The stories of those who endured prison camps in Canada are finally being told.
According to Sandra Semchuck, author of The Stories Were Not Told, her recent work dives into the tales of Canada’s First World War Internment Camps, and she will be visiting Kapuskasing to speak about it.
Semchuk says her late husband James and her were on a drive through Ontario when she stumbled upon a beautiful display of respect for internees from camps throughout the country.
This is where she says her journey to tell the stories of internees and their descendants began by doing some intercultural work with her late husband that led to the creation of her book.
Semchuk says her goal was to go across Canada and visit all 24 internment camps from the First World War in order to hear and tell the stories that may have been almost forgotten. On her way, she found herself in Kapuskasing, where she says she was welcomed by Julie Latimer of the Ron Morel Memorial Museum.
“I have such a warm feeling in my heart for Kapuskasing, Julie welcomed me into the Ron Morel (Memorial)Â Museum and I saw so many amazing images and I have reproduced quite a few of them in the book and I have two very important (local) stories in the book.”
She says returning to the area on the invite of Mrs. Latimer is an easy yes for her, especially considering Kapuskasing is really special to her and the stories she’s telling.
“It is really special for me to come back to Kapuskasing because of all the communities across Canada Kapuskasing is the one that perhaps has the deepest story about the internment, because it was there for so long, because it began as an internment camp its part of the origin story of the town itself, so its very rich territory Kapuskasing.
Semchuk says at this very time she is working on another story regarding the idea of forests, and using a wider than human type context to tell her story, whatever it may be.
She will be in Kapuskasing next Thursday, May 16th at the Civic Centre to present her book, sign books and chat beginning at 7:00pm in the Green Room #1 in an event hosted by the museum.
