Prince George can expect a conversation tonight on chaos for its post-war teens, full of colour and a few current-day links.
The launch to the Prince George Public Library's annual history speaker series,"On the brink of teenage chaos," has been more than a year in the making.
UNBC professor Jonathan Swainger first approached the library about the topic last year. On Thursday, he will dig deep into local archives and show headlines plastered across papers in the 1950s.
"People can expect a really fun and engaging presentation that will include a lot of visuals," says Andrea Palmer, the library's communications coordinator. "People seem to be really interested in youth culture and as much as this is a topic that can be contentious, it's just such a source of fascination.
She says Swainger is an engaging speaker who will discuss post-war teen culture, teen gangs and show a community struggling to build a desirable image of itself.
Despite six decades of separation, Palmer says searching for identity is a Prince George pattern that keeps the talk timely.
"We are a city that again, or perhaps perpetually, finds itself in a process of self-definition," she says. "Isn't it interesting to look into our not-so-distant past and see the same community struggle with those issues even at a time when lots of people in our community harken back to as a time of prosperity."
She says the free series, now in its third year, is popular with the Prince George crowd.
"There is a huge interest in Prince George in local and regional history," says Palmer, adding two more are scheduled in the series, which is also presented by the City of Prince George Heritage Commission.
Conversations in teenage chaos happens tonight from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bob Harkins branch.
