Voices from the Footnotes
By ROAAr, McGill University Library
Welcome to Voices from the Footnotes. Each episode we will explore some of the hidden histories at the McGill University Library and Archives, looking at places, people, and artifacts. The library and archival collections are rich and fascinating, but this series flows from the silences and absences that are also present. Join us as we explore the voices and stories from the Footnotes.
Voices from the FootnotesFeb 28, 2022
Before and After Coronation – Rae Rambally
So what happened after the fun and festivities of McGill's winter carnival were over? We hear from Rae Rambally, Carnival queen in 1958, about her experiences both before and after her time at McGill.
Explore More:- See a full slide show of photos on our Blog, Library Matters
- See the full transcript on the Podcast website, Episode 18.
· Host & Editor: Jacquelyn Sundberg
· Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
· Transcription & Research: Labiba Faiza
Guests:· Rae Rambally
Music· Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
· End credits: Happy-music, by monkeyman355, CC BY 3.0
Life After Coronation - Dorothy Baxter, 1951
So what happened after the fun and festivities of McGill's winter carnival were over? We hear from Dorothy Baxter, Carnival queen in 1951, about her experiences after the pageant and her time at McGill.
Explore More:- See a full slide show of photos on our Blog, Library Matters
- Dorothy’s Website
- Read the full transcript
- Host & Editor: Jacquelyn Sundberg
- Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
- Transcription & Research: Labiba Faiza
- Dorothy Baxter Alexander
Life After Coronation - Beryl Rapier 1949
So what happened after the fun and festivities of McGill's Winter Carnival were over? We hear from Beryl Rapier, Carnival Queen in 1949, about her experiences after the pageant and her time at McGill.
Explore More
Credits
- Host & Editor: Jacquelyn Sundberg
- Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
- Transcription & Research: Labiba Faiza
- Beryl Rapier
- Bradley Rapier
Carnival Queens
This episode we speak with royalty, McGill royalty to be precise. Step back in time to 1949, 1951 and 1958, as Beryl Rapier, Dorothy Baxter and Rae Tucker Rambally bring us back to mid-century McGill Winter Carnival days. Relive their days as campus royalty.
Explore Additional Content:
- See a full slide show of photos on our Blog, Library Matters
- See the full transcript here
- Play Quiz That So, a McGill Library game that unites McGillians from throughout history in a trivia challenge that will test your wits. Host Max McMartlet and the game itself was inspired by a McGill Winter Carnival Programme from 1951.
- Hear more from Beryl in Episode 11: Generations Part 1.
- Listen to CBC's The Doc Project by Julia Lipscombe, How Montrealer Beryl Dickinson-Dash made history as McGill's first Black queen of Carnival.
- Eliza McCullum. “Queen of the Campus: The McGill Winter Carnival Queen, 1948-1969.” Canadian Content: The McGill Undergraduate Journal of Canadian Studies, Vol. 11, Spring 2019. Accessed Feb 1, 2022. https://www.mcgill.ca/misc/files/misc/canadian_content_2019.pdf
Credits
· Host: Sheetal Lodhia
· Producer and Editor: Jacquelyn Sundberg
· Transcription & Research: Labiba Faiza
· Research Assistance: Michelle Macleod
Guests:
· Beryl Rapier
· Dorothy Baxter
· Rae Tucker Rambally
Music
· Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
· Transitions:
o It’s Winter Carnival Time. Merry Martlets. Presented by the Graduates' Society of McGill University, the Merry Martlets appeared courtesy of the McGill Choral Society under the direction of Gifford Mitchell. Copyright McGill University.
o Hail Alma Mater. Presented by the Graduates' Society of McGill University, the Merry Martlets appeared courtesy of the McGill Choral Society under the direction of Gifford Mitchell. Copyright McGill University.
o Old Fashioned auto Piano, by Razzvio, Sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
· End credits: Happy-music, by monkeyman355, CC BY 3.0
Meet Anna
A cataloguing librarian with a love for medieval manuscripts, archives, and Star Trek’s Beverly Crusher. Meet Anna Dysert in this week’s short episode.
Explore More CreditsProducer: Sheetal Lodhia
Host, Associate Producer, and Technical Assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:- Anna Dysert
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Generations Part 2
What has changed since the 1940s for Black students and staff at McGill? In part 2 of the Generations episode, we shift to more contemporary perspectives. We hear mostly from the daughters and learn about their experiences as former students and current staff at McGill. They discuss community, belonging, and safe spaces on campus. The episode also focuses on the fight for equity, and the institutional challenges/obstacles that come with it.
Explore More
- Furthering Equity and Inclusivity at McGill
- Adrienne speaking about her work at McGill
- Find out more about Black Grad at McGill
- During her time as a law student, Brittany worked for the McGill Legal information clinic, find out more about that project here
- Read more about the McGill Law Coffee house in this article from 2007
- Glyne Piggott’s McGill Profile
- See the full transcript here
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Associate Producer and Technical Assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:- Prof. Emeritus Glyne Piggott
- Adrienne Piggott, Associate director, Faculty Procurement, McGill Univeristy
- Ron Williams
- Brittany Williams, Manager, Student Affairs Office, McGill Faculty of Law.Note, at the time we spoke with Brittany, she was Acting Associate dean of admissions and recruitment for the Faculty of Law. She started her new position November first, 2021, read more about it here.
Meet Michelle
What does an assistant curator do? Find out this week as we meet Michelle Macleod, assistant curator at McGill’s Visual Arts Collection (VAC) and a PhD candidate in Art History. We learn about her love for the city and photographs, her current research on 19th-century illustrated journals, and the benefits of digitization during a pandemic.
Explore More- McGill Visual Arts Collection
- Watch the event – Seeing Double: Photographic Portraiture in McGill’s Visual Arts Collection
- De-Stress + Sketch
- Find out more about Canadian Illustrated News, the 19th-century journal Michelle is studying or find a copy in the McGill catalogue
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Associate Producer and Technical Assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:- Michelle Macleod
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Generations Part 1
What has changed since the 1940s for Black students and staff at McGill? In this episode, we talk with Beryl Dickinson-Dash (now Rapier) and two pairs of fathers and daughters who were students, faculty, or staff – or all of the above – at McGill. Hear about a lot of firsts and the unique challenges faced by Black students and staff in the first half of this two-part episode.
Further Reading- How Montrealer Beryl Dickinson-Dash made history as McGill's first Black Queen of Carnival
- Ron’s uncle’s protest at Concordia, the Computer Centre Incident
- McGill’s Action Plan to address Anti-Black Racism. September 2020.
- CBC article from October 2020 states that there are currently 14 black tenure-track or tenured professors
- See the full transcript
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Research Assistance: Michelle Macleod
Guest:- Beryl Rapier
- Bradley Rapier
- Prof. Emeritus Glyne Piggott
- Adrienne Piggott
- Ron Williams
- Brittany Williams
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- Transitions: Horn lilt 2 by contextcollapse, Sombre Piano by Luckylittleraven, Happy and Groovy by Tyops, all sourced from Freesound.org, CC BY 3.0
- End credits: Happy-music, by monkeyman355, CC BY 3.0
Meet Leah
Singing in the stacks! In this episode we meet Leah Weitzner, a former student staff member at ROAAr and a talented singer. With a fascination for performance practice and an interest in music from between 1500 to 1700, Leah brought her skills, curiosity,and enthusiasm to ROAAr for the past three years.
Read more about Saints Alive, when Leah sang from a 500 year old manuscript with a group of other McGill singers.
CreditsHost & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:- Leah Weitzner
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy-music by monkeyman535, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Rencontrez Alexandre
En écoutant ce balado avec Alexandre Soucy, vous y découvrirez que les employés, archivistes et bibliothécaires chez ROAAr ont des chemins uniques qui les ont apportés à travailler avec les collections à McGill. Pour Alexandre, son parcours jusqu'ici était pavée de musique et de littérature.
By listening to this podcast with Alexandre Soucy, you will discover that the employees, archivists and librarians at ROAAr have unique stories that have brought them to work with collections at McGill. For Alexandre, his journey so far was paved with music and literature. – Note this episode is entirely in French.
Explorez | Explore More CréditsAnimatrice & Productrice: Sheetal Lodhia
Production et assistance technique: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Invité:- Alexandre Soucy
- Chanson titulaire: Happy Sandbox, par Mativve, provenant de Freesound.org
- Chanson finale: Happy and Groovy, par tyops, CC 3.0, provenant de Freesound.org
Meet Nathalie
Does your childhood library have a tragic story behind it? Nathalie Cooke’s does. We get to know the professor and associate dean of ROAAr in this episode, where she talks about her first library and her initial experience working with archives.
Read more about Duncan B.C.'s former Chinatown in this article.
CreditsHost & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:- Nathalie Cooke
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy and Groovy, by tyops, CC 3.0, Sourced from Freesound.org
Rencontrez Julien
C’est quoi le rôle d’un archiviste de référence à McGill? Ce balado avec Julien Couture nous montre que le boulot d’un archiviste est plein de surprises engageant. Branchez-vous pour des faits amusants de nos archives. | What does a reference archivist at McGill do? Based on this interview with reference archivist Julien Couture, this job is anything but monotonous. Tune in for fun facts from the stacks. – Note – this episode is entirely in French.
Découvrez plus sur notre site web | See photos on the website
Explorez | Explore More
Crédits | CreditsAnimatrice & Productrice: Sheetal Lodhia
Production et assistance technique: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Invité | Guest- Julien Couture
- Chanson titulaire: Happy Sandbox, par Mativve, provenant de Freesound.org
- Chanson finale: Happy and Groovy, par tyops, CC 3.0, provenant de Freesound.org
Meet Jacquelyn
Do you remember the smell of your first library? Jacquelyn Sundberg, the associate producer of Voices From the Footnotes, surely does! In this episode, she shares some childhood library-related anecdotes, what brought her to McGill, and how her love for stories led her to library and archival work. See photos on the ROAAr webpage.
Explore More- Find out what is coming up with ROAAr Events
- Projects that Jacquelyn has helped create in the past year:Quiz That So? Library Game - Find out more about library games or Play Now.
Fur Trade and the North West Company - Exhibition and online collection.
- Calgary Public Library - Explore what the downtown central branch has to offer.
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guest:- Jacquelyn Sundberg
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy and Groovy, by tyops, CC 3.0, Sourced from Freesound.org
Finding Where We Belong; Indigenous Perspectives at McGill
In this episode, current and former staff of McGill’s First Peoples’ House discuss the various hurdles faced by Indigenous students in higher education. Interviewees also share how staff and tailored programming provide much-needed support to students and help them build community, foster a sense of belonging, and achieve academic success. For today’s episode, we issue a trigger warning in that we discuss some sensitive issues pertaining to colonialism, mental health, and suicide.
ResourcesGet connected with First Peoples' House at McGill : https://www.mcgill.ca/fph/
Today’s episode touched on issues of suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, reach out:
- Student Wellness Resources at McGill: https://www.mcgill.ca/wellness-hub/
- KeepmeSAFE – 24/7 crisis line and counselling service available to all McGill students free of charge. Call 1-844-451-9700 (phone)
- Talk to your Faculty Advisor about a leave of absence. This is an option, and you can return to your studies at a later date.
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guests:- Paige Isaac
- Allan Vicaire
- Tanya Lalonde
Meet Lori
From bookworm to archivist, meet Lori Podolsky, records manager at McGill University Library and Archives.
In this short episode, Lori tells us why her neighbours were not too fond of her childhood reading habits, how she used archives for the first time while researching a measles epidemic and recalls the series of events that led her to study archival science.
Explore the McGill Library's Archival Collections here.
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Guest:- Lori Podolsky
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- End credits: Happy and Groovy, by tyops, CC 3.0, Sourced from Freesound.org
Meet Chris
From human rights to library science, Chris Lyons is a man of many passions. In this episode, the head librarian at Rare Books and Special Collections talks about his unusual career trajectory, the books he read as a kid, his first encounter with library fines, and the perks of befriending librarians.
This is the second in our series where we get to know the people at ROAAr. The staff, archivists, librarians and students who sit behind the desk – or, in the case of the pandemic, behind the screens.
Explore Rare Books and Special Collections here.
Credits
Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Guest: Christopher Lyons
Music:
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org.
- End credits: Happy and Groovy, by tyops, CC 3.0, Sourced from Freesound.org.
Meet Adria
Is there more to archives than just paper and artifacts? Adria Seccareccia, archivist and liaison librarian at ROAAr, says yes! In this short episode, she talks about the interesting work she does at the library, her experience with summer reading programs as a child, and what drew her to archives. This is the first in a series of short pods where we introduce you to the people of ROAAr; The staff, archivists, librarians and students who sit behind the desk – or, in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, behind the screens.
So let us introduce Adria. Since joining the McGill Library in 2020, Adria has worked on several projects, including a new web archiving project: McGill University Responses to Anti-Black Racism. Read more about it on the blog here.
For our first episode, The Gault Nature Reserve, Adria put together two timelines tracing the history of the Gault Estate as documented in the McGill University Archives. Explore her work here.
Credits
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Guests:
- Adria Seccareccia
Music
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org.
- End credits: Happy and Groovy, by tyops, CC 3.0, Sourced from Freesound.org.
The Gault Nature Reserve
Did you know that McGill also owns some land in Mont St. Hilaire? It’s called the Gault Nature Reserve. This episode will focus on the beautiful land and waters of the Gault Reserve, what we know about its history based on McGill’s archives, and how it is used today especially by McGill’s First People’s House.
- The Gault Nature Reserve As Property: Seigneurie to Estate - Explore the Timeline
- The Gault Estate; Prioritizing Conservation and Building a Nature Centre - Explore this Timeline
- See where this Episode's guests are speaking from on the map.
- Get connected with First People's House at McGill : https://www.mcgill.ca/fph/
- See the full transcript
Host & Producer: Sheetal Lodhia
Production and technical assistance: Jacquelyn Sundberg
Transcription: Labiba Faiza
Research Assistance: Michelle McLeod, Adria Seccareccia
Guests:- Adria Seccareccia
- Paige Isaac
- Allan Vicaire
- Tanya Lalonde
- Title song: Happy Sandbox, by Mativve, sourced from Freesound.org
- Transitions: hejdå, by edtijo, CC0 1.0
- End credits: Happy and Groovy, by tyops, CC 3.0, Sourced from Freesound.org
See the full transcript on our Website here: https://www.mcgill.ca/library/branches/roaar/podcast-voices-footnotes#Gault-estate
Teaser - Voices From the Footnotes
Get a taste of what we talk about.