The Mapleton Historical Society’s annual meeting on May 12 will feature guest speaker Dr. Lisa Cox.
Her talk on “Canada’s War Horses and the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps,” will focus on the role of horses in the First World War and the veterinarians charged with their care.
Cox is currently the curator at the C.A.V. Barker Museum of Canadian Veterinarian History at the Ontario Veterinary College and a history professor at the University of Guelph.
Her thesis on the history of bovine tuberculosis focused on how scientists, regulators and farmers worked to control the disease from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. Working with professor Ian Barker and two history students, these individuals created the C.A.V. Barker Museum of Canadian Veterinary History.
The museum is the largest collection of veterinarian artifacts in North America. Containing more than 12,000 pieces, the collection includes early surgical instruments, photographs, diplomas, writings and items that depict a veterinarian’s role in military conflict.
The artifacts in storage since the 1950s were brought out and put on display for the Ontario Veterinary College’s 150th anniversary in 2012.
The collection of artifacts was named after Barker’s father, university professor and Ontario Veterinary College graduate Clifford Barker, in recognition of his 40-year career at the college and for his dedication to preserving the history of the college and the veterinary profession.
Cox presented a talk on the history of Canada’s War Horses at the Wellington County Museum and Archives in November 2016. The address covered the vital role that veterinarians played in the health and care of horses used in conflict.
Millions of horses and other pack animals were a source of labour for the troops as the animals moved supplies, munitions and people. Veterinarians were located at the front lines offering medical care and hospitals were set up behind the lines for the animals’ care. Some of the horses in battle were trained at the Ontario Veterinary College.
A new veterinary heritage display was recently set up by Cox at the Ontario Veterinary College’s Animal Cancer Centre. Cabinets in the reception area of the centre, donated by the class of 1965, provide an opportunity for veterinary clients to view artifacts from the past.
The Mapleton Historical Society Meeting begins at 7:30pm at the PMD arena in Drayton.
Everyone is welcome to attend the event. Light refreshments will be served following the meeting.
