On Friday, November 11, 2022 at 2 p.m., join Suzanne Pasternak at the Bloomfield Branch Library to discover the story of Robert Clarence Thompson.

Thompson was a County teenager from Hillier who, at the age of 13, enlisted in the First World War by falsifying his age. He eventually made his way overseas to the combat in France. After researching his story,Pasternak wrote a dramatic musical which has been adapted into a storytelling program.

Pasternak has spent decades researching and storytelling about history. Her work recounting the story of another County youth, Minerva McCrimmon, led to theatre performances,storytelling festivals and a book about the 17-year-old sailor, entitled Minerva. Pasternak is also the author of The Story of the 1917 Halifax Explosion and the Boston Tree and A Children’s History of Prince Edward County 1785-1918. These books are all available at the library and can be requested at any branch. All are welcome to join us on Remembrance Day, Friday, November 11 at 2 p.m.

Register to reserve your seat by calling (613) 393-3400.

This presentation is part of our project, “Library Beyond Walls,” through the My Main Street Community Activator program. My Main Street is supported by a $23.25-million investment by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), delivered by the Canadian Urban Institute and the Economic Developers Council of Ontario.

If you would like to do some reading for Remembrance Day, we’ve created a list of recommended titles on the library website. Visit peclibrary.org and click on “Search the Catalogue.” Search by list, and enter “Remembrance Day.” You’ll find our list and suggested titles from libraries across the province. If you see titles you would like to read, ask at your local branch. There are some titles specifically about Prince Edward County – for example, A March to Fear: Hastings Prince Edward Regiment by Jack Shepherd, and Camp Picton by Joanne Fralick. Others take a broader geographical approach – for example, They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children: The Global Quest to Eradicate the use of Child Soldiers by Romeo Dallaire and The Myth of the Great War by John Mosier. For more information about Prince Edward County’s history, contact Krista at the Archives by calling (613) 399-2023 to make your appointment. The mandate of the archives is to collect and preserve printed material having any bearing on the history of Prince Edward County.

The Archives is located at the Wellington Branch Library – 261 Main Street in Wellington. Discover more about the archives by visiting www.pecarchives.org.

-Liz Zylstra