Monday, May 30, 2016

Canadian Week in Review 30 May 2016

I have come across the following Canadian genealogy, history and heritage websites, social media, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too. 

This Week in Canadian History

In 1948, Canadian war ace Buzz Beurling was killed when his plane crashed during a flight to Rome. Beurling was recognized as "Canada's most famous hero of Second World War", as "The Falcon of Malta" and the "Knight of Malta", having been credited with shooting down 27 Axis aircraft in just 14 days over the besieged Mediterranean island. Before the war ended, his official total was 31. 

For more information, go to http://www.constable.ca/caah/beurling.htm  




Social Media 

(Tweet) Tweeting the Great War: Free Press retraces steps of Winnipeg soldier 


While fighting in the First World War, Cpl. Stanley Evan Bowen also fought to keep the flame alive between him and his sweetheart in Winnipeg by writing more than 150 letters. 

(Video) Celebration plans for Canada’s 150th anniversary announced in Saskatoon 


A national physical activity advocate will receive $5.4 million from the Canadian government to help mark the country’s 150th anniversary next year, according to an announcement made in Saskatoon Wednesday morning. 

(Video) Peace by Piece project threads WW I history together in quilts 


Peace by Piece, an exhibit showcasing a collection of quilts commemorating the First World War held its grand opening Saturday, honouring the men and women involved in the Great War. 

(Video) Ghost Town Mysteries: can Sandon, B.C. be saved forever? 


Across British Columbia, there is a common thread to how our historical towns are maintained – or rather, for the most part, aren’t. 

There is Barkerville and Fort Steele, heritage towns that have survived and become tourist attractions. 

But much more common are the dozens of ex-towns spread throughout every region where virtually nothing remains. 

(BLOG) Salt Lake City in September 


Jane MacNamara and a group of fellow researchers are heading to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City this September. 

The particulars of the trip are at http://wherethestorytakesme.ca/salt-lake-city-trip/ 

Newspaper Articles 

Newfoundland and Labrador 

Harbour Grace courthouse placed on national list of endangered sites 


The National Trust for Canada has identified the Harbour Grace courthouse as one the top 10 endangered historic places in Canada. 

Great walks on the Rock: top 5 hikes in Newfoundland 


Hikers in the province will find history mingles with stunning scenery along its varied trails. 

Nova Scotia 

Halifax’s wartime history evoked in Battle of the Atlantic ceremony 


As the Battle of the Atlantic ceremony proceeded at the Sailors Memorial in Point Pleasant Park on Sunday, May 1, HMCS Montréal stood just offshore to carry out the committal of ashes ceremony while the Charlottetown sailed past on her way out to sea, and a container ship sailed up the harbour towards the container terminal. 

New Brunswick 

Dorchester students successful at regional heritage fair 


Five students from Dorchester attended the regional fair, and each student came back home with an award. Madison Holmes, Kassandra Goodland, Phaedra Williams, Dominick Fournier, and Cadence Nelson were all successful. 

Ontario 

CFB Borden making Canadian history with sacred soil collected at Vimy Ridge

https://www.barrietoday.com/local-news/cfb-borden-making-canadian-history-with-sacred-soil-collected-at-vimy-ridge-297023

For the first time in Canadian history, sacred soil recovered from a World War 1 battlefield in France will be repatriated in a ceremony to be held in Barrie next month.​  

Canadian Canal Society supports Welland Canal Memorial 


The Welland Canal Fallen Workers Memorial Task Force has received support from the Canadian Canal Society. 

Canada’s threatened heritage 


Canada’s iconic wooden grain elevators, a wooden Ukrainian church, the prairie grasslands, a particular lighthouse- these are all parts of Canadian heritage that have been listed as ‘threatened’ this year. 

Why Ottawa needs a national museum of Indigenous Peoples 


Walking down the tree-lined Mall in Washington, D.C., an Ottawa visitor might notice a familiar-looking building: the National Museum of the American Indian. 

Manitoba 

Riding Mountain National Park to offer expanded Indigenous culture programming 


Parks Canada will offer more programming for visitors to learn about Indigenous culture and heritage in Riding Mountain National Park this summer. 

Make your list of Mustseeums 


Whether you’re inspired by nature or fascinated by history, Manitoba has you covered when it comes to museums. With over 270 across the province, there are more than a few that are likely on your must see list. We call those ‘mustseeums’! 

Manitoba celebrates provincial flag’s golden anniversary 


This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Manitoba flag, and the provincial government will commemorate the milestone with a special exhibit. 

Manitoba Museum sees record attendance Saturday 


The Manitoba Museum broke a record over the weekend, hosting 9,934 people in one day. 

The Museum offered free admission on Manitoba Day this past Saturday, marking our province’s 146th birthday. 

The crowd beat out the previous record by 53 per cent — 6,500 visits on a day in 2014 

Saskatchewan 

Railway Museum picking up steam 


The Alberta Railway Museum held its season opening on the Victoria Day long weekend and is now welcoming locomotive enthusiasts from Fort Saskatchewan and the area to experience a ride on their 1913 steam-powered train. 

British Columbia 

42 sites to explore during Doors Open Richmond weekend 


Fancy trying dragon boating or taking a behind-the-scenes tour of a museum as an exhibition is installed? How about adding your own creative touch to a piece of community artwork? These are just some of the options offered at 42 arts, culture and heritage sites during the ninth annual Doors Open Richmond on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5. 

Barkerville history celebrated in documentary series 


There may seem like no shortage of stories from the gold rush town of Barkerville, but a pair of researchers have gone rather far afield to find stories of Barkerville's citizens. 

Indonesian Canadian society to launch project to record community history 


While the historical stories of Chinese and Japanese Canadians have been recorded and told, another group of Asian Canadians is hoping to do the same for their community. 

Canadian Stories this Week 

FamilySearch.org is 15 years old! 

FamilySearch started with two key databases, which included Ancestral File and the International Genealogical File (IGI), along with a few minor genealogical databases 15 years ago. I remember it well! The site originally provided access to 400 million names. Today, FamilySearch contains more than 3.2 billion records. Isn't that amazing! 

The press release says that “Over the past 15 years, FamilySearch has gone through a number of changes and revisions. Users can now access billions of digitized images of original records. It now offers a single unified pedigree called Family Tree, which allows users to work with each other to coordinate their work, thus dramatically reducing needless duplication of effort.File and the International Genealogical File (IGI), along with a few minor genealogical databases. The site originally provided access to 400 million names. Today, FamilySearch contains more than 3.2 billion records.” 

And this week, in her weekly Wacky Wednesday hangout, Dear Myrt, went over the FamilySearch Pilot Indexing Tool, which is a Cloud Based Extension which will allow you to index the books the the Family history Library have at Salt Lake City which has your family name in them. 

Well, this is finally getting down to the nitty-gritty of the library. By indexing these books that have the names we are researching, we done't have tp wait for them to be completed be someone else. 

They won't be checked by someone else to the correctness, as it is done in the indexing programme, but they will be indexed. 

So take a look. What do you think? Is this a step forward? 

You can go to http://hangouts.dearmyrtle.com/next-hangout.html to view the video. You must register first at http://hangouts.dearmyrtle.com/ 

Canada Day celebrations 

The Department of Canadian Heritage is calling for volunteers to help with this year’s Canada Day celebrations. 

Volunteers will be assigned to Parliament Hill, Major’s Hill Park and the Canadian Museum of History, where a total of about 350,000 visitors normally gather to partake in the festivities. 

Responsibilities of the 500 or so volunteers will include handing out flags, controlling crowds and helping people with special needs, among other tasks.

Manulife Financial Corp. will be this year’s sponsor for the volunteer program. 

You can email the Canadian Heritage Volunteer Centre at PCH.centredesbenevoles-volunteercentre.PCH@canada.ca to obtain a copy of the application form or download the PDF version (1.3 MB), or call the Canadian Heritage Volunteer Centre at 819-956-2626. 

If you need more information, you can contact the following - 


The position that are required, are listed at http://canadaday.gc.ca/eng/1399993822481

And that was the week in Canadian news!

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Sponsored by Elizabeth Lapointe Research Services. To learn more about the research services offered by ELRS, go to www.elrs.biz 

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