Research Results

Throughout the “Placing Memory” project, we’ve been documenting our work and analyzing the results of the oral history interviews.

These papers are ordered chronologically. If you are interested in the details of the research project itself, begin with the early papers. If you are more interested in the project findings, focus on the papers by Ken Draper and Jennifer Matte, further down the page.

At the bottom of the page, you’ll also find a link to the Town of High River’s Heritage Inventory Project Historical Context Paper, which was a major part of our research.

Click on the links below to read about what we’ve discovered!

Presenting at the 2016 Alberta Museums Association conference. From left to right: Irene Kerr, Director/Curator of the Museum of the Highwood; Brittany Alonso and Kaitlin Vanderveen, Ambrose University History students; Kyle Jantzen, Professor of History, Ambrose University.

Organization of Military Museums of Canada Conference, Calgary, June 21, 2016

Kyle Jantzen from the Ambrose University History program spoke on the “Placing Memory” project (link opens in a new window), as part of a panel on “History, Museums and their Public in the 21st Century: A discussion around the concept of public history and the role of museums within society.”

Alberta Museums Association Conference, Calgary, September 16, 2016

Irene Kerr from the Museum of the Highwood and Brittany Alonso, Kaitlin Vanderveen, and Kyle Jantzen from the Ambrose University History program presented a conference session at the Alberta Museums Association Conference, on the theme “A Culture of Sharing: Inquiring Minds, Empowering Museums.”

Kyle Jantzen gave an overview of the “Placing Memory” project.

Brittany Alonso presented on “The Student Role: Placing Memory in High River.” (with images)

Kaitlin Vanderveen presented on her role as a student and project assistant.

Irene Kerr presented on “The Museum of the Highwood and the Placing Memory Project.” (with images)

Members of the Ambrose University History program presenting at the 2016 Conference on Faith and History, Virginia Beach, USA. From left to right: Kyle Jantzen (professor), Roland Weisbrot (student), and Ken Draper (professor).

Biennial Meeting of the Conference on Faith and History, Virginia Beach, VA, October 16, 2016

Kyle Jantzen, Ken Draper, and Roland Weisbrot from the Ambrose University History program presented a roundtable entitled “History, Memory, and Community-Based Participatory Research in an Undergraduate History Program.”

Kyle Jantzen presented on “Working with Undergraduate Students in Local History Research.” (with images)

Ken Draper presented on “History and Memory in High River,” which included the first public analysis of research findings from the “Placing Memory” project, focusing on the New Look Café and the Memorial Centre. (with images)

Roland Weisbrot presented on “Placing Memory in High River, An Oral History Project: A Student’s Reflection.”

Ambrose Research Conference, April 4, 2018

Every spring, the Ambrose Research Conference showcased the best undergraduate research at Ambrose University. Jennifer Matte, a senior student, presented in a panel on “New Research in History.”

Jennifer Matte,  “An Analysis of ‘Sites of Memory’ in High River’s Built Environment.”

This 52-page research paper is the most substantial analysis of the “Placing Memory” research findings to date, focusing on the Wales Theatre, New Look Café, St. George Hotel, and Memorial Centre. It is the product of a semester-long course, HI 495 Independent Research in History.

Town of High River Heritage Inventory Project Historical Context Paper

Over the course of our project, we conducted archival research at the Museum of the Highwood, with the goal of producing a Historical Context Paper for the Town of High River’s Heritage Inventory Project. To read the Context Paper, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page. To see the three reports from the Heritage Inventory Project itself, click here and scroll down the page.