Celebrating our diverse heritage in Cornwall, SDG and Akwesasne
Marie Morrell isn't a person to let a daunting task stop her from representing every nationality and culture in the region in a series of books.
"This is what I have always loved to do -- I love talking to people about their background," said Morrell, who attributes her own "diversified" lineage for sparking a life-long devotion to anthropology.
Morrell's family tree includes Roma gypsy, French Acadian and North American native.
And what better opportunity to tap into her insatiable curiosity and stamina for research -- "I can work 14 hours on something non-stop," the 68-year-old says.
"It's a great opportunity for celebrating our 150th birthday on Canada Day (2017), our first day of independence," she said.
The volume of books will be called AKCOUNTIES (AK- for Akwesasne, CO - for Cornwall and UNTIES - for United counties).
For anyone even remotely familiar with Morrell's passion, they will know that she already has access to her own supply of information gathered together as the organizer of the Parade of Nations Festival, which also aims to assist the developmentally challenged.
Two years ago, Morrell furthered her knowledge by recruiting three students, performing their community hours, who researched local ancestors' countries of origin.
Some of these countries and groups no longer exist and we need to remember them since some of our ancestors came from those countries, she said.
But there are many countries that Morrell has needed assistance with to complete a snapshot of that nation's identity, including types of geography and national dishes, etc.
"Alone, I could never do it - I had 100 (contributors) at least," she said of the input over the past couple of years.
"I'm not what they call a real McCoy, so I have to ask those people from those counties to kind of edit the cultural aspects."
In addition to her national profiling, she is also shining a spotlight on all the communities, big and small, within SDG.
"Everybody who is helping will be listed in the books," she said.
For example, she relied on fellow history buff Jim Brownell to help pinpoint some out of the way and forgotten settlements.
"There were places I couldn't find information on, so he took me for two to three weeks and drove me around everywhere to find some of these places that were missing," she said.
AKCOUNTIES's first volume will include Canada, Pakistan, India, Mauritius, Belgium, Hungary, Antarctica, Mohawk First Nation of Akwesasne, and the Sri Lankan Tamils.
Morrell explained that Pakistani and Mauritius immigrants were the first residents who became involved with Parade of Nations some years ago.
As for her selection of Antarctica, she said a Cornwallite visited Antarctica and took the opportunity to plant the city's flag there.
Morrell hopes to launch the book on Aug. 31, but faces the same hurdle as most authors, printing costs. In her case, the first volume will be about 600 pages.
She is hoping the community recognizes the importance of this cultural sharing exercise and rallies behind it by donating funds.
Each donation will be recognized under headings of the smallest 10 countries in the world: $10 - Vatican City, $20 - Monaco, $30 - Nauru, $40 - Tuvalu, $50 - San Marino, $60 - Liechtenstein, $70 - Saint Kitts and Nevis, $80 - Maldives, $90 - Malta, and $100 - Grenada.
To donate, go to www.paradeofnations.com under donate through Pay Pal or send a cheque payable to Parade of Nations, 1621 Joyce Street, Cornwall, Ont., K6J 1Y8
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