by Joanna Dermenjian | Mar 4, 2023 | Article, History, Research
Republished from THE CONVERSATION, February 2023 – Dr. Irene Gammel and Joanna Dermenjian In 1992, in Esher Library southwest of London, England, Josephine Andrews and her mother, Christine, collected blankets to donate to Kurdish refugees of the Gulf War. Among...
by Joanna Dermenjian | Jan 19, 2023 | Article, History, Research
Just about this time last year, in early 2022, I had the opportunity to share my research on Jo Andrews’ Haptic and Hue Podcast, in episode she called “Canada’s Forgotten Quilts”. Since that time, with Jo’s encouragement, I have dug deeper into the primary sources to...
by Joanna Dermenjian | Jan 8, 2023 | Article, History
In my investigation into the quilt-making by Canadian women during WW2, I am on the look-out for references to the materials used in charitable production of quilts and garments for Britain and Europe. I found one newspaper article that stated that the Red Cross urged...
by Joanna Dermenjian | Oct 14, 2022 | Article, History, Research
The Toronto Daily Star from Saturday, August 31, 1940, includes an article that headlines: “Rain Fails to Halt C.N.E. Quilting Bee”. Toronto Daily Star, August 31, 1940 I found this paragraph in a 2011 publication called ‘Stanley Barracks: Toronto’s Military Legacy’:...
by Joanna Dermenjian | Sep 9, 2022 | Article
Just now, I am in London, England, experiencing a very poignant time in the history of this nation, the Commonwealth and the world. I am choosing to avoid current polarizing conversations, to capture for a moment a day in October 1940 when the young Princess...
by Joanna Dermenjian | Aug 30, 2022 | Article, History, Research
PART 1 In Canada, the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto is our nation’s largest fair. It has been in operation since 1879 and has opened annually on the same site for several weeks each year, with just a few exceptions because of war, plagues...
