October, 2007 - Glebe Report

NEWS
First-of-its-kind virtual exhibition
explores Billings family history
Glebe Report October 12, 2007 15
Learn about the haunted
history of Billings Estate
BY KRISTEN SHANE
The air is getting cooler and the days are becoming shorter. But just because
it’s autumn doesn’t mean your local museum has closed up shop.
Billings Estate National Historic Site is open until Oct. 31. Visitors can tour
the former homestead of the Billings family Wed. to Sun. from noon until 5
p.m. Located at 2100 Cabot St., near the intersection of Riverside Drive South
and Pleasant Park Road, Billings Estate is a natural and historical oasis in the
heart of Ottawa South.
The spirits of the Billings family will be haunting the museum throughout
October. From Thurs., Oct. 25 to Sat., Oct. 27, visitors are invited to learn all
about the family’s eerie past. Tour the estate by lamplight from 7-9 p.m. during
this annual Halloween treat. The cost is $15. For more details, or to register,
call the museum at 613-247-4830.
Bring the kids to the Pumpkin Patch program on Sun., Oct. 28 from noon
to 4 p.m. Interpreters will thrill them with ghostly tales. And they can make
their own Halloween craft to take home.
Visit www.ottawa.ca/museums for more details on the Halloween happenings
at Billings Estate.
City of Ottawa archives staff Jodi-Ann Westlake, project co-ordinator, (right)
and Leah Batisse (left) prepare the archival materials needed as exhibition
content.
BY KRISTEN SHANE
The City of Ottawa archives has
launched its first online exhibition.
The Billings family virtual exhibition
focuses on the city’s development
from the perspective of one of
Ottawa’s founding families.
The Billings were the first European
settlers in Gloucester Township.
They were known for their
involvement in the local lumber and
agricultural industries, and the construction
of the first bridge across the
Rideau River leading to Bytown.
Using text, images and audio
clips, the website explores how five
generations of family members
made their mark on the community
by participating in everything from
education, church life and farming,
to local politics.
This project was made possible
through the Canadian Culture Online
program, a collaborative project of
the federal government and the
Canadian Council of Archives. It is
accessible through the city’s museums
portal (ottawa.ca/museums).
The project co-ordinator Jodi-Ann
Westlake said, “The intention of the
exhibit is to be a useful resource to
teachers and educators to help develop
the grade 7 through 10 curricula.”
Information from the site is not only
meant to meet standards for history
courses, but geography and civics
classes as well.
The exhibition also has a broader
appeal to the general public, Westlake
said. “It’s part of the larger story of
Canadian identity.” The Billings family
lived through the rural to urban
landscape transformation to which
people all over Canada can relate.
She explained the Billings collection
was chosen as the subject of the
online exhibition because the family
grew in tandem with Ottawa, from
the pioneer days of the early 1800s
to now.
The collection is comprised of
three sets of memorabilia, much of
which surviving family members
donated to the city when it bought the
family’s estate in 1976 to turn into a
museum. The involvement of the
Billings clan in many record-keeping
institutions, like the church, meant
there was an abundance of available
resources for the exhibition.
Westlake and two other city staff
began digitizing the collection in
Nov. last year, in preparation for the
virtual exhibition, which launched
this summer. Using a digital camera
and commercial scanning equipment,
they captured over 400 photos,
letters and artifacts, many of which
are featured in the exhibition’s
image gallery.
It was both challenging and
rewarding to work with the new
medium, according to Paul Henry,
the project manager. “In a fixed
exhibit, you are limited by the four
walls and the amount of floor space,”
said Henry. “But in a virtual exhibit
you are not limited. We had to keep
in mind time constraints, budgetary
constraints, as well as information
overload (not to overwhelm website
visitors).”
Despite the potential pitfalls of
mounting an Internet exhibition,
Henry said it was needed. “Since
eighty per cent of Ottawa is rural,
not every citizen can come to an
installed exhibit at City Hall that’s
open for two and a half months. A
virtual exhibit is open 24/7.” It will
be available online for at least five
years.
With more and more Ottawans
going to the Internet to find information,
the virtual exhibition is a logical
way for the city to connect to residents,
said Westlake. And, she
added, it suits students who are visual
learners. “We’re just beginning.
But it’s an impressive product,” said
Henry.
This month, City of Ottawa
archives staff will start work on
another virtual exhibition. To mark
the 150th anniversary of the selection
of Ottawa as Canada’s capital, it
will explore what this decision
meant for residents.
Follow the links at ottawa.ca/
museums to visit the Billings family
virtual exhibition. For more information
on the Billings family, take a
tour of Billings Estate National Historic
Site, open Wed. to Sun., noon
to 5 p.m. until Oct. 31.
Kristen Shane is the communications
and marketing co-ordinator for
the City of Ottawa, Heritage Development
Unit.