The making of Scotty Carmichael's Collingwood: folklore and vernacular history in a central Ontario shipbuilding community

Abstract

As a study in vernacular history, this thesis examines the repertoire and history making practices of William “Scotty” Carmichael of Collingwood, Ontario. Focusing on stories he told over radio, in print, and in conversation, the concept of vernacular history is used as a theoretical framework, exploring how Scotty Carmichael mediated the decline of industrial shipbuilding after the Second World War through narratives about local sports heroes. As a theoretical reassessment of folk history, this thesis proposes that vernacular history is the reflexive discursive practices and locally conceptualized systems of meaning that people use to think and speak about the past, drawing attention to the oral, customary, and material genres and practices that shape local traditions of history making.