City archivist gives a look into Saskatoon of 100 years ago

A presentation at the Frances Morrison Central Library on Friday gave a peek into what life was like in Saskatoon 100 years ago.

Through photos and letters from the time City archivist, Jeff O’Brien’s “Home by Christmas” documented what life was like for the city’s residents during the first world war and the years leading up to it.

O’Brien said it’s important for people to hear these stories from the past so we know where we came from.

“These are the stories of who we are and who we used to be. And who we are now really is built almost exclusively on who we used to be,” he said.

“Everything that you know and think and do, all the things that make up you and me come from the past. The words and the thoughts and actions of people who lived thousands of years ago cast these huge long shadows, so to know ourselves it’s not a bad idea to know who we used to be.”

O’Brien says that the history most people know from school is a huge topic that can feel “distant,” but when you look at local history it becomes more personal and you can even find similarities to everyday life today.

“Local history is really detailed and it’s really personal. Local history reflects. It reflects back from the audience to the presenter to the material and so that’s what makes local history so compelling to people,” he said.

“People say history repeats itself and that’s not exactly true but what it does do is it rhymes. We see things that happen again and again. Because of the tendency of history to repeat broad themes it’s nice to be able to see it coming. To see that this is a time when history is looking like it had in the past.”

After the presentation O’Brien had people lining up to show their appreciation to him and also share stories from their personal family histories. When asked about it he said “it’s hugely gratifying, because it means I made a connection to the people that I was talking to.”

The library hosts presentations like O’Brien’s every Friday at 2 p.m. in their downstairs theatre. He will be presenting “Home by Christmas” again next month.