Canadian Week in Review

10 June 2013

I have come across the following Canadian websites, blogs, Facebook pages, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too

Websites

Mennonite Archives of Ontario A new, and improved    Mennonite Archives of Ontario, will be debuted to the public in September 2013, when it is scheduled to double its floor space.

If you go to the Genealogical Resources Online, they have an index to family histories available at the archives.

The archives are located at the Conrad Grebel University College, at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario.

The website is at https://uwaterloo.ca/mennonite-archives-ontario

Blogs

There are no new blogs this past week.

Facebook- YouTube – Video

Canadian Heritage https://www.facebook.com/CdnHeritage The Canadian Department of Heritage has a Facebook page with very good information on it.

Newspapers

Museums take up crowd funding: Smithsonian in Washington appeals for funds for yoga exhibit  www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/05/31/crowd-funding-museums.html Is this a new way to raise money to keep museums open?

The wharf in Riverside-Albert is in danger of collapsing into the Bay of Fundy http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/historic-wharf-in-danger-of-crumbling-into-bay-of-fundy-1.1312800

The Atlantic CTV News reports that “The wharf in Riverside-Albert (New Brunswick) is in danger of collapsing into the Bay of Fundy due to recent heavy rains. The Shipyard Heritage Park had been built in 2006 as a tribute to the community’s shipbuilding past and thousands of tourists visit the park each year”.

The Royal Canadian Mint celebrates the 300th anniversary of Louisbourg with collector coins

www.sacbee.com/2013/06/04/5469768/the-royal-canadian-mint-celebrates.html#storylink=cpy 

As of June 11, 2013, the coins will also be available at the Royal Canadian Mint's boutiques in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver, as well as through the Mint's global network of dealers and distributors, including participating Canada Post outlets

Opening hours restricted at Green Cables http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/p-e-i-tourists-disappointed-to-find-green-gables-closed-on-sunday-monday-1.1311008 Parks Canada has decided to restrict operating hours at Green Gables, closing on Sunday and Monday during the month of June

Tracing and celebrating Irish ancestry easier than ever

www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Tracing+celebrating+Irish+ancestry+easier+than+ever/6599552/story.html The Canadian 2006 census shows that Irish is the fourth largest ethnic group in Canada — about 14 per cent of the total population or 4.4 million people.

Groups submit plans to save 128 surplus lighthouses

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2013/06/05/ns-surplus-lighthouse-plans.html

Community groups and municipalities in eight provinces have come forward with business plans to save 128 lighthouses.

Story of the Week

The Internet was busy with blogs about the 1921 Canada Census this past week.

It all started on June 4^th, when the Library and Archives Canada released a notice on their blog at www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2013/1921-census.aspx which said the census would be available to research in the ‘next few weeks’.

They told us all about the census, for instance, “The almost 11,700 commissioners and enumerators recorded by hand nearly 8.8 million individuals in thousands of communities across the country” – but not when it would be ready for us to research. So we wait...

Meanwhile, the blogs have been, and still are, busy - 

1921 Canadian Census Countdown - Get Involved!   http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/05/1921-canadian-census-countdown-get.html

1921 Canadian Census http://carletonplacelocalhistory.wordpress.com/tag/1921-canadian-census

1921 Canadian Census Update http://jimsgirlfamilyhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/1921-canadian-census-update.html?showComment=1370652530311

Census Sunday: I’m ready http://yvonnesgenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/census-sunday-im-ready.html

The next Canadian Week in Review will be issued Monday June 17, 2013

Tracking down Francophones across America

The Morrin Centre will host Professor Dean Louder as he presents his first bilingual talk in which he will discuss the traces of French-Canadian settlements across the continent. 

Reading from his book and sharing photos from his travels, Louder will tell the stories of these little-known communities while illustrating the fact that Francophones here in Quebec are not the only French speakers to whom their roots, history and heritage are important in an ever-growing global society.

This presentation will take place on Wednesday, June 19 at 7 p.m., at the

Morrin Centre, 44 Chaussée des Écossais, Quebec City, Quebec.

Admission is free. To reserve, please contact us at 418-694-9147 or info@morrin.org.

GenealogyCanada has done it again!

Mentioned as one of the Top 25 blogs of 2013 in the July issue of Internet Genealogy Magazine, my blog has hit the big time once again.

In Blogged: 25 Top Genealogy Blogs to Help Speed Your Research! author Tony Bandy says “In particular, the outbound links to LOTS of great resources and digital resources makes this blog invaluable for your current family project”.

Thank you Tony, and the people at Moorshead's Magazine.

To read more of what he said about GenealogyCanada, and the other 24 blogs he chose to write about, go to www.internet-genealogy.com

Quinte OGS Branch Meeting

On 15 Jun 2013 at 1:00 pm, the Quinte OGS Branch will present the talk Why Can't I Find It Online? Other Resources to Help with Your Search. The talk will be presented by Ruth Blair, from The Passionate Genealogist blog.

A good deal of research can be done online, and many believe this is all we need, but only about 1% of genealogical data has been digitized and been made available on the Internet. Great strides are being taken to get more data online, but it is a costly process and sometimes what is available is only a small reference to a certain record group, and not the actual image.

Libraries and archives are still the main sources of information for the genealogical researcher, especially when you want to dig deeper. Ruth Blair will present case studies using such resources.

The talk will take place at Quinte West City Hall Library, 7 Creswell Drive, Trenton, Ontario

The Quinte OGS Branch web site is at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canqbogs/index.htm

The Passionate Genealogist web site is at http://blog.familyhistorysearches.com 

10th Anniversary of Canada's Juno Beach Centre

For a look back at the ceremony on 06 June 2003 of the opening of Canada's Juno Beach Centre, please visit our website for the original post - http://www.genealogycanada.com/Juno%20Beach.htm

69th Anniversary of D-Day

 The Men Are Ready...Only You Can Give Them Wings

  Credit: Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1983-30-106 (Copyright: is expired) 

Today is the 69^th Anniversary of D-Day – the Normandy Invasion on the northern beaches of France.

As the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, said today in an official statement -

“The 109 vessels and 10,000 sailors of the Royal Canadian Navy helped keep the German fleet bottled up in ports, cleared mines across the English Channel, silenced enemy batteries on the shoreline, and carried Canadian troops and landing craft to the battle.

“Finally, the soldiers of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade through raw courage, grit and determination engaged in fierce combat on the beaches and in the small towns of Normandy helping smash the first line of German coastal defences.  In fact, by the evening of June 6, 1944, Canadian troops had progressed further inland than any of their Allies – a proud and remarkable accomplishment.

“The day took a heavy toll.  To secure victory on D-Day, 340 Canadians gave their lives, 574 were wounded and 47 taken prisoner.

“Let us pause on this day to recall and honour the noble sacrifices of these heroes who with other Allied forces turned the tide of the war, rid Europe of the Nazi scourge, and paid a price so that we and so many others might be able to enjoy peace and freedom with our families. While it is an impossible debt to repay, we honour their memory". 

Lest We Forget

D-Day: Canada's role http://www.cbc.ca/news/dday CBC give a very comprehensive retelling of  Canada’s role in D-Day, with video, photos, and excellent timelines that you might find useful in writing family history.

Juno http://junobeach.stormpages.com A site which describes the Canadian participation of the 3rd Canadian Division which landed on Juno Beach. 

Experience Aboriginal History Month at the Canadian Museum of Civilization

If you are planning to come to Ottawa during your summer vacation, stop by the Canadian Museum Of Civilization to take in their new Aboriginal exhibit - Indigenous and Urban.

Indigenous and Urban is a summer-long program featuring visual and media arts, music, dance, film, readings and interactive workshops.

Come see the new outdoor sculpture created by Mary Anne Barkhouse of the Nimpkish band, Kwakiutl First Nation for the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The sculpture of a life-size copper canoe and bronze wolf will be installed outside in the pond adjacent to the Grand Hall.

You can also walk through the six Native houses and explore the newly-redesigned First Peoples of the Northwest Coast exhibition. You can also see the brightly coloured ceiling mural by Dene Suline artist Alex Janvier  and Bill Reid's well known sculpture, The Spirit of the Haida Gwaii.

In addition, you can also visit the Grand Hall and the towering totem poles of the Northwest Coast. And you can continue on to the First Peoples Hall for an overview of the  history and culture of Native Peoples across Canada.

Join the people on June 27 at 5 p.m. for Indigenous and Urban, and see the new sculpture by acclaimed  Kwakiutl First Nation artist Mary Anne Barkhouse.

As the press release says “MAKE JUNE your month to connect with the songs and stories, history and present day of the Peoples who have inhabited this land for thousands of years”.

The exhibit will be open from June 27, 2013 to September 2, 2013 

To see more about the museum, you can go to www.civilization.ca