Living History + Heritage

Parchment

Family History: Mom's Side

Just two years after the start of WWII, my Oma was born in Frankfurt, Germany. After living in and out of refugee camps while almost losing her life at multiple points, my Oma came to Canada on a Mennonite missions trip. Ultimately, she met my Opa during her trip, and moved to Canada. They had 8 children, and my mother was the 5th born.

My parents met through mutual friends as they both moved into a new apartment complex in the summer of 1987. They both attended Wilfred Laurier University, and they were married the following summer.

In our current day, Georgetown continues to thrive and the population has grown to 42,000 people as of 2016.

Georgetown was named after George Kennedy, an entrepreneur who settled in the area during 1823 by utilizing the water supply for milling purposes. His mill project resulted in a small settlement, and the Barber Brothers bought a wooden mill from Kennedy which resulted in further growth of Georgetown. Once the Barber Brothers also founded a papermaking business, and the Grand Trunk Railroad was developed, Georgetown became established.

As stated by Webb (2021), Georgetown/Halton is on the "traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, part of the Anishinaabe Nation that extends from the Niagara Peninsula across Hamilton, Halton and Toronto to the Rouge River Valley."

What treaty land is Georgetown?

Family History: Dad's Side

My dad excelled in both academics and sports during high school, especially considering the fact that Georgetown has a prominent golf club named North Halton (pictured below - b/w is a photo from the 1970s, while the colour version is a current photo).

Living History + Heritage: A Photo-Text Collection of Family History and the History of Georgetown

Larissa Powers Lakehead University 2022

Thank you for reading my digital scrapbook. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to explore the history of not only my hometown, but the hometown of my dad and his siblings.

My dad's side of the family moved from Buffalo, New York, to Georgetown in 1975. My grandfather founded a transport company with two business partners, and they wanted to expand from the U.S. to Canada as well.

My grandparents' Georgetown house when they first moved in.

Although my parents moved to various cities over the years, they moved back to Georgetown in 2017.

- <a href="https://cubetoronto.com/ontario/what-indigenous-land-is-georgetown-ontario/">https://cubetoronto.com/ontario/what-indigenous-land-is-georgetown-ontario/</a> - <a href="http://mncfn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/The-History-of-MNCFN-FINAL.pdf">http://mncfn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/The-History-of-MNCFN-FINAL.pdf</a> - <a href="https://aplvncc.ca/blog/2015/07/03/aplvncc-weekend-cycling-adventure-georgetown-ontario">https://aplvncc.ca/blog/2015/07/03/aplvncc-weekend-cycling-adventure-georgetown-ontario</a> - <a href="https://www.downtowngeorgetown.com/index.php/about-bia/georgetown-history">https://www.downtowngeorgetown.com/index.php/about-bia/georgetown-history</a> - <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/social-studies-history-geography-2018.pdf">http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/social-studies-history-geography-2018.pdf</a> - All other photos (specifically family photos) are credited to my grandmother, who kindly shared these pictures for this project.

The GO Train was set up in Georgetown in 1974, just prior to my grandparents' arrival. The GO Train allowed for further growth of Georgetown, as residents now had a transit option for downtown Toronto. With the potential involved, my grandfather seized the opportunity to cater to an expanding economy with growing transport needs.

O.E. A3 (Grade 2): "Understanding Context: describe some of the major groups in their community, including different types of families, and some of the ways in which traditions and heritage are passed on by such groups." S.E. A2.2 (Grade 2): "Gather and organize information on some of the past and present traditions and celebrations within their family and the community to which they belong, using primary and/or secondary sources that they have gathered themselves or that have been provided to them (e.g. photo albums, family stories, interviews, artefacts, newspaper clippings, paintings, Elders' stories)."

This is the backyard of the same house in the previous photos; my grandparents raised their children in this house, and continued to raise their grandchildren in the same home.