OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

In fulfilling its motto, "Explore, Preserve, Relate", the society has been involved in many local activities. Guest speakers at monthly meetings have covered a broad range of topics about Hamilton and its environs: many of these talks have been published in the society's journal, Wentrked by a field trip to a site of historical interest in the area.

Over the years, the society has attempted to collect and preserve historical photographs of the area. This activity led to the publication of two popular volumes of local history: Around and About Hamilton, 1785-1985, and Hamilton: Panorama of Our Past. As well, the society has sponsored several historical plaques, including one on the site of the King's Head Inn, to commemorate important people and events in the Hamilton area.

In 1990 a society-initiated project saw the historic 1890 City Hall clock and bell tower incorporated into the Hamilton Eaton Centre development. The society's next project was even more ambitious: the restoration of the Gore Park Fountain. Society members and residents of the community-at-large joined together, under the auspices of the Fountain Foundation, an offshoot of the society, to raise over $500,000 in order to rebuild the fountain, which was a centrepiece of Gore Park and a kind of focal point for civic life in Hamilton until it was demolished in 1959. The newly-restored fountain was turned on in October 1996, one of the major events in the city's sesquicentennial celebrations of that year.

Interested individuals are encouraged to become involved in the society's activities. These include:

* working on society publications

* manning the society's booktable at community festivals. A great way to meet people and promote local history at the same time!

* serving on various committees (e.g., plaquing, publicity)

* overseeing special events such as the Heritage Dinner and the June Outing

* working on special projects that the society may undertake from time to time