September’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to David Dean to support a hockey-themed Capital History Kiosk.

“They’re easy to spot when you’re walking along any of Ottawa’s busy streets,” says David. “Not the drab traffic control boxes themselves, but the colourful history lessons that have been applied to them to remind you of what Ottawa used to look like 10, 50, or 100 years ago, and to tell the story of a significant event that took place near each box.”

“Capital History Kiosks,” David continues, “consists of over 60 installations across the city telling stories of neighbourhood histories through a dynamic image wrapped around a traffic control box with a QR code taking visitors to the website capitalhistory.ca, where they can read, listen, and see more. Many of the images on the kiosks are archival, while others were commissioned from local artists. Audio files on the website were scripted and performed by actors or extracted from oral history interviews.”

David is a retired Carleton University history professor who is passionate about Ottawa's history. Under his leadership, the stories associated with the Capital History project were identified, researched, and written by over two hundred Carleton graduate and undergraduate students over five years, working with community partners and individuals. “The project,” says David, “demonstrates my strong belief that bringing research, teaching, and community activism together enriches all of our lives.”

“I will use the money from Awesome Ottawa to repair the installation on Elgin Street about the early Ottawa Senators, which has been damaged by glue posting,” he says. “I want to take the opportunity to also go beyond the Senators and tell the story of women's hockey in Ottawa, celebrating our wonderful new Ottawa Charge team that has so captivated all of us these past two seasons.”