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, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-born explorer and fur trader, reached the Pacific Ocean at Dean Channel. He had just crossed the Rockies, and to mark this achievement, he painted on a rock the inscription - Alex Mackenzie from Canada by Land 22nd July, 1793. This was the first east to west crossing of North America, north of Mexico.
To read more about his life, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Mackenzie_(explorer)
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In 1892, fire destroyed most of St. John's, Nfld.
To read more about the fire and its aftermath, go to http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/fire_1892.html
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In 1948, Newfoundlanders voted narrowly in a referendum to join Confederation. The campaign for confederation was led by journalist Joey Smallwood, who was asked to form an interim government. Newfoundland officially became Canada's tenth province on March 31, 1949.
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Did you know that in 1961, the government of Canada officially opened the town of Inuvik, Northwest Territories? The town, the largest Canadian community north of the Arctic Circle, was constructed to replace the old settlement of Aklavik.
To read more about Inuvik, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuvik
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Social Media
Molly’s Canopy
http://mollyscanopy.com/
Her name is Molly and she said her “passion for family history research was ignited more than 20 years ago on a vacation trip to Montreal, Quebec, when I found my paternal great, great grandfather Laurent Charbonneau’s 1832 baptismal record in an archive”.
Crème de la crème blog
Genealogy à la carte
Be sure to check out Gail Dever’s blog. She carries other news stories in her daily blog, and I cover them on a weekly basis. Together, we try to bring the latest Canadian news to you!
Newfoundland and Labrador
No stories this week.
Nova Scotia
Genealogical society’s records at risk
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1225407-genealogical-society-s-records-at-risk#.U9ODCs7GVIM.facebook
Cheryl Lamerson of the South Shore Genealogical Society says the society is facing a problem – what to do with the society’s museum collection. They need a space, and they need it now!
Sod turned for new Ross Farm Museum learning centre
http://www.atlanticfarmfocus.ca/NB-NL-NS-PEI/2014-07-23/article-3810892/Sod-turned-for-new-Ross-Farm-Museum-learning-centre/1
The new 16,000 square foot centre will house public spaces including an entrance and foyer, programming rooms, washrooms, meeting rooms, an open hearth room, a commercial kitchen, a gift shop, staff/administration space, a period costume area, a historical society office and research space and controlled storage for artifacts.
Gaining perspective: Unique history lessons at Maritime Museum’s War of 1812 exhibit
http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/1104929/gaining-perspective-unique-history-lessons-at-maritime-museums-war-of-1812-exhibit/
That includes Maritime causes of the war, its impact on Nova Scotia’s economy and the legacy of Black refugees.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1225407-genealogical-society-s-records-at-risk#.U9ODCs7GVIM.facebook
Cheryl Lamerson of the South Shore Genealogical Society says the society is facing a problem – what to do with the society’s museum collection. They need a space, and they need it now!
Sod turned for new Ross Farm Museum learning centre
http://www.atlanticfarmfocus.ca/NB-NL-NS-PEI/2014-07-23/article-3810892/Sod-turned-for-new-Ross-Farm-Museum-learning-centre/1
The new 16,000 square foot centre will house public spaces including an entrance and foyer, programming rooms, washrooms, meeting rooms, an open hearth room, a commercial kitchen, a gift shop, staff/administration space, a period costume area, a historical society office and research space and controlled storage for artifacts.
Gaining perspective: Unique history lessons at Maritime Museum’s War of 1812 exhibit
http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/1104929/gaining-perspective-unique-history-lessons-at-maritime-museums-war-of-1812-exhibit/
That includes Maritime causes of the war, its impact on Nova Scotia’s economy and the legacy of Black refugees.
Prince Edward Island
No stories this week.New Brunswick
N.B.'s Central Hampstead Baptist Church sells for $1,900http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/n-b-s-central-hampstead-baptist-church-sells-for-1-900-1.2719059
A New Brunswick church built in Canada’s confederation year sold for $1,900 at auction on Saturday. The buyer plans to move it down the road, and turn it into a cottage. The church was built in 1867 and it was the Central Hampstead Baptist Church, near Gagetown.
Quebec
What’s happening to Montreal’s churches? Quebec finding new ways to preserve its heritage in a secular agehttp://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/25/whats-happening-to-montreals-churches-quebec-finding-new-ways-to-preserve-its-heritage-in-a-secular-age/
The purpose of church buildings are changing!
Quebec police move to block auction of Lac-Mégantic locomotive
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/07/23/locomotive_from_lacmegantic_train_from_hell_up_for_auction.html
The locomotive MMA 5017 was scheduled to go on the auction block on August 5th in Maine, but the action has been blocked by the provincial police until the end of the judicial process.
Ontario
Old tombstones located south of LaSalettehttp://www.simcoereformer.ca/2014/06/25/old-tombstones-located-south-of-lasalette
Perseverance paid off for a group of history detectives in LaSalette, Ontario. Following several failed digs last year, the group has finally located the burial ground for a collection of 19th-century headstones that were destroyed and buried in an old Catholic cemetery.
Portrait of aboriginal leader Joseph Brant sells at auction for $7.5 million
Gilbert Stuart's work may be most valuable portrait of Canadian leader ever produced
http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Portrait+aboriginal+leader+Joseph+Brant+sells+auction+million/10062517/story.html
Brant was known as Thayendanegea to his followers.
Manitoba
Group of Manitoba teachers to visit Juno Beach for educational tour
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Group-of-Manitoba-teachers-will-visit-Juno-Beach-for-educational-tour-268132572.html
Four teachers will be in Vimy as part of the 10th annual Professional Development Battlefield Tour for Educators.
http://metronews.ca/news/saskatoon/1108314/map-more-saskatoon-history-coming-to-a-smartphone-near-you/
Through mid-August and September, the Nutana and Broadway Heritage QR code self-guided walking tour will be expanding even further to include more than 30 new points of historic importance and interest.
Alberta
Archeology is messy, sweaty and slow - but the rewards are worth it
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Archeology+messy+sweaty+slow+rewards+worth/10049263/story.html
Read about a couple who are spending part of their summer at Bodo, a small Alberta community about three hours from Edmonton. The place was once inhabited by the Plains Indians, who hunted bison and camped in the area in the past 5,000 years.
Canada remembers Korean War
http://www.airdriecityview.com/article/20140724/ACV0903/307249957/canada-remembers-korean-war
Yesterday, Canada celebrated Korean War Veterans Day. From 1950 to 1953, 26,000 Canadians saw action in Korea, and played a great role in the success of the first United Nations intervention by halting the aggression and securing a truce that has held for the past 61 years.
Heirloom is part of Wild Rose Overseas: Albertans in the Great War, an exhibition at Calgary's Military Museums
http://ww1.canada.com/battlefront/great-grandfathers-letter-from-the-front-was-a-chance-discovery-with-video
Read how University of Calgary student, Michael Hilton started working on his Canadian Studies project, and he discovered a letter from his great-grandfather, Canadian soldier Edward Iley, written on the fabric of a German aircraft wing shot down by Iley’s battalion.
And the story continues …
WW I memorabilia connects family to its history: Calgary brothers find link to their great-grandfather through letter, photos
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ww-i-memorabilia-connects-family-to-its-history-1.2718683
British Columbia
'Your history is standing straight up': Survivors' Totem Pole to be raised in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/michael-stewart/2014/07/your-history-standing-straight-survivors-totem-pole-to-be-rai?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20rabble-news%20(rabble.ca%20-%20News%20for%20the%20rest%20of%20us)
The Totem pole, called The Suvivors’ Totem Pole, is being carved by the only female apprentice of the Haida artist Bill Reid -- Skundaal, of the Raven Haida.
First Nation Works to Preserve Historically Important Trees
New project will identify, protect culturally modified trees
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/812915-bc-first-nation-works-to-preserve-historically-important-trees/?photo=2
It includes trees in the Great Bear Rainforest that have been altered by First Nations people as part of their traditional use of the forest. Some of these trees date back to pre-contact time with the Europeans.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Group-of-Manitoba-teachers-will-visit-Juno-Beach-for-educational-tour-268132572.html
Four teachers will be in Vimy as part of the 10th annual Professional Development Battlefield Tour for Educators.
Saskatchewan
Map: More Saskatoon history coming to a smartphone near youhttp://metronews.ca/news/saskatoon/1108314/map-more-saskatoon-history-coming-to-a-smartphone-near-you/
Through mid-August and September, the Nutana and Broadway Heritage QR code self-guided walking tour will be expanding even further to include more than 30 new points of historic importance and interest.
Alberta
Archeology is messy, sweaty and slow - but the rewards are worth it
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Archeology+messy+sweaty+slow+rewards+worth/10049263/story.html
Read about a couple who are spending part of their summer at Bodo, a small Alberta community about three hours from Edmonton. The place was once inhabited by the Plains Indians, who hunted bison and camped in the area in the past 5,000 years.
Canada remembers Korean War
http://www.airdriecityview.com/article/20140724/ACV0903/307249957/canada-remembers-korean-war
Yesterday, Canada celebrated Korean War Veterans Day. From 1950 to 1953, 26,000 Canadians saw action in Korea, and played a great role in the success of the first United Nations intervention by halting the aggression and securing a truce that has held for the past 61 years.
Heirloom is part of Wild Rose Overseas: Albertans in the Great War, an exhibition at Calgary's Military Museums
http://ww1.canada.com/battlefront/great-grandfathers-letter-from-the-front-was-a-chance-discovery-with-video
Read how University of Calgary student, Michael Hilton started working on his Canadian Studies project, and he discovered a letter from his great-grandfather, Canadian soldier Edward Iley, written on the fabric of a German aircraft wing shot down by Iley’s battalion.
And the story continues …
WW I memorabilia connects family to its history: Calgary brothers find link to their great-grandfather through letter, photos
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ww-i-memorabilia-connects-family-to-its-history-1.2718683
British Columbia
'Your history is standing straight up': Survivors' Totem Pole to be raised in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/michael-stewart/2014/07/your-history-standing-straight-survivors-totem-pole-to-be-rai?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20rabble-news%20(rabble.ca%20-%20News%20for%20the%20rest%20of%20us)
The Totem pole, called The Suvivors’ Totem Pole, is being carved by the only female apprentice of the Haida artist Bill Reid -- Skundaal, of the Raven Haida.
First Nation Works to Preserve Historically Important Trees
New project will identify, protect culturally modified trees
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/812915-bc-first-nation-works-to-preserve-historically-important-trees/?photo=2
It includes trees in the Great Bear Rainforest that have been altered by First Nations people as part of their traditional use of the forest. Some of these trees date back to pre-contact time with the Europeans.
Story of the Week
Top 10 Endangered Places to See Before They Are Gone
Heritage Canada National Trust recently released its Top 10 Endangered Places list, outlining the most iconic heritage sites and structures in the country that may soon be gone.
Here are the five structures -
1. The Robertson Headframe is the tallest free-standing structure in the Northwest Territories, and has ruled over the Yellowknife landscape since 1977.
2. The pre-1940s heritage homes on Vancouver's West Side are bring torn down at an alarming rate to make way for bigger, pricier houses.
3. The Paramount Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta was built in 1952, but Famous Players bought and closed the building in 2003. It been the site of real estate speculation ever since.
4. Built in 1882, Guelph's heritage-designated Petrie Building is considered a local landmark in the city's downtown. The towering four-storey structure was originally built for a local pharmacist, and features large windows and a mortar-and-pestle design in the stonework. Now it is on the demolition block.
5. Former Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) Locomotive Repair Shops in Stratford, Ontario. Officials in Stratford, are trying to decide what to do with a 105-year-old locomotive repair shop they acquired in 2009. The 46,000 square-metre structure is considered culturally significant, but the city of Stratford does not see it that way.
To read about the rest of the structures, go to http://www.heritagecanada.org/en/issues-campaigns/top-ten-endangered
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 country!
The next post will be on August 4, 2014.
Heritage Canada National Trust recently released its Top 10 Endangered Places list, outlining the most iconic heritage sites and structures in the country that may soon be gone.
Here are the five structures -
1. The Robertson Headframe is the tallest free-standing structure in the Northwest Territories, and has ruled over the Yellowknife landscape since 1977.
2. The pre-1940s heritage homes on Vancouver's West Side are bring torn down at an alarming rate to make way for bigger, pricier houses.
3. The Paramount Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta was built in 1952, but Famous Players bought and closed the building in 2003. It been the site of real estate speculation ever since.
4. Built in 1882, Guelph's heritage-designated Petrie Building is considered a local landmark in the city's downtown. The towering four-storey structure was originally built for a local pharmacist, and features large windows and a mortar-and-pestle design in the stonework. Now it is on the demolition block.
5. Former Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) Locomotive Repair Shops in Stratford, Ontario. Officials in Stratford, are trying to decide what to do with a 105-year-old locomotive repair shop they acquired in 2009. The 46,000 square-metre structure is considered culturally significant, but the city of Stratford does not see it that way.
To read about the rest of the structures, go to http://www.heritagecanada.org/en/issues-campaigns/top-ten-endangered
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 country!
The next post will be on August 4, 2014.
