City of Saskatoon Archivist Jeff O’Brien will use photographs and stories to explore “How We Kept Christmas”; a history of the Yuletide season in Saskatoon all the way from Temperance Colony days to Charlie Brown’s Christmas, and lots in between.
Jeff O’Brien was born in Saskatoon and raised in Regina where, despite his best efforts to the contrary, he received an undergraduate degree in Canadian history. Later, he moved to Vancouver, where he graduated from UBC with a master’s degree in archival studies. Returning to Saskatchewan, he worked in various archives in Saskatoon and Prince Albert before settling down as the City of Saskatoon Archivist in 1997.
Jeff co-authored the book “Saskatoon: A History in Photographs” in 2006, and for several years wrote “From the Archives” – a weekly history column in the Saskatoon Sun and the StarPhoenix. He writes a regular history feature in “Saskatoon Home” – a quarterly home-and-lifestyle magazine – and, since 2013, has been doing “Saskatoon Stories” – a series of televised historical vignettes airing Fridays during the CTV evening news. Jeff also talks about history and archives to classrooms and community groups around Saskatoon, and teaches the Archives and Records Management class at Saskatchewan Polytech.
Jeff is an amateur photographer, a determined gardener, and is still trying to learn to play the guitar. He has a beautiful wife, three children, a dog, several cats, and a house in the suburbs. In lieu of a speaker’s gift, he would like you to take some cats.
Heritage Festival of Saskatoon 