Batawa – The built on a “shoe string”
When I was a kid growing up on the airbase at Trenton, we used to take day trips to buy shoes. We would go north from Trenton to Batawa, the site of the first company town (outside of an airbase) that...
View ArticleFriction over Fishing Rights in Owen Sound
Hanns F. Skoutajan (an excerpt from his newest book – “Road to Peace”) While living in Owen Sound (1990 – 2001) I became very much involved with the native people of the area. I helped form...
View ArticleThe Witch of Plum Hollow
Paul McManus Elizabeth Jane Barnes (nee Martin), was born in Cork, Ireland, though the year of birth is uncertain, ranging from 1744 to 1800. Her age at death is also uncertain, ranging from 90 to 93...
View ArticleGreat Lakes Land Bridge – Native Legend or Scientific Fact
Paul McManus North America’s Great Lakes are many things: They provide an immense inland waterway; they provide a link to ocean commerce through the St. Lawrence Seaway; they form part of the longest...
View ArticleWhat’s in a name? The story of Swastika
The swastika is a happy symbol perverted by the Nazis in World War II. The swastika, from the Sanskrit for “good luck”, is as ancient as the sea. The symbol has been found from Scandinavia to Africa...
View ArticlePort Perry… Once the crime capital of Canada
When you think of crime and gun fights, you may think of the American west of the 18oo’s. In the span of a few months, back in the 1920s, the old west was in fact the old east and the location was...
View ArticleUpper Canada’s Last Duel
It was June 13, 1833, just east of the small town of Perth, Ontario that a pistol duel was about to begin. The duellers were Robert Lyon and John Wilson, two young lawyers from the town. It is stated...
View ArticleCanada’s First Hovercraft
Canada’s first hovercraft was an Alligator Boat. For the purposes of this story let’s assume that a hovercraft is a boat that can move across land or water. OK? In that case, Canada’s first hovercraft...
View ArticleWas Charlotte Whitton Anti-Semitic?
Recently a controversy has brewed up around the naming of the new City of Ottawa Archives building. In a nutshell, the Mayor Jim Watson proposed to name the building after former Mayor Charlotte...
View ArticleBattle of York
Another site of diverse military history in Canada is of course Fort York. Originally designed to protect the area that we know today as Toronto, it was a fortress to be reckoned with, built from the...
View ArticleSilver Queen Mine
If you are out and about in this great country of ours, you will always be close to history. I was camping the other weekend with the family, at a place called Murphy’s Point, near Perth, Ontario. On...
View ArticleThe Glenora Treasure
Bruce Ricketts In Prince Edward County there is a ferry which connects two parts of highway 33. The Glenora Ferry runs every 15 minutes or so between a flat peninsula at the eastern end to the side of...
View ArticleWas Charlotte Whitton Anti-Semitic?
Recently a controversy has come up around the naming of the new City of Ottawa Archives Building. In a nutshell, Mayor Jim Watson proposed naming the building after former Mayor Charlotte Whitton....
View ArticleCapital of Canada
If stones could speak, the bedrock of the Ottawa River in Ottawa, Ontario, would never stop talking. Throughout the years, the river that runs through the capital of Canada has borne all manner of...
View ArticleGibraltar Point Lighthouse
In Toronto stands a The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, that very well may be haunted. If you are a ghost hunting buff and love historical mysteries then the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is a place not to...
View ArticleNiagara Falls
Niagara Falls is the collective name for three massive waterfalls on the Niagara River (the short river that drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario): the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls, and the Bridal...
View ArticleChief Joseph Brant Twice Visits England
At the beginning of the French and Indian War (1754-1763) fought between the colonies of British North America and the French colony of New France, both British and French forces enlisted the support...
View ArticleWhere does the McIntosh Apple Come From?
The Origin of the McIntosh Apple One of the favorite varieties of apple, the McIntosh apple or Mac as it is sometimes called, originated in Canada. Today the name Mcintosh (for legal reasons spelled...
View Article6 Incredible Canadian Tornadoes
6 Incredible Canadian Tornadoes On August 3, 2018, a monster F-4 tornado- a raging, swirling vortex with 280 km/hour winds- ripped through the rural community of Alonsa, Manitoba, destroying private...
View ArticleLegends of Cobourg’s Victoria Hall
Legends of Cobourg’s Victoria Hall If you drive fifty minutes south from Peterborough, Ontario, you’ll come to the lively little town of Cobourg. Despite its relatively small size (or perhaps because...
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