2023 Betty Bartlett Public History Experiential Learning Internship for Local History
Paige Milner became the first recipient of the Betty Bartlett Public History Experiential Learning Internship for Local History, to be offered annually to undergraduate students enrolled on main campus who participate in an experiential learning opportunity with a heritage organization focusing on local history. It is funded by a generous endowment by Dr. Michael Bartlett, a graduate from Western’s MA Public History field, who established the fund in memory of his mother, Betty Bartlett. A schoolteacher in Ontario for over twenty-five years, Betty Bartlett developed her own course that centred on local history, which was at the time the only full-semester local history course offered in the Carleton Board of Education. It is hoped that those supported by the Betty Bartlett Fund will be inspired to share her passion for local history and engagement.
Paige’s performance embodies the spirit of this fund, combining academic excellence, superb research skills, and significant contributions to the community. In the summer of 2022, Paige worked with the Heritage London Foundation as an historical interpreter and researcher on a project that delved into the largely unknown history of hosiery in London. Through archival research and a series of oral history interviews with past employees (or children of past employees), Paige was able to shed light on this forgotten part of London’s history, specifically how this industry shaped the lives of women, who constituted the majority of factory employees. Paige’s work is important for not only bringing history to life, but also for uncovering these previously lost voices. Paige has done this through a series of blog posts, her appearance on CBC London morning with Rebecca Zandbergen, and a virtual exhibit scheduled for the Fall of 2023.
Paige’s work will contribute to the community in even more ways. The protocol for oral histories set up for the Heritage London Foundation will provide future researchers with an ethical and practical process for interviews. The quality of Paige’s research prompted Professor Michelle Hamilton of Western’s History Department to invite her to co-author a section of this year’s MA public history field’s community-based project report. Next year, the MA Public History students, of whom Paige is one, will turn this research into outdoor historical signs for a block of affordable housing in the SoHo neighborhood.
Excellent work Paige- congratulations!
