I will update the write-up I am keeping for myself about what I am doing in dropbox, but here are the highlights for the past two days:

I visited Victoria High, where, as I believe someone mentioned in our meeting, they are doing a website about the school during WWI. They seemed worried that we would steal their thunder if we used some of their archival material, but I told them that this was the last thing we wanted to do. I said that if Jim permitted it, we would put some of the most interesting stuff they have on our archive, credit them as a source, and instead of a 481 student doing a microhistory on Vic High, link to their website. I was given a tour of their archive. It contains, first, detailed information on Vic High alumni who served in WWI, most of it borrowed from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, but supplemented with their own research. They have one soldiers’ personal photo albums, and records pertaining to alumni Bobby Powell, who was a Canadian tennis star, and who might make an interesting feature on our website. They have class registers, provincial exam results, registration cards from 1916, and The Camosun, the school paper from the war years. They also have some of the principal’s correspondence. They do want to work with us though, and will apply for formal permission from the alumni association, who owns the archival material. In addition, they are extremely enthusiastic about being a pilot school for the educational package, and I promised to put them in touch with Jeremy as soon as he gets here. I also took photos of their war memorials, which I will put on the spreadsheet as soon as Ben and Ashley create the drop-down menu. A few years ago, the archivist had a professional photographer photograph all their memorials. She gave me some information on him, and I am going to try and track him down to give us permission to use the images.

I met with the archivist from St. Michael’s University School, and she has arranged for me to come back next week. She will share with me photos she has done of their school trophies from that time period, and the list of names she has of people who left St. Michaels and served in the war. She has also given me permission to borrow digital copies of the School’s yearbook “the Black and Red,” which is on their website, and put it on our archive. The Old Boys’ column in “Black and Red,” tracks the alumni serving, and she has it from the WWI years. She has also agreed to let me photograph school clothing from that era, and to let me scan the principal’s diary from the time period.

Since our meeting, I have been going through Victoria City Archives, and looking at detailed finding aids, collections, and what not, figuring out exactly what we will want to put on the archive, and then I will give the list to Jim.

I attended the UVic Catholic Legacy in Victoria Symposium, and got some background information about the Sisters of St. Ann, which will be helpful in the education/medical section. Ashley and I have agreed that when I am visiting the Sisters' archives, I will get the information for her about the medical side of things, because she is supervising, and this will save her some time.

I have been in contact with the School District archivist, and also the Old Cemeteries Society. I spoke to them about sharing what information they have on soldiers buried in Ross Bay for our soldiers database, and they are going to talk to their research committee, and call me back.

The minutes are for yesterday and today.