By Robert R. Whale ( 1805-1887 )

 

The British-born artist Robert R. Whale was already in his forties when he immigrated to Canada in 1852. He settled near Brantford and remained there for the rest of his life. This composition is reminiscent of the work of Claude Lorrain: a few skillfully placed trees in the foreground frame a vista that includes a small town, while the sense of vastness is accentuated by the tiny scale of the human figures. The naturalistic handling of the trees and the rocks adds to the picture’s appeal.

Ever since I was eight or nine, I've always had a thing for bikes. I wasn't frankly a big rider, also having had a thing for cars, but about ten years ago, there was a place in the industrial suburbs, that sold Italian road bikes. The fellow's name was Antonio Pavan, and for about two or three years, he'd had a 'retirement sale' at the end of season, where he'd mark down the prices by a goodly percentage. I would go over, find it too much for me to buy, and pass, hoping that there would be another 'retirement sale' the next year. One year, it was evident that Antonio, despite being a vital septuagenarian, was really going to close up shop, so I bit and bought my dream Italian bike. The other story is that Antonio, as a child, worked for the famed bike builder Pinarello, building wheelsets, and when he immigrated to Canada, he continued a relationship with them and was an importer of Pinarello's line. He also, apparently, had a deal whereby Pinarello would build some frames to his specification, some of which were very similar to Pinarello's own bikes, that he would sell under the Pavan label. Times change, it I've done some 'renovations' to the bike, but it still has the Campagnolo Centaur 'gruppo' it came with, and the rest of the Italian made elements.

 

The bicycle industry has changed a lot since I got this bike. Carbon fibre is the new material of choice, and almost all of them are made in the far East. Shimano and Sram have pretty much eclipsed Campagnolo for gears and brakes. It's all mass manufactured, and frankly, quite a bit cheaper, but some of the mystique of the Italian road bike remains. Current day Pinarellos are made in China for the most part, and outfitted with mass produced Shimano groupsets. The affordable bikes aren't really a whole lot different, as they're all made in one of three factories for the most part.

 

So this is for Antonio Pavan, wherever he may be. Here's a YouTube video of him riding what looks to be a version of the bike I bought from him, in the signature yellow that he seemed to like.

 

The climb is incredible - and keep in mind that Antonio is in his 70s.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-NrYIVyBLY

In 1960 he'd have been 39. This was taken at the top of the Jolly Cut at Mountain Brow Park in Hamilton, Ontario.

 

Thomas Muir Williamson of Glasgow, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada sometime in the early 1950s I'm told.

The Globe and Mail's editorial obituary: 2019-12-07.

 

I'm normally not particularly an emotional person, I don't have very much empathy. If you call me "heartless", I would not counter you or get upset.

 

But the recent passing of Zofia Cisowski in Poland affected me. The tragedy that she encountered in Canada was very sad and avoidable if the people involved in killing her son had more compassion and sense.

 

Most people outside of Canada and Poland probably never heard of Zofia Cisowski or her son Robert Dziekanski (Dziekański in Polski).

 

Ms. Cisowski was a Polish woman who immigrated to Canada in 1999, settling in British Columbia. As a single mother, she had dreamed of bringing her only child Robert Dziekanski to Canada. Mr. Dziekanski was a handyman in his native Poland and he flew on his own to Vancouver in October 2007 to re-unite with his mother and start a new life in Canada.

 

His mother Ms. Cisowski waited at the Vancouver airport for his arrival. But hours after the flight had landed, her son was nowhere to be seen. As it turned out, due to his lack of English knowledge and that no one at the airport could understand him, Mr. Dziekanski got confused and wandered inside the airport for 10 hours (he had never travelled on a plane before), not knowing how to get out or contact his mother. Even though his mother made inquiries about his missing son, airport employees dismissed her concerns and suggested that she simply be patient.

 

When Mr. Dziekaaski became agitated, the police was called. Four Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP, or the "Mounties") promptly showed up, which probably alarmed the 40-year old man more. An altercation ensued and the police officers tasered Mr. Dziekanski five times, then tackled and handcuffed him. Mr. Dziekanski suffered a cardiac arrest. An ambulance was called but it took some 15 minutes to arrive. Mr. Dziekanski died on scene.

 

Ms. Cisowski and her son were moments from re-uniting and living their lives together, but a chain of events would end one's and forever change the other's.

 

The RCMP officers were never charged for the action that led to Mr. Dziekanski's death, but two of them were charged and convicted of perjury related to their false testimony at a public inquiry into the case. The RCMP and the Vancouver airport were heavily criticised for their treatment of a confused and tired traveller. Eventually the RCMP admitted fault, issued an official apology, and paid a financial settlement to Ms. Cisowski. The incidence left a sad and shameful mark on the Canadian identity. We can all learn a lesson and be more kind to someone who seems confused, tired, distressed and in need of help.

Happy Bench Monday!

 

Grassi Lakes were named after Lawrence Grassi (1890–1980):

 

"Lawrence Grassi, born Lorenzo, immigrated to Canada from Italy in 1912 and eventually settled in the Bow Valley in 1916 to work as a coal miner.

 

But he devoted much of his spare time to mountain climbing and carving out trails, such as the original steps that take visitors to the aquamarine water of Grassi Lakes and many more paths around Lake O'Hara and Lake Louise."

 

The road to the EEOR (East End of Rundle) trailhead is very rough, and so we parked at a trailhead at Grassi Lakes instead. It added a few kilometres of distance, and few hundred metres of elevation, but not a significant issue for us. The Lakes are stunning, and while the trail up EEOR is steep and often scrubbly/rubbly, the views are amazing.

Introducing our artists:

Lisa Ramsammy of The Doll Place, experianced doll repainter.

  

My name is Lisa Ramsammy. I live in Ontario, Canada. I was born in Trinidad and Tobago.

  

Art has always been a part of my life since early childhood. You could always find me with a paper and pencil sketching and doodling something. I fine tuned my artistic skills through the end of high school and graduated with a distinction in art. For a few years I was a photographer on the race track taking photos of the horses and the

  

Click on image to enlarge.

  

races, selling my photos to owners and trainers. I even won best racing photograph one year with a thrilling finish. Some saw my artwork and asked why don't I try painting the horses? From there I did many equine portraits by commission both in Trinidad and Barbados. It is through horse racing I met my husband Emile as he was embarking on a successful career as a jockey .

   

We immigrated to Canada, got married and started a family and that was my main focus for a few years while still doing the odd equine portrait commission.

   

One trainer from Trinidad - Joe Hadeed upon his retirement from horse racing did his autobiography of his career and graced the book cover duly titled "Under The Fiddlewood Tree" with a painting I did of him sitting under a tree watching his horses train. It was his favorites and one of my many paintings done for him.

   

After three boys and many miscarriages in between I often wondered if I would ever have a daughter and I started collecting dolls - vintage Barbie, Disney etc in hopes one day I would hand them down to a daughter or granddaughter. Then came Integrity Toy's Fashion Royalty dolls and their convention in Canada. I entered my first ever repaint/design competition not really having a clue how to repaint properly or even the right sized brush for such a tiny face! I placed 2nd and it encouraged me to learn and try to improve. It was difficult adapting my painting skills to a tiny doll face!

   

This brought me to discover Ebay and doll magazines such as Haute Doll and FDQ with various articles and features on other doll artists. I stumbled into the doll repaint world in 2004. I was fascinated and decided to take a serious approach and try my art on such a small scale. Deeply inspired by artists Laurie Leigh-"Beautiful Faces" and Noel Cruz, who were very helpful with advice, as well as Cindy Lorimer, Karen Kay, Vanessa Tull-"Star Studio", Isabelle Ashing, Lisa Gates who took the time to answer questions from someone striving to learn about technique, painting products, doll making materials, photography tips, etc., yet stay true to my own style. I've been fine tuning my skills ever since. I am grateful to them.

   

I mainly sell my repainted dolls on EBay. I repaint 13" Integrity dolls as well as 16" and 17" Tonner dolls. I do my own websitewww.thedollplace.ca when I have time.

   

My professional Facebook page www.facebook.com/LisaRamsammythedollplace/ is where I upload photos of my work as they are done and sometimes in progress.

   

I enjoy photographing my repaints very much. They take on a life of their own when they are all dressed up and posing. It's like the icing on the cake!

   

I have entered Integrity Toys design competition annually at their doll conventions over a ten year span and won numerous awards including their first advanced design competition 2013 where the winner would be put into production. Judged by fashion designer Jason Wu, my winning entry "Edge," was produced by Integrity Toys in 2014.

   

I have people enjoying my art in different forms - horse portraits, people portraits,still life and doll portraits. I love art and admire the art of others.

   

In life I strive to always do things well and feel my art is a reflection of this. I enjoy it immensely and can only hope it brings joy to others as it does to myself. I am always eager to learn and develop my technique and try new things. I am thankful to all who have supported me in my art and my doll repaints over the years.

   

It is a privilege and an honor to be in the company of this esteemed group of artists I can call friends!

 

Well, this was very lucky! Years ago my son was given this ice hockey sticky from an aunt of my wife who immigrated to Canada. many years ago. I don't have any other "props" that could represent the Winter Olympics, so, yes lucky!!

 

Our Daily Challenge ~ ODC OLYMPICS .....

 

Thanks, in advance, to everyone who views this photo, adds a note, leaves a comment and of course BIG thanks to anyone who chooses to favourite my photo .... thanks to you all.

Panorama – 2nd place

Marc Cadranel, Oakville

Rockwood Park Panorama

 

Marc Cadranel, born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, spent nearly 20 years in South Africa before immigrating to Canada in 1999 with his family. He started taking photographs in his teens – mainly slides back then – and has always loved nature photography.

 

During the summer months, Marc and his family are avid weekend day-trippers. They can be found exploring southern Ontario and reconnecting with nature as much as possible. “The area around us is so beautiful, varied and widespread that I suspect it will take us a while yet to cover it all,” he said.

 

The prize-winning panorama was captured on a beautiful summer day in Rockwood Park. When asked about the photo Marc said, “I particularly like it because, if one looks carefully, there are a few canoes that emphasize the imposing beauty of the park.”

Frederick Horsman Varley (Sheffield, England January 2, 1881 – Toronto, Canada September 8, 1969) was a member of the Canadian Group of Seven. He immigrated to Canada in 1912 on the advice of another Sheffield native (and future Group of Seven member), Arthur Lismer, and found work at the Grip Ltd. design firm in Toronto, Ontario. In 1920, he was a founding member of the Group of Seven. He was the only original member of the Group of Seven to specialize in portraiture, but he also painted landscapes.

Source: Wikipedia

This was one of the infrequent occasions when I saw a location for a photo and waited for a suitable stranger to complete the scene. It was a narrow laneway between office buildings in downtown Toronto. I’ve said before that I’m not very patient when it comes to street portraiture and it doesn’t take me more than a couple of minutes to start feeling like a lurker. I generally do much better when I’m on the move, making the best use I can of locations when I happen upon an interesting stranger. I had invested five minutes at this location without much success (suitable pedestrians seemed to be in a hurry and I was getting the hesitation blues). I almost moved on when this man approached and I found his face interesting. He wasn’t moving quickly and when I introduced myself and my project he said “Sure. I can do that.” Meet Julian.

 

I had taken a selfie in the mouth of the laneway earlier on this wet, overcast day and I knew it could work. Two office workers on a smoke break were in the background but I was able to “disappear” them behind Julian. Two other smokers arrived just as I had positioned Julian but a friendly request for them to step forward just a few paces met with their cooperation. There wasn’t a lot of fancy to the photo-taking. I took care with focus and checked exposure and soon was confident that I had a few good images to choose from.

 

Back out on the sidewalk, we chatted. Julian said he liked the photos but admitted that he wasn’t feeling very well. He went on to tell me that he has recently recovered from a painful bout of shingles and his high blood pressure was acting up, leaving him light-headed and a bit unsteady on his feet. I suggested he monitor this with his doctor and he admitted he’s supposed to take medication for the blood pressure but hasn’t been very consistent about it. I told him I thought it was really important and he said he has an appointment coming up and will speak to his doctor about it.

 

I learned that Julian is 57 and he was born in Baghdad. He proudly told me that he is a graduate of the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. He taught art for a year but was then drafted into the army during the war with Iran in the 1980s. He didn’t believe in war and managed to escape to Turkey where he lived for two years before immigrating to Canada at age 30. His mother was British and his father Iraqi. I didn’t learn much about Julian’s work history but it seemed that a promising career as an artist had been disrupted and through it all he regrets that he lost the opportunity to have a family and a home. He now finds himself in poor health, living on disability in downtown Toronto. He feels, however, most fortunate to be living in a country that is peaceful and care about one another. His biggest challenge as he sees it now is loneliness. “It’s hard to be on your own without family and unable to afford a place to live where crack heads aren’t banging on your door at midnight.” I sympathized that Toronto can be an expensive city and when you are living on disability, you don’t have a lot of choice in accommodations.

 

I asked what activity I had interrupted with my project request and he said he had just come from a nearby mosque where he had hoped to borrow some money from a friend to get by until the first of December when his next check comes in. His friend, however, wasn’t there so now he was going to go to another downtown mosque to look for another friend. I offered him a modest donation for a cup of coffee and he almost declined. He felt bad that it had appeared he was begging when he wasn’t. I told him I knew he wasn’t begging and it was I who offered the money and I wanted him to have it. It wasn’t much but he said he would enjoy a cup of coffee. He asked which way I was going and I said I could walk him halfway to the mosque but then I was getting on the subway.

 

We had a friendly chat as we walked for 15 minutes and I discovered Julian’s sense of humor. He likes to tease doctors. He said his doctor asked if he drinks a lot and he said “not when I’m asleep.” He said his doctor almost choked on his coffee which clearly pleased Julian. While taking a physical prior to coming to Canada he had been asked if he’s had chicken pox. His response was “I had chicken wings two days ago.” We shared a laugh as we worked our way through a boisterous group of school kids on a field trip.

 

Julian said he had no particular regrets as to how he’s led his life but he did admit that things had not gone the way he would have hoped. When he found out I am 70 he said I seemed to be doing really well for 70. I said I appreciated the compliment and said “we do the best we can.” He said “That wasn’t a compliment. It was the truth. I’m an artist so I’m a good observer. I’m reporting what I see.”

 

Julian’s words of wisdom included “Be kind to others and always give more than you take.” His advice to the project was “Don’t fear falling down. All great people have fallen down. What makes them great is how they get back up again.” We parted with a warm handshake as he turned toward the mosque and I headed into the subway. It was obvious that we had both enjoyed our chance meeting.

 

This is my 379th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.

 

You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.

Felix Sigmund (Phil) Geiler immigrated to Canada in 1919 from Germany and settled in Dauphin, Manitoba where he established the “Northern Manitoba Motor Bus Company” in 1929 operating between Dauphin and Brandon.

 

Phil Geiler relocated company headquarters to Brandon, where on May 18, 1933 it became the first to transport passengers inter-provincially into Manitoba from Flemming, Saskatchewan.

 

On September 5, 1933, Geiler changed the name of his company to “Manitoba Motor Transit Limited”. Throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 1960s, Phil Geiler, along with his son Bill, pioneered scheduled bus service northward to the remote mining centres of The Pas, Flin Flon and Thompson.

 

Although a rumoured buy-out by Greyhound Lines of Canada had been circulating amongst drivers, the company was purchased by Grey Goose Bus Lines of Winnipeg in 1969.

(written by Greg Nesteroff, Jan 30, 2016) - According to the BC Geographical Names database, NEEDLES is the landing’s name, but The Needles is still the official name of the narrows, even though construction of the High Arrow Dam in the 1960s submerged both the sandspits and the community that grew up there. A new NEEDLES post office was established in 1908 and closed in 1968 upon the flooding of the Arrow Lakes. Today the only thing left of the old community is its cemetery. The late Bill Laux said McKallister’s (or McAllister’s) Landing was the site of the original Fire Valley post office, which opened in 1894. Later, the CPR called this place Page’s Landing after William Henry Page (1861-1933), an English miner who came to the area from Butte, Mont. around 1893 and served as Fire Valley postmaster from 1908 to 1910. Link to the complete article - PLACE NAMES: NEEDLES - www.nelsonstar.com/community/place-names-needles/

 

NEEDLES, the western terminal of the Lower Arrow Lake ferry, was formerly known as The Needles and was first mentioned in 1895.

 

(from 1918 - Wrigley's British Columbia directory) - NEEDLES - a post office on east side of Lower Arrow Lake, opposite Fire Valley, and 40 miles south of Nakusp, in Slocan Provincial Electoral District, served by C. P. R. Arrow Lake steamers between Arrowhead and West Robson. Local resources: Fruit-growing.

 

The Post Office at NEEDLES opened (second opening) - 1 July 1908 and closed - 30 April 1968 - The Post Office permanently closed due to the resignation of the postmaster. All mail addressed to Needles was forwarded to Fauquier for delivery.

 

LINK to a list of the Postmasters who served at the NEEDLES Post Office (second opening) - recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record...

 

- sent from - / NEEDLES / MR 27 / 09 / B.C. / - split ring cancel - this split ring hammer (A1-1) is not listed in the proof book - most likely was proofed c. 1908 (RF C) - early strike.

 

- via - / ARMSTRONG / AP 1 / 09 / B.C. / - cds transit backstamp

 

Message on postcard reads - (Merry Easter!) - From your cousin - Annie C. Funk - Needles

 

Annie (Anna) Catharine (Katherine) Funk / Baxter

(b. 23 October 1900 in Fire Valley, British Columbia - d. Humboldt, California, USA) - (I've got to do some digging on this one) - Link to her birth certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/0c... she was still alive in 1922 as she signed her sister's marriage certificate (Minnie Victoria Funk).

 

Her husband - Fred Wilber Baxter

(b. 5 January 1893 in Cowley, Kansas, United States - d. 25 Dec 1968 at age 75 in Arcata, Humboldt County, California, USA) - his first wife was Mary Augustina Rawson (24 August 1890 – 4 June 1970) - he married his second wife Anna Katharine Funk - 2 July 1931 in Vancouver, Clark, Washington, United States - LINK to his Find a Grave site - www.findagrave.com/memorial/105861569/fred-wilber-baxter

 

Her father - John George Funk

(b. 10 October 1868 in Bavaria, Germany - d. 23 January 1949 at age 81 in Vernon, British Columbia) - farmer / Postmaster at Needles, B.C. - LINK to his death certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/07... - LINK to his newspaper obituary - www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-obituary-for...

 

Her mother - Julianna "Julia" Annie (nee Mosheimer) Funk

(b. 6 January 1878 in Germany - d. ) - she was 15 when they were married - 2 November 1893 in the Vernon District, B.C. (at this time they were both living in White Valley, British Columbia) - LINK to their marriage certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/95... - they were divorced - 21 November 1936 in Vernon, B.C.

 

Her stepmother - Gwendolyn Elizabeth (nee Draffen) Funk

(b. 2 October 1912 in Vernon, B.C. – d. 28 December 1943 at age 31 in Lumby, British Columbia) - they were married - 11 March 1937 in Kamloops, British Columbia) - LINK to their marriage certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/98...

 

Addressed to: Miss Mary Bell / Falkland P.O. / B.C.

 

Mary Bell

(b. 27 September 1899 in Falkland, Columbia-Shuswap, British Columbia, Canada – d. 14 December 1918 (Spanish Flu) at age 19 in Victoria, British Columbia) - LINK to her birth certificate - search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/e5... LINK to her newspaper obituary - www.newspapers.com/article/the-victoria-daily-times-obitu...

 

Her father - William Bell

(b. 9 November 1867 in Langholm, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, United Kingdom – d. 25 July 1935 at age 67 in Vernon, British Columbia) - LINK to his Find a Grave site - www.findagrave.com/memorial/193163398/william-bell NOTE - he was the Postmaster at FALKLAND, B.C. (first opening) from - 1 January 1898 to - 9 July 1912.

 

Her mother - Maria Barbara Funk

(b. 12 January 1870 in Bergen, Germany – d. 25 February 1965 at age 95 in Falkland, Columbia-Shuswap, British Columbia, Canada) - immigrated to Canada around 1894. She married William Bell on - 15 January 1897 in Falkland, British Columbia. LINK to her Find a Grave site - www.findagrave.com/memorial/117299176/maria-barbara-bell

(L-R) Christine Decelles (panel), Erika Ayala (panel), Reception, Queer Peers, a Human Rights Panel Discussion on International Transgender Politics,

An evening of Queer Expressions, Photos © Linda Dawn Hammond / IndyFoto.com and Pride Toronto 2009, Tuesday June 23, 2009,

Gladstone Hotel, Toronto

 

Moderator: Fred Kuhr

Panelists:

(L-R) Victor Mukasa, Susan Gapka, Erika Ayala, Evana Ortigoza , Notisha Massaquoi, Christine Decelles, N. Nicole Nussbaum

 

Global Trans Rights Activist Victor Mukasa from Uganda has been chosen as Pride Toronto's 2009 International Grand Marshal. Join us as we pay tribute to the brave queer activists fighting for their rights in Africa and specifically in Uganda. Come and hear Victor speak. As the 2009 International Grand Marshal, he proudly leads Toronto's Pride Parade on Sunday, June 28 at 2:00PM.

 

Victor Mukasa, Chairperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), 2009 Pride Toronto's International Grand Marshal: is the Chairperson of SMUG and a human rights defender for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender liberation in his home country of Uganda and across Africa. As a global trans rights activist, he strives to protect and defend the space to exit freely without harassment, threat, or violence and to change this world' traditional gender categories so that people are no longer punished for simply being who they are.

 

Victor Juliet Mukasa is a Ugandan transgender activist who has gained international recognition for bringing light to human rights issues globally. He is a TransLesbian working with the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) as Research and Policy Associate for East, Central and Horn of Africa. Victor is a founding member of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), served as SMUG’s Chairperson from March 2004 to October 2007 and is now serving on the organizations Advisory Board. He’s also the Grand Marshall for Pride Toronto 2009.

 

N. Nicole Nussbaum, Barrister & Solicitor is an Employment and Human Rights Lawyer working with the Fred Victor Trans Employment Support Program. She represents both employees and employers on employment agreements, wrongful dismissal litigation, human rights complaints, employment and human rights trainings, corporate employment policy review and drafting, and other related services. Nicole transitioned from male to female in 2006.

 

Susan Gapka is committed to the empowerment of the marginalized community of transgender and transexual people through her dedication to social justice and her activism. She has been vocal in her lobbying the government for the rights of transpeople. Susan has won several awards for her work, worked on several committees, and facilitated many workshops and training sessions.

 

Notisha Massaquoi is originally from Sierra Leone and is the Executive Director of Women's Health in Women's Hands Community Health Centre (WHCHC). Her most recent publication is the edited anthology Theorizing Empowerment: Canadian Perspectives on Black Feminist Thought. She is the winner of the 2008 IRN-Africa Audre Lorde award for outstanding writing and she is currently working on a second collection of writing with Selly Thiam entitled, None on Record: Stories of Queer Africa. Her most recent work has been implementing transgender programming into the WHCHC.

 

Christine Decelles is a volunteer with PWA Speakers Bureau, and an active participant and advocate in the gay community and HIV/AIDS movement who has been living with HIV for 21 years. She has done volunteer work for 10 years at PASAN, working with people who are positive within the prison system. She is the chair of Ritten House, an agency dealing with transformative justice, and also a member of Voices of Positive Women. Christine is working hard to break down the stigma and discrimination around HIV, AIDS, transsexual and transgendered people.

 

Erika Ayala was born in Mexico City, and has been living as a female since she was 15 years old. She first immigrated to the United States where she lived for 10 years, before moving to Canada five years ago. Erika recounts her claim for refugee status, applying as a trans-person and experiencing trans-phobia. The Queer Refugee Experience in Canada

 

Evana Ortigoza is a Trans Sex Outreach Worker with TransPULSE and 519 Community Centre. She was born in Venezuela, immigrated to Canada in 1994, and danced with the National Ballet of Canada for 4 years. She also coordinates the weekly Meal Trans Drop-In for low income trans-people.

The image is a portrait of Horst Petzschler, a German military pilot during World War II. He is wearing a flight helmet and a Luftwaffe uniform, indicated by the insignia on his shoulder board. The image includes a signature at the bottom.

 

Information on Horst Petzschler:

Military Career - He joined the Luftwaffe in April 1941 and flew a total of 297 combat sorties.

Role - He primarily flew fighter-bomber and tank-busting missions in support of ground troops, and also served as an escort for the Stuka unit of Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Combat Record - Petzschler was credited with 26 aerial victories and was shot down 13 times during the war (11 crash landings and 2 bailouts), primarily by anti-aircraft fire.

 

Horst Petzschler received his training at several locations within Germany and France:

Initial Training - He received general military training before reporting to the Flugzeugführerschule A/B 10 at Grottau.

Multi-engine Qualification - After qualifying for his pilot's license, he attended flying schools at Oels, Upper Silisia (1942) and Ohlau to train on multi-engine aircraft. He then served as an instructor at the pilot training school in Prenzlau.

Fighter Pilot Training - He was assigned to JG 105 at Villacoublay, near Paris, for specialized fighter pilot training.

Final Training - He completed his final training on the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-2 near Toulouse, France.

 

Horst Petzschler (Deceased) WWII Luftwaffe Ace Pilot 26 victories in 297 missions for Germany during WWII as a Luftwaffe pilot. Petzschler was shot down 13 times during his combat career, crash-landing 11 times and baling out twice. He was shot down 11 times by flak and twice by enemy fighters. Horst Petzschler volunteered for the Luftwaffe in 1941, and in May 1943, was assigned to JG105 fighter school where he completed his training on the Focke Wulf 190-A2. Posted to JG51 after training and the Geschwaderstab on Aug. 23, 1943, Petzschler was promptly shot down on his first mission by Flak on Sept. 7th. In his role as a Jagdbomber, With Tank Busting his primary mission, He shot down his first Soviet Aircraft on May 11th. On April 13, 1944, With 3 air victories confirmed and 126 fighter bomber missions to his credit, He was transferred to 2./JG3 and the Western front as a Pilot in the Reichsverteidigung. During his first mission on May 12th, He shot down a USAAF B-17 followed by a P-51. Due to damage sustained in the battle with the P-51, He was forced to crash land. On May 14th, He claimed a B-24 Liberator, followed on the 28th of May by his second victory over a P-51 Mustang. During His two months in the Defense of the Reich, he was shot down three times, Taking to his chute once. Petzschler was reassigned to Stab./JG51 and the Russian front, This transfer he believed saved his life due to the high attrition rate in Reichsverteidigung Duty. Back in the East, He claimed his 10th victory in July of 1944, and continued flying ground attack missions. In Sept. of 1944, He was posted as a flight instructor at the Fighter pilot school in Liegnitz, and returned to combat and JG51 on Feb 13, 1945. From this time until May 4, 1945, He claimed 8 more aircraft victories, with his final victory score standing at 26, in 297 missions, flying primarily as a ground attack Pilot. During a transfer flight on May 4, 1945, His aircraft was damaged by Flak, and due to a fuel leak, he made a dead stick landing in Neutral Sweden, and internment for 7 months. He was then handed over to the Russians and imprisoned until Sept 22, 1949. Petzschler was awarded the Ehrenpokal on Sept 10, 1944, and finished the war at the rank of Oberfeldwebel.

 

In the spring of 1945, Hauptmann Joachim Brendel's, III./JG 51 was located in the small German resistance-area, kept by the order of Hitler, in Eastern Prussia. Led by Jagdfliegerführer Otto Weiss, nicknamed "Butcher-Weiss", III./JG 51 was forced to completely senseless missions against a superior enemy. Among the antagonists on the Soviet side, in this area, was the French fighter-pilots of the Air-Regiment "Normandie-Niemen", equipped with the Yak-9. "Normandie-Niemen" undertook 869 missions which 210 German aircraft were shot down and 42 of its own pilots were killed. In the spring of 1945, the III./JG 51 lost, 27 pilots. One of the most successful pilots of III./JG 51 during this period was Feldwebel Horst Petzschler, who downed 22 Soviet aircraft in the last months of the war. When the unit on May 4, 1945, was to leave Eastern Prussia in order to - like most of the Luftwaffe - transfer to Schleswig-Holstein, Petzschler instead flew to neutral Sweden. His arrival in Southern Sweden was quite spectacular, as Petzschler undertook a successful dead stick landing, due to running out of gas, approaching the airport Bulltofta. When the war was over, the Swedish Authorities handed over Petzschler to the Soviet Union where he was kept as POW for four years.

 

Horst, Petzschler was born on September 1st, 1921 in Berlin, Germany and died May 16, 2011 in Wichita, Kansas. Horst had a distinguised career with the Luftwaffe during World War II. He flew with JG/3 and JG/51. During his relatively short career he'd flown 297 combat missions and had 26 confirmed victories to his credit. He was shot down on 13 occasions. One of his most memorable experiences was flying the Messerschmitt 262 twice, although never in combat. He immigrated to Canada in June of 1953. He moved to the United States in 1967 working for several different aircraft companies before finally settling in Wichita, Kansas. After his retirement, he spoke at numerous lectures and air shows held throughout the county and enjoyed sharing his experiences in the Luftwaffe. Horst is survived by his wife, Melissa, children Patrick and Nora Belle.

 

LINK to article - Horst Petzschler, a German fighter pilot that landed at Bulltofta at the end of the war - www.forcedlandingcollection.se/LWe/LW136-Bf109.html

 

LINK to video - Me 109 Pilot Horst Petzschler Part 1 of 2 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM_HujeBmrc

 

LINK to video - Me 109 Pilot Horst Petzschler Pt 2 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhZ5aZ7c08g

.... Born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1823, young Simpson entered the business world at the age of 13 as a clerk in one of that southern city's dry good stores. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Joseph Simpson immigrated to Canada where he obtained work in the grain business. In 1862, he began manufacturing knitted goods which eventually led him to establish the Toronto Knitting Company. The business grew to become one of the largest knitting and yarn companies in the nation. Joseph Simpson died on August 7, 1898, a total of nine members of the Simpson family are interred in the family hillside mausoleum ....

I met Crysel during a BC Culture days event.

 

Crysel looked positively festive in her brightly flowered dress, surrounded by Mexican knickknacks and a large Mexican flag. I immediately thought of my 100 Strangers project and how nice it would be if she was in it. When I told her about the project Crysel seemed very happy to be part of it.

 

I asked Crysel about the challenges she faced upon immigrating to Canada from Mexico. "It's the little things: the climate, the foods, the customs." Crysel studied English and nutrition and now works as a nutritional advisor.

 

Muchas gracias Crysel!

 

Crysel was my 29th in my 100 stranger project. (I am unable to post to the group itself because of this being a repost).

 

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at:

www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/

"Come September " ~ 1961

One of my all-time favorite movies of the sixties " It's September 1st, 2020, wish I was back in 1961, well maybe, a little later since I didn't see this movie until I immigrated to Canada in 64, but Italy was always on my mind. This movie brings back so many sentimental, happy memories.

 

" I don't *have* to make sense! I'm *Italian*!" 🇮🇹🍕🍝😊

 

Love Grows ♥️🌱Autumn Clematis covered in buds is just about to bloom. Do you see the heart? I didn't plant it this way.🍀💚

 

" COME SEPTEMBER "~ 1961

 

STARRING ROCK HUDSON, GINA LOLLOBRIGDA, SANDRA DEE AND BOBBY DARIN

 

youtu.be/te7I_ta7Vzc

Me with Kelly Vanderbeek and John Kucera at the CTV set in the village at Whistler.

 

Kelly VanderBeek – Analyst

A three-time World Cup medallist, VanderBeek, a native of Kitchener, Ont., is one of three members of Canada’s ‘Speed Queens’, including Canadian alpine teammates Britt Janyk and Emily Brydon, all of whom are considered among the country’s brightest stars in their sport. VanderBeek brings a great deal of familiarity of the sport to her broadcasting role at Vancouver 2010, having represented Canada on the World Cup circuit and at the Olympic Games. VanderBeek is unable to compete at the 2010 Winter Games due to injury – a torn ACL in her left knee during a downhill training run in Val d'Isere, France in December 2009. The 27-year-old competed at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin and just missed the podium, finishing 4th in the Ladies Super-G event. VanderBeek is married to fellow Olympian David Ford, a kayaker who competed for Canada at Beijing 2008.

 

John Kucera – Guest Analyst

The reigning downhill World Champion, Kucera began skiing when he was 18 months old and racing at the age of five. The 26-year-old represented Canada at the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games, finishing 17th in the men’s combined event. A three-time World Cup medallist, Kucera captured his first-ever World Championship title in February 2009 at Val d’Isere, France. The native of Calgary was considered a medal threat for Vancouver 2010 before breaking his left tibia and fibula during a crash at a World Cup event at Lake Louise in November 2009. As a child, Kucera, whose parents immigrated to Canada from the Former Czechoslovakia in 1981, attended the last Olympic Games held on Canadian soil at Calgary 1988 and watched the alpine events with his parents.

.... John Samuel Collins was born in Kent, England on January 19, 1874. On April 6, 1912, 38 year old John Collins signed onto Titanic's maiden voyage, as a coal shoveling fireman / stoker. He was one of more than 150 'firemen' or stokers, whose job it was to keep Titanic's 29 colossal boilers at steam, day and night, for the entire journey. It's unclear whether John Collins was on or off duty when Titanic collided with an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, the odds however against his survival were steep, due to both his physical and social position within the ship. Despite the incredible challenges facing them, a number of stokers including Collins, navigated deck by deck, a maze of stairwells, gangways and corridors before they could reach the open air Boat Deck. By the time they emerged into the freezing night air, Collins - who was wearing only a pair of overalls and a thin cotton vest - were immediately put to work by Chief Officer Murdoch, in helping to prepare lifeboat 1 for launch. When no one else seemed to be around - all the nearby lifeboats were gone and the crowd had moved aft, Murdoch permitted Collins and six other stokers to enter the boat, joining five passengers, just before it was lowered. It was the fourth boat launched to sea, at 1:05 AM, over an hour into Titanic's sinking. With a capacity of 40 people, it was launched with only 12 aboard, the fewest to escape in any one boat that night. Most of the occupants of Boat 1 were men, despite Captain Smith's call for "women and children first." First Officer Murdoch, in charge of the evacuation effort on the ship's starboard side, had allowed a number of male passengers & crew to board lifeboats. Murdoch permitted ten men to board lifeboat 1. The passengers included Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon; his wife Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon; her secretary, Mabel Francatelli; Abraham Salomon and C. E. Henry Stengel. The crewmen were: Lookout George Symons, whom Murdoch placed in charge of the craft, Charles Hendrickson, John Collins, George Taylor, Frederick Sheath, Robert Pusey and Albert Horswill. Boat No. 1 and its occupants were picked up by the RMS Carpathia sometime shortly after 4:10 am, being the second Titanic lifeboat to reach the rescue ship. After disembarking the Carpathia in New York and returning home to England, Collins was later called to testify at the British Inquiry into the disaster during the summer of 1912. Afterwards, John Collins and his wife immigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto, Ontario. During World War 1, Collins served in France with the Canadian Field Artillery & Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was wounded and discharged, returning to Canada in 1916. On April 15 1939, Collins put together a reunion for himself and three other Titanic survivors who were living in Toronto at the time. All four survivors met at the Royal York Hotel to have dinner together on the same day the ship went down 27 years earlier. John Samuel Collins died in 1950, age 76 of cancer, at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto and was buried in the military veterans section of Pine Hills Cemetery. .... Section N - Plot 255

   

Wilno is nestled in the rolling, picturesque terrain of the Madawaska valley which was largely shaped during the demise of the Laurentide ice sheet at the end of the last North American Ice Age.

Wilno is the first and oldest Polish settlement in Canada. The original settlers in this area circa 1858 were mainly of Kashubian origin from the then German area of Poland. One of the reasons they chose this area to settle was because of the landscape which reminded them of their original homes.

At one time, John Rudolphus Booth's Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway ran through the town mainly serving the lumber industry. The former train route has now been redeveloped into a recreational path. The former train station has likewise been converted into an early settler building and museum that presents the early history of the town. The museum and open air wodden skansen contain the history of the first Kaszebe people as well as their immigration to Canada, freedom and eventually, after many hardships, their settlement journey to the Wilno area.

Wilno's namesake was the city of Wilno, then in a Russian-occupied area of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, (now Vilnius, capital of Lithuania), the birthplace of Reverend Ludwik Dembski, who was a prominent community spiritual leader and town founder, who would not have wanted the town named after himself. Therefore, the townsfolk, grateful for his contributions to their town, may have suggested the name of Wilno.

Montreal’s Portuguese community is celebrating two big milestones this year: a decade of the “Festival Portugal International de Montreal” and the 70th anniversary of Portuguese immigration to Canada.

 

Meyer Optik Gorlitz Trioplan 35mm f/2.8

Don Cosens Collection

 

M5 S1 Sh1 B1 F14 14

 

Frome, located between Shedden and Talbotville on Talbot Line, was first settled by members of the Silcox family. Daniel Silcox, a native of Frome, England, settled in Southwold Township in 1816. A year later, his brother Joseph (d. 1873) immigrated to Canada and soon after settled on land where Frome is now located. In 1819, Joseph was ordained and formed a church, which later became the Frome Congregational Church and is today the Frome United Church (built in 1888).

 

Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, Frome quickly became a thriving settlement. A school was built across from the church in 1820, and in the proceeding decades a general store and post office (owned by Grant Silcox), blacksmith shops, a flour and sawmill, and a gas station (owned by Wilfred Silcox) were built. Other early settlers in Frome included the Horton, Daugharty, Sharon, Egan, and Sutton families.

 

Tombstone of James W. Cockburn (February 13, 1819 - August 14, 1883) and his wife. He was a lawyer and a politician at both the provincial and federal levels. He was the first speaker in the House of Commons. St. James Cemetery, Toronto, Canada. Spring afternoon, 2021. Pentax K1 II.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cockburn_(Ontario_politician)

 

James W. Cockburn, QC (February 13, 1819 – August 14, 1883) was a Canadian Conservative politician, and a father of Canadian Confederation.

 

Early life

 

He was born in Berwick-Upon-Tweed on the English–Scottish border and immigrated to Canada with his father, James Cockburn Snr. (1787–1832), mother, Sarah Turnbull (1797–1867) and brother, Adam (1820–1861), at the age of 13. After attending Upper Canada College and Osgoode Hall, he established a law practice in Cobourg, Ontario.

 

Career

 

In the 1850s, Cockburn was elected to the town council. In 1861, he was elected to the Province of Canada's legislative assembly as a Reformer representing Northumberland West. Despite elected as an opponent of the Macdonald - Cartier administration, Cockburn switched allegiances and became a supporter of Macdonald's Liberal-Conservative Party.

 

Cockburn attended the Quebec Conference of 1864 as a supporter of Confederation. After Confederation, he was elected to the new House of Commons of Canada in the country's first election. He was nominated by Sir John A. Macdonald to be Canada's first Speaker of the House of Commons, a position in which he served from 1867 to 1874.

 

His performance as Speaker was hindered by the fact that he spoke no French in a chamber in which both English and French were official languages. He did however understand French. In 1872, Cockburn was nominated for a second term as Speaker despite reservations by the Opposition that he had been too favourable to the government in his rulings. Cockburn lost his seat in the 1874 election that had been precipitated by the Pacific Scandal and that brought down the Macdonald government.

 

Cockburn won back his former seat in the 1878 election but did not take an active role in Parliament. He resigned in 1881 when he was appointed to collect and classify Canadian statutes but this assignment was cut short by his death.

 

Death

 

Cockburn died on August 14, 1883 from unknown causes. He is buried in St. James Cemetery, in Toronto.

 

Personal life

 

He married Isabella Susan Patterson (1838-1862) in 1854 and they had three children: Sarah Isabella Cockburn (1857-1911), Francis Cockburn (1858-1868) and May Cockburn (1859-1943).

 

www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cockburn_james_11E.html

 

COCKBURN, JAMES, lawyer, businessman, and politician; b. 13 Feb. 1819 at Berwick upon Tweed, England, son of James Cockburn, a merchant, and Sarah Turnbull; m. 14 Dec. 1854 Isabella Susan Patterson (d. 1862), and they had three children; d. 14 Aug. 1883 at Ottawa, Ont.

 

James Cockburn’s family was of Scottish Presbyterian origin although Cockburn himself was a member of the Church of England by the 1860s. He received his early education at a grammar school in Berwick upon Tweed. In 1832 he came with his family, which seems to have had some financial resources, to Montreal, Lower Canada, where his father died of cholera in the same year. Sarah Cockburn then moved her family to York (Toronto), Upper Canada, and in 1832–33 James continued his education at Upper Canada College.

 

Cockburn began to study law in 1841 and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He then moved to Cobourg and in July of that year began to practise in partnership with D’Arcy Edward Boulton. Cockburn was also involved in other business activities in Cobourg and the surrounding area. In 1856 he was employing men for the construction of a dam, slide, booms, and piers at Campbellford on the Trent River and he was also the Cobourg agent for the Colonial Life Assurance Company. From 1864 to 1870 he acted as mortgage and land agent for Richard John Cartwright*.

 

Meanwhile Cockburn’s legal practice was declining. In 1863 he had been appointed a qc and the following year was elected a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada. By then, however, he was involved in politics and these accolades were probably more political than professional honours; he was not a prominent lawyer. His business affairs also ran into difficulties. In 1864 he tried to borrow money on the security of his Cobourg properties but land values had fallen sharply. By 1866 he was virtually bankrupt and he was never able to restore his financial position. In 1869, admitting that his legal career was in jeopardy, he explained his plight to Cartwright: “I have come to grief and have been made to feel very poor and very penniless. . . . I am trying to work up my professional practice again, but it needs time, and time though it may heal will also kill.”

 

Cockburn was more successful in politics. He served on the Cobourg Town Council in 1855–56 and in 1859. In 1861 he successfully contested Northumberland West against Sidney Smith, postmaster general in the government of George-Étienne Cartier* and John A. Macdonald*. Cockburn was described by Macdonald in 1861 as “a Tory of the old school. In fact, [you] might say he belonged to the old fossil party – a Tory of the old Family Compact . . . .” Promising in the campaign that “If elected my vote shall be given unhesitatingly against [the ministry] on every question involving want of confidence,” Cockburn endorsed representation by population and sought unity of political opinion in Canada West in order to accomplish for it “the objectives we frequently desire.” Although he voted in favour of the government’s militia bill, on which the Cartier–Macdonald ministry was defeated in May 1862, he explained that this support was not an expression of “his confidence” in Macdonald. He endorsed portions of the policy of the new administration formed by John Sandfield Macdonald* and Louis-Victor Sicotte but never committed himself to the Reform ministry. After his election by acclamation in 1863 he emerged as a supporter of John A. Macdonald and remained a Liberal-Conservative for the rest of his career. On 30 March 1864 he was appointed solicitor general in the government of Étienne-Paschal Taché* and John A. Macdonald.

 

Cockburn was not a distinguished parliamentarian nor was he an important regional politician. He administered his portfolio in a routine manner, and attended to the patronage problems of his constituents. With the instability of union politics, which meant frequent change in cabinets, men such as Cockburn who would otherwise have remained obscure rose to ministerial rank. Cockburn had the good fortune to be in office when the “Great Coalition” was formed in 1864 [see George Brown*] and as a minister of the government became a delegate to the Quebec conference. His contributions to the proceedings and to the subsequent debates on confederation in the Legislative Assembly were negligible. Nevertheless, “an inferior man,” as Alexander Mackenzie* privately called him, is remembered as a father of confederation.

 

Cockburn was elected by acclamation to the first federal parliament in 1867. There was no place for him in the cabinet; as compensation he was chosen speaker of the House of Commons. Leading Liberals held the first speaker in low regard and his inability to speak French was resented by some members from Quebec. In 1873, however, he was re-elected to the post. His fortunes declined rapidly after the fall of the Macdonald government in November 1873. He lost Northumberland West in 1874 and was unsuccessful in Northumberland East in a by-election later that year. He moved his family to Ottawa to re-establish himself as a lawyer. The Toronto Daily Mail claimed that he built “a good practice in the Supreme Court,” but he remained destitute. In 1878 he secured the Conservative nomination in Northumberland West after a bitter struggle and won a narrow victory in the general election of that year. However, his political career was virtually over. Cockburn was seriously ill after 1878; his major interest was in securing a patronage post to obtain financial security for himself and his children. In 1871 he had tried to persuade Macdonald to appoint him lieutenant governor of British Columbia. He asked for the speakership again in 1878 and was refused. In 1881 Macdonald finally employed the sick and worried man on the consolidation of the statutes. Cockburn pursued the task informally until ill health forced him to resign his seat on 15 Nov. 1881. He was immediately appointed to the commission for the codification of dominion statutory law. By 1882 Cockburn was too ill to leave his lodgings, but he continued to press Macdonald for patronage until his death.

  

Pacific Mall is an Asian shopping mall in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Opened in the mid-1990s amid a period of significant Chinese immigration to Canada, Pacific Mall is the largest indoor Asian shopping mall in North America.

 

Coming 2021: B&W Night Photography.

Coming 2022: 80s&90s Television.

This is one of the last photos of my Great Grandparent's Steve and Margit (Makranyi) Kapcsos farmstead east of Strawberry Lake near the village of Hill Spring, Alberta. Built by my Great Grandpa Steve and local carpenter, logs were hauled from Pole Haven west of Mountain View, Alberta.

 

My Great Grandpa immigrated to Canada from Polgar, Hungary in 1927. He made it to Saskatchewan working fields rock picking for a farmer. After receiving very little money as was promised to him. He continued on in search of greener pastures, eventually making his journey west, until finally settling in the Hill Spring area.

 

He immediately fell in love with the beauty of this new foreign land that reminded him so much of his homeland of Hungary. He worked hard and received this land in return for his work. He eventually built a smaller shack in order to house his wife, Margret and daughter, who later immigrated to Canada once he had saved up enough money to send back to them for their long journey to Canada. He and another Hungarian carpenter built this house for his growing family. As their family grew the shack was added onto using the small railway waiting room moved from Parkbend, Alberta, 6km south of Hill Spring.

 

In 1947 Steve was struck by a stray bullet from nearby Strawberry Lake while working the fields. He was struck in his back and was taken to hospital where he recovered. Sadly he caught a cold almost a year later and died of kidney failure.

 

Their hopes to build a permanent home on this land was lost with the death of Steve. The now widowed Margit was left to take care of their 5 children and the farm.

 

The farmstead didn't have modern conveniences such as electric power until the mid 1960s. A hole behind the house was used to store food to keep cool, until the addition of modern convenience such as a refrigerator and electricity could be afforded.

 

Margit eventually moved to Cardston, Alberta in 1970 and later sold the farm in 1972. She lived here until eventually moving to a seniors home in Cardston until her death in 2004.

 

The old Kapcsos shack was about to be demolished almost 10 years later in 1980 when the new owners were going to build a new home on the present site. Luckily they decided to move the original home a little to the west for storage. Later it was used as a barn. It has been about 40 years since it was last occupied as a home, here it now sat as a reminder of what life on the Canadian Prairies was like until it was removed in 2009.

 

My Grandpa Steve Jr. was born in a barn just a little west and north of this home in 1932 (died 2015), The house is the last of the original farm and has lasted over 80 years until finally falling in on itself with a little help from a backhoe. It's a good thing we made it out there in time to see it go. I climbed through the hole in the roof and found a couple old tin cans shoes and neat old Hungarian newspapers dated back to 1936, which have now become family-heirlooms.

 

Cardston County, Alberta - March 22, 2008

The Horaceville manor house at Pinhey's Point Historic Site in Dunrobin (Ottawa), Ontario, Canada.

 

The Honourable Hamnett Kirkes Pinhey (1784-1857) immigrated to Canada from England in 1820 to develop his estate, Horaceville, Pinhey's Point. That same year, 1820, he built the first Pinhey house to which additions were made over the next 28 years.

 

This property remained in the Pinhey family until 1971 when March Township purchased it. In 1990 the City of Kanata (now part of the City of Ottawa) acquired Pinhey's Point.

 

.... Napoleon Theodore Lyon - (1843-1919) was an Irish Catholic who immigrated to Canada in 1861. An aspiring artist in stained glass, Lyon began his career in 1868. By the 1880s, he had set up his own stained glass design studio, N. T. Lyon’s studio flourished until the end of the 1920s ....

Pacific Mall is an Asian shopping mall in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Opened in the mid-1990s amid a period of significant Chinese immigration to Canada, Pacific Mall is the largest indoor Asian shopping mall in North America.

 

Coming 2021: B&W Night Photography.

Coming 2022: 80s&90s Television.

From the Ontario Heritage Trust website; “In 1845, the present stone home was erected for Alexander Marr by a Scottish stone mason who immigrated to Canada to work on the Rideau Canal. Note that the original limestone mantels and lintels were originally ship ballast on a schooner into Kingston. Come and learn about the history and the folklore surrounding this site.” www.doorsopenontario.on.ca/Welcome.aspx

 

We visited Doors Open Clarington today. Doors Open Ontario is a series of events produced by the Ontario Heritage Trust and part of my summer activities. It is an opportunity to visit historic and cultural locations across Ontario on weekends in the summer.

 

It was a beautiful day for a drive in the countryside. This was a wonderful farm in Orono, Ontario. There are more images from this day on my blog; bit.ly/MarrHome

 

Also taken a while ago, in the northern part of Holland, Friesland. Where my grandparents originally came from before immigrating to Canada after WWII. It was such a cool experience to meet so many of our relatives we've never even heard of before. As well as hearing the history and our story as a family, such a neat experience.

 

I cannot tell you the name where this photo was taken because during our stay there we had so many names and places to remember and keep in order we could barely remember our own names.

 

(Sorry that all my EuroTRIP photos are out of order, I am in the process of going back and editing all the photos that didn't get the attention while I was over there. Thanks again)

senhorsantocristo.com/new/

 

Montreal’s Portuguese community is celebrating two big milestones this year: a decade of the “Festival Portugal International de Montreal” and the 70th anniversary of Portuguese immigration to Canada.

 

Meyer Optik Gorlitz Trioplan 35mm f/2.8

Back in the days when an outdoor ice rink could be relied upon to stay frozen all winter long. Wouldn't do too badly here over the last few days...-13 Celsius (9 Fahrenheit) which feels like -23 Celsius with the windchill (-9 Fahrenheit). I'm sure my parents had no concept of this kind of cold when they left behind the Adriatic coast in Italy to immigrate to Canada.

My wife's grandmother of the Daegu Seo Family, granddaughter of 서상돈. Her name in Korean is Seo Bok Kyoung (서복경). After marrying, she immigrated to Canada and changed her name to Josephine Lee.

 

michaelgallagher.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/old-photographs....

From Egbertine van Loon - 212 - 2995 Princess Crescent Coquitlam, B.C. V3B7N1 to mevr C. ten Have- Althuis - Anton Mauvestraat 8 Heemstede Holland - Dated 11 X 1994

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Frederick Horsman Varley, also known as Fred Varley (January 2, 1881 – September 8, 1969), was a member of the Canadian Group of Seven artists.

 

Varley was born in Sheffield, England in 1881. He studied art in Sheffield and attended Académie royale des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, where he worked on the docks. He immigrated to Canada in 1912 on the advice of another Sheffield native (and future Group of Seven member), Arthur Lismer, and found work at the Grip Ltd. design firm in Toronto, Ontario.

 

Beginning in January 1918, he served in the First World War with C.W. Simpson, J.W. Beatty and Maurice Cullen. Varley came to the attention of Lord Beaverbrook, who arranged for him to be commissioned as an "official war artist." He accompanied Canadian troops in the Hundred Days offensive from Amiens, France to Mons, Belgium. His paintings of combat are based on his experiences at the front. Although he had been enthusiastic to travel to France as a war artist, he became deeply disturbed by what he saw:

 

“ We’d be healthier to forget [the war], and that we never can. We are forever tainted with its abortiveness and its cruel drama".

 

Varley's Some Day the People Will Return, shown at Burlington House in London and at the Canadian War Memorials Exhibition, is a large canvas depicting a war-ravaged cemetery, suggestive that even the dead cannot escape the destruction.

 

Group of Seven

 

In 1920, he was a founding member of the Group of Seven. He was known for painting landscapes. He painted people in green, pink, or purple. His and A.Y. Jackson's contribution in the war influenced work in the Group of Seven. They chose to paint Canadian wilderness that had been damaged by fire or harsh climates. Varley's major contribution to art is his work with the Group of Seven. He was the only original member of the Group of Seven to specialize in portraiture.

 

After living in Ontario for a number of years, Varley moved to Vancouver, BC in 1926 where he became Head of the Department of Drawing and Painting at the School of Decorative and Applied Arts in Vancouver at the invitation of Charles Hepburn Scott. He remained in this position from 1926 until 1933. He left British Columbia in 1936 due to his experiences with depression, and two years later joined fellow artists on a trip to the Arctic in 1938. In 1954, along with a handful of artists including Eric Aldwinckle, he visited the Soviet Union on the first cultural exchange of the Cold War.

 

He died in Toronto in 1969 and was buried alongside other members of the Original Seven at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection grounds in Kleinburg, Ontario.

 

In Markham, Ontario, the Varley Art Gallery is named after him, as is Fred Varley Drive, a two-lane residential street in Unionville. Varley lived nearby at the Salem-Eckhardt House from 1952 to 1969.

 

On 6 May 1994 Canada Post issued 'Vera (detail), F.H. Varley, 1931' in the Masterpieces of Canadian art series. The stamp was designed by Pierre-Yves Pelletier based on an oil painting "Vera", (1931) by Frederick Horsman Varley in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The 88¢ stamps are perforated 14 x 14.5 and were printed by Leigh-Mardon Pty Limited.

 

His secure place in the art history of Canada is verified by the government's decision to reproduce his self-portrait as a 17-cent postage stamp. On 22 May 1981 Canada Post issued 'Frederick H. Varley, Self Portrait' designed by Pierre Fontaine. The stamps are based on an oil painting "Self Portrait", (circa 1945) by Frederick Horsman Varley in the Hart House Permanent Collection, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. The 17¢ stamps are perforated 12.5 and were printed by Ashton-Potter Limited (Wikipedia).

Wall decor sailboat built by my wife’s grandfather in the early 1970’s. “Grammpa Louis” was a small but mighty fellow who shared his love of life with everyone he met. His favourite past times were hunting & fishing, but his real talent was the gift of story telling. When Louis immigrated to Canada he and his family settled in the small town of Minto New Brunswick where he worked as Coal Miner, until retirement. Before his passing in 2001 he was recognized for being one of the oldest living Coal Miners in New Brunswick. Day 27 honours Louis Wuhr 1907 - 2001

The second day of the CitizenU workshop during Youth Politik. Although I was a bit late, I thankfully didn't miss anything major in the beginning, so here is my summary of everything I did see. I summarized a 7 hour session into a 15-20 minute read, so enjoy! :x

 

At the part I arrived in we were learning about the stair-case structure that showed how

discrimination is created through stereotypes and prejudice. Discrimination and stereotypes are also created through positions of power such as males being more dominate over females even though females make up 52% of the population for example.

 

The dominate culture in a location defines the stereotype and discrimination that is seen and accepted. So in India for example instead of white people being dominate, racism would be directed to them in certain cases. There is also a power system that defines how some people may act towards others in a lower class, not acknowledging the power system causes problems in some cases. Although we are trying to become less discriminatory and racist we always have to be conscious about how we act towards other people, otherwise we will regress back to how we were in regards to discrimination.

 

We normalize discriminatory language like "that's so gay", "fag", or "retard" to name a few that are in common use. These are used in a joking manor by many who fail to see that they are hurtful words..

 

There was an experiment done in Vancouver, two resumes that were the exact same apart from one having a white sounding name and the other having an asian/foreign name, were handed out to various businesses to see which one would get the most call backs. It was found that the white name got 40% more opportunities then the asian/foreign one. It was shown that the way your name sounds defines the prejudice that you would receive even before you meet someone!

 

Check-out a book by Peggy Macintosh called Unpacking White Privilege for other details on this.

 

After lunch was the first workshop of the afternoon. I choose to go to the Anti-Racism workshop.

 

First think of what racism is to you. There are different types of racism such as systemic (in the government, etc) , ethno-violence (violence between different ethnicities), social oppression (when one ethnicity oppresses another when they have a position of power), internalized racism (within the same ethnicity), and ethnocentrism (where one ethnicity believes it is the best). Reverse racism is when the minority race (in power or representation) makes fun of the dominate race.

 

Racism has no genetic base, so genetics do not define someone is or isn't good at. There are no human subspecies as well since we weren't isolated from each other long enough to evolve differently.

 

Canada has a long history with racism against native people and immigrants since its creation. Such as residential schools for native people, the Komagata Maru incident which turned back 376 Indians, the Chinese Head Tax which was made to try and stop Chinese immigration to Canada, and the Japanese Internment Camps that were made to hold people of Japanese decent while World War 2 was going on. Vancouver itself has traditionally been a very racist city, with it being a port city, it was where many immigrants passed through on their way into Canada. So much diversity in a single location is bound to cause problems overtime.

 

One of the current issues is that immigrants that were doctors, engineers,or CEO's with very good foreign credentials and education are unable to get jobs here in the supposed "land of opportunities". People, who if given the chance, could give a lot to the economy here and yet they end up driving cabs or working as janitors.

 

Discrimination happens everywhere and to everyone. There are many stories we don't hear or even try to look for.

 

Do you think that racism is okay if it is used in comedy? Is it okay if you do it against your own race?

 

There is a limit to anti-discrimination though. When death threats are made and violence is threatened against someone for what comments they made, you cannot even consider it to be anything else but another form of extreme discrimination.

 

For some people there is a legitimate reason as to why they are racist to a certain group (such as being severely bullied) but even then...

 

You can always do something even if you are only a witness to discrimination, be it speaking to the victim, speaking to the offender, or speaking to other witnesses to try and alleviate or stop the discrimination from happening again. It's always good to say something but make sure you stay safe as well, so you don't necessarily need to confront the offender.

 

Discrimination occurs when one side is dominate.

 

Homophobia Workshop:

 

What is homophobia? It is considered to be a fear of gay people but it's a really broad topic that encompasses much more.

 

LGBTQ2S is an acronym that encompasses what the entire homosexual community is:

• L stands for lesbian. Women that love other women

• G stands for gay. Men that love other men

• B stands for bisexual. One person who likes both genders equally

• T stands for transgender/transsexual. Transgender is an umbrella term that refers to people's gender identity. Transsexual refers to people who want or need a gender change because they don't feel right in the body they were born with.

• Q stands for queer. Queer is an overarching umbrella term that encompasses the acronym but is normally used in a negative way.

• 2S stands for Two-spirited, which is a term normally used by indigenous people. It is used to describe people who do activities that are done by both sides or people who wear the clothes of the opposite gender. It is used in a revered and respected manner. It's best to check up on this term on your own, since I missed a few key meanings as I was taking my notes :s

 

In some countries, were being a homosexual is illegal, people have managed to survive through sex change surgeries (going from male to female or female to male) since they would technically be considered straight if they were the opposite sex.

 

Homophobia stems from strong religious belief, no contact with queers, and fear of rejection from peers to name a few causes.

 

Homophobia stereotypes such as:

• it is considered a mental illness

• homosexuals are mostly in the arts, are nurses, or body builders

• they are emotionally unstable and unreliable

• homosexual men are effeminate & lesbians are "mannish"

• they are promiscuous

• one stereotype that I have not heard of is that homosexual males pray on young children. The Surrey school board once banned children's books because they believed it may cause the children to become like that in the future. Gay teachers weren't even allowed to teach at this time.

 

10% of the population is gay, so this situation presents a perfect opportunity for discrimination to occur since a large portion of the population is not educated about it.

 

Empathy plays a large part in fighting homophobia (and any other type of discrimination) since people who are able to put themselves in the shoes of those being discriminated against, get a far better understanding of what the victim of homophobia is going through.

 

In a situation of discrimination there are three parts to it; The witness, the offender, and the victim. The witness is the one who just watches and does nothing since they believe it's none of their business, the offender is the one who creates the situation, and everyone should know what a victim is and what it's like to be a victim.

 

The media plays another large part in what normal people believe about homosexual people.

 

One thing to remember, is that homosexual people are not aliens, they aren't THAT different from each and everyone of us "normal" people, so they deserve to be treated just like any other person and have the same rights.

 

After that, we had the final closing remarks and game to end the session with.

 

Of course I am missing things since this is just a summary of everything that happened in today's workshops, so get informed and do your own research as well!

 

The CitizenU program should be launching soon in various communities in Vancouver, so keep an eye out for it and try to sign-up if it's in your area! :D

 

Other mentions of the CitizenU program in my photo project:

Day 126: www.flickr.com/photos/sukhrajb/5694878315/in/set-72157625...

Day 83: www.flickr.com/photos/sukhrajb/5558059088/in/set-72157625...

Day 59: www.flickr.com/photos/sukhrajb/5488366552/in/set-72157625...

The church of St Thomas was burnt out during a German Air Raid, and presumably any memorial that existed from the time of the Great War was consumed in the flames. Certainly when Jarrolds published a list of the Norfolk dead, circa 1922, there is reference to a parish list. This has now been photocopied, laminated and displayed in the church.

 

Apologies for the glare - if viewed large then all names are visible.

 

WW1

 

Beckham, Walter

 

Most likely

 

Name: BECKHAM Initials: W J

Rank: Corporal

Regiment: Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 7th Bn.

Age: 31

Date of Death: 08/10/1916

Service No: 12245

Additional information: Husband of Edith Beckham, of 85, Gertrude Rd., Norwich. Grave/Memorial Reference: XVI. E. 11A. Cemetery: ETAPLES MILITARY CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=498936

 

No match on Norlink

 

The Great War Roll of Honour has only one Walter Beckham listed, and that’s Corporal Walter J, serial number 12245 who died in 1916.

 

There is no obvious match on the 1901 census for Walter - of the three possible, one born circa 1892 East Dereham and still resident there looks a possibility. However, on the 1911 census, the only match for a Walter Beckham in the whole of England and Wales, is one born Norwich circa 1885 and still resident there. Also in the household is an Edith Beckham, but she is aged 4, (born Norwich), Gladys, (aged 3, born Norwich), Donald, (aged 7 months, born Norwich). From the Genes Re-united site I can see there is an Edith, born circa 1884, Norwich, but I’ve not been able to confirm via the high-level search that I have access to whether she was part of the same household or not.

 

Walter appears on the Boys Model School Roll of Honour, which is in Norwich Cathedral. Detailed work has been done on this, which can be seen here

www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/NorwichBoysModelSchool.html

Son of Samuel J. Beckham and Rachel Beckham of 46 Cardiff Road, Norwich. Husband of Edith Beckham of 85 Gertrude Road, Norwich. Born South Heigham, Norwich. Enlisted Norwich. His occupation is given as apprentice carpenter on the 1901 Census.

 

His parents address probably explains why he is on the St Thomas Roll of Honour.

 

Etaples Military cemetery

During the First World War, the area around Etaples was the scene of immense concentrations of Commonwealth reinforcement camps and hospitals. It was remote from attack, except from aircraft, and accessible by railway from both the northern or the southern battlefields. In 1917, 100,000 troops were camped among the sand dunes and the hospitals, which included eleven general, one stationary, four Red Cross hospitals and a convalescent depot, could deal with 22,000 wounded or sick

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=56500&...

 

The Battalion had been in support in at attack on Bayonet Trench, NE of Guedecourt on the 7th October. Before that they had been in and out of the front line since arriving back in the Somme Sector on the 1st October. Prior to that they had been in the Arras sector, where both sides practised very active trench-raiding.

 

Beckett, William

 

Name: BECKETT, WILLIAM THOMAS

Rank: Engine Room Artificer 4th Class

Service: Royal Navy

Unit Text: R.N. H.M.S. Bulwark.

Age: 22

Date of Death: 26/11/1914

Service No: M/6629(PO)

Additional information: Son of Thomas and Amelia Beckett. of I, Carnarvon Rd., Earlham Rd., Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: 48. 38. Cemetery: NORWICH CEMETERY, Norfolk

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2803047

 

See my Flickr shot of his headstone.

www.flickr.com/photos/43688219@N00/2723115015/in/set-7215...

 

A picture of William can be seen on Norlink

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

The accompanying notes are:- Mr. Beckett, of 1 Caernavon Road, Norwich, enlisted September 3rd 1913. He was killed by an explosion of magazines on H.M.S. Bulwark and buried at Norwich Cemetery

 

From the outbreak of World War I she (HMS Bulwark) carried out Channel patrol duty and on the 26th November 1914 while loading ammunition at Sheerness, she was destroyed by a huge explosion, probably caused by black powder charges being mishandled, only 12 men survived.

 

www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/bulwark.htm

(Various pictures of the Bulwark can also be seen at the same site.)

Details of the investigation into the accident can be read here

www.nhcra-online.org/20c/bulwark.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Bulwark_(1899)

And finally a Beckett family site gives more details on the family.

www.cave-kids.com/data/beckett/thomas_1862.htm

 

Bower, Charles F

 

Name: BOWER, CHARLES FRANCIS

Rank: Captain

Regiment: Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)

Unit Text: 16th Bn.

Age: 26

Date of Death: 13/09/1917

Additional information: Son of James Garton Bower and Helen Brook Bower, of Earlham House, Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: II. D. 1. Cemetery: LA CLYTTE MILITARY CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=438189

 

A picture of Captain Bower can be seen on Norlink here

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The accompanying notes read

“Born 27th July 1891, the son of James G. and Helen H. Bower, Earlham House, Earlham Road, Norwich. He enlisted in the summer of 1915, and was killed on the 13th September 1917 “

 

The 9 year old Charles F, born Norwich, is recorded on the 1901 census at Ealham House, 148 Earlham Road. This is the household of his parents, James G, (aged 48 and an Iron Merchant\Iron Founder from Norwich) and Helen B, (aged 46 and from Huddersfield). Their other children are:-

George Noel Bower…………aged 16.……..born Norwich

William Le Neve Bower…….aged 17.…….born Norwich….”Learning Engineering”

 

The Bowers also have two live-in servants.

 

In 1887 Barnards became a Limited Company and Mr. James Bower took an active part in the affairs of the firm. By the beginning of the 20th century he had re-designed and re-built all the wire netting machinery and invented a special machine for weaving mixed mesh wire netting which was patented. Many thousands of miles of this netting were supplied to Australia for rabbit fencing.

 

The company became known as Barnards Limited in 1907 with Mr. Bower as Managing Director. During the 1914 -18 War Barnards supplied the Government with upwards of 7,000 miles of wire netting for road making across the Egyptian desert and the formation of revetments to trenches in the War Zone. Two hundred of the workers enlisted, and fifteen died, including the Managing Director‘s son, Mr. Charles F. Bower, who was killed near Hill 60, just as he had been gazetted to the rank of Captain.

 

www.heritagecity.org/research-centre/industrial-innovatio...

 

I can’t at this stage find any details of the battalion being in action at this time, which was a comparatively quiet period in the Battle of Passcendaele, as both sides re-grouped for the next phase of fighting.

 

Browne, E F

 

Name: BROWNE, ERNEST FREDERICK

Rank: Corporal

Regiment: Suffolk Regiment

Unit Text: 11th Bn.

Age: 24

Date of Death: 28/04/1917

Service No: 43399

Additional information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Frederick Browne, of 25, Neville St., Norwich.

Memorial Reference: Bay 4. Memorial: ARRAS MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=742615

 

A picture of Corporal Browne can be seen on Norlink here

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

There are no accompanying notes

 

There is no obvious match for Ernest on the 1901 census. On the 1911 high level search, there is an Ernest Frederick Browne born Norwich circa 1893 and still resident there.

He is still resident in the same household as Alfred Frederick Browne, who was born circa 1866.

 

Going back to the 1901 census we can find Alfred, and looking at the census takers hand-writing on the original sheet I can understand why the transcribers at the various genealogy sites have got the family details wrong J

 

The family are at 38 Cardiff Road

Alfred F, (transcribed as Alfred J), is aged 38 and a Printers Compositor from Norwich.

His wife, probably Bessie, (transcribed as Busia), is aged 36 and from Lowestoft

Son Everard A, is aged 10

Son Ernest F (transcribed as Epusei F), is aged 8

Daughter Alice M. (transcribed as Alise M), is aged 4

 

Ernest is recorded as having enlisted in Lowestoft.

www.curme.co.uk/casualts.htm

 

On the 28th the 11th Suffolks were involved in directly attacking Roeux, where they suffered heavy casualties.

 

28th April

4.25 a.m. Barrage commences.

4:27 a.m. Bn advanced to attack. The Bn was held up and driven back by very considerable hostile machine gun fire from a trench which had been entirely missed by our barrage. What was left of our Bn formed up in our front line.

5:30 a.m. Major G.L.J. Tuck went up to our front line to reorganise our defenses. In the front line were 5 officers, 300 other ranks (including 2 officers and 60 other ranks from 16th Royal Scots.

9:45 a.m. Enemy counter attack from Roeux captured Mount Pleasnt Wood and part of Ceylon (communication) trench.

10 a.m. All communications with the front line cut off. Enemy driven out of Ceylon Trench and out of Mount Pleasant Wood.

10 p.m. Bn moved out of front line trench & support line to enable the heavies to bombard the chemical works. Moved back into the front line at midnight.

www.curme.co.uk/april.htm#Arras

 

Cann, George Leonard

 

Name: CANN, GEORGE LEONARD

Rank: Private

Service: Australian Infantry, A.I.F.

Unit Text: 57th Bn.

Date of Death: 29/09/1918

Service No: 3367

Additional information: Son of Mrs. Sarah Arm Cann, of 77, Caernarvon Rd., Norwich, England.

Grave/Memorial Reference: I. D. 15. Cemetery: BELLICOURT BRITISH CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=238012

 

A picture of Private Cann can be seen on Norlink here

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

There are no additional notes.

 

From the Australian War Memorial site

Place of birth Malling, Kent, England

School Avenue Road School, Norwich, England

Age on arrival in Australia 15.6

Religion Church of England

Occupation Bank clerk

Address North Melbourne, Victoria

Marital status Single

Age at embarkation 19

Next of kin Mother, Mrs S A Cann, 77 Carnarvon Road, Norwich, Norfolk, England Previous military service Nil

Enlistment date 11 April 1917

Rank on enlistment Private

Unit name 57th Battalion, 9th Reinforcement

AWM Embarkation Roll number 23/74/4

Embarkation details Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A29 Suevic on 21 June 1917

Fate Killed in Action 29 September 1918

Place of death or wounding Bellicourt, France

Age at death 20

Family/military connections Brother: 19962 Sergeant William Stannard CANN, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, returned to Australia, 12 May 1919.

www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=45545

 

By the time of the 1911 census, a George Leonard Cann, born circa 1898 Malling, Kent was recorded in Norwich. However there is no obvious match for the same individual in the 1901 census.

 

There is also no obvious match for brother William on either the 1901 or 1911 censuses.

 

The Australian Army Records for George Leonard Cann, can be seen here

naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=3202335

At the time he enlisted, he noted his form that his father was already deceased.

 

There is a letter from his mother giving, (reluctantly) her consent for him to enlist even though he wasn’t yet 18. However, she signs herself Mrs G S Cann, and states she would prefer for her son to be known as “A.Slacker” - very odd.

 

There is a note from the Battalion adjutant, stating that he was killed by shellfire and death was instantaneous.

 

In his will he names his mother as Sarah Ann Cann.

 

The Australian Army records for his brother, William Stannard Cann, can be seen here

naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=3202426

Once again, mother Sarah Ann Cann is listed as the next of kin, but interestingly, on his enlistment papers signed in November 1915 it states fathers whereabouts unknown.

He proceeded to France from Training camp in England in November 1916. He actually served most of his time in a Trench Mortar Battery, being wounded a couple of times.

It was only after the end of the war that he was moved to the Field Artillery Brigade.

 

The Battalion would be engaged in an attack on the St Quentin canal at dawn on the 29th September, but I suspect Private Cann was already dead at that point.

 

Extract from the Battalion War Diary for the 28th.

 

Weather Cold and Bleak. Fine rain fell during the afternoon. Blankets were sent up at 8am and issued to the men. Enemy artillery shelled our area persistently during the morning and some casualties were sustained, including 2/Lieut.B G PITCHER wounded. (the rest of the entry deals with the peparations for the next days attack).

 

Cooke, John Edward

 

Possibly

Name: COOKE, JOHN EDWARD

Rank: Lance Corporal

Regiment: Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 1st/4th Bn.

Date of Death: 21/08/1915

Service No: 2551

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 42 to 44. Memorial: HELLES MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=680910

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious matches on the 1911 census for a John Edward with a Norfolk connection.

 

From the diary of Captain Montgomerie, of the 1st/4ths.

 

21st. - Standing to arms at 3 p.m. as an attack was commenced on our right. There was no movement in our part of the battle-field. At night a party of Turks tried to make 'an advanced trench but this was stopped by the torpedo boat on the left and the machine-guns.

user.online.be/~snelders/sand.htm

 

Corbe, John Bennett

 

No obvious match - original source checked

 

No match on Norlink. No match on Great War Roll of Honour.

 

To be investigated further:-

 

Name: CORKE

Initials: J B

Rank: Private

Regiment: Royal Scots

Unit Text: Depot

Date of Death: 14/12/1918

Service No: 352029

Grave/Memorial Reference: O. 28. Cemetery: BLACKPOOL (LAYTON) CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=372843

 

Great War Roll of Honour has down as a John B., and he is the only John B.

 

On the Military Geneology site, John Bennett Corke was born Craigellachie, and resided in Blackpool at the time of his enlistment.

 

There is no-one with the surname Corbe recorded on the Genes Re-united transcription of the 1901 census. Both genes re-united and findmypast have only one Corbe listed in the whole of England and Wales, a 16 year girl called Doris from Nottinghamshire, on the 1911 census. There are 27 individuals with the surname Corbe on the 1891 census, but most of them were either born in Russia or Poland, and with first names like Abraham, Benjamin, Israel and Jacob for the men, and Rachel and Sarah for the woman, the likelihood is that these were first generation refugees from the religious persecutions in their homeland. They are nearly all to be found in the East End of London, with another little cluster in Leeds.

 

I then went on to look at Thomas Corke below. That individual is covered by a family history web-site, which at first threw me off the scent, but by eventually its uncovered a possibility. (The author had stated that the Corke’s were recorded as Cooke’s, and their in-laws who were living with them were the Barry family, not the Berry family - I must give praise to their servant Edith Tibbles, otherwise I would never have found them.

familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/o/r/Pamela-A-Corke/...

 

Thomas Corke’s grandfather was a John Corke, who had been widowed and then re-married.

 

On the 1901 census, John, (aged 62 and a Retired Inland Revenue Officer from Leicester), was living with his new wife, Clara E, (aged 38 and a British subject from the US), at 5 St Phillips Road, Norwich. Also in the household was his wife’s brother, Samuel H Barry, (a 48 year old Retired Fruit Salesman who was also a British subject from the US), and his wife, Ida F, (aged 41 and a Retired Schoolmistress, again a British subject from the US).

 

This is where it gets interesting - also in the household is John’s son Francis L, (aged 29 and a widower from Norwich, who is a greengrocer by trade). There is then a grandson, John F, (aged 3 and from Norwich). It would not be unreasonable to assume John F is the son of Francis.

 

Corke, Thomas

 

Possibly (see Norlink picture)

 

Name: CORKE, CHARLES THOMAS

Rank: Private

Regiment: 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion

Age: 21

Date of Death: between 14/09/1916 and 16/09/1916

Service No: 126277

Additional information: Son of Alice Rebecca Corke, of 37, St. Vincent St., Stratford, Ontario, and the late Charles George Corke.

Memorial: VIMY MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1566641

 

Private Corke can be seen on Norlink here

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The accompanying notes read

Lance Corporal was born in Fakenham, 11th August 1895 and educated at the Municipal Secondary School in Norwich. He enlisted in September 1915 and was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme, 14th September 1916.

 

His Canadian Enlistments papers can be seen on line, and actually state he was born Norwich, (not Fakenham) on the 11th August 1895. He enlisted in September 1915.

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.02-e...

 

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.02-e...

 

His next of kin is given as Charles George Corke, of 52 Victoria Street, Stratford, Ontario. He was a Telephone Inspector by trade, single, and had served 4 years as a volunteer in the 28th Perth Regiment.

 

There is more about the Corke family and their immigration to Canada here - and following through the family tree, there is even a clue as who the John Bennett “Corbe” might be.

familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/o/r/Pamela-A-Corke/...

 

Battalion War Diary - September 1916

data4.collectionscanada.ca/netacgi/nph-brs?s1=5th+Canadia...

 

Cross, Fred

 

Name: CROSS Initials: F J

Rank: Private

Regiment: York and Lancaster Regiment

Unit Text: 7th Bn.

Age: 27

Date of Death: 27/05/1918

Service No: 235620

Additional information: Son of Herbert and Mary A. Cross, of 39, Winter Road, Norwich. Scoutmaster of the 17th Norwich B.P. Scouts.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Plot 1. Row D. Grave 18. Cemetery: ACHEUX BRITISH CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=117888

 

The Great War Roll of Honour confirms that 235620 Private F J Cross is a Frederick J.

 

No match on Norlink

 

There is no obvious match for Frederick with a Norwich connection on either the 1901 or 1911 census, although there is a Frederick G shown on the Genes Reunited Transcription of the 1911 census which might be a transcription error. That individual was born Norwich circa 1891.

 

Using the Find my Past site, we can confirm that Frederick Cross lives in the same household as Herbert Frederick Cross (aged 46), Mary Anne Cross, (aged 47) and George H.Cross. (aged 17) on the 1911 census. Going back to Genes Reunited for the same census reveals that Herbert was from Aldbury, Hants and Mary Anne came from Norwich.

 

The Military Genealogy site lists a Frederick Joseph born Lakenham, Norwich.

 

Neither Herbert, Mary or Frederick appear to be on the 1901 census for England and Wales..

 

The 7th Battalion was the Divisional Pioneers of the 17th (Northern Division).

 

Cross, George

 

Probably

Name: CROSS, GEORGE

Rank: Private

Regiment: Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 8th Bn.

Secondary Regiment: London Regiment (Post Office Rifles)

Secondary Unit Text: posted to 8th Bn.

Date of Death: 24/04/1918

Service No: 30051

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 23. Memorial: POZIERES MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1579496

 

No match on Norlink

 

There is no obvious match for George on the 1901 census. The 1911 high level search has a George H, born Norwich circa 1894 and still resident there. This would appear to be the correct individual - see brother Frederick above.

 

The 8th Norfolks, along with many other units were disbanded in February 1918 as part of a general Army re-organisation. There is on-line the memoirs of one soldier, who had been an NCO with the battalion but who subsequently had been an instructor at a sniping and scouting school teaching newly arrived American troops, and who had then been posted to the 8th Battalion London Regiment as a Company Sergeant Major as his old unit no longer existed. He fought with them during the March battles of the German Spring Offensive, where their casualties were replaced with two companys of men, apparently all ex-8th Norfolks.

hastang.co.uk/pdf/Scouting on the Somme.pdf

 

D‘eath, Arthur

 

Probable

Name: DEATH Initials: A

Rank: Corporal

Regiment: Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 2nd/5th Bn.

Date of Death: 30/11/1915

Service No: 3598

Grave/Memorial Reference: 55. 239. Cemetery: NORWICH CEMETERY, Norfolk

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2803111

 

As “A” Death didn’t die in a Theatre of War, his death was not recorded in the Great War Roll of Honour issued by the HMSO, circa 1921/1922.

 

Possible

Name: DEATH, ARTHUR JOSEPH

Rank: Private

Regiment: Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 8th Bn.

Date of Death: 22/10/1916

Service No: 43599

Grave/Memorial Reference: Pier and Face 1 C and 1 D. Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=756464

 

(On Military Geneology, Arthur Joseph is recorded as born Kirkley, Lowestoft. No place of residence at the time of enlistment is recorded.)

 

There is a picture of Arthur Joseph on Norlink

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The accompanying notes read

Private D'Eath was born at Kirkley, Lowestoft on 5th December 1878. He enlisted circa 1914 and killed in action in France, 22nd October 1916

 

The only likely candidate on the 1901 census is a 22 year old Arthur, born Norwich and employed as a Boot Finisher, who is recorded as a Boarder at 15 Ashbone Street, Norwich. I don’t believe that exists anymore, but it was in the Parish of St John Selpuchre.

 

To add to the confusion, the only matching entry for age on the 1911 census was born Kirkley, Lowestoft and was now resident Norwich..

 

I suspect this is Arthur Joseph, and the 1901 individual is either someone completely different who for some reason wasn’t recorded in 1911, or the 1901 census taker simply got it wrong, Going back to the 1891 census makes me plump for the latter option. There is no Arthur D’eath born Norwich, circa 1879, but there is an Arthur D’eath born circa 1879 in Lowestoft who was recorded at 11, Old Palace Road, Norwich.

 

This is the household of his parents, Arthur, (aged 36 and a Painter from Hadleigh, Suffolk) and Elizabeth, (aged 27 and from Norwich). Their other children are Fred, (aged 15 and an Errand Boy from Lowestoft), Florence M, (aged 2 and from Norwich), and Henry (aged 1 and from Norwich), Given the age of the oldest two boys, Elizabeth must have been their step-mother - she’d only have been 12 when Fred was born !

 

Saturday 21st October 1916. Day 113

Thiepval

 

Zero Hour was set for 12.06pm but the Germans set the ball rolling at 5am with an attack on Schwaben Redoubt, still occupied by 39th Div. 17th King’s Royal Rifle Cops and 14th Hampshires drove the Germans back with grenades.

 

18th Div attacked with two battalions of 53 Bde- 10th Essex and 8th Norfolks advancing in line with the Canadians on their right flank. The Norfolks were caught up in a bombing fight near the Grandcourt-Courcelette road which they won with the aid of the Lancashire Fusiliers of 25th Div.

 

Sunday 22nd October 1916. Day 114

 

Thiepval

 

19th Div relieved 25th Div and also took over the right sector of 39th Div. 18th Div extended it’s left flank to the Pozieres-Miraumont Road

 

forum.irishmilitaryonline.com/showthread.php?t=9058&p...

 

Appendix 3 to the Battalion War Diary for October 1916 is a Short History of the Regina Trench Operations 21st, 22nd and 23rd October

 

Fourth Phase. 6 a.m to 6 p.m 22nd October

 

The enemy shelled REGINA more or less steadily through-out the day, but did not put up a heavy barrage on it. He also shelled VANCOUVER and HESSIAN, generally with 5.9, most of the shells seemed to come from LOUPART WOOD. Consolidation was pushed on with throughout the day.

 

Fifth Phase 6 p.m 22nd October to 6 a.m 23rd October

 

At 6 pm I decided to make the following changes in my line:-

………………………………................................................................................................

Company……………………..From………….To…………………………..Relieving

“A”…………………………VANCOUVER….REGINA…………………..”B” and “D”

“B”…………………………REGINA…………HESSIAN…………………Posts of “A”

“D”…………………………REGINA…………VANCOUVER……………”A”

“C”…Remained in Regina

************************************************************************

This relief was completed about 8 p.m and “D” Company immediately commenced work on KENORA TRENCH to open up communication between HESSIAN and REGINA. This company worked exceedingly well through-out the night and by 3 a.m KENORA was completely opened up, in spite of the fact that the Company was subjected to a very large amount of whiz bangs.

Between 5 am and 6 am 23rd, our guns opened a very heavy bombardment along the whole Army front. The Boche retaliation was conspicuously feeble.

 

Fish, Albert

 

Name: FISH, ALBERT ERNEST

Rank: Private

Regiment: Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: "C" Coy. 7th Bn.

Age: 23

Date of Death: 28/04/1918

Service No: 43195

Additional information: Son of William Frederick and Edith Rebecca Fish, of 284, Dereham Rd. Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: A. 52. Cemetery: MAILLY-MAILLET COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=282736

 

There is a picture of Private Fish on Norlink

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The accompanying note is that he was killed on the 28th April 1918.

 

The 6 year old Albert, born Norwich, is recorded on the 1901 census at 78 Nile Street, Norwich. This is the household of his parents, William, (aged 36 and a Printer\Compositor from Norwich), and Edith, (aged 32 and from Norwich). Their other children are:-

Dorothy……….aged 7.………..born Norwich

Edith………….aged 9.………..born Norwich

Hannah……….aged 4.…………born Norwich

William………aged 12.………..born Norwich

 

On this day the battalion war diary notes that two shells hit a dug-out held by C Company. 7 OR’s were killed and 23 were wounded.

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=102...

 

Gilbert, Burton

 

Name: GILBERT, EDWARD BURTON

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Regiment: Royal Fusiliers

Unit Text: 25th Bn.

Age: 20

Date of Death: 21/03/1918

Additional information: Son of Mrs. M. B. Gilbert, of 81, College Rd., Norwich, and the late Mr. A. B. Gilbert.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Sp. Mem. A. 3. Cemetery: LEBUCQUIERE COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=184460

 

No match on Norlink.

 

Edward is also on the Eaton War Memorial

www.flickr.com/photos/43688219@N00/3476690465/

(see there for my notes on his family on the 1901 census, his mention on the Aviva Group Roll of Honour and speculation as to which unit he was actually fighting with in France as the 25th Battalion Royal Fusiliers did not fight in that theatre of operations).

 

Gowing, Harry

 

Possible

Name: GOWING, HENRY ERNEST

Rank: Lance Serjeant

Regiment: Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 8th Bn.

Age: 25

Date of Death: 15/10/1917

Service No: 13111

Additional information: Son of Ernest and Mary Gowing, of 4, Derby St., Norwich. Grave/Memorial Reference: XLIV. E. 1. Cemetery: POELCAPELLE BRITISH CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=491552

 

No match on Norlink

 

Military Geneology has no Henry recorded. The only Harry was born Ashford in Kent. However there is an Ernest Henry who is recorded as born in the Parish of St Phillips, Heigham, Norwich. (There is no E H Gowing recorded in the CWGC database).

 

There is no obvious match on the 1901 census - the most likely candidate is a 9 year old Harry, born Norwich, who is recorded on the census at 67 Alexandra Road, Norwich. This is the household of his parents, Ernest, (aged 35 and a Shopkeeper from Hempnall) and Elizabeth, (aged 35 and from London). They have 4 other children.

 

October 1917

The first three weeks of October were spent on the west bank of the Yser canal, and partly in training for the attack of October 22nd in the Poelcappelle neighbourhood. On the 8th Lieutenant -Colonel Ferguson and commanding the battalion almost continuously for three years proceeded on six months special leave to England and was succeeded by Major E. N.Snepp. The only other notable event was on the 15th when the German bombardment was specially severe causing several casualties. One shell made a direct hit on a 'pill-box' in which was the regimental aid post. The medical officer was wounded two men were killed and one wounded

 

Hall, Geoffrey

 

No obvious match

 

No match on Norlink

 

The Great War Roll of Honour has a Private Geoffrey Hall, serial number 15555 of the Leicestershire Regiment who died in 1916. However, there is no Geoffrey or G Hall who serverd with the Leicestershire Regiment with that serial number on the CWGC database. There is another potential matching soldier who’s serial number is the same on the database

 

Name: HALL Initials: G

Rank: Private

Regiment: Lincolnshire Regiment

Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Date of Death: 13/12/1916

Service No: 15555

Grave/Memorial Reference: O. III. N. 1. Cemetery: ST. SEVER CEMETERY EXTENSION, ROUEN

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=518034

 

During the First World War, Commonwealth camps and hospitals were stationed on the southern outskirts of Rouen. A base supply depot and the 3rd Echelon of General Headquarters were also established in the city. Almost all of the hospitals at Rouen remained there for practically the whole of the war. They included eight general, five stationary, one British Red Cross and one labour hospital, and No. 2 Convalescent Depot. A number of the dead from these hospitals were buried in other cemeteries, but the great majority were taken to the city cemetery of St. Sever. In September 1916, it was found necessary to begin an extension, where the last burial took place in April 1920.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=2800&a...

 

However there are at least four other Geoffrey’s who can’t be ruled out.

 

The most likely match on the 1901 census is a 3 year old Geoffrey H Hall, born Norwich, who is recorded at 29 Cardiff Road, Norwich. This is the household of his parents, Thomas R, (aged 38 and a Shoemaker from Norwich) and Agnes, (aged 40 and from Norwich). Their other children are:-

Frank A…………..aged 5.…………..born Norwich

Gladys M…………aged 6.………….born Norwich

Sidney C………….aged 11.…………born Norwich

 

Helsdon, Fredk Colin

 

Name: HELSDON, FREDERICK COLIN

Rank: Lance Corporal

Regiment: Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 9th Bn.

Date of Death: 15/09/1916

Service No: 14294

Memorial Reference: Pier and Face 1 C and 1 D. Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=791009

 

There is a picture of Lance Corporal Elsdon on Norlink

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The accompanying notes read

Lance Corporal Helsdon was born on 22 April 1892, in Rupert Street, Norwich. He was the son of Edward & Amelia Helsdon. He enlisted on 7 Sep 1914. Killed in France, 15 September 1918

 

This would seem to confirm that he and Stephen (below) were brothers.

 

The 1901 census has a 8 year old Colin, born Norwich, recorded at 98 Rupert Street, Norwich, This is the household of his great grand-mother, Eliza Ealestone, (aged 76 and a widow from Norwich). Living with her are Colins parents, her grandson Edward Helson, (aged 33 and a Cellarman from Norwich) and his wife, Amelia, (aged 34 and from South Creake). Their other children are:-

Sidney………………..aged 10.………………….born Norwich

Stephen………………aged 7.……………………born Norwich

 

What is known is that on 15th September the battalion was engaged in very heavy fighting as part of the Battle of the Somme and had taken up a position near the village of Ginchy in order to attack a German strongpoint called ‘the Quadrilateral’. As part of this attack the British were to use a new weapon for the first time; the tank was to be used to help punch the way through. It was hoped that the very presence of such a weapon would help to carry the day but unfortunately for the Norfolks the new weapon was to prove disastrous.

  

Tank tactics had yet to be worked out and little or no exercises had been conducted between the infantry and the tankies. Instead of being used en masse the tanks were used in penny packets all along the line and their effectiveness was thus reduced. Three tanks were supposed to precede the Norfolks twenty minutes before they went over the top. Two of these broke down. The third became totally disorientated and mistook the Norfolks forming up trench for the German front line and began to saturate the whole length of the trench with machine gun fire. A great many Norfolks were killed or wounded before one of the company officers managed to stop the tank and point it in the right direction. Despite these enormous losses the battalion managed to advance but was held up in front of uncut barbed wire that a preliminary bombardment was supposed to have cut. Here they were pinned down for most of the day, all the time being subject to German shellfire and casualties rose. On this single day the battalion suffered 432 casualties, about half their strength.

www.oldbuckenham-pri.norfolk.procms.co.uk/pages/viewpage....

  

Born 1856 Hoyland, Yorkshire Died Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada 1939. Immigrated to Canada in 1913 Also came to Australia 1920/1921. Married George Baker 1877 Barnsley.

Scanned taken from original.

By Robert R. Whale ( 1805-1887 )

 

The British-born artist Robert R. Whale was already in his forties when he immigrated to Canada in 1852. He settled near Brantford and remained there for the rest of his life. This composition is reminiscent of the work of Claude Lorrain: a few skillfully placed trees in the foreground frame a vista that includes a small town, while the sense of vastness is accentuated by the tiny scale of the human figures. The naturalistic handling of the trees and the rocks adds to the picture’s appeal.

www.facebook.com/CarLifeMuseum/

 

The sign says 'Used for two trans-Canada tours. One of Don's favourite cars.'

 

The museum is a bit sad, actually, with so many cars crammed into a poorly lit space. You rarely get to really see the important parts of the vehicles on display. But this 1951 Hudson Hornet was quite intriguing, with its connection to one of Canada's beloved 'old time' musicians from years ago. Even though my parents were just new Canadians, they really liked his TV show, and I can still remember some of the faces and the down-home music. I think his music reminded them of the dance halls they loved to visit in Europe before they immigrated to Canada.

 

From Wikipedia

 

The guest performance slot gave national exposure to numerous Canadian folk musicians, including Stompin' Tom Connors, Catherine McKinnon, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot and Canadian singer Bud Spencer.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Messer%27s_Jubilee

 

Two years ago today, I rented a car and took a trip down to Buffalo with a friend to finish some business that would make both of our lives a lot easier. This was the first time I made a trip to the US where I was just visiting.

 

This day was also the first time I met a livejournal friend in real life. Kadie and I met through a community which was for people who were immigrating to Canada to discuss any questions they had with the process. I think, at the time, she and I were the only two active members who were immigrating to Quebec. Of course, since we were going through the same process, we leaned on each other until we were summoned to Buffalo to pick up our visas.

 

I was really nervous upon first meeting Kadie, and I didn't get the same vibe from her. She was really chatty and bubbly, which is the complete opposite of myself. With her being like that, it calmed me down pretty quick, and I was relieved for a bit knowing that the next eight hours to Buffalo wasn't going to be as awkward as I was thinking. I would soon find out that she was a lot more outgoing than I was.

 

The whole trip down was pretty uneventful, except for getting caught in a traffic jam right after we merged back onto 20 West after getting off the west island. I think we were stuck there for at least an hour which wasn't very much fun since I had already been behind the wheel for a good 4 - 5 hours. What also sucked was the fact that the car I had rented did not have cruise control, and by the time we went though the 1000 Islands, my right shin was on fire.

 

We ended up rolling into Buffalo around 9 or 10 that evening and checked into the hotel that her parents had gotten for us. After being on the road for most of the day, I was itching to get something good to eat, stretch my legs, and sleep. We went down to the front desk and asked where a good restaurant was in the city and we were informed that a shuttle would (thankfully!) take us to a couple places still open downtown.

 

From the time we got to the place where we were going to grab a bite to eat to the time we got back to the hotel is kinda hazy. I do remember ordering a philly steak and cheese sub that was scrumptious, and that the place we were eating at was really loud, which made us leave the resto-bar nearly as soon as our food was served. We walked around for a bit, and ended up at a gas station where Kadie called for a taxi to take us back to the hotel. I did give my sandwich to a homeless guy because I didn't have any cash to give him, because I have a problem with saying "No".

 

Upon arriving at the hotel, I remember my stomach growling (yes I'm a dumbass!) and playing it off that it was no big deal while getting ready for bed. I was exhausted at this time. Pulling back the sheets on my bed however, I noticed a bug on the bed. I thought it was just a piece of dirt at first until I looked a little closer. I brought it up to Kadie, just to say something, which she in turn freaked out a bit. She called down to the front desk to complain about the bug, and they asked her if she was sure it was a bug. That caused me to break out the camera to take a picture of it for proof. They eventually gave us a new room, which was a suite due to it being the only room available that night.

 

After getting to the suite, looking around a bit amazed at the nice bonus we got, I quickly changed into my night clothes and chatted to Jay a bit online on what had previously happened. Not soon after, since it was around 2am, and we had to be at the consulate at 6am, I crawled into bed while watching either Half Baked, or Chappelle Show. I don't think I remember exactly what it was, but I'm pretty sure Dave Chappelle was on the screen. Even though I was exhausted, I still couldn't fall asleep right away.

 

The next thing I remember is waking up groggily to the alarm the next morning...

 

Quebec - Autoroute 20-Ouest - Toward Montreal

  

The first is probably Norwegian name, but in early 1890s the Poersch settlement was established in the area by William Poersch, Sr., who immigrated to Canada from West Prussia (Germany). 😀

 

2009 Coast-to-Coast Album, Manitoba

Nazanin Afshin-Jam (Persian: نازنین افشین جم , born 1979 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-Canadian Singer, Songwriter, International Human Rights Activist, model, musician, actress and a former Miss World Canada, and Miss World 1st runner up. She immigrated to Canada with her family in 1981.

During a recent vacation to Morocco, I made a side trip to the Carres Militaires du Cimetiere Europeen de Ben M'Sick, in Casablanca. The final resting place for thousands of French, Allied and German soldiers. Including, seven airmen of the RCAF and a Canadian war correspondent, in the employ of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

 

Canadian flags and RCAF Ensigns were placed at the graves of the seven airmen/officers of the RCAF. Prior to departing Canada I approached a friend at the CBC to see if they had a small corporate flag I could place on the headstone for the CBC journalist. Given it was only a few days notice before my departure for Morocco, I was surprised when they did one better, they provided a plaque to be placed at Edouard Baudry's gravesite.

 

Edouard Baudry was killed in January 1943 while enroute to Morocco to cover a summit between Roosevelt, Churchill and De Gaulle. His plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Spanish Morocco and Baudry was mortally wounded. His death was mentioned by Roosevelt during his opening remarks at the summit and he directed that Baudry receive a funeral with full military honours. He sent a General officer to represent the United States.

 

Prior to his immigrating to Canada he was a soldier in the Belgian Army. The headstone also reads, at the bottom, and roughly translated from the french, "falls in battle for his native country and his adopted homeland." It is hoped that we can get this plaque from the CBC to his surviving family members, if they so choose.

By Robert R. Whale ( 1805-1887 )

 

The British-born artist Robert R. Whale was already in his forties when he immigrated to Canada in 1852. He settled near Brantford and remained there for the rest of his life. This composition is reminiscent of the work of Claude Lorrain: a few skillfully placed trees in the foreground frame a vista that includes a small town, while the sense of vastness is accentuated by the tiny scale of the human figures. The naturalistic handling of the trees and the rocks adds to the picture’s appeal.

Montreal’s Portuguese community is celebrating two big milestones this year: a decade of the “Festival Portugal International de Montreal” and the 70th anniversary of Portuguese immigration to Canada.

 

Meyer Optik Gorlitz Trioplan 35mm f/2.8

Today is my dad’s 70th birthday and so I thought I’d make a mosaic for him, so here it is a little glimpse into his life.

 

He was born during WW2 in Holland and immigrated to Canada when he was about eight, I think. My dad has been a dairy farmer, beef farmer, bus driver and truck driver and he retired this past December…finally after a couple attempts. As you can tell by some of the pictures he loves to walk and right now I think walks five times a week and he’s usually gone 1 ½ hours. This Christmas he and my mom received snow shoes from my sisters and so they’ve been out snowshoeing too. The other week I saw him out walking and then later on he was out snowshoeing…my mom says he’s a little obsessed with all this exercise stuff…but it’s good for him. He loves nature and the outdoors; I’d say that’s where I get some of my love of nature and animals. He also loves to read, especially novels by Louis L’Amour and in the summer time you’ll often see him sitting on the front porch reading a book. Plus he loves facts, reading fact books and the thick Farmers Almanac. Maybe that’s where I get my love of facts as well. Often times when a bunch of us kids get together at mom and dad’s you’ll hear him say “did you know…” and he’ll share some random interesting fact. See those two wood piles in the one shot he cut and split by axe all of that last spring. My husband and I were blessed that he did ours too. You’ll see another picture with five dice in it…there’s a game called Five Dice that my parents often play, it’s a fun game, we play it too. Up in the left hand corner there’s a goofy picture of my dad and his granddaughter Jenna, they can both touch their nose with their tongue…I think Jenna inherited it from him …cool hey. Off in the right hand corner is his Massey Ferguson tractor that he fixed up and repainted, I think old tractors are cool and great for pictures. You see that blue and red striped hat he’s wearing, I think he’s had that forever, I remember it as a kid.

 

So this is just a little glimpse of my dad and my gift to him on his birthday. He checks in on my flickr pretty much daily so I wanted to bless him with this.

Happy Birthday Dad…love you!

 

Tina

 

Ian David Nsenga, aka Creative, was born in the city of Nairobi, Kenya as one of many diasporas of a war torn Rwanda. His journey began on the continent of Africa but he eventually immigrated to Canada in 1993. His love for music and literature shaped his style - fusing poetry and hip-hop during his university days in British Columbia. His journey brought him to major venues in the community and diverse settings from International Festivals to Non-Profit Organizations during the 2010 Olympic Games.

 

www.myspace.com/iammadecreative

The Postcard

 

A Photocolour Series postcard that was printed and published by E. T. W. Dennis & Sons Ltd. of Scarborough. On the back of the card they state:

 

'Empress of Canada

passing Cloch Lighthouse,

Firth of Clyde.'

 

The card was posted using a 3d. stamp on Friday the 26th. August 1966 to:

 

Mr. & Mrs. A. J. Wilson,

44, Front Street,

Acomb,

Yorkshire.

 

The message on the divided back was as follows:

 

"Set off late yesterday -

Peter not too well.

We got to Ecclefechan

just beyond Gretna

Green. We camped

there the night.

Carried on to Gourock

today - we have booked

B & B.

Just had tea without tea -

I forgot the water! So we

are going looking for a

cuppa.

Weather glorious so far.

Love Grace & Peter,

Ian & Karen."

 

The RMS Empress of Canada (1960)

 

The RMS Empress of Canada was an ocean liner launched in 1960 and completed the following year by Vickers-Armstrong of Newcastle-upon-Tyne for Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd.

 

The ship regularly traversed the transatlantic route between Liverpool and Canada for the next decade.

 

Although Canadian Pacific Railways was incorporated in Canada, the Atlantic (and pre-war Pacific) liners were owned and operated by the British-registered subsidiary Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd., and were always British flagged and manned, therefore the Empress of Canada was not the flagship of the Canadian Merchant Marine.

 

Background to the Empress of Canada

 

Following the end of World War II, Canadian Pacific Steamships resumed their transatlantic service utilizing the cargo liners Beaverburn and Beaverford, which were joined in 1947-50 by three other ships. A dramatic post-war increase in immigration to Canada prompted the company to order the construction of the Empress of Britain and Empress of England which entered service in 1956-57.

 

In July 1957 the company commenced planning a replacement for the Empress of Scotland, which would join the Empress of Britain and Empress of England on the transatlantic route from Liverpool to Montreal.

 

During the months that the St. Lawrence was frozen (typically November to April) the ships sailed from Liverpool To Saint John, New Brunswick.

 

Design of the The Empress of Canada

 

The Empress of Canada measured 27,284 tons with a length of 650 feet (198.12 m) and a beam of 86.6 feet (26.40 m). She was 10 feet (3.05 m) longer than her earlier sister ships due to a more curved bow, and she had one foot (0.30 m) more beam. Unlike the earlier CP ships, she had a bulbous bow.

 

Three Foster Wheeler boilers fed steam to two Pametrada turbines, one for each of her two propellers. The hull was strengthened for ice and fitted with Denny-Brown stabilisers.

 

Designed for a service speed of 20 kn (23 mph; 37 km/h), she achieved 23 kn (26 mph; 43 km/h) on her trials.

 

She had full air-conditioning, with accommodation divided into 192 first class passengers and 856 tourist class. All first class cabins and 70% of tourist class had private facilities.

 

The indoor pool, cinema and two-floor high Canada Room were shared by both classes. During the cruise seasons, the vessel operated as a one class ship.

 

Construction of the Empress of Canada

 

The order for the vessel was announced on the 3rd. January 1958, with the £7.5 million contract being awarded to the Vickers-Armstrong yard on the River Tyne in England. The company had built the Empress of England on the same slip four years previously.

 

The keel was laid in January 1959, the vessel's name was announced on the 11th. January 1960, and she was launched on the 10th. May 1960 by Olive Diefenbaker, the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister.

 

On the 7th. March 1961, she departed for her trials in the Firth of Clyde where her performance was checked over a measured mile. Following the vessel's return for correction of some minor defects, she departed for Liverpool on the 25th. March 1961, arriving two days later.

 

On the 29th. March what was to be the company's last passenger liner was commissioned into Canadian Pacific service at Liverpool. She remained at Liverpool for a month, during which time she was open for inspection by the travel trade and reporters.

 

The Empress of Canada's Service

 

On the 24th. April 1961, the Empress of Canada left Liverpool bound for Montreal on her maiden voyage, arriving on the 2nd. May, having become the largest passenger ship to sail up the St. Lawrence River. Among the passengers was the author Nicholas Monsarrat.

 

The liner departed from Montreal on the 10th. November 1961 at the end of her inaugural transatlantic season bound for Liverpool.

 

She departed from Liverpool on the 12th. December 1961 on her maiden crossing to New York, arriving on the 19th. December following a delay due to bad weather off the US coast.

 

After making three West Indies cruises from New York, she departed on the 9th. February 1962 carrying 640 passengers on a 61-day, 31 port voyage of the Mediterranean.

 

The ship then returned to the transatlantic service for the rest of the year, during which she and her sister Empresses made a total of 33 round voyages between Liverpool and Montreal.

 

On the 18th. February 1963, the ship departed from New York on her second Mediterranean cruise, which over 61 days called at 28 ports. For this cruise, which offered single-sitting dining, the passenger capacity was limited to 570 guests, with 70 extra catering staff employed to look after them.

 

The ship's first cruise from Great Britain departed from Liverpool on the 21st. December 1962 and called at Madeira, Tenerife, Sao Vincente, Las Palmas, Casablanca and Tangier, before ending at Southampton on the 7th. January 1963.

 

She then departed on the 10th. January 1963 for a 28-day cruise of the West Indies. Following her return to Britain at the end of this cruise, the Empress of Canada departed Southampton on the 12th. February 1963 for New York.

 

From New York she made another Mediterranean cruise which attracted only 369 passengers, which was lower than in previous years, causing her owners to never offer it again.

 

The ship then returned to the transatlantic service for the rest of the year. While on a voyage from Liverpool in September 1963, mechanical trouble caused the vessel to end her voyage at Quebec on the 18th. September, where all her passengers disembarked.

 

She then proceeded to Montreal without them, where repairs were undertaken.

 

Her next voyage from Liverpool was disrupted by a strike of St. Lawrence longshoremen, which prevented her from berthing following her arrival off Quebec on the 8th. October 1963. After two days at anchor she sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she discharged her passengers and cargo.

 

On the 15th. October 1963 she departed for Liverpool with one First class and five Tourist class passengers, looked after by a crew of 400.

 

Her last transatlantic crossing from Liverpool was to St. John where she arrived on the 13th. December 1963. She then proceeded to New York from where over the winter of 1963-64 she made six Caribbean cruises. The last of the cruises departed from New York on the 27th. March 1964 with 715 passengers, which was the most she had ever carried up until then.

 

On her regular transatlantic crossings she continued to carry many immigrants -- 500 of the 1,006 passengers that she landed at Quebec on the 12th. July 1965 were immigrants. A strike had prevented her transporting them all the way to Montreal.

 

Over the winter season from the 11th. December 1965 to the 19th. March 1966, the ship made eight cruises of up to 15 days in duration.

 

Her owners had programmed a total of 23 transatlantic sailings for 1966, but a strike by the National Union of Seamen disrupted these plans. This caused her to sit after docking at Liverpool on the 20th. May until the 4th. July when she was finally able to depart for Montreal.

 

The backlog of passengers due to the strike meant that the 1,087 passengers she carried on this voyage was her highest ever. Over the 1966-67 winter season she made seven cruises.

 

In 1967 she made a five special Expo-branded sailings from Liverpool to support Expo 67 which was being held in Montreal. Among the passengers on the Expo sailing that arrived in Montreal on the 5th. July 1967 were Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco and their three children.

 

Her last winter crossing for 1967 departed from Liverpool on the 24th. November 1967 to Quebec, from where she made a coastal cruise to New York from where she provided seven winter cruises, the last being completed on the 23rd. March 1968.

 

During one of them she ran aground at San Juan, Puerto Rico, but was pulled free with no damage. On the 4th. May 1968 she struck a whale which became impaled on her bow. It was dislodged by going full astern.

 

In 1968 she made 24 transatlantic sailings followed by 16 cruises, with the season being extended by her sailing from New York on the 3rd. June 1969 direct to Liverpool, from where she made three summer cruises: 14 days to the Scandinavian capitals and the North Cape starting on the 2nd. July, a three-day mini cruise on the 1st. August, and a 15-day Mediterranean trip on the 19th. September, interspersed with the occasional transatlantic service.

 

In 1968, Canadian Pacific modernised her look, changing their house flag, colour schemes and introducing a new funnel design.

 

As the 1960's progressed, transatlantic passenger crossings began to dramatically decline due to increased air traffic following developments in aviation design. The decline in profitability on the transatlantic route resulted in a number of famous ships leaving or never sailing again, such as the SS United States and RMS Queen Mary.

 

As time went on the Empress of Canada completed fewer and fewer trips across the Atlantic each year, and by 1969 she completed only seven Atlantic voyages, compensating by spending the period between the 6th. December and the 25th. May 1970 on an extended cruise season during which she made 11 Caribbean cruises of between nine and 20 days in duration from New York and Port Everglades.

 

On her last New York departure, she sailed on a four-day mini-cruise to Montreal on the 5th. April 1970, before commencing the first of the 11 Atlantic crossings that she undertook in 1970 during which she maintained an 82% occupancy.

 

Over the winter of 1970-71 her cruise season lasted from the 7th. December until the 17th. April before she returned to servicing the transatlantic trade.

 

When one day out of Liverpool heading for Canada there was a blowback in one of her boilers which caused a fire in the boiler room at 8:15 pm on the 22nd. August 1971. It was serious enough for passengers to be assembled by the life boats, but the fire was under control within ten minutes.

 

On the 9th. November 1971, Canadian Pacific unexpectedly announced that they were immediately withdrawing the Empress of Canada from service, claiming that she was becoming economically unviable.

 

As well as the decline in transatlantic tourist numbers, immigrant patronage had collapsed -- by 1970, of the 26,500 Britons who had immigrated to Canada in that year, only 4,400 had travelled by sea.

 

Also contributing to the decision was the devalued US dollar which had reduced the profitably of the cruise voyage as well as continuing labour troubles among her British crew and in Canada.

 

The previously announced cruises were cancelled, and she departed on the 17th. November 1971 from Montreal on her last North Atlantic crossing to Liverpool with 274 (19 First and 255 Tourist) passengers aboard and 360 crew.

 

She made her final arrival at Liverpool on the 23rd. November 1971 having completing 121 transatlantic voyages and 82 cruises for the Canadian Pacific line, thus closing for good the Liverpool–Canada link.

 

She remained at Liverpool until the 14th. December when she sailed with a skeleton crew (of under a 100) for London's Tilbury docks to be laid up pending sale, arriving on the 17th. December 1971.

 

Carnival Cruise Lines

 

She was sold in January 1972 to the then-startup Carnival Cruise Lines. After being renamed Mardi Gras on the 14th. February 1972 she underwent a few internal changes and an update of her colour scheme.

 

Carnival advertised their first ship as "27,000 tons of fun!"

 

Despite her age, the Empress of Canada was a good choice for the new company as she had been well-maintained, and was in better condition than a number of the vessels offering cruises from Miami.

 

As the newly-established company was in a very weak financial position, the ship soon departed Miami on the 11th. March 1972 with 530 passengers and 200 crew on board, on her first cruise without any major refurbishments in order to bring in some income.

 

At that time she was the largest passenger ship using the port of Miami, and fully laden, her draft caused her to run aground as she departed. After twenty-four hours of attempting to free her, the passengers were disembarked. After being refloated and being found to be watertight, the passengers rejoined the ship and the cruise continued. This mishap led to some competitors calling the vessel “Mardi Gras On The Rocks”.

 

The company's strategy of marketing the activities and entertainment available on board the ship, rather than its destination eventually caught on, so that by 1975 Carnival was making a profit.

 

In August 1979 she undertook a cruise to Canada, and made her first visit to Montreal in eight years. A second Canadian cruise, and her last in Canadian waters, was undertaken in 1980.

 

Early in 1982 she was given an extensive refurbishment.

 

From the end of 1990 onwards she began operating out of Port Canaveral.

 

Subsequent Shipping Lines

 

By 1993 Carnival wanted to update their fleet by ordering new tonnage, so she was sold to Epirotiki in that year, and was initially renamed Olympic.

 

In that same year she was chartered to Gold Star Cruises, based in Galveston, Texas, who renamed her Star of Texas. She departed on the 30th. October 1993 on the first of ten weekly sailings that the company operated each week.

 

These consisted of four six-hour cruises, and six “night-club” cruises. However the company soon found itself in financial difficulties, and the ship was relocated to Miami, where she provided short cruises under the name Lucky Star.

 

Gold Star Cruises stopped operating in December 1994, and the ship was laid up in the Bahamas for a short period before sailing to Piraeus, where she arrived on the 10th. May 1995.

 

In 1995 Epirotiki merged its operations with Sun Line, creating a new company named Royal Olympic Cruise Lines, and the vessel was renamed Apollon. For a while she sailed for this line before being chartered for five years by Direct Cruises for voyages around the United Kingdom.

 

In preparation the vessel was given a multi-million dollar refurbishment prior to departing from Piraeus for Liverpool. However while en route she had to be diverted to Avonmouth for engine repairs, which meant that it was not until the 30th. May 1998 that she reached Liverpool.

 

For her charterers the vessel operated cruises from Liverpool, Greenock and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

 

Direct Holidays was purchased by the tour operator Airtours in 1999. Around this time Carnival acquired a share of Airtours. In 2000 all voyages planned for the vessel were cancelled and she was returned to Greece where she was laid up.

 

In May 2001 the Apollon was put back in service for three- and four-day cruises out of Piraeus. She operated as an accommodation ship in July 2001 for delegates and press attending the G8 summit being held at Genoa.

 

Retirement and Scrapping of the Former Empress of Canada

 

By 2003 the aging vessel was in need of a complete refurbishment, so to avoid this expense she was laid up in that same year. Taking advantage of higher prices currently being offered for scrap metal, she was sold for scrap on the 16th. September 2003, having been in service for 42 years.

 

On the 12th. November the former Empress of Canada departed Piraeus for breaking up at Alang in India, where she arrived on the 4th. December 2003.

 

The First Photograph of Earth From the Moon

 

So what else happened on the day that Grace, Peter, Ian and Karen posted the card?

 

Well, on the 26th. August 1966, NASA released the first photograph of the Earth as seen from the Moon, after Lunar Orbiter 1 transmitted a picture taken three days earlier.

 

Ground control had decided to turn the orbiter's camera toward the Earth, just as the probe was about to travel toward the far side, in order to show both objects in the same photo.

 

At the time, the Moon was between its perigee (17th. August) and apogee (31st. August) in relation to Earth, and the first self-portrait of the Earth was taken at a distance of roughly 239,000 miles.

 

The Beatles

 

Also on that day, the Number One chart hit record in the UK was 'Yellow Submarine' by the Beatles.