Married to a man over twice her age, Frances Simpson came to Canada by ship and to Manitoba’s Red River by canoe. Her life in Canada was lonely and difficult. George Simpson was looking for a wife. The busy Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s fur-trading business centred in Canada’s wilderness, George was respected and […]
The flashing, searing bolt of lightning is a direct threat to life and buildings. Passing through a conductive channel from the cloud on its way to the ground, lightning’s electrical charge develops heat, close to 28,000° Celsius. Trees and buildings can ignite from direct hits, causing disastrous fires. Atop a building or other structure, a […]
The Rupert’s Land Act, 1868, set out the terms for the purchase of nearly 8 million acres from the Hudson Bay Company, but not all were pleased. The fur trade was slowing by the 1860s, the profit line dwindling for the Hudson’s Bay Company. The time was drawing nigh to rethink the firm’s businesses. Selling […]
The first newspaper in Canada to publish quality illustrations, Canadian Illustrated News printed thousands of beautiful pictures to captivate readers. Publisher George Édouard Desbarats held a strong and wide philosophy about his country and his new newspaper. “By picturing to our own people the broadd dominion they possess, its resources and progress, its monuments and […]
While not permitted to serve as pilots, over 17,000 women joined the Royal Canadian Air Force during WW2 in jobs ranging from clerical duties to driver to air frame maintenance “We serve that men may fly.” The promotional poster words encouraged young Canadian women, aged 21 to 41 to join the Royal Canadian Air Force. […]
Charming and appealing, the Regency Cottage architectural design sprouted up in the early 1800s with the foray of European colonists to Upper Canada. Rectangular and featuring one-and-a-half storeys, the small frame homes are dotted across the countryside. In later years, the style evolved into the Ontario Cottage, the Gothic Revival Cottage, and other designs. “The […]
Beautiful, heartwarming native art, the works of Aboriginal painters and a sculptor, were components in series of postage stamps for Canada Post, issued Christmas 2002. Every Christmas, Canada Post issues festive postage for the holiday mailings of seasonal cards and packages. In 2002, a special series was produced: a set of three exceptional stamps featuring […]
Portal Camp disappeared, wiped out under an avalanche of ice, snow and mud of the slide. Rescuers were thwarted by wind and icy blizzard weather. The Leduc Glacier near Stewart, BC was covered with fresh snow. Underneath the glacier, a tunnel was being created by the Granduc mining company, one that would reach a […]
Thomas Ahearn was one of Canada’s ground-breaking businessmen and inventors in the early age of electricity: oven, water heater, flat iron, streetcars, telegraphy, radio, and more. The industry of telecommunications seems like a modern invention, but it was in its infancy in the late 1800s. The young Thomas Ahearn saw his future in telecommunications, […]
History is made every day – let’s have a snapshot at just what was taking place in Canada on August 31st. It is difficult to envision life in other times, let alone over hundreds of years. What must it have been like for visitors? Did they make themselves at home? Did they give up on […]
The Man-of-Steel comic book hero ‘Superman’ soared but Shuster and co-creator Jerry Siegel were left behind. Shuster struggled to make a living with vision disabilities. Pencil in hand, Joe Shuster enjoyed drawing and sketching as a young boy. Born in Toronto, Ontario on July 10, 1914, Joseph Shuster’s parents Julius and Ida Shuster, were […]
The finest, the tallest, the utterly lavish. Only magnificence would fit the strategic plans of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Building a series of hotels across the country, the company planned a hotel for Toronto, Canada’s largest city. Launching construction in 1927, the doors of the Royal York Hotel opened two years later to welcome weary, […]