Researching the site

As the researcher and writer of the site, I was responsible for finding the information that we put up on the web. I also spent quite a bit of time searching for pictures to go with the historical information. The first step was to go on a tour of St. Ann's, to see the building as it looks today. The appearance of the Academy, even though the interior has changed a great deal since its years as a school and convent, gave me an idea of the size and style of the architecture and in which parts of the building the different classrooms were situated. I spent some time on my own, walking through the grounds, for the same reason.

Most of my research was done in archives. An archive is a sort of library for papers, letters, photographs, books and other important items that can give us information about special topics. The Province of British Columbia has an archives, as do most cities and towns. The Sisters of Saint Ann have their own very well organized archives. Not all of their documents were about the Academy, but there were many things to look at and read. Unlike a library, these things cannot be taken away from the building, so I needed to use them during the hours they were open, when Sister Margaret Cantwell, the Archivist, and Mickey King, her assistant, were available.

I found out about the lives of the Sisters and their students in many interesting ways:

Every few years, the school would publish a prospectus, a brochure describing the Academy and its curriculum for parents interested in sending their children. In many prospecti, there were pictures, lists of clubs and descriptions of the girls' uniforms.

The literary club, the Thomas Aquinas Circle, would put together a publication of stories and news events at the school, called the Aquinian. In 1973, the year the school closed, an annual was put together, including students from the past 100 years.

Information about individual Sisters could be found in volumes of a type of book called a Necrology. Here, the biographies of Sisters who have passed away are collected together, including their given and religious names, their place of birth and some of their accomplishments.

Most of the research materials in the archives, such as letters, school registers and photographs, are what is known as " primary sources". A primary source is one that is first hand information, something that can be seen directly. A secondary source is something like a book, which somebody has written, about a relevant subject. The authors have often researched the primary sources for us in their books. St. Ann's was a Roman Catholic school, so it was important to understand some of the events that led to changes in their church and the meaning of the symbols in their buildings. Reference books, such as dictionaries and encyclopaedias, were helpful for those aspects.

Newspaper clippings, student essays and even unexciting records such as bills and receipts can provide historical information that can be used to add facts to the memories of the people who were involved with the Academy. One of the most important sources for many parts of the web site came from interviews, of students, staff and former teachers, as well as with the people involved in the restoration of the building. I was fortunate to have access to a series of recorded interviews, done during the 1990s restoration project. I was also able to speak to several individuals about specific subjects. These memories, though not always accurate in terms of details such as dates and exact locations, are very valuable. They give an element to the history of the Academy that facts and figures, by themselves, could not do.

Part of doing research is making sure the facts are correct and the details are accurate. Some people remember things differently than others, so it is important to compare different accounts. I read in one book that Bishop Demers laid the cornerstone for a part of the school, while another source noted that he had passed away two months before that event took place!

I enjoyed the project very much, but there were many difficulties. Many times, I would want information about a certain topic that was just not available. Other times, it would take hours and hours to find one small fact. When you look at the text of this site, think of how many months have gone into finding the information, then piecing it together to give an interesting history. One of the biggest challenges, for me, was to meet deadlines. The other people on the team depended on me to give them the text to put on the web and to base the student activities on. They were very patient, but I often wished there was more time to work on the different sections.

The most enjoyable parts of the experience included meeting people, and learning about the lives of so many women that influenced the early history of my city. My own area of interest is architectural history, so it was a change for me to learn more about the people that use that architecture.

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