I have come across the following
Canadian websites, social media websites, and newspaper articles this past week
that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them,
too.
History Week in Canada
In 1793, Gen. John Graves Simcoe,
lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, began clearing the site for the city of
York, which today is known as Toronto, the fourth-largest city in North
America, and the capital of Ontario.
Previous to this, the capital had
been in Newark (now known as Niagara), but Simcoe thought it was too close to
the Americans, and fearing invasion, had it moved it to York.
==================================================
On July 31, 1957, the Distant Early
Warning Line defence system officially went into operation in northern
Canada.
It was set up to detect incoming
Soviet bombers during the Cold War, and provide the early warning system of any
sea-and-land invasion.
==================================================On July 24, 1947 a school principal
is demoted over Daylight time dispute in Alberta.
Social Media
Local links to The Great War
(Video)
A cemetery, a stadium and a golf
course - what is the link between these Regina landmarks and the First World
War? Reporter and history buff Will Chabun talks about these strange connections
in this video.
The CBC: Your Community Blog
How does your community commemorate
the First World War?
War monuments of southern
Alberta are reminders of soldiers who didn’t come home (Video)
Postmedia has done another great
job in covering War Memorials in southern Alberta to soldiers who never came
home.
Newfoundland
Former Newfoundland legislature
gets $22M facelift
The building was opened in 1850,
and now is being restored to its former glory as Newfoundland's former
legislature.
Nova
Scotia
Shubenacadie band changes name
to traditional Sipekne'katik
The Shubenacadie band, Nova
Scotia's second largest First Nations group, located in central part of the
province, has restored the traditional spelling and pronunciation of its name
and will now be known as Sipekne'katik.
New
Brunswick
No news this week.
Prince
Edward Island
Rare Summerside Bank note
selling for $54,000
This bank note was issued by The
Summerside Bank of Prince Edward Island in 1872.
Celebrating our heritage
farms
The P.E.I. Agricultural Awareness
Committee has teamed up with P.E.I. Mutual Insurance Company to recognize and
celebrate farms that have been in operation at least 150 years.
Quebec
Little fanfare for Quebec
Confederation parlay
Sir John A. Macdonald and others
also held the Quebec Conference in 1850 which built on the Charlottetown
Conference a few weeks earlier. Could Quebec and Ontario be forged together
within Canada as had the Maritime colonies been discussed in Charlottetown?
Ontario
The Colonization of Canada and
Anishnawbek History
Clyde Moonias gives a revealing
history of how colonization affected the Anishnawbek people of northwestern
Ontario.
Viceregal wife impresses with
song penned by husband David Onley
Ruth Ann Onley, the wife of Ontario
Lieutenant-Governor David Onley, sang the song penned by her husband, to a
packed stadium at a First World War 100th anniversary celebration
Thursday.
Canadian History for Kids: Trans
Canada Highway
On July 31st, Prime Minister John
Diefenbaker opened up the Trans Canada Highway – Canada’s national
highway!
The eager doomed: The story of
Canada’s original WWI recruits
The First World War put in
historical context by historian Time Cook.
‘What a sight it must have been
to behold’: Memorial, re-enactment recalls Battle of Lundy’s Lane
Two hundred years ago on July 25,
1814, the Battle of Lundy’s Lane was fought between the American’s and the
British, and it was remembered in a memorial re-enactment.
Beauty As Duty? That Really
Happened
The magazine the Worm has an
article called Beauty as Duty. It was a propaganda campaign launched in 1939
and it aimed to make women believe that wearing makeup and looking polished was
their patriotic duty!
Manitoba
A new name for Civic
Holiday?
Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger
suggests other provinces may want to follow his lead and change the name of the
August Civic Holiday to Terry Fox Day.
Pioneer church has history
behind its beauty
St. Michael's remains a centrepiece
for city's Ukrainian Orthodox community
Saskatchewan
No news this week.
Alberta
Saving Alberta’s farming
icons
Grain elevator enthusiasts promote
history and preservation of historic structures
Alberta Aviation Museum to
honour WWI veterans
A new exhibit at the Alberta
Aviation Museum this weekend will shed light on the history of Albertans who
served in the Royal Flying Corp
Heritage Festival gives
offenders chance to repay their debt
Tom Wimbs is a probation officer
with the community corrections and release program with the Solicitor General
of Alberta, and his crew of adult offenders were on hand at the Heritage
Festival Friday, helping set up event tents at Hawrelak Park.
British
Columbia
Canadian documentary series
features SFU professor
Professor Rudy Reimer has just
returned from Whitehorse in the Yukon, where he filmed Wild Archaeology, an
exploration of the history of First Nations across Canada.
Story of the Week
Parliament Hill: Sound and Light Show
You still got time to see the Sound
and Light Show on Parliament Hill, and what a show it is – it is spectacular!
We went to see two years ago, and sat
there in awe as the history of the county passed in front of our eyes, to be
sitting there in the dusk of a summer’s evening on Parliament Hill was just
breathtaking.
If you have a chance to come to
Ottawa this summer, the show is on until September the 6th, and it’s free. But
be sure to get there in plenty of time because the seats fill up early. And
talk to the people. They are there from everywhere – from right here in Ottawa,
to places overseas.
All of them had said that they had
never seen anything like this before.
And then as we left Parliament
Hill, we stopped across the street to watch a fellow who was playing a set of drums made from plastic buckets, and learned that he travelled across the
country playing the drums in the summer time.
A very enjoyable evening!
Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next Monday for the latest in
Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its
kind in the country!
The next post will be on August 11, 2014.