mobility: Women, Sports and Recreation in Stanley Park, 1880-1920 Historical Walking Tour with Jolene Cumming.
February 3, 2010 – The Herstory Cafe Exchange. Researchers, students, educators, writers, genealogists, collectors and others discussed their latest women’s history project at the Rhizome Cafe.
Herstory Cafe 