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In March 2014, I interviewed Margaret Tallmire-Montgomery on two separate occasions in her home in Old Ottawa South. These interviews were a part of the ongoing Ottawa Life Stories project, organized by Professor John Walsh. This undertaking explores childhood experiences in Ottawa during the post-war period. Margaret’s home is an easy jaunt from Carleton University where I am currently working on my Master’s degree in History. We sat in her living room leafing through photographs and chatting about her past.

 

Often memories of childhood give us an opportunity to see how people, particularly children, come to know the world through bodily experiences. We learn how to interact with our environment through sensing temperatures, textures, smells, and so on.

 

This exhibit is intended to create a soundscape to complement Margaret’s stories and to draw attention to the sensual nature of childhood memories. Sounds of water, wind, and play are associated with certain types of spaces and experiences and have been layered with her narration to stimulate the imagination, immerse the listener in her stories, and restore an element of embodiment to the memories Margaret shared with me.

 

 

Introduction

Image courtesy of Margaret Tallmire-Montgomery. In this picture, Margaret poses in front of her family home in Ottawa South.

Please select the "Hearing Childhood" tab above to continue.

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