Making History

Writing plaques calls for accurate research, the ability to identify and convey key details succinctly, and a passion for history

- Robert Williamson, Hamilton

When I retired from teaching in 1993, it was easy to remove the teacher from the classroom but not so the teacher from the man. I still had the desire to disseminate knowledge, so I volunteered to join the Hamilton Historical Board and its plaquing subcommittee. Thus I began a personal quest, drafting 16 plaques in the process like those illustrated here, to present local history in ways that improved understanding and corrected misinformation.

I had a special interest in plaque writing because it meant putting history directly into our neighbourhoods. The endeavour called for accurate research and précis-writing skills—presenting ideas or information briefly, without overlooking any essentials. At the heart of every plaque, I tried to create a memorable “WOW” factor, so that the reader was compelled to say, “Wow, I didn’t know that!”

Perhaps most meaningful to me, however, was that I successfully encouraged our city’s cultural department to present plastic facsimiles of the community plaques we produced to the neighbourhood schools involved, giving the children there a sense of ownership of their own heritage.