Media Release

For Immediate Release

October 16, 2009

New exhibit by SMU prof showcases Frontier College history

Dr. James  Morrison

A new exhibit coordinated by Saint Mary’s history professor James Morrison traces the history of Frontier College, a national literacy organization committed to strengthening Canada’s social fabric for the last 110 years.

Dr. Morrison, a long time supporter, volunteer and historian with the organization, sorted through more than 6,000 images and hundreds of pages of research to put together the nine panels and associated artifacts that make up the exhibit that opened at Pier 21 in Halifax earlier this month.

Four of the display panels are capped with a cover to evoke the image of a tent, one of the common venues used by early volunteers to gather together working men interested in upgrading their reading skills.

Founded in 1899 by a small group of university students, the college sent volunteers into logging camps, mining towns and to work with rail gangs. Morrison himself spent the summer of 1964 helping lay rail across the Prairies by day and then gathering men in an empty box car at night to teach them how to read.

Today college volunteers are still working in remote areas, but can also be found on the main streets of the country’s biggest cities. It recruits and trains more than 5,000 volunteers each year to work with thousands of Canadians who want to learn.

Dr. Morrison, recently named a Member of the Order of Canada for his service to education through the collection and preservation of Nova Scotia’s multicultural heritage, put together the display during a recent sabbatical. The funding for the $20,000 effort came as a donation from a board member.

The exhibit wraps up in Halifax on Nov. 2, but Dr. Morrison said negotiations are underway to take it on the road to Montreal, Toronto and possibly even Great Britain.

Dr. Morrison has written two books about Frontier College.  He has also published works on Canadian and global history, and contributed actively to the collections and displays at Pier 21, Canada's Immigration Museum.

-30-

For More Information:

Steve Proctor
Saint Mary's University, External Affairs
(902) 420.5513
E-mail: steve.proctor@smu.ca