Historian Andrew Burtch from the Canadian War Museum will be on campus Thursday afternoon to give a presentation based on his upcoming book with UBC Press entitled "Give Me Shelter: The Failure of Canada 's Cold War Civil Defence, 1945-1963." The lecture gets underway at 3:00 p.m. in DWE 3516.

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Book illustrates history of Westmount

A news release from the media relations office

An illustrated history of the local Westmount neighbourhood written by a University of Waterloo librarian will be officially launched Thursday, Nov. 24. Susan Saunders Mavor's book, "Westmount: The Tie That Binds The Twin Cities", tells the story of one of Waterloo Region's most interesting and attractive residential areas, from its origins in 1912 to the present day. The invitation-only launch event, hosted by the university, will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the Westmount Golf and Country Club.

"The history of Westmount is in many ways a reflection of the history of Canada on a smaller scale," said Mark Haslett, university librarian. "Its growth and architecture, its challenges and solutions combine to present a portrait of the life and times of the people who have lived there. The past provides a model for how this unique neighbourhood has survived and how it can continue to thrive."

From the beginnings of its development by local industrialist and entrepreneur Talmon Henry Rieder, Westmount was envisioned as an upscale residential area. Rieder aptly described Westmount as "a fine piece of property" in 1912 when he consulted America's foremost landscape architects, the Frederick Law Olmsted firm, about its development. Besides giving it the name of Canada's premier neighbourhood, Westmount in Montreal, where he had lived for a period, Rieder also transferred many of the street names from its Quebec namesake to his new subdivision in Berlin, as Kitchener was then known.

In 1970, the University of Waterloo purchased a house on Westgate Walk, in the western portion of Westmount, for Waterloo's second president, Burt Matthews, rather than build him a residence on campus. The house was sold when his successor, Douglas Wright, took office in 1981.

The book, with a preface written by noted historian John English, outlines the history of the neighbourhood and the adjacent golf course through the world wars, economic depressions, and also through the times of modern prosperity. English describes Mavor's book as "a wonderful story of romantic vision, economic boom and depression, and, above all, the creation of a community."

The author, Susan Saunders Mavor, is a librarian and head of the rare books and archives department of the University of Waterloo Library. A number of the library's archival collections have been consulted as part of her research for the book as well as for earlier articles she has published on Westmount's history. As a long-time resident of the Westmount area in Kitchener, her professional and personal interests have been combined in the publication of this book. She lives in one of Westmount's earliest houses with her husband Ted.

The book is available through the University of Waterloo Bookstore or at Words Worth Books in Uptown Waterloo.

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Professor of history to publish mystery, and other notes

Another literary achievement was made official at last weekend's Tony Hillerman Writers Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when it was declared that professor Andrew Hunt of the Department of History had won this year's Tony Hillerman Prize for his novel, "City of Saints," set in Salt Lake City in 1930.

The prize, named after New Mexico's best-known mystery author, honors the first-time author of a mystery set in the American southwest. The guidelines also stipulate that a manuscript will be considered if "murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story, and emphasis is on the solution rather than the details of the crime." Wordharvest and St. Martin's Press co-sponsor the award, which was established in 2006.

Hunt receives a contract for publication with St. Martin's Press and a $10,000 advance.

Turning the page to other matters:

After five years of coaching the Warrior Football program at the University of Waterloo, Head Coach Dennis McPhee has resigned from his coaching position and will be leaving the University.

“We wish Coach McPhee the best with his future endeavours and thank him for his contributions to the Warrior Football program,” said Bob Copeland, University of Waterloo Athletics Director.

Copeland said the change in leadership comes at a time when the Department of Athletics program is evolving according to a strategic direction built around core values and goals that best position the school for success in interuniversity sports.

Continuity for the football team will be provided by a strong line-up of assistant coaches including Assistant Head Coach Joe Paopao, longstanding Assistant Coach Marshall Bingeman, and Assistant Coach Kani Kauahi, all of whom will be on the sidelines guiding the Warriors through the 2012 season. The Department of Athletics expects to confirm their leadership plan for the football program within the next two weeks.

The Chemistry Department Seminar Series continues with two events today. The first event features Dr. Takao Mori of the National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS), Japan. Dr. Mori will be presenting a seminar on Morphology Control of Materials as a Way to Dramatically Improve the Physical Properties at 10:30 a.m. in room C2-361. Professor Graeme K. Hunter of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario will be presenting a seminar on Protein-crystal Interactions in Biomineralization at 2:30 p.m. in room C2-361.

As the weather reports turn to warnings of freezing rain, try not to think about the members of the international visits team currently traveling in Trinidad and Barbados, meeting with students, teachers, alumni, and other partners. The tour includes lunch with the High Commission, professional development seminars for teachers, and visits to the University of the West Indies and Barbados Community College.

Paul Dewar, MP for Ottawa Centre and former foreign affairs critic, will be the first federal NDP leadership candidate to court NDP members and local progressive activists in Waterloo Region. Dewar will be at The Lion’s Brewery in uptown Waterloo between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. on November 24 to meet with local New Democrats, after meeting with local religious leaders to talk about social justice issues.

Piled Higher and Deeper: THE PHD MOVIE is coming to the Humanities Theatre on Tuesday, November 29. The live-action adaptation of the popular webcomic about life in academia will start at 2:00 p.m. and a ‘Life in Grad School’ discussion panel will follow the movie screening. All participants, including undergraduate students, are invited to the Grad House following the event to continue the discussion. Free tickets are available at the Theatre box office and the Federation of Students office.

The Hildegard Marsden Nursery Craft and Toy Fair runs Monday, November 28 to Wednesday, November 30, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Student Life Centre's multipurpose room. The vendors will have a great variety of items for all ages, including toys, books, jewelry, crafts, clothing, leather, Teddy Bears and more. The sale is a great way to support the Hildegard Marsden Nursery, located on the north campus. All vendors donate 15% of their final sales to the childcare centre.

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