Michael Freeman - 2024 Recipient of the Jean Hibbert Memorial Award
Michael Freeman was posthumously awarded the 2024 Jean Hibbert Memorial Award at the EHS AGM at Montgomery's Inn on Thursday, May 16, 2024. His wife Aurora accepted the award.
As the founding president of Heritage York, a position he held until his death, Michael had a profound impact on the preservation efforts in the then-City of York. It is not an exaggeration to state that the 1991 formation of Heritage York secured a future for the Lambton House, which a group including Michael had barely saved from outright demolition just a couple years before. Lambton House formerly known as the Lambton Tavern or the Lambton Hotel, is the last remaining in situ building from the 19th century milling/industrial era on the Humber River.
To raise funds for the restoration of the building and property, Michael was responsible for inaugurating monthly Pub Nights which have become a much-loved tradition at Lambton House. Not everything was smooth sailing in the early years as the building required a great deal of restoration. The City relied on Heritage York to help raise funds toward the restoration of the building. The board ran bingo nights and numerous other fundraising activities. It was high mark of achievement that in 1993, the City of York chose Lambton House to be the focus of the city’s bicentennial celebration including a visit from a descendant of John Graves Simcoe. Under Michael’s leadership, and working closely with the City, the board oversaw four phases of restoration in 1991, 1994, 1998, and 2002. The building was designated by the Province through the Ontario Heritage Trust.
The publication of Sir William Pearce Howland's autobiography, Dare To Do What Was Right by the York Pioneer & Historical Society in 2017, would not have been possible without Michael's digitization of the manuscript. He used to muse that he had been working on it so long that the files had been created in Word Perfect.
Michael was one of the early members of the Heritage York board to understand the need to move beyond colonial history. Early efforts included an emphasis on the Humber River, and later efforts involved partnerships with groups including the Etobicoke Historical Society to celebrate the diverse history of western Toronto through such events as the Brûlé Symposium in 2015 led by the EHS and the 2017 and 2019 Walk the Six West events. He wanted to fulfill a vision of the Lambton House as the Lower Humber Interpretative Centre, a goal his successor will be pursuing.
Apart from his duties as President of Heritage York, Michael was organization’s archivist and was responsible for establishing the archives. Through his connections with local people, he managed to obtain numerous donations including the Melbourne H. Bryce collection. This collection consists of over 250 glass slides, many hand coloured which depict images of York Township between 1850 and 1954. The collection is now stored at Lambton House. For eight summers, Michael supervised masters’ level Museum Studies and Archives students from the University of Toronto who were privileged with direct access to the archive.
Michael hosted numerous Heritage Talks, delivered many lectures and was always happy to provide tours of the building as well as acting as a resource for people who wished to learn more about Lambton Mills, and the milling history of the lower Humber River.
Over 35 years, he developed close relationships and friendships with many individuals. He was close friends with Mike Filey, former Toronto Sun columnist and historian; well-known historian Dr Carl Benn, faculty member of Toronto Metropolitan University; and Carolyn King, former elected Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Michael received numerous recognitions for community service, including the unique Federal Lescarbot Award in 1992; two Civic Recognition Award from the City of York in 1994 and 1997; he was honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012; and received two Certificates of Recognition from members of Provincial Parliament, most recently, on June 27, 2023, from Bhutila Karpoche, MPP for Parkdale/High Park.
Michael died after a 2-year struggle with cancer on July 23, 2023, at the age of 71 years. He leaves behind his wife of 47 years, Aurora, a daughter Kathryn, a son Philip, 2 grandchildren, and his mother.
To raise funds for the restoration of the building and property, Michael was responsible for inaugurating monthly Pub Nights which have become a much-loved tradition at Lambton House. Not everything was smooth sailing in the early years as the building required a great deal of restoration. The City relied on Heritage York to help raise funds toward the restoration of the building. The board ran bingo nights and numerous other fundraising activities. It was high mark of achievement that in 1993, the City of York chose Lambton House to be the focus of the city’s bicentennial celebration including a visit from a descendant of John Graves Simcoe. Under Michael’s leadership, and working closely with the City, the board oversaw four phases of restoration in 1991, 1994, 1998, and 2002. The building was designated by the Province through the Ontario Heritage Trust.
The publication of Sir William Pearce Howland's autobiography, Dare To Do What Was Right by the York Pioneer & Historical Society in 2017, would not have been possible without Michael's digitization of the manuscript. He used to muse that he had been working on it so long that the files had been created in Word Perfect.
Michael was one of the early members of the Heritage York board to understand the need to move beyond colonial history. Early efforts included an emphasis on the Humber River, and later efforts involved partnerships with groups including the Etobicoke Historical Society to celebrate the diverse history of western Toronto through such events as the Brûlé Symposium in 2015 led by the EHS and the 2017 and 2019 Walk the Six West events. He wanted to fulfill a vision of the Lambton House as the Lower Humber Interpretative Centre, a goal his successor will be pursuing.
Apart from his duties as President of Heritage York, Michael was organization’s archivist and was responsible for establishing the archives. Through his connections with local people, he managed to obtain numerous donations including the Melbourne H. Bryce collection. This collection consists of over 250 glass slides, many hand coloured which depict images of York Township between 1850 and 1954. The collection is now stored at Lambton House. For eight summers, Michael supervised masters’ level Museum Studies and Archives students from the University of Toronto who were privileged with direct access to the archive.
Michael hosted numerous Heritage Talks, delivered many lectures and was always happy to provide tours of the building as well as acting as a resource for people who wished to learn more about Lambton Mills, and the milling history of the lower Humber River.
Over 35 years, he developed close relationships and friendships with many individuals. He was close friends with Mike Filey, former Toronto Sun columnist and historian; well-known historian Dr Carl Benn, faculty member of Toronto Metropolitan University; and Carolyn King, former elected Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Michael received numerous recognitions for community service, including the unique Federal Lescarbot Award in 1992; two Civic Recognition Award from the City of York in 1994 and 1997; he was honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012; and received two Certificates of Recognition from members of Provincial Parliament, most recently, on June 27, 2023, from Bhutila Karpoche, MPP for Parkdale/High Park.
Michael died after a 2-year struggle with cancer on July 23, 2023, at the age of 71 years. He leaves behind his wife of 47 years, Aurora, a daughter Kathryn, a son Philip, 2 grandchildren, and his mother.