In the age of the Internet, when virtually anything can be found online, the is alive and well, with more requests than ever for their services.
Greg Evans, the man whose desk sits in a basement office below McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 on Esquimalt Road, jokingly refers to himself as a B次元官网网址渉istory detective.B次元官网网址� And in a world where the very concept of a fact is now up for debate, Evans remains staunch.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e the purveyors of historical fact,B次元官网网址� he says.
For 36 years, the Esquimalt Archives have pieced together the townshipB次元官网网址檚 past, with Evans at the helm for the past seven.
HeB次元官网网址檚 seen a steady climb in requests for everything from old fire insurance maps and property records to military and naval history.
B次元官网网址淭he Internet has just opened everything up,B次元官网网址� he says. Up until 20 years ago, people would connect with the archives by phone or letter, he explains. Now itB次元官网网址檚 by e-mail or directly through their website, where over half of their 6,000 photos and other documents are readily available .
B次元官网网址淚 think because of the Internet weB次元官网网址檝e become even more relevant because people can access us [so much easier],B次元官网网址� Evans says.
B次元官网网址淲e believe this is the publicB次元官网网址檚 history and they should be able to see it.B次元官网网址�
The majority of the collection that comprises the archives comes from donations, with some photos and records kept from municipal employees over the years. And, while people look to Evans and his volunteers to piece together the past, itB次元官网网址檚 not uncommon for them to fill in the missing gaps or provide corrections when they spot a family name or a face in an old photo.
These days, itB次元官网网址檚 information about their ancestors that most people come looking for.
B次元官网网址淭hey say genealogy is the fastest growing hobby in the world,B次元官网网址� Evans says. B次元官网网址淎nd I think the genealogical side of our job is the most rewarding.B次元官网网址�
In 1906, the Canadian Army formed in Esquimalt, followed by the Navy in 1910, so military and naval history is rich here. Evans is currently working with a man from Darby, England tracing the roots of his grandfather who served as the master-at-arms aboard HMS New Zealand when it arrived in 1919.
As for the first peoples here when the British arrived in the mid-1840B次元官网网址檚, little is known.
B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 have much on the First Nations in here,B次元官网网址� Evans says, but he is at work on a project with local partners that hopes to produce a 3-D build-out of the former Village.
Not just an archivist, EvansB次元官网网址檚 skills and knowledge have been used in the planning of local history festivals like Fort Macaulay Day.
For this yearB次元官网网址檚 Canada 150 celebrations, he was able to provide a cultural history on Japanese-Canadian contributions to Esquimalt, which date back to the 1890s.
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B次元官网网址淎 lot Esquimalt families want to make sure that some portion of their family history is safe here behind locked doors for people to enjoy and share later. We donB次元官网网址檛 know who will walk through the door next and what they will have.B次元官网网址�
