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COLUMN: Learn the secrets of The Ladies on the Grass

BHS meeting on Jan. 9 will feature a presentation by author Margaret Stowe
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Author Margaret Stowe will talk about her new book at the Jan. 9 meeting of the Burlington Historical Society.

Mark your calendars!

The next presentation of the Burlington Historical Society is Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. at Burlington Central Library.

Margaret Stowe will be with us to tell us about her new book, Twitchell & Harris and The Ladies on the Grass.

This meeting will be of interest to anyone who enjoys learning about local history.

The setting is Burlington, 1900-1904. It started with a serendipitous discovery of an old mystery photograph and ended up as the story of Burlington’s earliest photographers, Harrold E. Harris and Ernest F. Twitchell and their historic photograph of a group of ladies, the Burlington Women's Institute. (If you are from Burlington, Hamilton or the local area, your great-great grandmother could be in this photo.)

Stowe cracked the mystery and was able to tell the story through old Burlington Gazette newspaper clips, sometimes week by week as the action unfolds. A real slice of Burlington/local history.

The author was very lucky and grateful to find and feature several photographs from the Burlington Historical Society’s collection that fit right into the story.

It's also a Hamilton story, the story of Alice Hodges Freeland, the author’s great-great grandmother from Hamilton, and her discovery in the mystery photograph, as well as the previously untold poignant and timely story of a Hamilton street naming, Ardvorlich Street, which became Baker Street.

The history also takes the story to several other towns and cities — Toronto, Clinton, Barrie, Ingersoll, Woodstock, Montreal, Edmonton, Buffalo — and features other early photographers and artists in the Toronto-Hamilton scene at the time. Lots of historical info.

Join us Monday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Centennial Room  at the Burlington Central Library, 2331 New St.

All are welcome!

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