Resources and links
"A voluntary agency must be thoroughly human and work from the heart, with compassion and understanding; but at the same time, with a maximum of professional knowledge."
The following is a collection of resource materials that relate in various ways to Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova’s life and work.
It includes articles, talks, presentations and reminiscences about
Dr. Lotta, as well as a special “Spirit Play” story designed for children. There are also external links to other websites.
Click on a heading for details. Click again to shrink the text.
Articles, talks and the “Spirit Play” story
- “Bouncing Back and Moving Forward: Embracing Resilience, Rights and Respect!”, a presentation by USC’s Executive Director, Susan Walsh, to the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, January 21, 2005.
- “USC Canada: still planting the seeds that Lotta first sowed”, a presentation by USC’s Legacy Gift coordinator, David Rain, to the Unitarian Congregation of Niagara, April 19, 2009.
- “Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova and the USC”, a March 7, 2004 sermon by Rev. Katie Stein Sather of the Beacon Unitarian Church (Coquitlam, BC).
- “100 Years: Unitarians in Vancouver”, a January 4, 2009 sermon by Rev. Steven Epperson of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver.
- “Radical Hospitality”, a January 11, 2009 sermon by Caroline Farley, Director of lifespan religious education at the Unitarian Church of Vancouver.
- “Spirit Play story of Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova”, an educational resource created by
Joy Silver of the Beacon Unitarian Church (Coquitlam, BC) for use in children’s religious education classes. Note that the story basket to help tell the story is available upon request and cost of postage by contacting Joy, or Kate Green at USC. The first Unitarian congregation to use the Spirit Play Story was Lakeshore, in Montreal, on July 19; here is a photo, courtesy of Sheila Laursen.
Reminiscences and pilgrimages
- “Dr. Lotta’s Journey from Marseille to Ottawa in 1942″. North Vancouver, BC resident, Joyce Thierry Llewellyn visits Marseille, where the USC seed was first planted in Lotta’s heart.
- “Maison de Sevres”, where USC’s Marie Dulude visits one of Lotta and USC’s earliest project sites, a school for war-shocked children outside of Paris.
- “Following Dr. Lotta’s Footsteps in India”. North Vancouver, BC resident, Joyce Thierry Llewellyn visits Lotta’s “second home”, a health centre in India.
- Winnipeg remembers Lotta. Winnipeg, MB resident, Ruth Pearce reflects on Dr. Lotta, the Winnipeg fire hall and the evolution of USC Canada’s work.
External links
- The Canadian Museum of Civilization, where Dr. Lotta is one of 27 prominent Canadians featured in an historical exhibit in the Canadian Personalities Hall. If you’re in the Ottawa area, pay a visit to the Museum to learn more about Dr. Lotta!
- Dr. Lotta has been included in the 2010 edition of the Herstory Calendar. This award-winning Calendar is edited by the Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective and each year features 53 inspirational stories of women who helped shape Canada.
- Dr. Lotta was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1969 and a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1980.
- One of Dr. Lotta’s very special projects was supporting the war-shocked children of La Maison de Sevres just outside Paris, who still remember her fondly after all these years.
- In 1991, Agriculture Canada honoured Dr. Lotta by naming a newly developed oat variety after her: AC Lotta.
- For more information about Dr. Lotta’s life and work, read this article on Wikipedia.
