An International Women’s Day-themed virtual presentation regarding the significant contributions women have made throughout Lambton County’s history will be the focus of Heritage Sarnia-Lambton’s on Thursday, March 10 at 7 pm
Focusing on the contributions of prominent women from Lambton County over the years as well as collective efforts of various groups, representatives from area museums will participate in the hour-long online discussion, entitled Celebrating the Women of Sarnia-Lambton.
Lambton Heritage Museum’s Dana Thorne will be joined by the Oil Museum of Canada’s Erin Dee-Richard, Lambton County Archives’ Nicole Azsalos, Forest Museum’s David McLean, Sombra Museum’s Kailyn Shepley, Moore Museum’s Laurie Mason and local history expert Greg Stott, with each museum expert presenting their own stories and research about local women throughout the region’s history.
Thorne said viewers of the upcoming Heritage Hour will likely discover many new and interesting facts that they probably didn’t know before, from the important role that women played on war service committees during both world wars to hearing about one of the county’s most vociferous early advocates for gender equality.
“In some cases, the presenters have identified a specific woman and her accomplishments, which they’re going to highlight,” Thorne said. “So for instance, (Erin) will focus on Beatrix McLaughlin who was the first curator at the Oil Museum and share information about her, Greg Stott will talk about Catherine Stone, who was an advocate for women’s rights in the 1850s.
“Some of the other speakers will speak about various community groups and how local women were involved in them, how they contributed to community-building, groups like our local women’s institutes or some of the war service committees that were around during the First and Second World Wars,” she added. “It’s a nice combination of accomplished individuals and grassroots community organizations.”
Pre-registration is required to view the free presentation, available at: https://forms.lambtonmuseums.ca/HSL-Heritage-Hour/2022/Celebrating-the-Women-of-Sarnia-Lambton
Panelists have prepared a lot of interesting information for the event, Thorne said, which takes place two days after International Women’s Day.
“I think that a lot of it will be new for people, it should be exciting,” she said. “It’s great to kind of align with International Women’s Day and take that international focus and look specifically at Lambton County.”
To view previous Heritage Sarnia-Lambton Heritage Hour presentations, visit www.lambtonmuseums.ca/heritage-sarnia-lambton.