The Fourth of July When we think of July 4th, we usually connect it with one thing— the Declaration of Independence in 1776 when the United States gained independence from Britain. With a little bit of digging and research, I managed to unearth a considerable number of other auspicious events that also took place on […]
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The Story of Four Sisters of St. Ann’s On Saturday, June 5th, 1858, the SS Seabird arrived in Victoria harbor with a very special cargo aboard. Among the passengers were four Sisters of St. Ann who had travelled to Fort Victoria from Montreal at the request of Bishop Modeste Demers. The bishop, the first Catholic
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William Shakespeare – A Man of Many Talents On this day (April 23rd) in 1564, William Shakespeare was born. Fifty-two years later in 1616 he apparently died on the same date. The Bard He was the most renowned playwright of all time who incredibly is still studied in schools and universities over 460 years later.
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Politics! Some Trivia There has been a great deal of political chit-chat lately, both North and South of the border between Canada and the United States. We are inundated with it on the daily news. Some true and some fake. What do we believe? So, I thought it might be a good idea to get
Adelaide Simpson – The Baker’s Wife When the Norman Morison arrived in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, in a snowstorm in January 1853, Henry and Adelaide Simpson were among the many passengers aboard. Other families such as the Skinners and the McKenzies were also aboard to take up positions as farm managers for the Puget Sound
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Victoria’s Long Naval Connections The Royal Navy’s Colonial connection to British Columbia’s capital city, Victoria, goes back to the settlement days of the Puget Sound farming families in the 1850s. The Skinner Family Families such as the Langfords, the Skinners, and the McKenzies who had arrived in the colony to manage farms for the Puget
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The Sylvia Hotel A Classic By the Bay The Sylvia Hotel in Vancouver’s English Bay is an historic building located at 1154 Gilford Street alongside Stanley Park. The hotel has been a significant Vancouver landmark for almost ten decades. Guests who visit The Sylvia today come for the special old-world charm of squeaky elevators and unique-style
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What in the Sam Hill? A Man of Peace. Historians believe that the expression “what in the Sam Hill?” originated with a man called Sam Hill, a minister of finance to Oliver Cromwell in 17th century England. Others believe the expression is attributed to a Quaker named Sam Hill who lived part of his life
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Flotsam and Jetsam (Early Characters in B.C.’s Capital City.) Many of the colourful transients who drifted into the capital city in the early days barely stayed long enough to guarantee themselves a place in the history books, but I recently discovered a few interesting examples. One was Polish-born, carriage driver Billy Barlow. In 1863, he
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A Christmas Miracle At least once in everyone’s life we need a miracle. The story of the one that happened over 180 years ago on a cold, crisp Christmas Eve in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, has been told many times before but, in today’s world of unrest and uncertainty, it still bears repeating. It concerns
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