Monday, April 18, 2016

Canadian Week in Review 18 April 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 

April 13, 1938 Death of Grey Owl 


On this date, Grey Owl--the Englishman who thought of himself as an aboriginal, and became a best-selling author, lecturer, and a pioneer in the world’s conservation movement--died. 

As a child, he had been fascinated by tales of the Canadian wilderness that he had read about as a child, which was in sharp contrast to his own life growing up in England. He decided to leave home, and come to Canada.

He was a popular columnist and author, and it was only after his death that people came to realize that he was really Archibald Stansfeld Belaney from Hastings, England, born September 18, 1888. 

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

April 15, 1945- British-Canadian Liberation of Bergen-Belson death camp 

In April 1`945, toward the end of the Second World War, the allies of Britain and Canada entered the Bergen-Belson concentration camp, to free the Jews sent to the camp by the Germans. 

After negotiations, the camp was declared a neutral zone, and the Allies forces entered on April 15. The combined British forces, augmented by Canadians, entered the camp, only to be horrified at what they found. 


Social Media 

(Audio) Fredericton rejects heritage-area subdivision restrictions 

Fredericton council has voted against more stringent rules for subdividing properties in the Saint Anne's Point heritage preservation area.

Council unanimously rejected the bylaw changes, which would have prohibited the creation of lots with less than 35 metres of frontage in the area of Saint Anne's Point. 

(Audio) Brent's Grist Mill to become future site of 'pasture for bees' 


Brent's Grist Mill, a run-down heritage site in Kelowna, British Columbia, dates back to 1871. 

The property, though, is about to get some fresh seed and become a sanctuary for wild pollinators like bees and butterflies, thanks to a partnership between the City of Kelowna and UBC-Okanagan. 

Newspaper Articles 

Nova Scotia 

Documenting clan history  


Curt Speight, an Amherst man, was recently made an honorary friend of the Clan Maclean Heritage Trust for the work that his company, Amherst-based IR Mapping, did mapping the family’s Scottish history.

Engage Nova Scotia survey on provincial identity get mixed reaction 


Nova Scotians were surveyed, and 71 per cent of those surveyed said they generally identify with their region of the province first, then the province overall.

Prince Edward Island 

P.E.I.'s Rachelle Gauthier finalist in national storytelling contest 


That's how Rachelle Gauthier describes her Acadian heritage in a moving video she recorded as part of a national contest sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). 

If you want further information on how to show how research funded by the council is "making a difference in the lives of Canadians" in a three minutes on video or in 300 words, then you can go to the SSHRC website at http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/home-accueil-eng.aspx.

Ontario 

JOY OF GENEALOGY: Family history can save lives 


April is Health Awareness Month, the perfect time to branch out and create a family medical tree from your family genealogy research. 

The Amateur Genealogist: Municipal Records – Part 1 


Municipalities provided an astonishing variety of records, all of them local (by definition!) and many just loaded with names of people living in that locality. 

Fraser Dunford, who is the Amateur Genealogist, has a new book called Ontario Land Records: a Beginner's Guide, which is available at the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) at their e-store at https://ogs.on.ca/ogsnewcart/. There will be a review of the book in the May issue of the OGS Families

ANAF: Importance of recognizing Vimy Ridge’s history 


As the anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge passed on April 9, The Vimy Foundation has several events planned to commemorate this historic event in Canadian and world history. 

You can go to the ANAF website for more information at their website at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army,_Navy_and_Air_Force_Veterans_in_Canada 

Why Canada Is Going to Apologize to India’s Sikhs 


Did you know that the government of Canada will formally apologize next month for turning away hundreds of Indian immigrants from its shores more than hundred years ago?

The event in 1914 is known as the “Komagata Maru incident,” after 376 people, mostly Sikhs from Punjab in British India, were denied entry into Canada. 

The chartered ship they were traveling on was forced return to Kolkata and when it arrived in India, British soldiers killed more than a dozen passengers. 

Exhibition traces the cave carvings made by Canadian soldiers waiting to serve at Vimy Ridge 


Canadian soldiers that were holed up in caves up to 30 metres underground, in a chalk mine, in northern France as they prepared to join the attack on Vimy Ridge in April 1917, they left carvings on the wall which were discovered a number of years ago. 

Now a laser exhibit of the carvings are on their way across Canada, and I have heard that it is in Montreal now, and it will be making it way across Canada this summer. 

Saskatchewan 

Old fire hall among Regina buildings to get heritage protection 


Members of Regina's Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee will meet when they will consider recommendations to add four buildings to the city's list of properties that merit special protection from alterations. 

The four buildings are - 

Old No. 1 Fire Hall which was built in 1920 – 1921. It is located at 1654 11th Avenue (Osler and 11th). 

Frontenac Apts. which was built in 1929 and is located at Location: 2022 Lorne Street. 

Weston Bakery which was built in 1919, and is located at 1377 Hamilton Street (Hamilton and 8th Avenue). 

Somerset Block which was built in 1919, and is located at 1806 Smith Street. 

Canadian Stories this Week  

Library and Archives Canada 

Library and Archives Canada is systematically digitizing the service files of CEF soldiers from World War One, from box 1 to box 10686, which roughly corresponds to alphabetical order. Right now, they have digitized Box 4617 and the surname Hunt. 

Please check the database regularly for new additions, and if you still have questions after checking the database, you may contact them directly at 1-866-578-7777 for more assistance.

Today, 275,299 of 640,000 files are available online via their Soldiers of the First Would War: 1914 – 1918 database at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/search.aspx 

On a personal note, my husband, Mario, currently a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, has had the unique opportunity and distinct honour and pleasure to work with these old and fragile (yet, very informative) personnel files at the LAC's Preservation Centre in Gatineau, Quebec. He says that the experience of handling a member's records, and, at times, x-rays and personal mementos within these files, is one he won't soon forget.

Glace Bay Heritage Museum launches new website 

Glace Bay, in the Cape Breton Island, has launched a new website, and the public was invited to the Glace Bay Heritage Museum in the Old Town Hall this past week to celebrate the launch of the museum's new website. 

The two-floored museum holds such things as the Marconi Room, where first Trans Atlantic Wireless Service was established between Table Head in Glace Bay and Ireland in 1907, and The Council Chamber, just to name a few of the exhibits. 

The new website is at http://www.oldtownhallglacebay.ca/ 


A church could become a genealogy centre in Quebec City 

This sounds like a fantastic plan! 

Église St-Jean Baptiste, located on St-Jean Street in the heart of the city, could house a genealogy centre for francophones across North America.

There are approximately 14-million people who are of French-Canadian descent in the northeast United States, besides people from France and all over the world who would be interested in this genealogy oasis in the centre of the city. 

Built in 1881, the church held the last mass last May 2015 because it couldn't afford the $10 million in necessary renovations. Not only do Espace solidaire hopes to open a digital genealogy centre, but also to re-open the closed community spaces and develop a welcome centre. 

The City of Quebec has given the Espace solidaire funds to conduct a feasibility report, and once that is finished (and hopefully the city votes for the development in a positive way), work can begin on the project. 

I will keep you posted! 

And that was the week in Canadian news! 

This e-newspaper has been published since April 2012! 

Be sure to tell your friends about us. 

If you would like to subscribe, please send your email to genealogycanada@aol.com 

Publishers Elizabeth and Mario Lapointe 

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

(c)2016 All rights reserved.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Canadian Week in Review 11 April 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 

Saskatchewan legislature began in 1906

In 1906, the first session of the Saskatchewan legislature began with Premier Walter Scott as the premier. It met in the former territorial government building in Regina, and the city would be declared in May. The building would be finished in 1912.  






CN Tower


In 1975, Toronto's CN Tower became, at the time, the world's tallest free-standing structure when its height reached 555.33 metres. 

Its Space Deck, at 447 metres, is the world's highest public observation gallery. 

The tower opened to the public June 26, 1976 and the official opening took place Oct. 1, 1976. 


Social Media 

(Photos) Blogger attempting to document every lighthouse in N.L. 


Mark Funnell, a Newfoundland blogger, is taking his ongoing fascination with lighthouses to the next level, with the creation of a blog and Instagram feed dedicated to the province's lighthouses. There are examples of the blog onsite. 

(Photos) Dartmouth Heritage Museum supporters pushing for new municipal museum 


The Dartmouth Heritage Museum is pleased with a recent decision by the municipality to take responsibility for its collection of 45,000 historical artifacts.

(Photo) Hants History: April 7, 2016 edition 


Here's a look at what was making the news 50 years ago in the Hants Journal. The 25 years ago segment is temporarily unavailable, and will be coming back in the early spring.

Newspaper Articles

Newfoundland and Labrador 

Rally to save Bryn Mawr heritage home in St. John's 

The Bryn Mawr house may be torn down, according to Cory Thorne, the head of Memorial University's folklore department. 

It is one of the few examples left of the Queen Anne architecture style in St. John's, and it was built by businessman James Baird as a summer home for his family in 1907. 

A piece of Second World War history is alive on Newfoundland and Labrador’s Bell Island 


Rolf Ruggeberg, a German submariner in the Second World War, “took photos of its rugged terrain and its quaint harbours. He recorded its daily weather. He made pencil drawings and charted the course of thousands of icebergs rubbing up against its rocky shores”. 

Only one spot in North America was hit by enemy fire during the Second World War and it was Bell Island, Conception Bay where two freighters waited to load iron ore. 

Nova Scotia 

ED COLEMAN HISTORY: Some venerable old newspapers in Kings County 


Since 1859 year, a number of county newspapers were founded in Kings County, and then quickly died. This has made it a bit confusing, trying to timeline these papers and achieve a reasonable idea of how long they lasted, who published them, and where.

New Brunswick 

St. Andrews council considers heritage bylaw 


The Town of St. Andrews took steps on Monday night to get heritage protection in place for its 300 historic properties.

Many residents were surprised to learn the seaside community had no heritage bylaws in place, said Lee Sochasky, a town councillor and member of the local heritage board.  

Ontario 

An important piece of history’: Government vault reveals secret of the ‘lost’ Last Spike 


The case of the lost Last Spike has been solved. 

In 2006, a group of Chinese Canadians presented then Prime minister, Stephen Harper, with an iron spike to coincide with the federal government’s apology for the head tax. And now they want to borrow it for a commemorative event, but the same spike went missing. 

Central bank announces advisory council to select women for new bank notes  


The Bank of Canada has announced a seven-member advisory council to help draw up a short list of Canadian women who could be featured on the next series of bank notes

Until April 15, Canadians can visit the Bank of Canada's website to submit nominations for the woman they think should appear on the bill. 

You can nominate a woman of note at https://surveys.opinionsearch.com/wix/p16599881.aspx, and you can read about it at http://www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/banknoteable/ 

The latest word is that 18,000 submissions have been received, and more are counting. Canadians have one week left to nominate their choice, or choices, for women whose picture should adorn their money. 


Alberta 

Museum showcasing a history of phones 


Alberta will launch its fourth area code this weekend. The new province-wide 825 area code will fill the void when the 403, 587, and 780 area codes run out. 

A display at the Musée Morinville Museum looks further back in the province’s, and Morinville’s, history with telecommunications. 

The display includes many phones, ranging from an example of the first phone used in the community to brick-sized early models of cellular phones. 

British Columbia 

Historic trail grand opening May long weekend 


In the next month, the 75 kilometre Hudson's Bay Company (1849) Heritage Trail will join the ranks of B.C.'s epic, multi-day trails.

This trail once served as the primary passage of the HBC horse brigades through the Cascades during the fur trade, linking B.C.'s coast and interior region. 

You can read about the trail at http://hopemountain.org/trails/hbc-heritage-trail/ 

Canadian Stories this Week

Canadian History Hall





Last week, the Canadian History Hall of the Canadian Museum of History held a meeting for the press where they told them of what is going to be in exhibit space when they open for the public on July 1, 2017.

There will be 12 exhibits from Gallery 1 - Early Canada, to Gallery 12, which will be a place where you can test yourself on Canada's geography.


And that was the week in Canadian news! 

This e-newspaper has been published since April 2012!

Be sure to tell your friends about us. 

If you would like to subscribe, please send your email to genealogycanada@aol.com  

Publishers Elizabeth and Mario Lapointe 

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

(c)2016 All rights reserved. 

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Canadian Week in Review 04 April 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 

Treaty of Utrecht

In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht, the treaty between France and England which settled the War of the Spanish Succession, saw the return of Nova Scotia to Britain. France retained Cape Breton and the Island of St. John, now Prince Edward Island. 


Canada's 10th province

In 1949, Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador), the oldest dominion in the British Commonwealth, became Canada's 10th province. 

Two referendums were held after the Second World War; the first was inconclusive, and the second approved Confederation by only 52 per cent. 

Thew capital city id St. Johns, and the island is the world's 16th largest, and Canada's forth largest island. 

For further information, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_(island)  

Social Media 

(Video) Potential Viking site found in Newfoundland 


A second Viking site may have been found in southern Newfoundland by a team of international archaeologists working in the province. 

(Photo) Hants History: March 31, 2016 edition 


News of 25 years ago (April 3, 1991 edition) is temporarily unavailable and will be coming back in the early spring, but the 50 years edition (March 30, 1966 edition) is here. 

(Photos) Dartmouth Heritage Museum supporters pushing for new municipal museum 

Officials with the Dartmouth Heritage Museum are pleased with a recent decision by the municipality to take responsibility for its collection of 45,000 historical artifacts. 


Newfoundland and Labrador  

Nunatsiavut government honoured for heritage work 


The government was awarded last week with a 2016 Manning Awards for Excellence in the Public Presentation of Historic Places, International category, for its work on the Hebron Mission restoration. 

The Hebron Mission is a project to restore the nearly 200-year old former Moravian church, as part of the Nunatsiavut government restoration program. It is taking part in the abandoned northern Labrador community of Hebron. 


Nova Scotia  

Not taking no for an answer: Municipal leaders from western Nova Scotia consider group trip to Ottawa  


The Canada Legacy Society, a group that has been formed by compiling the 12 municipal units from West Hants to Yarmouth in Nova Scotia, has applied for over two million dollars in funding from the federal Canada 150 fund – Canada's birthday next year.  

Prince Edward Island  

Stompin' Tom Connors project's fate rests with ACOA 


Back in July when plans were uncovered for $1.9 million Stompin' Tom Connors Centre, has hit a snag. The part of the funding that was to come from Heritage Canada has been denied because the centre is not considered an arts or heritage organizations by the Canadian Cultural Spaces Funding. 

Alberta 

Exhibit brings war close to home 


Okotoks Museum and Archives is going to be the host for the Provincial Archives of Alberta’s traveling exhibit called Alberta and the Great War to its facility next month. 

The exhibit shows how the First World War affected and changed the province. It will be available for viewing April 1 and will remain on site until June 30. 

If you want to go to the Town of Okotoks Museum & Archives, you can go to http://www.archivesalberta.org/walls/okotoks.htm  

North-West Territories 

History matters: Westerners had to fight for vote 


When the government came to the North-West Territories in the northern regions of Canada in the 1870s, they wanted to have a “free-hand” in deciding what kind of government would be in place, so the people had to fight for the right to vote.  

Canadian Stories this Week  

Archives Awareness Week 2016 

There is still a couple of days left as Archives Awareness Week is on till April 9th. 

This year’s focus is Customer Appreciation Week, where you will learn about the amazing collections and services, and meet the people they’ve inspired. 

You can visit the Archives Ontario site at http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/about/archives_week.aspx to see what is going on the archives this week. 

I can personally give the Archives of Ontario (AO) the seal of approval. Last time I was there was two years ago, which I spent three days there, and the staff were nothing but friendly and helpful, and I found great help, especially going through the municipal files, and land grant. I had a great time! 

the federal government are starting to hear announcements of funding 


The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, this week, announced an investment of more than $170-million to protect and preserve Parks Canada's five historic canals in Quebec. 

The five canals are -  

Lachine Canal - reconstruction work on the walls will be done 

Carillon Canal - the impressive lock of the Carillon Canal will be reconstructed 

Chambly Canal – work will be completed on the locks and bridges 

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal - service areas and footpaths will be built 

and 

Saint Ours Canal - build the Vianney-Legendre Fish Ladder 

On the press release, The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada said that "Through this significant investment, our government is protecting and preserving these treasured places, while supporting local economies, contributing to growth in the tourism sector, and enhancing the charm and attractiveness of these heritage sites. I encourage Canadians to visit and experience Parks Canada's special places and to enjoy the outdoors, while learning about our rich history and heritage."

Home Children 

And finally, this week, there is an e-petition online at http://canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/apology-petition.html which concerns an apology to the Home Children – the children who were sent here from the United Kingdom in 1869 to the 1940s to work on farm and as domestics. 

Apparently, according to the people who have organized this petition, they now have enough signatures to go ahead with an initial presentation, but they will continue to collect signature for future presentations. They say that they will repeat this process as often as we feel necessary. 

And that was the week in Canadian news! 

This e-newspaper has been published since April 2012! 

Be sure to tell your friends about us. 

If you would like to subscribe, please send your email to genealogycanada@aol.com 

Publishers Elizabeth and Mario Lapointe  

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

(c)2016 All rights reserved. 

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