2018 Clyde River Lectures


We’re back to introduce our 6th Annual Clyde River Lectures for 2018. There are some big topics featured, so you don’t want to miss any of these lectures. Have you ever wanted to know all the great work that the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation does and how we can engage ourselves in preserving Island history? Or you may have seen a copy of JoDee Samuelson’s map of “Old Mills in Prince Edward Island”. You will hear about her research and see artifacts from the mills in Clyde River. And, finally, when did you ever get a full hour with a doctor? Dr. Newman will be making a house call in Clyde River to take us on a medical journey through epidemics and innovations in his time. Mark your calendar. All are welcome.


Saturday, January 27th – 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.Dr. David Keenlyside – “An overview of the work of the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation” – The Foundation manages seven PEI museums (Elmira Railway Museum, Basin Head Fisheries Museum, Orwell Corner Historic Village and Agriculture Heritage Museum, Beaconsfield Historic House, Eptek Art & Culture Centre, Acadian Museum, and Green Park Shipbuilding Museum & Yeo House) and is responsible for more than 90,000 artifacts. The Foundation manages the PEI Museum & Heritage Awards and publishes the popular Island Magazine. David will offer an update on the current work of the Foundation and some guidance on how we can help preserve Island history.

Dr. David Keenlyside is Executive Director of the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation. Originally from British Columbia, David is an archaeologist by profession and worked at the National Museum of Man and, later, Canadian Museum of Civilization for 35 years as Atlantic Provinces Archaeologist. David has a broad range of heritage interests and has served in various capacities on professional and volunteer organizations across Canada.


Saturday, February 10th – 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. – JoDee Samuelson – “Watermills in PEI, especially those in Clyde River” – For her Master of Arts in Island Studies from UPEI, JoDee wrote her thesis on water-powered mills on Prince Edward Island and Gotland Island, Sweden. Her interest in mills began while she lived in Clyde River, across the river from the Dixon/Scott Mill and down the road from the Beer’s Sawmill on the Bannockburn Road. JoDee will pass along her research on the mills on the Clyde River that at one time provided flour, oatmeal, and sawn lumber for a prosperous ambitious community.

JoDee Samuelson grew up on the Canadian prairies and has lived on the beautiful south shore of Prince Edward Island for the past 30 years. Jody is an award-winning filmmaker and writes a column “The Cove Journal” for Charlottetown’s monthly arts magazine, The Buzz.


Saturday, February 24th – 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.Dr. Lewis Newman – “Changes and Improvements in Medicine & Medical Technology in my Time” – Dr. Newman’s presentation will reference vaccines, Small Pox, Malaria, Polio, artificial limbs, artificial joints, organ transplants, thermometers, endoscopies, CT/MRI/PET scans, blood glucose monitoring, insulin pump, cataract surgery, key-hole surgery, artificial insemination, oral contraceptives, and gene therapy. He will also touch on the Tuberculosis pandemic that affected almost all Island families in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Dr. Stanley “Lewis” Newman was raised in New Haven. He spent his early school years in New Haven and then Borden School for Grades 9 & 10. He attended Prince of Wales College and went on to Dalhousie for his undergraduate and medical education, graduating in 1969. He began his general family practice in Sydney, Nova Scotia. In 1971, he moved back to PEI and had a general family practice in Charlottetown at the Polyclinic until 2006. Between 2006 and 2012, he was a Hospitalist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. For 15 years he was House Doctor at Beach Grove Home. He retired in 2012.


The Clyde River Lecture Series takes place at the Riverview Community Centre at 718 Clyde River Road. All presentations will be followed by refreshments and a social time. These events are a great chance to get out in the winter to learn about and discuss our interesting local history. Our museum will be open to view Clyde River artifacts and heritage photos. For more information on this series, please contact Vivian Beer, vivian@eastlink.ca.

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