After her history class studied Murphy’s accomplishments, Leah Parent was so fascinated, she chose the Canadian heroine as her Historica Fair project.
Judges, both at the local and regional level, were fascinated, too, because Leah has been selected to represent Peel at the National Historica Fair.
Leah, a Grade 7 student at Lyndwood Public School, is among 15 delegates from Ontario who'll jet off Monday (July 7) to Victoria, B.C. for the week-long national competition.
Her project is entitled Emily Murphy: Leader and Heroine.
Murphy, who lived from 1868 to 1933, was the first woman magistrate in Canada and in the British Empire. She's best known for her contributions to Canadian feminism, specifically to the question of whether women were “persons” under Canadian law.
“She fought for women’s rights during her time. The work that she did changed the lives of Canadian women forever,” said Leah.
Leah has earned her trip out west. In addition to doing prodigious research on her subject’s life, she has gone the extra mile by handcrafting lacy doilies (with a little help from her mom) for her display board.
Artifacts include a black hat Murphy might have worn and a magistrate’s gavel. Leah will even don a costume circa 1900, complete with shawl. The pièce de résistance, though, is an authentic-looking photo album/diary circa 1900.
“I tried to make the entries look the way she would have written them,” said Leah.
The National Historica Fair will bring together 165 students from across Canada for one week of learning and adventure that culminates with a public display of their history projects.
While in Victoria, Leah and the other delegates will explore Vancouver Island, visiting such local historic and cultural sites as the Royal B.C. Museum, Chinatown, Fort Rodd Hill, the provincial Legislature, St. Ann’s Academy, Ross Bay Cemetery and Goldstream Park.
“I’m really excited and looking forward to the experience,” said Leah.
The delegates were selected from among the more than 300,000 students in more than 1,000 communities who participated in local and regional Historica Fairs in April and May.
Students from grades 4 to 9 use the medium of their choice to bring history to life.
jchin@mississauga.net
