This fonds consists of 31 student projects depicting historical and contemporary features of Southwestern Ontario (primarily Windsor/Essex County but also Sarnia/Lambton County), created by Bachelor of Education students in History or Social Studies courses in the 1980s. They take a variety of forms, including illustrated storybooks, scrapbooks, captioned photo albums, reports, lesson plans, activities, or fact sheets. The projects themselves are of variable quality, but the photographs and ephemera included in many projects provide valuable insight into local landmarks or industries in the 1980s. The collection has been arranged into six thematic series: Series I (Overviews by Geographic Area), Series II (Cultural Attractions), Series III (Sociocultural Groups and Histories), Series IV (Local Government), Series V (Business and Industry), Series VI (Transportation).

Warning: The N-word appears in a historical quotation in one project; stereotyped depictions of Indigenous peoples appear in another. See finding aid for details.

This fonds contains records created ca. 1979-1981 in an attempt to identify and catalogue historical records found in both urban and rural parts of Essex and Kent counties which could be of use to those interested in local and family history. At the time, most of these records were not held in formal archives or other repositories, but rather were inactive files held on-site in the institutions that created them. The fonds has been divided into two series. Series I contains the original index cards used in the field to gather data for the Ontario’s Heritage project (ca. 1980-1981?) from both Essex and Kent County locations. These remain as much as possible in their original order, arranged by geographic location and institution. Series II contains a bound copy of the Windsor Archival Project report (1979) focusing on city records, and an incomplete typescript draft of Ontario’s Heritage: A Guide to Archival Resources, Vol. 10 Essex and Kent Counties which includes only Essex County records (ca. 1981?).

Although some of the record collections detailed have subsequently been donated to archives (including Leddy Library Archives & Special Collections), the index cards and reports still remain a valuable starting point for those seeking leads on archival sources.

The fonds consists of original Windsor Star editorial cartoons drawn by Mike Graston that reflect local, provincial, national, and international public affairs of the period 1981-2016. The images have been arranged by date of creation. Politics and politicians figure prominently, at all four levels.

Municipal topics include mayors and city councillors, elections, public utilities and infrastructure, local Canada-US border crossings, automakers and other major local employers, unions and strikes, strip clubs, casinos, the downtown core, and riverfront development plans.

Provincial topics include premiers and Windsor/Essex members of provincial parliament, party leaders, economic policies, education, health care, and elections.

National topics include prime ministers and Windsor/Essex members of parliament, party leaders, economic policies, taxation, national defence, elections, same-sex marriage, Quebec separatism, Western alienation, and many political scandals.

International issues include wars in Iraq, war in Afghanistan, school shootings, the British Royal Family, American presidential politics, and Canadian-American relations.

Social issues are a secondary focus, with recurring themes of technological change, demographic change in Canada, Western popular culture (including television, sports, music, and celebrities), Remembrance Day, public health, and the environment.

A small amount of biographical information about Mike Graston and past exhibits of his work is also included in a textual file.

This fonds consists primarily of historic postcards depicting landscapes, buildings, attractions, infrastructure, and vehicles in the region of Southwestern Ontario, with a particular focus on Windsor and Essex County. Many of the postcards are undated, but formats include hand-tinted Early Twentieth Century (ca. 1900-1914) and White Border (ca.1914-1932) styles, as well as Linen (ca.1933-early 1950s), Standard/Chrome (ca. mid-1950s-1970s), and Continental/Modern (ca. 1970s - present) styles. Also included are a small number of photographs and ephemera items including arrest warrants, tokens, medallions, patches, maps, brochures, tickets, and advertisements, all relating to local people, businesses, events, or locations.

The years 1900 to 1914 were a so-called Golden Age for postcards in North America, thanks to the popularity of photography and mass production techniques that made them an affordable collectible item. Views of all kinds were produced, including residential neighbourhoods, churches and civic buildings, commercial districts, industrial plants, bridges, and landscapes. From 1900 into the 1930s, many postcards were black-and-white photographs with colour added. In subsequent decades glossy colour photographs became the norm, and a narrower range of views were produced (often depicting popular tourist sites, where they were sold as souvenirs). By the 1970s most North American postcards shifted from the traditional small size (8.5 x 14cm) to the larger European (“Continental”) size (10 x 15.5cm) and continued to feature a small range of local tourist attractions. All of these trends are reflected in the postcards contained in this fonds.

This collection contains an eclectic assortment of material – primarily images –relating to the history of Southwestern Ontario and its surrounding areas. The collection has been arranged into series that reflect the types of material received for digitization by SWODA. Series I contains photographs, including a number depicting the work and premises of a Windsor-area construction company, ca. 1920s-1970s; a 1943 group photo from a Windsor factory doing war production; and a Windsor elementary school class photo, ca. 1918; and mausoleums in Windsor Grove Cemetery, 1987-2021. Series II contains several hundred historic postcards in various styles (ca. 1900-2001) depicting landscapes, buildings, attractions, infrastructure, and modes of transportation primarily in Southwestern Ontario (especially Windsor and Essex County) and Detroit, Michigan. Five 1946 postcards depicting other places are all addressed to Miss F. “Rose” Perjul of Windsor, Ontario, mostly from newly demobilized soldier “Frank.” One postcard commemorates a 1959 royal visit. Further series will be added as applicable. Any known details about a specific item are included in the finding aid.