The Open Door
The Open Door is about looking for ways to create a better future - by exploring the past. Host Andrew Humeniuk speaks with guests about historical issues that relate directly to our changing world, while sharing the journey to transform his ancestral homestead into a vital community space for today.
Episodes
26 episodes
A Child's Christmas in Wales
To honour the long tradition of storytelling during the holidays, we are pleased to offer Jennifer Humeniuk’s reading of A Child’s Christmas in Wales, a classic tale written by Welsh poet and author Dylan Thomas. Merry Christmas from T...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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22:51
The Paranormal & Public History
Whether or not you believe in the supernatural, ghost stories can offer valuable insight into the past. Haunted histories often feature real people, places and events - the ghostly tales serve as the medium for sharing. Hamilton and Niagara-bas...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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55:49
Foreword Crossover: Preserving History at The Brown Homestead
When a historic building is preserved, the stories embedded into its walls and floorboards are also preserved. On this special crossover episode with Brock University’s Foreword, we take The Tattooed Historian YouTuber and pod...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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1:27:34
The Humours of Whisky
A history of whisky in Niagara offers a flavourful glimpse into Loyalist agricultural industry and trade in Upper Canada, the social nature of tavern culture, and the unexpected outcome of the temperance movement. Ajay Bhardwaj, Canada’s fir...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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39:57
Enduring Oka
The Kanesatake Resistance, or Oka Crisis, was a defining historic moment with an enduring legacy in Canada’s challenged relationships with Indigenous peoples. Mohawk writer and director Tracey Deer speaks to her experience as a twelve-year o...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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37:48
A Christmas Memory
In celebration of the holiday season, we are happy to offer Jennifer Humeniuk’s reading of Truman Capote’s classic tale, A Christmas Memory.
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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37:31
The Sad Ending of the Author’s Last Trip
Is E.A. Brown Dead? In 1894, Charles McCain published a History of the SS Beaver containing a chapter recounting the events of the night that Edward Brown disappeared. Does it contain clues to what really happened or an answer to the mystery...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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34:34
Is E.A. Brown Dead?
A young man from Pelham moved to Vancouver in 1888 following a family tragedy. Four years later, on New Year’s Eve, a friend reported that he drowned, leaving behind a wife and two children. But did he? Rumours and reports of sightings began...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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36:34
Historic Barns of Niagara
The old barns scattered across our countryside are the iconic backdrop to Canada’s rural heritage, yet comparatively little has been documented about them. Studying the structure and style of a barn can enrich our understanding of rural life...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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35:07
(Mis)Understanding Heritage Designations
Maligned by some and misunderstood by most, heritage designations are, nonetheless, the most immediate means we have to protect the historic buildings that represent our local history and define the character of our hometowns. City of Hamilt...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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36:30
Shickluna, Shipyards, and Drydocks
Much of Niagara’s urban history is closely linked to our marine history, particularly after the Welland Canal began operation in 1829. Maritime archaeologist Dr. Kimberly Monk has worked to piece together the nuances of the local shipbuildin...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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40:43
Digging The Brown Homestead
The Brown Homestead is one of the oldest Loyalist homes in Ontario. Navigating the known and unknown about its early history is an exploration of our heritage. We recently undertook an archaeological survey to add to our understanding of thi...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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39:19
Medicine in the War of 1812
Doctors during the War of 1812 faced an uphill battle to save the lives of soldiers damaged by battlefield trauma or ravaged by diseases without known treatments. We often look at medicine before anesthesia or the discovery of germs as barba...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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41:05
Kitchen Table Talk
The Métis Nation and its history is often misunderstood having been either poorly taught, misrepresented or ignored. On our journey to discover a more complete history, we are very happy to have the opportunity to sit down at the kitchen tab...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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52:06
Honouring the Peasant Civilization
Growing up in Puglia, Italy where his family has been farming for at least six generations, Tonio Creanza has been witness to a dramatic transition from the civiltà contadina, the peasant's civilization, to a new world...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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35:34
A History of Jazz in Niagara
The Niagara Jazz Festival is a highlight of summer in the Niagara Region and this year the festival comes to The Brown Homestead for the first time. In this episode, social anthropologist, Black music historian and musician Wade Pfaff shares...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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34:17
Service and Suffering in the War of 1812 Militia
Revisiting history that we think we know through the eyes of those who lived it sometimes gives us a different perspective. In this episode, researcher Jake Breadman reviews his findings about the Brown family’s participation in the War of 1...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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48:50
Digging Into The Victory Garden
With urban farming being the latest trend and home gardens becoming popular again, we remember a time when almost everyone had their own vegetable patch at home. In this episode, domestic historial Meg Grimsmo joins us to explore the World W...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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34:59
Raising a Glass to Colonial Taverns
One of the compelling discoveries about The Brown Homestead was its use as a tavern between around 1809 and the late 1830’s, but our modern assumptions about what that means may not be accurate. In this episode, we raise a glass and swap sto...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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32:59
Christmas Through the Years
Why do we cut down evergreen trees and put them in our living rooms every December? Why do people kiss under the mistletoe? And what is plum pudding, anyway? In this episode, we explore the curious origins of our Christmas traditions with domes...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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54:32
What To Do About Watson
In this episode, we dig into the complicated question of what to do about the controversial statue to Private Alexander Watson in front of St. Catharines City Hall. Brock University professors Michael Ripmeester and Russell Johnston examine ...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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57:47
Cemetery Life
In this episode, we celebrate Halloween with a walk on the spooky side! Historian and author Dr. Adam Montgomery, the creator of Canadian Cemetery History, leads us through the history of burial grounds and death rituals as we explore how ce...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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53:26
Anarchy 2.0 or Catching Up With Franklin Vagnone
In 2015, The Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums challenged and outraged the orthodox heritage community. In this episode, we catch up with the Museum Anarchist himself, Franklin Vagnone, to talk about how embr...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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59:53
The Loyalist Legacy
The history of Upper Canada begins with the Loyalists, but they remain misunderstood and sometimes misrepresented. In this episode, Dr. Timothy Compeau, an expert on the cultural history of the Revolutionary period, joins us to delve into th...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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48:50
A Very Short History of The Brown Homestead
In our inaugural episode, we explore the project that inspired the podcast, the restoration of The Brown Homestead. Founders Andrew and Jennifer Humeniuk revisit their journey from the purchase of the historic site in 2015 through reimaginin...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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24:48
