Programs & Events
Events
Practical and Pretty: Quilts from Canton's PastMarch through June 2010 |
"The history of quilts is embedded in our culture, and ... the history
of our culture is stitched into our quilts. Understanding one sheds
light on the other."
The American Quilt, page 5
The quilts in this exhibition tell stories about individual and families who have become part of the Canton community. They mark personal milestones such as birth, marriage, a journey, death. They celebrate and commemorate community events, they pay tribute to people, they capture peoples' thoughts about the world around them. In so many ways, they create a visual account of Canton's history, and the history of Michigan.
Quilters found, and still find, inspiration for their designs from all around them: from nature, daily activities, and all forms of human expression. Each quilter brings personal elements to the making of a quilt: fabric and color choices, skills, design sense, life experiences, and preferences. Through their choices of designs, use of color, composition, and originality, traditional patterns are preserved and renewed, and new patterns are created.
The images created in a quilt provide a way of seeing the word through eyes of the quilter. Creating a quilt offers a channel for creativity and self-expression, as well as providing a sense of achievement and satisfaction. Although quilt making can be a solitary endeavor, many quilters continue to use it as a opportunity for social contact and fellowship.
Quilt making has evolved, particularly during the 20th century, from the creation of "traditional necessities to works of art". Today, some quilters use textiles as an artistic medium as other artists use paint. Quilts continue to link the practical and functional with the pretty and decorative.
Event HistoryPrograms
The Canton Historical Society conducts six general meetings each year, each of which features a presentation on a topic related to Canton history. The Society invites all members of the public to attend, and admission is free. After the presentation, attendees can ask questions, and browse through Society publications. Refreshments are also served.April 14, General Meeting
7:00pm - 9:00pm, Location: Walnut Room
at the Summit on the Park
Tim Johns
Native Dance and Story Telling
Come join the Canton Historical Society for a very special evening of Native American dance and story telling with Tim Johns. An accomplished performer and passionate story teller, Tim Johns' performance is one that you will not want to miss. The performance is open to people of all ages so please tell your friends and bring your children to share in this rich history.
May 12, General Meeting
7:00pm - 9:00pm, Location: To Be Announced
Jennifer Huff, PhD Candidate
"The Battle Over Busing"
In June 1972, Federal District Court Judge Stephen J. Roth ruled in favor of a multi-district busing plan to desegregate the Detroit Public Schools. Students from Detroit and fifty-three suburbs were to be bused across school district lines, with many African-American students going to schools ...in the suburbs and many white suburban students going to schools in Detroit. Roth's order sparked an enormous controversy throughout metro Detroit. Finally, in 1974, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the busing plan. In "The Battle Over Busing", Jennifer Huff will examine the busing controversy on the local level in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Jennifer Huff grew up in Livonia, Michigan, and is a Ph.D. candidate in modern American history at The Ohio State University.
Earlier Programs
Prior Events
Dressing up: Canton women's clothing from 1880-1950.
June 20, 2009 - February 2010
See the parade of Canton fashions
The World Comes to Canton
An Exhibition of the DuMouchelle CollectionMay 1-June 6, 2009
This exhibition features decorative, ceremonial, and everyday objects
that span the globe. Several continents -- Africa, Asia, Europe, North
America -- are represented by masks, drums, vases, pottery, and
furniture. Visit the museum soon, and take a trip around the world!
Auction
Held on August 23 at noon an auction at Preservation Park, behind the Bartlett Travis house. J.C. Auction Services, Inc. of Plymouth conducted a sale of many types of items that have been acquired by the Canton Historical Society. Joe Carli, oowner of J.C.Aucitons, generously donated his services to benefit the Society.
Previous Programs
May 13, 2009 General Meeting
7 p.m., Cherry Hill School.
Joel Thurtell
“Paddling up the Rouge”
September 9, 2009 General Meeting
7 p.m., Cherry Hill School.
Steve Lehto
“The Italian Hall Disaster: How 73 People Died and Why the Perpetrator Got Away”
October 14, 2009 General Meeting
7 p.m., Cherry Hill School.
Dr. James Schwartz
“Taming the 'Savagery' of Michigan's Native Peoples”
A discussion of the effort to establish formal legal and informal customary boundaries to tame the perceived wildness and savagery of Michigan's Native People.
Dr. Schwartz is a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Eastern Illinois University where he teaches courses on the 19th Century United states. He is the author of Conflict on the Michigan Frontier: Yankee and Borderland Cultures, 1815 - 1840 (Northern Illinois University Press, 2009).
November 11, 2009 General Meeting
7 p.m., Cherry Hill School.
David Chardavoyne
The Last Execution in Michigan and the Abolition of Capital Punishment
In September 1830, Stephen Simmons was hanged in Detroit for murdering his wife.
This turned out to be the last execution by a Michigan government because, in
1847, Michigan became the first English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish capital
punishment for murder. Mr. Chardavoyne will talk about Mr. Simmons and his crime
and about how abolition came to pass.
David G. Chardavoyne is an attorney and a visiting professor at the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law. He is the author of A Hanging in Michigan, published by Wayne State University Press, and he has written extensively on the legal history of Michigan.
In case you are interested, the MI Historical Marker affixed to the building
near the NW corner of MI Ave and Wayne Rd in downtown Wayne marks the site of
the tavern that Simmons owned and where he committed his murder.
March 10, General Meeting
7:00pm - 9:00pm, Location: Community Room downstairs at Canton Township Hall
Muhi (Abdullateef Muhiuddin)
"Transitioning Into a New Neighborhood: Canton's Immigrant and American Muslim
Families"
Canton's history unfolds around us every day. Come learn about one of the fastest growing segments of our community, their rich history, their traditions, and their local institutions.