INN TO THE PAST

Program Reviews | Samantha Kilpatrick

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Every Sunday afternoon the Montgomery’s Inn runs a Sunday tea. A beautiful, sunlit tea room, an art exhibition on the walls, costumed interpreters, and of course, tea and cookies.

The tea service at Montgomery's Inn. Photo courtesy of Samantha Kilpatrick. 

This spread is available for a suggested donation of only seven dollars (ten, if you want to include the tour as well) and is excellent. Four varieties of cookie, plus a peach loaf, plus tea, all homemade and delicious. If tea isn't your preference, the Montgomery’s Inn also hosts Thirsty Thursdays on the last Thursday of every month. The Inn reprises its former role as a tavern and serves stew,

A small sample of the wide array of events Montgomery's
Inn runs. Photo courtesy of Samantha
Kilpatrick.

a selection of bread, and wine to the accompaniment of live music. Don't get this confused with the first Thursday of every month when the Inn hosts “Fret Not Ukulele Night.” Ukulele players of all skill levels are invited to congregate and become part of a tradition of music at the Inn (bringing your own ukulele is encouraged, but not mandatory). If you’re not fond of going out to eat at all, they also host a farmers market on Wednesday 2-6 year round. All events can be found here.

The museum hosts seasonal events of all kinds, including Halloween and Christmas, plus summer camps. It is also available, of course, for rentals of space, although not overnight.

The Inn came to my attention while writing this column precisely because of this wildly diverse array of activities; I was making a list of programs hosted by museums in the area, and then realized that nearly half were from the same institution.

During my tea, in the beautifully restored tea room, a kind interpreter in costume pointed out the exhibition of landscapes on the wall, by a Canadian artist who took her very early automobile on and off the road in search of the most picturesque landscapes in Ontario to paint. In this space were a scattering of other guests, and the crew of “Scenes From Joshua,” blocking scenes for the upcoming one-hour chamber opera. By the time this article posts, they will be performing.

By any count, this impressive roster of events for a museum with only twelve rooms, but I like to think that the historic use of the Inn acclimatized the building to the activity. It is an Inn so well used, that there is a groove in the floorboards from the door to the bar. The building would likely not be bothered by the constant rotation of activities through this space.

While the Inn was active, it was the meeting place for the local Orange Lodge at the turn of the eighteenth century, and later served as the meeting place for annual Home District Meetings, later served by four separate counties. Records made by the eponymous Montgomery indicate that the Inn was also home to at least one political campaign meeting, one wedding, and multiple concerts and dances.

One of the bedrooms historically available to rent at Montgomery's Inn, as seen on the tour of the house.
 Photo courtesy of Samantha Kilpatrick.

I bring up this wide array of activities because how to program a historic site is a question every museum is either currently grappling with, or should be grappling with. For small museums and historic sites/houses in particular, how to encourage repeat visitors is a perennial and crucial question. Montgomery's Inn seems to answer this question with not only a host of programming for all visitors, but also by rotating these events with such frequency that it’s incredible that the entire building doesn’t spin on its foundations.

I can’t, of course, speak to the other events programmed in the Inn. I can only speak to the tea I had-- an excellent offering of a variety of foods wide enough to please nearly every palette.

OUT OF THE QUESTION: ACTIVE LEARNING AT LAURIER HOUSE

MUSEUM MYSTERIES 

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

Welcome back to Musings, everyone! I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable summer. The Musings team is excited to get back to sharing museum-related thoughts with you, our wonderful readers.

As I’ve been out of the province all summer, I headed down to Ottawa this past weekend with fellow Musings contributor Emily Welsh to catch up on what I missed in Ontario, most notably the opening of the Canadian History Hall at the Canadian Museum of History. We also visited a hidden gem (and one of my favourite sites in the city): Laurier House National Historic Site.

This Second Empire mansion is situated in close proximity to my alma mater, uOttawa. It's been about three years since I last visited the house, though, so I was looking forward to returning to the home of two prominent Prime Ministers of Canada.

 

Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar.

Laurier House is special to me because it's a site where a number of my interests intersect – I love history, Canadian politics, and biography. Sir Wilfrid Laurier lived in the house until his death in 1919. Laurier's wife Zoé later willed Laurier House to William Lyon Mackenzie King, and he moved there in 1923. Upon his death, he left the house and all his belongings to the Canadian Crown, in the absence of any relatives to bequeath it to.

 

Laurier House sits on the corner of Laurier Ave. East and Chapel Street in Ottawa. Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar.

While we were there, I realized that wandering through a historic house has a few parallels with detective work. Many rooms in the house are blocked off with barriers – everything in the house is an authentic artifact that belonged to either the Lauriers or King. Since the rooms are staged as they would have been when Laurier or King lived there, there is little space to include detailed interpretive panels other than outside the rooms themselves, or in a pamphlet available at the front door.

 

Part of the drawing room in Laurier House, which contains many objets d'art. Note the reminder not to touch anything - this experience was largely visual. Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar.

As a result, most of the knowledge we were gaining was empirical. We used our observational skills to examine Laurier's sitting room chairs or King's extensive library, all without touching anything, of course!

I noticed that most of our thought processes came in the form of questions: I wonder if that was King's or Laurier's? What's that piece of furniture for? Where did King get that tiny scowling bust of Winston Churchill? 

That last question wasn't a joke. There is actually a mean-looking Winston Churchill head in King's upstairs dining room. Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar.

The conventions of the historic house challenge our attempts to infer meaning from these artifacts, since the rooms are presented as recreated settings in time. Our "investigations" consist of us looking around a room for clues on how the house's occupants would have used the objects within.

Thankfully, there are interpretive tools in place to ensure that our visits to historic houses aren't just a shot in the dark. In the case of Laurier House, Parks Canada staff were stationed on each floor of the three-story house, ready and willing to answer any of our questions when they arose. 

If I hadn't asked about this bust on the landing, I would never have learned that it's Oliver Cromwell. King was fascinated by him, which shows insight into his political leanings and his values. Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar.

I became a bit self-conscious about being an overbearing visitor, merely because I was asking so many questions! My "interrogation" of the staff resembled a self-guided quest for knowledge that was defined specifically by my own curiosity. The content I received was dictated by the types of questions I chose to ask.

Though it's arguably less accessible to have to pursue this information rather than having it all available on the walls, it's also part of the way the house is curated. The interpreters know so much about every piece of furniture, article of clothing, and room; yet it would be overwhelming to have so much content written out (for more on this, stay tuned for my next post about demystifying Canada's history at the Canadian History Hall). For instance, when I was admiring a smart suit in a closet on the second floor, an interpreter caught my interest and told me that Laurier wore it when he was knighted by Queen Victoria.

The suit Laurier wore when he was knighted by the Queen in 1897. Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar. 

Without the interpreter, my pseudo-investigation would have drawn a blank. After all, it's not like doing research, where the resources are in front of you in written form; rather, you have access to the artifacts with less written content. The object's placement in the room can serve as a form of context, but speaking with the interpreter allowed me to influence the topical direction of the information that was imparted.

But what happens if we feel too shy to actively pursue the information? Visiting Laurier House put us in the role of detective, but it also forced us to evaluate our own questions and whether they were "worth asking". It can be difficult to get over the social nervousness of asking a lot of questions, but the presence of helpful interpreters is the first step.

Surprisingly, I found that the history of Laurier and King's lives in the house was best delivered in this anecdotal format. The contextual panels in or outside each room of the house provided a good overview of its function and significance, and from there we were able to enrich our understanding through conversations with interpretive staff. Asking them our own questions contributed to the sense that we were standing in the former home of real people. Though they've been discussed countless times in history books, speeches, commemorations, and in public memory, they also had private lives, of which Laurier House offers a glimpse.

Sitting on the doorstep of my favourite house in Ottawa! Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar.

Each time I visit Laurier House and step back into the inner lives of these two Prime Ministers, I see not only the legacy of the Liberal Party in the first half of the 20th century, but also the distinct personalities of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King.

Even though it was at times a little bit frustrating to have all these questions and no immediate answer, having to ask my questions to a live interpreter made me feel in command of my own learning, and it offered me access to stories that I might not otherwise have been able to appreciate. Probing into aspects of Laurier's and King's lives so many years after their deaths has enabled me (and hopefully many other visitors) to connect with them on a personal level, and to unravel the biographical mysteries of two very different leaders of our country.

Have you ever gone investigating at a historic site to find information that's not in plain view? What did you learn? 

THE NOT-SO-BLEAK HOUSE: WRITERS' HOMES AS BIOGRAPHICAL MUSEUMS

THROWBACK THURSDAY

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

Cross-country literary tours. Annual pilgrimages to Shakespeare’s Stratford-Upon-Avon. Hordes of people wandering Wordsworth House and gardens inspired by the metaphysical.

What is it about writer’s house museums that never cease to draw us in?

The authors whose homes have been preserved and opened to the public seem to maintain a mythical presence at the sites where they lived … or at least that’s what we like to imagine. But what does our interest in writers' homes say about our relationship with writers and the ways in which we try and connect to them? Why are writers' houses so popular?

Green Gables in Prince Edward Island receives visitors from across the globe. L. M. Montgomery often visited her cousins' Cavendish farm in her youth, and  based her wildly popular book series, Anne of Green Gables, on the location. Source.

Celebrity Status

When a prominent literary figure has a fanbase, their historic house is guaranteed at least a few visitors who travel (sometimes worldwide) to their favourite authors’ residences. Immersing one’s self in an author’s home life provides a means of bibliographical instruction that their books cannot; even nomads like Ernest Hemingway had residences, or stopping points, that now attract visitors.

Ernest Hemingway's home in Key West, Florida, where he is said to have worked on "The Snows of Kilimanjaro", among other titles. Though Hemingway only lived here for a decade, this place is associated with the author and remains a key attraction. Source.

Unsurprisingly, devotees of literature can find fascination in even the most menial elements of a prolific author’s lifestyle. With interpretative content, the rooms of the house can offer biographical insight into the person’s daily life, not unlike a regular historic house. This personal connection provides visitors with an opportunity to retrace authors’ steps long after they are dead and connect to their inner lives.

Resurrecting Momentous Events

“Jane Austen wrote Persuasion in this house.” (music to my ears - somebody please take me to Chawton, Hampshire!)

“Derek Walcott wrote a number of his poems here.” (Derek Walcott House, St. Lucia)

"This is where Samuel Johnson sat when he wrote the first dictionary.” (Dr. Johnson's House, London)

These types of impressions are part of the reason that writers’ houses maintain such appeal: something was created here. Many visitors have a strong attachment to the works an author has produced, and this emotional connection cements the allure of the place where it occurred. Whether it was a timeless novel, poetry, or short stories, in many cases the creative process began, evolved, or ended in these locations. If not, the house’s staff are responsible for clarifying that the author did not in fact produce their renowned works in the house.

The F. M. Dostoyevsky Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was Fyodor Dostoyevsky's residence at the beginning of his literary career. Source.

Nevertheless, writers’ homes often evoke the physical connection that a number of visitors search for, within the context of the author’s biographical history. For instance, Edgar Allan Poe lived a tumultuous life at his Baltimore home, and penned numerous stories within its austere walls. The relationship between an artist's biography and their art is usually at the forefront of analysis - we tend to wonder if an author's own past directly influenced their work.

The most prevalent word on many writer’s house websites? “Inspiration”. These historic houses market themselves as inspiration for the works of the famous writer(s) who lived there, so you can witness for yourself how the environment purportedly influenced authors’ works. There is a humanity inherent in visiting writers’ houses – the focus is usually narrowed to a single individual who eloquently communicated with readers through the written word.

Brontë Parsonage is said to have inspired the works of sisters Emily, Charlotte, and Anne. Writer's house museums often market themselves as places of inspiration as though to challenge readers and visitors to find connections. Source.

Immortal, Like Their Literature

Writers’ houses have been preserved as icons of the authors that have gained reputations in history as creators. Their significance has therefore expanded to the point that their biographies are valued, preserved, and shared through their houses. James Baldwin’s house in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, for instance, is in danger of demolition, but the ongoing fight for its preservation demonstrates a profound passion for his life and work.

Immortal no more? James Baldwin's home in France, where he lived until his death, is slated for demolition. Nevertheless, efforts are underway to preserve the late author's home. Source.

The symbolic status of the dwellings in which these artists resided, and the juxtaposition of the simple day-to-day tasks and their abstract visions of artistic and commercial success resonates with people, prompting an advocacy to protect what often appear to be small and unremarkable buildings. Amsterdam’s Anne Frank House, for instance, is of course less celebratory in tone but interprets the now well-known biography of a young Jewish girl writing a personal diary in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. These houses become icons of literary achievement, and the stories the authors told are revisited from a biographical perspective. 

Paying Homage

In a way, writer’s homes are a sort of shrine to renowned artists, their works, and their legacy. Regardless of whether they seem like biographical crypts, to many visitors they serve as a gateway to the lives of talented individuals they got to know via the page. In coming to cherish authors through their written works and learn how they expressed themselves, readers of classic writers are guided to their houses not only by the timelessness of their works, but by their own emotional connection to the human beings that lived there.

Have you visited a writer's house museum that stuck with you? Tell me all about it in the comments! 

ALUMNI CHECK-IN: JASON HARVEY

ALUMNI CHECK-IN

BY: KATE SEALLY

This week we are privileged to be able to speak to Jason Harvey, a graduate from the MMSt program. Comment down below if you have any more questions for Jason, and I'll be sure to pass them on!

When did you graduate? 

I finished the Master of Museum Studies program in 2012.

Where are you now? 

Billings Estate National Historic Site, Ottawa ON. Source. 

I am currently working as an Education and Interpretation Programs Officer with the City of Ottawa. I work with four of the City's museums, Pinhey’s Point Historic Site,Billings Estate National Historic Site, Nepean Museum, and Fairfields Heritage House. 

Does the MMSt program serve you well in your current job? (ie. do you feel like you are applying what you learned in your everyday work?) 

Yes, definitely! Day to day, I lead a multi-disciplinary team that develops and delivers cultural products to the public. The work is always changing – while responsible for an historic house museum, I can also find myself managing events at City Hall, contributing to corporate initiatives, interpretive planning, directing staff workflow, setting budgets, or running hiring competitions. It is a varied position, and it definitely keeps things interesting and fresh.

The MMSt program’s strong foundation in museological theory, coupled with hands-on, practical opportunities, serves me very well in my everyday work. Depending on the situation or task, I can draw upon a baseline of knowledge, as well as practical skills developed in the program. One project that I’m currently working on is the development of an evaluation tool to measure the effectiveness of our programming initiatives. This tool, once it’s ready to launch, will hopefully help us make conscious and responsible decisions in regards to the programming we decide to offer at the historic sites. To develop this, I am relying heavily on my experience in the MMSt program, especially what I learned in the Museums and Their Publics course.

What did you enjoy most about the MMSt program? 

The excellent balance of academic with professional experiences. The internship was definitely the highlight of the program; I was fortunate enough to intern at the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. I feel that my experiences working alongside the Museums and Heritage Advisors, coupled with the network and transferable skills I developed, have gone a long way to ensuring that I am gainfully employed! Other stand-out experiences include working with the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto as a part of the Museums and Indigenous Communities Course, as well as many, many hours spent in the Thomson Collection of European Works of Art at the AGO during Museums and Their Publics.

Is there anything you wish you had done while you were in the program or while you were in Toronto? 

When I was a student in the MMSt program I was lucky enough to be able to find paid museum work as an interpreter at Spadina Museum. However, I definitely regret not finding the time to volunteer at another museum or cultural institution. It’s so important to get involved and meet as many people as possible! Whether it’s through working or volunteering, you should try to find ways to improve your footing in the world. Obviously you need to maintain a healthy work/life balance, but you should really try and find the time to get involved.

Do you have any advice for current MMSt students?

Think strategically when selecting your internship. Where do you want to be in 10 to 15 years? What are the skills you will need to get there? Who might be able to mentor you along the way? While interning in a very niche position might be a fun and engaging experience, be sure to consider long-term career goals, and push your comfort level in order to develop new abilities.

As a supervisor who interviews recent graduates – start thinking about how you will posture yourself for that first post-MMSt job. While the MMSt program is excellent for developing the hard, professional skills demanded in the workplace, be sure to think about and exercise your soft and transferable skills. Learn how to communicate your work ethic, accountability, and self-management abilities to future employers, with concrete workplace examples and experiences to back them up.

Finally, if you are at all interested in working for the government, start brushing up on your French as soon as possible. Even a little French can go a long way to helping you stand out from the other candidates.

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Well that's it for this week, folks! Thank you so much to Jason for participating and for beta-testing my interview questions. I'll see you in the New Year, with a new and exciting Alumni Check-In post! 

THE HOUSE THAT KARIN LARSSON BUILT

OBJECT OF THE WEEK

BY: NATANIA SHERMAN

Scandinavia is trending right now, in everything from architecture, travel and blogs to books with titles like “Nordi-Cana.” The concept of Scandinavian design is synonymous with clean lines, unique furnishings, a smattering of bright colours balanced with an unpretentious and liberal use of white space, all finished in natural materials, especially wood. The design aesthetic of Swedish furniture store, IKEA immediately comes to mind, but at the turn of the century before there was affordable pre-fabricated furniture, the concept of a Swedish style of design would have been radically different. Today’s object is a house decorated by a Swedish interior designer from the late 19th century named Karin Larsson. Karin, and her husband, the painter Carl Larsson, were trailblazers of Swedish design and the home they lived in embodies the principles of “Scandi-Cool.”

Lilla Hyttnä, the Larsson family home (source)

Karin (nee Bergöö ) Larsson’s home, which is known as Lilla Hyttnäs, is located in Sunborn in Karin’s hometown in Sweden. The house, which is now a museum called the Carl Larsson Garden, was originally a small cottage that Karin and Carl Larsson converted into their family home. The couple met in 1883 at a Scandinavian artist’s colony located at Grez Sur Loing in France, and moved back to Sweden to marry and start a family. Carl Larsson went on to become a famous Swedish painter. Although she studied handicrafts at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, Karin gave up professional art and devoted herself to her growing family but she never lost her creative touch and domestic life became her medium of self-expression. The Larsson cottage, which was a gift from Karin’s father to the couple in 1889, was transformed by Karin’s innate design sense as she decorated almost exclusively with items that she designed herself.

Karin Larsson in 1882 (source)

The Larsson’s home, Lilla Hyttnäs, was a far cry from the Victorian style interiors that were popular in Scandinavia in the early 19th century. Larsson’s design choices broke with convention because she used motifs inspired by Swedish folk art traditions. However, Karin was not looking solely to the past for inspiration. Despite not being a professional designer, she took inspiration from contemporary art movements such as the Arts and Crafts Movement in Great Britain, and even the 19th century craze of Japonisme, when Japanese ukiyo-e prints started to become available for export to Europe. Her style combines naïve forms with clever minimalism for a décor style that is clean, modern and eccentric. Karin Larson's home was not merely an exercise in aesthetics. She and her husband both had very strong opinions about what their house should look like, and designed their home around their beliefs about health and domesticity. While the Victorian tradition was to separate children and adults, the Larsson children and their parents participated in family life as a unit, surprising their contemporaries by eating together the way we expect families to do today. The Larsson house was designed with this sense of family togetherness in mind.

A bedroom at the Larsson home featuring textiles made by Karin (source)

Larsson was primarily a textile artist, however she also designed her family’s clothing and furniture in addition to the tapestries and embroideries that adorn her home. If you can’t visit Lilla Hyttnäs in person, one of the best ways to experience Karin’s handiwork is through the countless watercolours by her husband, which showcase their domestic life. Carl Larsson’s family became his favourite subject matter later in his life. The images he painted reveal an idealized domesticity and surprisingly modern interiors that showcase the creative life of the Larsson children.

Karin Larson in the kitchen with her children from a painting by Carl Larsson (source)

For a long time, only her family and those who saw reproductions of her husband’s paintings knew of Karin Larsson’s unique design sense. However, in recent years, designers and institutions are publicly recognizing Karin’s contribution to the design canon. In 1997 IKEA sponsored an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum entitled “Carl and Karin Larsson: Creators of the Swedish Style” The Larsson home itself is also living a second life, not as family home, but as a national heritage site. Images of Lilla Hyttnäs always surprise me, because the despite the lack of mod-cons and electricity, the interior spaces are so contemporary. The house is truly a testament to Karin Larsson’s vision and skill that her private home came to define a national style.