I learned my love of “spirit walking” from my Mother, Barbara Ann Scott. Mum was an avid genealogist who spent many days in cemeteries in Ontario, Quebec and Scotland. I joined her on many of these research visits. I gravitated to headstones beyond our family plot. I found the inscriptions and iconography on the headstones of strangers interesting. These headstones represented lives and stories. Examining cemeteries can teach us much about local history and ourselves. I have discovered many small communities and vanished villages near and far from home.
For me this web site is about acknowledging the many great Canadians who shaped the Canada I know. By sharing the results of our research I hope that people will take a moment to reflect upon how we got here and those who made it possible. This site gives some of those people names and identifies their final resting place.
World Collide: Museums & Cemeteries
Below is a video I made for my Museum and Cultural Management students. It is set in Prospect Cemetery, and I talk about “things” representing stories, including headstones.