"... to take and use as one’s own (the thoughts, writings, or
inventions of another person); to copy (literary work or ideas)
improperly or without acknowledgement."
Justice Harrington, Federal Court of Canada (source)
Justice Harrington, Federal Court of Canada (source)
In an online world, the plagiarism of one's work is hard to monitor. It does stand out, though, when it is done on a niche subject in a small community.
About a decade ago, a Facebook group called Vintage Winnipeg started up and soon became a pain for people who collected and uploaded images. The page would raid photo sites, online archives, blog posts, etc. to take photos and post them as their own without crediting the source. It is a big reason why postcard / glass negative / photo collectors don't share their new finds publicly anymore.
The well of photo sources for Vintage Winnipeg to vacuum up must have dried up as earlier this year the "Vintage Winnipeg Blog" began. Given its penchant for not crediting other people, I thought I would take a look at their posts. Here's what I found.
Part 1 - Influenza in Winnipeg post
Part 2 - Lewis B. Foote post
Part 3 - Jessie Kirk post
Part 4 - Assiniboine Park Zoo post
Part 5: - Winnipeg City Hall
Five more to come !!
Part 3: Jessie Kirk
When I saw that there was a Vintage Winnipeg Blog post about Jessie Kirk, I immediately became suspicious. Back in 2012 I wrote a blog post about women in politics and it took a lot of searching to find who the first woman to serve on city council was. In 2014, I decided to turn it into a column for the Winnipeg Free Press.
I remember at the time that it was a tough post to research and took probably two weeks of digging through newspaper archives and asking questions to the city archives to pull together the 1,200 or so words I wrote about her. I was a column I was very happy with as telling the story of people forgotten by the history books is what I enjoy most about my research and writing.
How much research did the Vintage Winnipeg Blog do on Mrs. Kirk? Well, they found my column and that's about it. To their credit, they didn't copy all 1,300 or so words. They skipped the odd paragraph. Here are the similarities:
When I saw that there was a Vintage Winnipeg Blog post about Jessie Kirk, I immediately became suspicious. Back in 2012 I wrote a blog post about women in politics and it took a lot of searching to find who the first woman to serve on city council was. In 2014, I decided to turn it into a column for the Winnipeg Free Press.
I remember at the time that it was a tough post to research and took probably two weeks of digging through newspaper archives and asking questions to the city archives to pull together the 1,200 or so words I wrote about her. I was a column I was very happy with as telling the story of people forgotten by the history books is what I enjoy most about my research and writing.
How much research did the Vintage Winnipeg Blog do on Mrs. Kirk? Well, they found my column and that's about it. To their credit, they didn't copy all 1,300 or so words. They skipped the odd paragraph. Here are the similarities:
Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “In 1877 in Chesterfield, England
into a family with ten siblings. She trained as a student-teacher in Derbyshire
before attending Kingston College.”
Wikipedia entry for Jesse Kirk: “In 1877, Kirk was born in Chesterfield, England into a family with ten siblings.[1] For her post-secondary education, she trained as a student-teacher in Derbyshire before going to Kingston College on a scholarship.[2]”
Wikipedia entry for Jesse Kirk: “In 1877, Kirk was born in Chesterfield, England into a family with ten siblings.[1] For her post-secondary education, she trained as a student-teacher in Derbyshire before going to Kingston College on a scholarship.[2]”
Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “She sometimes appeared before
city council and spoke at other public meetings about issues such as the need
for a living minimum wage for female civic employees, better
unemployment-relief schemes and for women to be citizen appointees on civic
bodies such as the police commission and parks board. A matter of particular interest
to Kirk was the dismal state of Winnipeg's housing stock. She openly called on
"war profiteers" to donate some of their spoils to support new
housing programs.”
Column by Christian Cassidy in Winnipeg Free Press: “She sometimes appeared before city council and spoke at other public meetings about issues such as the need for a living minimum wage for female civic employees, better unemployment-relief schemes and for women to be citizen appointees on civic bodies such as the police commission and parks board. A matter of particular interest to Kirk was the dismal state of Winnipeg's housing stock. She openly called on "war profiteers" to donate some of their spoils to support new housing programs.”
Column by Christian Cassidy in Winnipeg Free Press: “She sometimes appeared before city council and spoke at other public meetings about issues such as the need for a living minimum wage for female civic employees, better unemployment-relief schemes and for women to be citizen appointees on civic bodies such as the police commission and parks board. A matter of particular interest to Kirk was the dismal state of Winnipeg's housing stock. She openly called on "war profiteers" to donate some of their spoils to support new housing programs.”
Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “In 1918, Kirk was fired as a teacher for her political activity. She was told that her political activity was not the behaviour expected of teachers, especially women teachers. A delegation from the Trades and Labour Council appeared before the school board to publicly accuse them of firing her for being so outspoken. The board denied this, saying many contract teachers had been let go. Kirk's contract was eventually reinstated, and she was teaching at Brooklands School in September. “
Column by Christian Cassidy in Winnipeg Free Press: "In April 1918, Kirk was informed her teaching contract would not be renewed. A delegation from the Trades and Labour Council appeared before the school board to publicly accuse them of firing her for being so outspoken. The board denied this, saying many contract teachers had been let go. Kirk's contract was eventually reinstated, and she was teaching at Brooklands School in September.
Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “In 1920, Kirk was selected as the nominee for the Dominion Labour Party at the Manitoba general election. Two weeks later, however, the party's executive annulled all nominations in order to put the names of the Winnipeg General Strike leaders, being held at the Stony Mountain prison on sedition charges, on the ballot. Kirk said, "As much as I would like to see a labour woman in the provincial house, if labour's cause would be better served by running the men incarcerated, I am perfectly willing to withdraw as a candidate.””
Column by Christian Cassidy in Winnipeg Free Press: "In April 1920, Kirk won the nomination of the Dominion Labour Party to run for a seat in the Manitoba legislature. Two weeks later, however, the party's executive annulled all nominations in order to put the names of the Winnipeg General Strike leaders, being held at the Stony Mountain prison on sedition charges, on the ballot. Kirk said, "As much as I would like to see a labour woman in the provincial house, if labour's cause would be better served by running the men incarcerated, I am perfectly willing to withdraw as a candidate.""
Vintage Winnipeg Blog: At the inaugural meeting of
council on Jan. 4, 1921, Kirk was appointed to a number of civic committees,
including "improvements" (infrastructure) and public utilities (which
oversaw the city's hydro and waterworks departments.) She was also appointed to
the parks board, the public health board and as a city representative on the
General Hospital board. Kirk wasted little time making her presence felt. One
of her first orders of business was to open the meetings of the boards and
committees she sat on to the public and the media.”
Column by Christian Cassidy in Winnipeg Free Press: “At the inaugural meeting of council on Jan. 4, 1921, Kirk was appointed to a number of civic committees, including "improvements" (infrastructure) and public utilities (which oversaw the city's hydro and waterworks departments.) She was also appointed to the parks board, the public health board and as a city representative on the General Hospital board…. Kirk wasted little time making her presence felt. One of her first orders of business was to open the meetings of the boards and committees she sat on to the public and the media.”
Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “In 1922, Kirk was a member of the finance committee when a controversial $7 wage cut for city employees was being considered. The city was deep in debt from years of recession and, many councillors argued, salaries that had been increased to make up for soaring wartime inflation were never reduced when the cost of living dropped. Kirk reluctantly supported the cut on the condition it apply to everyone on the city payroll, including management, the police department and the mayor's office, all of which were exempt. After a number of meetings, many of them quite heated, Kirk was able to get her amendments passed. For her, it was a victory, but not in the eyes of those facing a pay cut.”
Column by Christian Cassidy in Winnipeg Free Press: “In 1922, Kirk was a member of the finance committee when a controversial $7 wage cut for city employees was being considered. The city was deep in debt from years of recession and, many councillors argued, salaries that had been increased to make up for soaring wartime inflation were never reduced when the cost of living dropped. Kirk reluctantly supported the cut on the condition it apply to everyone on the city payroll, including management, the police department and the mayor's office, all of which were exempt… After a number of meetings, many of them quite heated, Kirk was able to get her amendments passed. For her, it was a victory, but not in the eyes of those facing a pay cut.”
Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “Kirk ran for another term in the December 1922 civic election, this time as an Independent, with the endorsement of the Winnipeg Taxpayer's Association. She was defeated by a Labour candidate. It wasn't until 1934 Winnipeg had another female councillor, author Margaret McWilliams. Jessie Kirk died in December 1965 and is buried in Brookside Cemetery.”
Column by Christian Cassidy in Winnipeg Free Press: “At the inaugural meeting of council on Jan. 4, 1921, Kirk was appointed to a number of civic committees, including "improvements" (infrastructure) and public utilities (which oversaw the city's hydro and waterworks departments.) She was also appointed to the parks board, the public health board and as a city representative on the General Hospital board…. Kirk wasted little time making her presence felt. One of her first orders of business was to open the meetings of the boards and committees she sat on to the public and the media.”
Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “In 1922, Kirk was a member of the finance committee when a controversial $7 wage cut for city employees was being considered. The city was deep in debt from years of recession and, many councillors argued, salaries that had been increased to make up for soaring wartime inflation were never reduced when the cost of living dropped. Kirk reluctantly supported the cut on the condition it apply to everyone on the city payroll, including management, the police department and the mayor's office, all of which were exempt. After a number of meetings, many of them quite heated, Kirk was able to get her amendments passed. For her, it was a victory, but not in the eyes of those facing a pay cut.”
Column by Christian Cassidy in Winnipeg Free Press: “In 1922, Kirk was a member of the finance committee when a controversial $7 wage cut for city employees was being considered. The city was deep in debt from years of recession and, many councillors argued, salaries that had been increased to make up for soaring wartime inflation were never reduced when the cost of living dropped. Kirk reluctantly supported the cut on the condition it apply to everyone on the city payroll, including management, the police department and the mayor's office, all of which were exempt… After a number of meetings, many of them quite heated, Kirk was able to get her amendments passed. For her, it was a victory, but not in the eyes of those facing a pay cut.”
Vintage Winnipeg Blog: “Kirk ran for another term in the December 1922 civic election, this time as an Independent, with the endorsement of the Winnipeg Taxpayer's Association. She was defeated by a Labour candidate. It wasn't until 1934 Winnipeg had another female councillor, author Margaret McWilliams. Jessie Kirk died in December 1965 and is buried in Brookside Cemetery.”
Column by Christian Cassidy in Winnipeg Free Press: “Kirk
ran for another term in the December 1922 civic election, this time as an
Independent, with the endorsement of the Winnipeg Taxpayer's Association. She
was defeated by a Labour candidate. It wasn't until 1934 Winnipeg had another
female councillor, author Margaret McWilliams…. Jessie Kirk died in December
1965 and is buried in Brookside Cemetery.
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