A Student's Journey Exploring Merrickville's Past
Mercedes Hunter is a trained archeologist, and a summer student engaged by MDHS to help us promote and preserve our community's history. Over the summer we've asked her to share her experiences digging into our past.
Notes from the Field: Life as a Summer Historian
What is it actually like to spend a summer breathing life into Merrickville’s raw history? This season, our MDHS Summer Student Researcher is diving headfirst into our collections—uncovering forgotten stories and tracing the fascinating lives of local ancestors who shaped our village. In our brand-new Student Research Blog, she shares a behind-the-scenes look at the "detective work" of history, from the thrill of deciphering century-old handwriting to the unique rewards of working with our archives. Follow along to read her latest discoveries, see what she's unearthing in the repository, and catch a fresh perspective on our shared past!
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Preserving the vibrant heritage of the Merrickville district is a community effort. My name is Mercedes and I am MDHS’s summer student researcher dedicated to excavating the past from our local archives and sharing the stories that shaped the place we call home. As a Museum Studies student from Algonquin College with an extensive past as an archaeologist; I come with an arsenal of experience I believe will help me tremendously this summer. From leading multi-stage excavations to conducting historical research on properties throughout Southern Ontario and I was very fortunate to gain hands-on experience working with both Euro-Canadian and Indigenous material and gain an in-depth knowledge of Ontario’s pioneer past. ... Read More
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Behind the Scenes at MDHS: A Month of Exhibits, Archives, and Accessibility
As May now comes to an end, I realize that just like that, my first month with MDHS has swiftly come to a close, and what a month it has been. As I mentioned in my last post, much of my time over the last several weeks has been dedicated to the Blockhouse Refresh and I’m happy to say, that project has largely been completed. Beyond the Refresh, my days have been filled with a variety of new and exciting projects ... Read more
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More Than Storage: Rebuilding and Reorganizing the MDHS Archives
As we head into the middle of June my work here at MDHS continues to expand with new projects and opportunities. One such project ... Read More
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Exciting Project Underway at MDHS
Imagine finding something that substantial hiding in plain sight! ... Read More
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Preserving the Past
Summer has been a season of steady progress at the Merrickville Historical Society. From improving artifact preservation to uncovering long-forgotten historical documents and enhancing visitor experiences, each project brings us one step closer to preserving and sharing Merrickville’s rich history... Read More
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Archival Discoveries, Ghost Stories, and Harvest Treasures
As July comes to a close, progress continues to be made on MDHS’s Remarkable Residents book, and each week seems to uncover another fascinating piece of Merrickville's history... Read More
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Research Continues on Remarkable Residents of Merrickville
As we head into the last month of the summer and my last few weeks with MDHS, my attention has turned almost entirely to the Remarkable Residents Book Project.... Read More
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Looking Back on an Incredible Summer at MDHS
This summer has given me the opportunity to explore many different aspects of museum and heritage work, and perhaps more importantly, to discover just how many different roles and responsibilities go into preserving and sharing a community’s history.... Read More
