2019 Clyde River Lecture – Saturday, Feb. 23rd, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Join us for our third and final afternoon of this year’s Clyde River Lecture Series. This lecture will focus on early fashion. 

Saturday, February 23rd, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. – Arnold Smith – “What our Ancestors Wore”

Arnold Smith

Arnold will share his knowledge and research on what our ancestors wore and feature a display of vintage and reproduction clothing to give you a glimpse into their wardrobes – from everyday clothing to special occasions. Feel free to take along any clothing from your collections if you want to learn more about its history.

Arnold Smith has always had a keen interest in history. His first ancestors arrived on Prince Edward Island in the 1780’s following the American Revolution. He was raised and continues to live on the family farm on the Smith Road in Pleasant Valley where his family have lived for more than five generations.

Arnold has many interests from researching and restoring heritage buildings; collecting and restoring antiques; heritage cooking; and sits on a variety of community and heritage boards.

In 1989 Arnold portrayed Andrew A. MacDonald, the youngest Father of Confederation during the 125th celebrations. While doing research for the character he discovered a wealth of information on the fashions and daily life of the 1860’s. Arnold’s mother was an avid sewer, so he arranged for her to make period reproductions for Parks and People – he designed the outfits and helped his mother construct them.

Over the past 30 years he has gathered extensive information and has amassed a large library of reference books and patterns along with a substantial collection of vintage and reproduction clothing.

In 2007 Arnold was a founding patron of the Watermark Theatre. And over the past three summers has been involved with the costume production for The River Clyde Pageant.

Please note: We are beginning this lecture at 2:00 p.m. 

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 our collection of over 200 artifacts and heritage photos. For more information on this series, please contact Vivian Beer, vivian@eastlink.ca.