New Beginnings To me, this time of year seems more like A New Year than January 1st does. It is a time for new beginnings—a new school year, starting university— and even if you are well past those years yourself, thinking about when your children were starting school. Now with grandchildren entering the world of […]
A History of Midwifery Midwifery around the world, and especially in North America, has in many ways come full circle over the past three centuries. In the 1600s, the King of France commissioned several midwives to work in the colonies. In 1713 the first midwife was elected to serve in Quebec and until the 20th
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Discovery Days in the Klondike! Discovery Day is a provincial holiday celebrated every year in August in the Yukon. During August, there are celebrations happening everywhere. Citizens and tourists alike celebrate the fact that in 1896, George Carmack, an American prospector, and Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie, two Tagish First Nations men, staked placer gold
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A Misnamed Islet off Cadboro Bay? There is a small islet off the north-east shore of Cadboro Bay in my hometown, Victoria, British Columbia, called Ellen Staines Isle. The story behind it is an interesting piece of historical trivia. For some unknown reason the small island was mis-named, because Ellen Staines Isle was named to
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Traditions of Victoria Day Every year the traditional “May 24th” holiday, the anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birthday, occurs on a different date. This year it is early – on Monday, 20th May. The holiday weekend consists of celebrations ranging from a parade, boating, festivals and even, on one memorable occasion in 1896, a tragedy. According
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“LUND – THE BEGINNING OR THE END OF THE ROAD?” As an inquisitive writer, I love discovering lesser-known places in British Columbia. I remember about fifteen years ago doing exactly that on a trip from Horseshoe Bay north to Powell River on the section of Highway 101 that is affectionately known as “the Sunshine Coast”.
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A Charming Appendage As the author of many historical books, both non-fiction and fiction set in British Columbia, plus hundreds of articles all of which have resulted in a great deal of research, it was obvious to me that it was the men folk who invariably made a name for themselves. Their wives, often only
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Rudyard Kipling’s World Travels Most of us are familiar with the many works of Rudyard Kipling such as The Jungle Book, Captain Courageous and Soldier Tales, but here are a few more things you might not know about him, including his world travels. Kipling was born in Bombay in 1865 where his father was a
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Beware the Ides of March The Ides of March (March 15th) was the 74th day in the Roman calendar and was marked by several religious observances while also being a deadline for settling debts in ancient Rome. In 44BC this date also became notorious because it was when Julius Caesar was assassinated, an event which
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Black History in Canada In honour of Black History month, here are a few stories about the black men and women who made a difference in Canada. The theme for Black History month this February is “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build. This theme symbolizes the significant past and present contributions
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