Three North End women will present their memories at a panel discussion at the Seven Oaks Historical Society Annual General Meeting on Tuesday March 16, 2010. The discussion will be moderated by Winnipeg Free Press investigative reporter Bruce Owen.

These largely untold and intriguing personal stories about coming of age in the community will feature three of the area’s women of distinction:

* Gerry Sylvia: Growing up a member of the North End Black community, she became a successful businesswoman while raising a family as a single parent.
* Addie Penner: Growing up within a Polish family, she is now a retired Dean of Social Work.
* Ruth Rachlis: Growing up within a Jewish family, she became a professor (now retired) in the Faculty of Social Work.
(Penner and Rachlis both have extensive experience and background in the field of applied social work theory).

The panel discussion will be a thought-provoking example of the oral history project now underway by the Seven Oaks Historical Society. The “People’s History Project” is a collective work that is capturing the legacies and compelling historical stories of the area as never told before. A coffee-table book is currently being prepared and edited by Winnipeg author Sarah Yates and an editorial collective.

The Seven Oaks Historical Society Inc. is a voluntary group of people interested in the preservation and promotion of the rich historical past of the Seven Oaks neighbourhood. The Annual General Meeting hopes to attract people who would like to be interviewed for inclusion in the book, help others host a tea in their local community, get involved in the Society’s projects, or simply learn more about the history of the Seven Oaks area.

Seven Oaks Historical Society Annual General Meeting
Tuesday March 16, 2010
7 p.m.
St. John’s Anglican Cathedral (St. Cross Street and Anderson Avenue)