Monday, November 7, 2016

Canadian Week in Review 07 November 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 

 James Naismith, the inventor of basketball

06 November 1961, the US Post Office issued a stamp honoring the 100th birthday of Canadian James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. 

He was born at Almonte, Ontario, the son of John Naismith and Margaret Young. In 1883, he entered McGill University in Montreal where he earned a BA in Physical Education, and in 1890, he left for Springfield College in Massachusetts, where he invented basketball. The first game was played in 1891 at the school. 

For further information, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Naismith  

Social Media 

(Photo) Royal Canadian Mint unveils its 2017 Canada 150 circulation coin series 


The Royal Canadian Mint has unveiled its 2017 Canada 150 circulation coin series featuring the work of five Canadians selected by popular vote to design the tails side of the new coins. 

(Photos) A sneak peek at the Canada Science and Technology Museum's $80 M rebuild 


The Crazy Kitchen site is still less-than-looney, and the giant locomotives are still under wraps (literally), but the rebuilt Canada Science and Technology Museum is starting to take shape off St. Laurent Boulevard. 

Newspaper Articles 

Ontario 

Restoration work finished, Ottawa's National War Memorial is open to the public again 


After being closed for repairs and restoration since early April, the National War Memorial on Elgin Street was reopened to the public Friday. 

When Bathurst was Blackhurst: the Black history of Mirvish Village 


Three years ago, when the news broke that Honest Ed's department store would be torn down and turned into residential buildings, most of the stories focused on that store and its history. Honest Ed's is an icon, to be sure, but in the process another part of Toronto's history was glossed over. 

Kingston releases proposed plans for redesign of penitentiary and harbour 


The city of Kingston released four different plans for the redesign of the Kingston Penitentiary and Portsmouth Olympic Harbour on Thursday, based on input gathered from the community in October
Poll: Most Canadians agree fallen soldiers should be honoured beyond Nov. 11 


The study commissioned by Historica Canada found a vast majority of respondents would like to see a national monument to soldiers who died in combat in modern times. 

About 76 per cent of them said they'd like to see a memorial similar to the United States' Vietnam Wall, which lists the names of those who have died while serving in their country's military. 

Guitar crafted from Canadian history 


With every chord, countless stories of Canadian history echoed through the auditorium.  

Each strum of the Six String Nation guitar is made possible by 64 unique pieces of wood, bone, metal, stone and fabric that make up the instrument and embody the country’s culture, heritage and traditions. 

War Museum acquires artifacts related to last Canadian soldier killed during First World War 


The medal set and the memorial plaque in honour of Private George Lawrence Price, the last Canadian soldier killed during the First World War, have been donated to the Canadian War Museum. Private Price died at 10:58 a.m. on November 11, 1918 — two minutes before the armistice went into effect. 

Explore history with new lecture series at LMC 


Dr. Howard Fredeen, recently awarded the 2016 Outstanding Achievement Award at the annual Alberta Historical Resources Foundation Heritage Awards for his dedication to preserving Lacombe’s rich history, spoke to a crowd at the Lacombe Memorial Centre about pioneering in the area. 

Saskatchewan 

Sept. 7 will now be Ukrainian-Canadian Heritage Day in Alberta 


Alberta will now designate Sept. 7 as Ukrainian-Canadian Heritage Day, starting in 2017. 

On Tuesday afternoon, MLAs from all parties at the Alberta legislature unanimously passed Bill 26, the Ukrainian-Canadian Heritage Act, through first, second and third readings.  

The North 

HISTORY: Yellowknife’s Robertson Headframe comes down 


A landmark of Yellowknife’s 70 years of gold mining heritage disappeared at 5 PM Saturday afternoon, when the 25-storey high (76 meter) Robertson Headframe shuddered and toppled in a controlled explosive demolition. 

Canadian Stories this Week  

Veteran's Week 

It is Veteran's Week, a week in which we honour our veterans from November 5 to 11. The Government of Canada, as well as Veterans’ organizations, youth groups, and individuals throughout the country hold hundreds of commemorative ceremonies and events to honour Canada’s Veterans, those still-serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP, as well as those who have fallen in the line of duty. 

Since Confederation (the founding of Canada in 1867), more than 2.3 million Canadians have served in Canada’s armed forces to defend freedom and democracy—with more than 118,000 having given their lives.

Remembrance Day will be November 11th. 


Ancestry.ca is now on Twitter

 Lesley Anderson sent us a note last week to let us know that Ancestry.ca has now a Twitter handle - @AncestryCA. She says that they hope this “ will become your trusted source for curated genealogy, Canadian history and DNA-related news shared through a uniquely Canadian lens, sprinkled in with some fun facts, good humour, and captivating images. We’ll also be sure to keep our followers updated on the latest Ancestry news”. 

So give it a try! 


New Books 

There are several new books in the Genealogy and Family History Room located on the 3rd floor of the Library and Archives Canada building at 395 Wellington Street, and they are - 

Church, Cemetery and Newspaper Indexes - there are 11 new books 

Military – there are 2 books 

Family Histories – there are 3 books 


And that was the week in Canadian news!

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