Category Archives: The Internet

A news item that pertains to a heritage development taking place on the world-wide-web.

“History of Old Malvern” – A new ebook for Society members

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History of Old Malvern

In honour of Heritage Week 2013, members of the Scarborough Historical Society now have access to a rare (and out of print) book, available as a free download in the Members Area of our website as a PDF ebook file.

The password to access the members area has not changed from last year, but a reminder will be published in the next Society newsletter.

Only 500 copies of “History of Old Malvern” were printed in 1973, published on the occasion of the 116th year since the founding of Malvern.
The 56 page book was compiled and edited by Robert H. Eadie and the “Malvern Committee” of Mrs. Phyllis Busato, Mr. Wm. Robbins, and Mrs. Jamie McCowan.
This publication chronicles a first-hand glimpse into the everyday lives of the people of Old Malvern, and the places they frequented.

Residents of the modern Scarborough community know Malvern to be an immense neighbourhood centered near the intersection of Neilson Rd. & Tapscott Rd., but the name first thrived as a farming community centered further south west, at the crossroads village of Malvern, located at Sheppard Ave. & Markham Rd.

Old Malvern had changed from its rural farming roots when the book was published in 1973, and since then it has changed drastically, to the point where very little exists of the original settlement.

*If you are not a member of the Scarborough Historical Society, any browser of the S.H.S. website may view selected images of Malvern, click here to view the S.H.S. Malvern village image gallery.

Welcome to our new website!

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It has finally arrived…
The new official website for the Scarborough Historical Society!

* Note: Internet Explorer users must have version 9 (or newer) installed for this website to display correctly.

The Scarborough Historical Society was honoured to receive a grant this past year through the “New Horizons for Seniors Program”. Entitled ‘Scarborough’s Living Memories’ the project has resulted in many positive outcomes. Over the past year goals and activities focused around the Society’s Archives have included:

Seniors contributing skills knowledge and wisdom as part of a volunteer network
Seniors mentoring and learning from youth volunteers
Developing inter-generational relationships to increase social interaction
Development of interactive digital media to share histories, photos and artifacts
Opportunities for housebound seniors to participate in an online capacity

The development of the web 2.0 portion of the project sparked amazing participation on the interactive social media page and a welcome, user friendly interface for online users of all experience levels. There is new participation and social networking amongst seniors who are now sharing their stories and images on line with us and each other.

We would like to sincerely thank the New Horizons for Seniors Program for their generous support with our efforts to engage our local community through new levels of communication.

The New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) is a federal Grants and Contributions program that supports projects led or inspired by seniors who make a difference in the lives of others and in their communities.

A few of the improvements to the S.H.S. website:

  • “Web 2.0” compliant, all items have descriptions.
  • Text Searchable: Just enter a word or two into the side panel search engine.
  • Larger “active” area than former website.
  • Clean, concise top menu bar that remains consistent throughout all pages.
  • Current events displayed on opening page with a “blog style” news page, site visitors may also post their own comments on these news items.
  • Site visitors may also subscribe to the news page through our RSS news feed, and share or send news items through their Facebook accounts.
  • ‘Scarborough Looking Back’ our Facebook page now has over 8000 users sharing history and images.
  • Community Histories are now more in depth, 20th century communities added.
  • Photo gallery previews from the Scarborough Archives collection.
  • Society Program Calendar now listed in their own menu, automatically updating.
  • “Today in Scarborough History” feature, updated daily.
  • “Members Area” page that has special document downloads for Society members.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

We hope you enjoy your new experiences here!

Board of Directors – Committee Updates

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At the recent meetings of your Board of Directors, the Board reviewed the various committees:

The Friends of the Museum Committee reported that the Society hired four students during the summer to work on various projects through our Museum partnership, including a very successful Canada Day.

The New Horizons for Seniors grant has seen numerous seniors working with youth to develop partnerships which benefit both segments of our society.

The Archives and Research Committee continues its successful operations at the Scarborough Archives / W.J. Morrish building with ongoing work throughout the summer. The Archivist’s Facebook page, “Scarborough, Looking Back” is being used along with the Society website, to communicate the history of Scarborough to a wider audience… over 8,000 online visitors.

The Communications Committee is currently working on an updated website and looking at more ways to communicate with our members and the general public. Thanks to the efforts of Jan Howe and the Programme Committee, most of our Bendale Library programs for the coming Fall / Winter are finalized.

We look forward to the following programs in early in 2012:

“I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land” and “How the Scots Invented Canada” (details in future newsletters)

Visit our new Facebook group site: “Scarborough, Looking Back”

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To help keep the public informed about our heritage and in an attempt to open wider discussions, our Facebook group has been up and running for a year now and gathering tremendous interest.

Over 7,000 people have visited our group to look at the hundreds of photos we have uploaded, add their own comments and photos, and participated in our weekly photo quiz.

If you use Facebook, use the “search” area to find our new Facebook group site called: “Scarborough Looking Back”

Join the group and then add your own comments, post photos or just read more about your community. Through this new internet outlet there’s a link to the Society’s website and an opportunity for non-members to express their memories and perhaps consider joining the Society as a member.

Facebook is not just for the youth, 56% of our Facebook visitors are over 45 and live as far away as western Canada / USA, England (66 people) and even Australia (16 viewers)