Online Meeting Videos
Videos of many of our recent meetings are available online and can be viewed when convenient.
A Night of Mystery
Maureen Jennings is a British Canadian writer, most well known for the Detective Murdoch Series, the basis for the television series Murdoch Mysteries. Maureen details where she gets background material and ideas for her books.
Father Francis Patrick Duffy: The most celebrated U.S. Army Chaplain in the Great War
Randy Barber speaks on Father Duffy, a Roman Catholic priest, who was born in Cobourg in 1873 and ordained at St. Michael’s Church on September 6th, 1896. As chaplain of the famous Fighting Sixty-Ninth, Father Duffy came to be memorialized in Times Square, New York City.
The NHL: A Centennial History
The NHL – now in its 107th season – has endured through two world wars, the Great Depression, the failure of numerous franchises and the predations of the short-lived World Hockey Association. Today it is one of North America’s Big Four professional sports leagues. Thousands of players and hundreds of coaches and general managers have come and gone since the league’s initial season in 1917-18, but only four presidents and one commissioner have guided the fortunes of this remarkable enterprise. Author D’Arcy Jenish speaks on the history of the NHL through the lens of these five men – Frank Calder, Merv Dutton, Clarence Campbell, John Ziegler and Gary Bettmann.
Cobourg Ingenuity
Over 50 patents were filed by ingenious Cobourg residents between 1870 and 1918. Our presenter, Ken Strauss, explains patents and why they matter. You will hear the stories of some of Cobourg’s successful inventors, our dabblers and our simply weird!
The History of the Murray Canal
Author Dan Buchanan presents the history of the Murray Canal, a 5-mile long canal linking Lake Ontario with the Bay of Quinte. It was constructed between 1882-1889 to provide an alternative to shipping via the treacherous waters surrounding Prince Edward County.
Rum Runners – The Story of Ben Kerr and Prohibition
Dan Buchanan explains how Ben Kerr ended up in the quiet town of Brighton. It is a story of prohibition from start to finish, beginning in Hamilton and developing through the decade of smuggling and speakeasies. Of course, this all happened because politicians deamed it so. What on earth were they thinking? The presentation explores all that and more.
The Wreck of the HMS Speedy
HMS Speedy was lost in a storm off Presqu’ile Point in 1804 and its remains have never been found. Or have they? Dan Buchanan presents a fresh look at the events around the loss of the Speedy as well as new information about the search in the early 1990s for the remains of the Speedy. What did they find? Was it really the Speedy?
The History of Cobourg as Told by Street Names
Former Cobourg Mayor Peter Delanty presents Cobourg’s history through its street names. How did Amherst then Hard Scrabble finally became Cobourg?
Our Town: Cobourg
This is not a CDHS meeting but is a professionally produced documentary of Cobourg’s history from the series Sketches Of Our Town produced by Conrad Beaubien.
