Trent University Professor Emeritus and Renowned Local Historian Authors New Book on Peterborough History

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dr. Elwood H. Jones’s Book Chronicles History of Peterborough, Ontario through 100 Stories of City’s Past

Monday, June 28, 2010, Peterborough

An Historian’s Notebook: 100 Stories Mostly Peterborough, a compilation of stories and columns written by Dr. Elwood H. Jones, professor emeritus of History at Trent University and a renowned local historian, is a well-rounded and comprehensive history of Peterborough, Ontario.

The richly illustrated new book, released in December 2009, is Prof. Jones’s tenth book on Peterborough history. The book is a collection of columns that originally appeared in the popular weekly column, Historian at Work, which he has been writing for over three years for the local newspaper, The Peterborough Examiner.

“When the 100 stories are placed in chronological order, the impact is one of engagement with stories that the reader can grasp in considerable detail, and then relate to other stories,” says Prof. Jones, adding, “No two stories are the same, and in most stories the historian and the reader learn something surprising. It seems that the stories are without end.”

The stories in An Historian’s Notebook cover a wide spectrum of events, people and topics. Stories about politics, show business, and neighbourhood events are intermingled with biographies and stories about murders, parades, exhibitions and fires. There are also narratives about local businesses, industries and institutions, including Trent University.

Prof. Jones has been teaching in the Department of History at Trent University since 1969. Endearingly referred to as "Peterborough’s Mr. History", Prof. Jones is one of the most recognized historians in the Peterborough area and is known for consistently bridging the gaps between teaching, research, and community service.

Throughout his time at Trent, Prof. Jones made distinguished contributions to his discipline, to University service, and to college life as Master of Otonabee College from 1978 to1983 and as Senior Tutor from 1998 to 2003. When he retired from the University in 2006, he was presented with the Eminent Service Award.

Outside of teaching and research, Prof. Jones has served in key positions for a number of national, provincial, and local organizations. These roles include: director of the Canadian Historical Association, director of the Ontario Historical Society, president of the National Archival Appraisal Board, president of the Peterborough Historical Society and president of Trent Valley Archives. Prof. Jones has also held editorships with the Journal of the Canadian Church Historical Society, PHS Bulletin, and Heritage Gazette of the Trent Valley.
In addition, Professor Jones is known for transferring his historical expertise into a format that makes history accessible to a broader local audience, including high school students and the broader community. In fact, one of his key achievements in the area of public history is a monograph on Anson House written by his fourth year students and edited by Prof. Jones.

An Historian’s Notebook: 100 Stories Mostly Peterborough is available at the Trent University Book Store and Trent Valley Archives. 

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For more information, please contact:
Dr. Elwood H. Jones, Professor Emeritus, Trent University, (705) 743-0231.