The Explore Our Story Podcast

Join Dan Schmalz as he begins a new series of interviews with members of the local history community. In Volume 1 Dan speaks with Marion Roes about her book Death as Life's Work, which deals with Undertaking and Funeral Homes in Waterloo Region.  She comes from a family that has 4 generations of experience in the field and she tells interesting stories about Cambridge Funeral Homes and more!

In this episode Dan continues to look at the development of the Village of Galt as it recovers from a devastating cholera outbreak and begins to emerge from the shadow of it's two principle founders William Dickson and Absalom Shade.

Join Dan as he explores the events surrounding the outbreak of cholera in the village of Galt in 1834, with first hand accounts of the tragedy.  How a thriving village was nearly destroyed, an especially timely topic given our recent history.

Join Dan Schmalz as he continues to look at the early history of Galt, part of what is now Cambridge, Ontario.  This episode he looks at what was like 200 years ago and how the settlement developed from 1816 to about 1834.

Back for Season Two after a long hiatus.  New name same great local history!  Learn a bit about where we will go next. Dan Schmalz is your guide as we continue to Explore Our Story!

In Part Two of our look at Queen's Square Dan goes over the Centennial Fountain, some long lost buildings that once occupied the Square and finally the Cannon!

In the first of a two part episode learn about the history of the iconic Queen's Square in Galt.  The plan to make it Galt's Town Centre, it's amazing Churches, the Cenotaph and more!

Join Dan this time and he discussed the most famous event in Cambridge's almost 50 year history.  The Great Flood of 1974.

The tragic story of the pleasure boat Empress of India and the sinking that claimed the lives of more than a dozen people on the Grand River in 1878.

A look at the history of Blair, the smallest and often most overlooked part of the City of Cambridge.  We also look at the amalgamation of 1973 that saw Galt, Preston, Hespeler and the former village of Blair merged to form the new City of Cambridge.

The story of the World Famous Galt Arena, the oldest continually operating arena in the world!  Learn about the incredible history of this rink from its beginnings to the years of welcoming starts like Gordie Howe and Terry Sawchuck to today as it approaches its 100th anniversary!

The story of Hespeler Hockey Sticks.  From it's early beginnings, to being the stick supplier of the Great One himself.  Learn about the history of one of Hespeler's most iconic businesses.

This is Part One of a four part episode discussing hockey in Cambridge.  It begins with the story of the incredible Preston Rivulettes, a women's hockey team of the 1930's that lost only twice in over 350 games.  Stay tuned for more including Hespeler and its hockey sticks and the Galt Arena Gardens (The world's oldest continually operating arena) and hockey since Cambridge was created in 1973.

This episode explores the sinking of the RMS Titanic and its connection to the Galt area of Cambridge in the form of the six Chinese men who survived its sinking.  One of these men was a Lee Bing who may have settled in Galt.  Learn more about Cambridge's connection to Titanic and the new documentary film  "The Six" chronicling the incredible story of of these men who survived Titanic, racism and more to finally have their stories told more than a century after the sinking of the Titanic.

In this episode we take a look at the field of genealogy and how to study your family history using popular tools such as Ancestry, oral histories and good ole fashion detective work!  I also use my own experience researching my family and how I was able to trace my family back to Belgium, Ireland and Germany and then visited my ancestral homelands in the summer of 2016.

The History of Preston from it's founding in 1805 to the early 1900's. Exploring its Mennonite roots, the Hotel Corner, Schools, Railways and more!   This Version contains only the audio as Spotify does not currently accept video podcasts.

The History of Preston from it's founding in 1805 to the early 1900's. Exploring its Mennonite roots, the Hotel Corner, Schools, Railways and more!

A special supplementary episode about the Preston Springs Hotel and the Hotel Corner of Preston

On this episode of the Explore Our Story Podcast we look at another pivotal figure in the early history of what became Cambridge.  Jacob Hespeler, the man responsible for changing the small settlement of New Hope to the thriving Village of Hespeler.

This episode deals with military history in Cambridge.  From the 111th Battalion, the Highland Light Infantry, the Wrens, some of the individual stories about veterans, the Cenotaphs and even my trip to Europe and Normandy in 2016.  This is a tribute to those brave men and women who served, those that made it home, those that did not.  We owe them forever gratitude.  Thank you for your sacrifices.  Lest We Forget.

The first Explore Our Story Podcast Themed episode is here just in time for Halloween! This time we go over a couple famous ghost stories in Cambridge as well as some not so well known true crime stories.  The Old Post Office, GCI, Indian burial grounds, bizarre murders and more.

The Explore Our Story Podcast is a new podcast primarily focused on local history in the Cambridge, Ontario area.  Learn about the development of the communities of Galt, Preston, Hespeler and Blair from settlement to their amalgamation in 1973 to the present.  Local historian Dan Schmalz is your host through history of his hometown and beyond.

A look at indigenous history in the Cambridge, Ontario area.

Episode Two deals with the early history of Shade's Mills which ultimately became Galt from about 1795 until 1827.  Learn about how the land was acquired, by who and how the early settlement came to be called Galt.