Monday, October 17, 2016

Canadian Week in Review 17 October 2016



I have come across the following Canadian genealogy, history and heritage websites, social media, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.

This Week in Canadian History 

12 October 1957 Canadian awarded for creation of U.N Peacekeepers

On this date, Canadian external affairs minister, Lester B Pearson, received a telegram from Sweden telling him that he had was being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. It was due because of the way that he had handled the Suez Crisis. 

He had proposed a neutral UN military force that would occupy the middle ground between the two sides, and it became the standard concept of the the blue berets - UN Peacekeeping Force. Lester Pearson was thereafter known as the Father of International Peacekeeping.

For more information, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacekeeping

Social Media 

(Video) Mother of fallen Canadian soldier: New Afghanistan war monument a 'godsend' 


A demilitarized version of the same vehicle that Bev McCraw's son, Shawn, was in when he was killed by an IED in Afghanistan in 2008 will be installed permanently as a new war monument at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum., 

Newspaper Articles 

Nova Scotia 

Bluenose II preps for summer tour with travelling exhibit 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/bluenose-ii-summer-tour-travelling-exhibit-1.3795438

For the first time in nearly a decade, Nova Scotia's sailing ambassador will live up to its name. 

The Bluenose II will leave the province next summer and travel to ports along the Eastern Seaboard to "demonstrate Nova Scotia's rich Maritime heritage and expertise," according to government documents published Friday morning. 

The tour will conclude in Quebec City where the ship will be part of the celebrations for Canada's 150th anniversary. 

Mi'kmaq History Month 


Membertou Heritage Park is where people can learn about Mi’kmaq culture throughout the year. Each year at this time, Jeff Ward notices a surge of interest in aboriginal culture. 

Hand-written recipes featured in Nova Scotia Archives online exhibit 


From generation to generation, some recipes and cookbooks have become treasured family heirlooms. 

The Nova Scotia Archives has scores of them in its personal collections, and has created a digital exhibit featuring hand-written and early printed recipes, some dating as far back at the 1700s. 

New Brunswick 

Tales from the crypt: 6 tips for exploring N.B. graveyards 


Graveyard exploring sounds macabre to some; however, according to one local historian, the sites are a gold mine of information on local history. 

This is Main Street: Rise and fall of a once thriving commercial district 


When Saint John was a smoky 18th century seaside colony, Main Street was a trade road, used to cart goods from the First Nations settlement at Indiantown up to Fort Howe.  

From the 1700s until the mid-1960s, it evolved into a thriving commercial district in Saint John, rivalled only by Prince William Street. 

Man jailed 2 years for possessing stolen N.B. Museum plaques
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/sentencing-stolen-plaques-museum-1.3803563

A man who pleaded guilty to possessing stolen bronze plaques from the New Brunswick Museum was sentenced Thursday to two years minus one day in provincial jail.

Prince Edward Island

P.E.I. Scottish history part of huge tapestry on display

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/scottish-diaspora-tapestry-p-e-i-history-1.3804077

A gigantic tapestry which celebrates Scottish heritage and the influence its people have had around the world has arrived in P.E.I., and is on display at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. 

Ontario 

Exhibit tells the story of Jewish farming in Ontario 


A small photographic exhibit in the main-floor gallery of the Miles Nadal JCC at Bloor and Spadina tells the small but interesting story of Jewish farming in Ontario, past and present. 

Italians collect London stories 


A two-day conference dedicated to preserving Italian-Canadian history is coming to London. 

The Italian-Canadian Archives Project (ICAP) links communities across the country with history experts, public archivists and community organizers. The goal is to train Italian-Canadian communities to gather, organize and share their history 

The website is at https://icap.ca/about-us/ 

Collection of military history essays captures the importance of the battle at Hill 70 


The True Story of the Real-Life Winnie-the-Pooh 


When a soldier shipping off to World War I stepped onto a train platform during a brief stopover in a small Canadian town, little did he know his footsteps would lead a dozen years later to the October 14, 1926, publication of “Winnie-the-Pooh.” Find out how a real-life black bear inspired A.A. Milne to write one of the classics of children’s literature. 

Chief Shingwauk and SRSC Included in Special 150th Anniversary Exhibition at Archives of Ontario 


As Canada gets ready to mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation and the creation of the Province of Ontario, the Archives of Ontario has unveiled a special exhibition titled “Family Ties: Ontario Turns 150” in Toronto, Ontario. One of the families highlighted in the exhibition is the family of Chief Shingwauk. 

FEATURE: Archives house valuable artifacts of Canada’s Jewish left 


One of the most dramatic moments in the history of the Jewish left in Canada occurred some 57 years ago, in 1959, when a huge and irreparable split developed within the ranks of the United Jewish People's Order (UJPO) and a significant number of members left to form a new organization, the New Fraternal Jewish Association (NFJA). 

Saskatchewan 

Historic Gull Lake, Sask., hotel 'a shadow of what it once was' after destructive fire 


A piece of history is gone from Gull Lake, Sask., after a fire broke out at the Clarendon Hotel Sunday morning. 

Emergency crews were called to the hotel and bar around 8 a.m. CST 

Alberta 

Bones, tools unearthed by Alberta flood could fill gaps in First Nations history 


Archaeologists are hoping bones and tools unearthed after the 2013 southern Alberta floods will help paint a better picture of a little understood period in the region's indigenous history. 

Students get heartfelt history lesson with Field of Crosses 

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/students-get-heartfelt-history-lesson-with-field-of-crosses

What began with a few hundred white crosses in 2009 has grown to more than 3,200, all paying tribute to those who died serving their country. 

The North 

Arctic Bay Thule man to form part of Inuit exhibit at history museum 


A Thule man who lived near Arctic Bay hundreds of years ago will soon be part of an exhibit on Canada’s Indigenous peoples to be unveiled at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau in July 2017 to coincide with Canada’s 150th birthday. 

Epic voyage planned for Canada's 150th anniversary 


Canada's three oceans will be the centrepiece of an epic 150-day voyage to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation. 

The Students on Ice Foundation is planning to take an icebreaker on trip that will begin in Toronto and end up in Victoria next summer, transiting the Northwest Passage on the way. 

Canadian Stories this Week 

Find My Past 


I was surprised to see that findmypast.com has put on some Canadian databases, and they are Ontario Birth Index 1860-1920 and New Brunswick Birth and Baptism Index 1769-1899

Since the Archives of Ontario are the official keeper of the births, marriages, and deaths after they are released from Office of Registrar General Service Ontario, it surprises me that they include records up to 1920, whereas the archives on this website say that they only includes records up to 1917. 

The AO Site says that "Due to changes in regulations, 1918 and newer birth registrations and indexes will not be transferred to the Archives of Ontario until 104 years after the year of registration. The 1918 birth registrations and indexes will be transferred to the Archives in 2023". 

Since the explanation on their website doesn't provide a good explanation, I will write to findmypast to see if I can get a clearer definition of the collection. 

The second collection is the New Brunswick Birth and Baptisms Index 1769-1899 and it contains over 25,000 transcripts of civil registration records. Each record will include your ancestor's birth year, birth place and parent's names. The records will also provide you with the information you need to order a copy of an official birth certificate through Service New Brunswick at www.snb.ca.

I have checked the New Brunswick Archives at http://archives.gnb.ca/Search/FEDS/Databases.aspx?culture=en-CA and the date do not seem to coincided with the date of the births that the archives have, so I am wondering were they got these records from because the collection does not say.

Drop Me a Card 

Take a minute to go to this page of my friend, Daniel B. Parkinson, to look at the postcards he has put on the webpage http://uptorawdon.com/supplementary-card.html 

These postcards are beautiful, and the ones which show Ottawa as it use to be in the olden days. There are nice ones , including ones about Easter, for example, (and they are in perfect condition), so they are worth your time. 

And that was the week in Canadian news! 

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