Pitching, Pies and Piety: Early Twentieth Century St. Hedwig's Parish Picnics (Report‪)‬

During the colonization road era in Canada West, several immigrant groups came to settle in the area around Barry's Bay, Ontario. Piecing together information from oral sources, local newspaper articles, and photographs, this study aims to analyze the convergence of the most important aspect of the settlers' culture--religion--and an annual celebration--the parish picnic. Early twentieth century St. Hedwig's Parish picnics created a commensal sense of belonging among immigrant groups in Renfrew County. By examining the picnic's baseball game as a historical landscape, the playing field emerges as the site where gender, class and ethnicity were also negotiated and mediated. Pendant l'epoque du chemin de la colonisation de l'ouest du Canada, plusieurs groupes d'immigrants sont venus s'installer dans la region de Barry's Bay, Ontario. En rattachant les informations recoltees de sources orales, d'articles de journaux locaux, et de photos, cette etude a pour but d'analyser la convergence de l'aspect le plus important de la culture des pionniers, la religion, et une celebration annuelle, le pique-nique paroissial. Les pique-niques de la paroisse St. Hedwig du debut du 20e siecle creaient un sens commensal d'appartenance parmi les groupes d'immigrants du comte de Renfrew. En examinant le jeu de baseball du pique-nique comme paysage historique, nous voyons le terrain de jeu emerger comme l'endroit ou le genre, la classe et l'ethnicite etaient aussi negocies et medies.