Heritage Bytes

Sauga 50-for-50: Commemorating Cultural Heritage

This week on Sauga 50-for-50, we want to celebrate and commemorate the people and stories that make up the city of Mississauga. But why is this so important?

Some of the greatest people we meet, just happen to be those we love the most. But there hasn’t always been a way to capture their legacy. Until now. Heritage Mississauga is giving you the opportunity, to record your story or the story of someone you love. So that their lasting history lives on and can be preserved for future generations. Everyone has a story. From the Indigenous Mississaugas to the early settlers whose toil shaped this modern landscape to those who arrived in Canada only yesterday. At Heritage Mississauga, it’s our job to record those stories. We believe in celebrating our cultural heritage. We believe everyone’s story matters. And we look to you, to help us find those stories or to tell your own. We want the story of Mississauga to not be one of just city buildings, suburbia, and street names, but of the people, faces and stories, of those who live here. 

To tell your story, email us at outreach@heritagemississauga.org

To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also follow #Sauga50for50 to stay up to date with new upcoming podcast episodes.

Music: Cojonudo by Esteban Maxera Cuarteto

 

Sauga 50-for-50: This is Dundas Street

This week on Sauga 50-for-50, Historian Matthew Wilkinson and Heritage Mississauga Executive Director Jayme Gaspar, with special guest Omar El Sharkawy, invite you down Dundas Street. As you go about your day, you may be unaware of the history that lies directly beneath your feet. This is a story of Dundas Street in Mississauga- one of the earliest surveyed routes of travel in the province of Ontario.

In late 2020 until April of 2021 Omar El Sharkawy underwent a project on the colonial connections of road names in Mississauga, under the oversight of Historian Matthew Wilkinson of Heritage Mississauga. This week, Matthew and Omar discuss Mississauga's Council decision to keep the name Dundas in Mississauga and the historic, present, and future impact of this decision. Matthew and Omar explore the history of the naming of the street, the controversy around renaming Dundas, and the possible implications of renaming such a historic street. They also look at Dundas Street’s place in how we understand the historical landscape in Ontario, Mississauga, and the GTA.

Omar El Sharkawy is a recent graduate of the history program at the University of Toronto. His interests are in the histories and historiographies of the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and world revolutions, with particular attention to themes of decolonization. 

For more information, see below:

Colonial Connections and Naming Mississauga by Omar El Sharkawy for Modern Mississauga: https://www.modernmississauga.com/main?author=60e5981823121b15b1792b3a

Ask a Historian: Exploring Colonial Connections to Street Names in Mississauga:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pf7qA8wCVc&t=1185s

 

To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also follow #Sauga50for50 to stay up to date with new upcoming podcast episodes.

Music: Cojonudo by Esteban Maxera Cuarteto

 

Ask a Historian: Maple Magic 2024

This week’s episode of Ask A Historian features an interview with Lindsay Doren, Coordinator for Education and Engagement with the Museums of Mississauga as we explore an annual tradition here in the City of Mississauga – the Maple Magic Festival at Bradley Museum. Maple Magic runs on March 9-10 and March 16-17 from 12-4.

For more information on the event, please visit: https://www.mississauga.ca/arts-and-culture/events/maple-magic-festival-2024?eventdate=2024-03-09T12%3A00%3A00&schedule=15176

To reserve your tickets for Maple Magic, please visit: https://www.ticketweb.ca/search?q=maple+magic

 

Sauga 50-for-50: Mississauga's ABCD's

Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson for one of our most popular presentations: Mississauga's ABCD's: Accidents, Blazes, Calamities & Disasters. Join Matthew as he recalls some of the darker chapters in our formative years, from early train accidents and plane crashes, through devastating fires, epidemics, and major storms that wreaked havoc on our landscape- this time on Sauga 50-for-50.

To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also follow #Sauga50for50 to stay up to date with new upcoming podcast episodes.

 

Music: Cojonudo by Esteban Maxera Cuarteto

Ask a Historian: 50 Artifacts Celebrating Mississauga

This week's episode of Ask A Historian features an interview with Amanda Barbosa from the Museums of Mississauga as we explore a new interactive digital exhibit program through ArcGIS that celebrates the City of Mississauga's 50th Anniversary.

For more information, see here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b58d3fc15fec43c7a9847771cf6bf410

Sauga 50-for-50: Mississauga's Anthem

This week on Sauga 50-for-50, historian Matthew Wilkinson revisits the 1974 Mississauga Song by Tommy Hunter, and welcomes Mississauga musician Mikey Bloom to trace the creation of the new Mississauga Anthem for the City of Mississauga's 50th Anniversary.

To listen to both Mississauga songs, click the links below: 

The Mississauga Song (1974) by Tommy Hunter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z627IZGPRFU

Mississauga Anthem (2024) by Mikey Bloom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM_JFmueciI

 

To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also follow #Sauga50for50 to stay up to date with new upcoming podcast episodes.

Music: Cojonudo by Esteban Maxera Cuarteto

 

 

Sauga 50-for-50: Black History Today

Earlier this month, we discussed early Black settlers in historic Mississauga, but today we wanted to discuss our current Black communities in Mississauga. Where do most people originate from? Who are some of the most influential Black leaders? What barriers have our communities encountered and how are we trying to overcome these obstacles? Join Justine Lyn and Melissa Toste as they delve into these questions and more, this time on Sauga 50-for-50. 

To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also follow #Sauga50for50 to stay up to date with new upcoming podcast episodes.

Music: Cojonudo by Esteban Maxera Cuarteto

Ask a Historian: Erindale, Credit Woodlands and the Ridgetown

On today's episode of Ask A Historian, Mississauga Historian Matthew Wilkinson answers three questions from you! We will explore the story behind the name "Erindale", document when the Credit Woodlands subdivision was built, and recount the colourful career of the Great Lakes bulk freighter Ridgetown which forms the breakwater at Port Credit.

Sauga 50-for-50: Hazel's Milestones

Join us this week on Sauga 50-for-50 as we remember former Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion. February 14th marks what would have been her 103rd birthday, and a year since we all said our goodbyes to Hurricane Hazel. It is at this time of year that we remember her memory and fiery spirit.

This week, we dug through our vaults to share with you a special presentation of Hazel McCallion's Milestone Lecture at the 2003 Mary Fix Memorial Lecture. The theme of the highly anticipated lecture was the celebration of civic heritage and spirit during which Hazel McCallion provided a self assessment of her 25 years as Mayor, as of November 2003, and reflected on her many years of service in public office. Please enjoy the inspiring words of our former (and longest serving) Mayor, Hazel McCallion, this time on Sauga 50-for-50.

 

To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also follow #Sauga50for50 to stay up to date with new upcoming podcast episodes.

Music: Cojonudo by Esteban Maxera Cuarteto

 

Sauga 50-for-50: Love is in the Air!

Around this time of year, more than ever, love is in the air! Join Collections and Resource Lead Justine Lyn, as she traces the origins of Valentine's Day from ancient origins to Mississauga connections. Have you ever wondered why the heart symbolizes love, why we give flowers on Valentine's Day, or who St. Valentine was and why this holiday was named in his honour? Join us this week on Sauga 50-for-50 to learn all the romantic details! 

To stay up to date with Mississauga's 50th Anniversary celebrations, follow Heritage Mississauga on social media @heritagemississauga and also follow #Sauga50for50 to stay up to date with new upcoming podcast episodes.

Music: Cojonudo by Esteban Maxera Cuarteto