by Donna Ross, MDHS Lecture Series Coordinator
The Merrickville and District Historical Society ever‑popular Lecture Series resumes after the summer break. Please join us on Tuesday, September 26, at 7 pm at the Merrickville Legion for an illustrated talk, “The City That Didn’t Die: The Legacies of the Halifax Explosion December 6, 1917” presented by Dr. Della Stanley. It is now 106 years since the then world’s largest human caused explosion, prior to the bombing of Hiroshima, hit the cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in the early morning of December 6. The lecture will explain how this tragedy happened, and what was learned in the aftermath of the devastation and the recovery of Halifax that took place.
The presenter, Dr. Della Stanley, received her master’s and PhD from the University of New Brunswick in Canadian History. As a professor of Canadian History and Canadian Studies, she taught at Queen’s University, Kingston and Saint Mary’s University, Halifax. Then in 1986, she returned to her first love, interdisciplinary Canadian Studies, becoming the Director of Canadian Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University where she remained for 24 years. Upon retirement, she was named a “Professor Emeritus” at MSVU.
Della continues to be involved in Canadian history through her volunteer advisory and consultant roles such as archivist at the Ottawa City Archives and Club Historian at the Rideau Club. She often speaks at schools and public venues on Canadian topics.
We hope to see you on September 26 to hear Dr. Stanley recount the story of the explosion itself and of the many legacies of that horrific event. It promises to be a true Canadian history lecture complemented by sweet treats, courtesy of Violets on Main Bakery!
