I’ll begin this week with a personal blast from the past, courtesy of reader Daryl Friesen: “Just want to say hello... I have read your book [Lost Bonanzas of Western Canada] a few times over the years. My copy was purchased in Masset when I was 12 years old.
Read MoreHere in B.C., specifically Victoria, we ditch Capt. James Cook, RN, one of, if not the greatest, navigators of all time, by smashing his statue and throwing it into the Inner Harbour.
Read MoreIn November it was reported that North Cowichan’s coat of arms was headed for retirement in the Chemainus Museum.
Read MoreDon’t think history repeats itself? Until the arrival of the E&N Railway in 1884 there was no Duncan. All shopping was done in Victoria, the goods arriving by weekly steamship at Maple and Cowichan Bays.
Read MoreI set my calendar by Joseph Mairs. Every January for, I’ve lost track now how many years, the second to last Sunday of the month is his memorial day in Ladysmith, this one on the 23rd.
Read MoreAs some of you will have seen in the news, tributes are pouring in to the family of Jean Andre, who was internationally recognized for his magic in creating many stunning museum exhibits.
Read MoreWelcome to a new year—hopefully it’ll be a better one than 2021 was for many, I’m sure. It can be a challenge for me, sometimes, to find good news in all that’s going on around us, but it’s there if we look hard enough.
Read MoreI had to work Christmas Eve Day but got home just in time to listen to CBC Radio’s annual Frederick Forsyth Christmas saga, The Shepherd as I’ve done now for more years than I can remember—and as I shall continue to do so as long as I am able.
Read MoreHeads up! those of you who aren’t CBC Radio listeners: What must be one of the finest 20-minute Christmas radio documentaries ever, is again upon us.
Read MoreI told you so! In last week’s post I itemized numerous chance finds of lost treasure—no need to hike Death Valley with your burro, no diving deep to a sunken shipwreck, no having to risk life and limb looking for Slumach’s accursed mine.
Read MoreA very nice lady on the phone tapped me on my Achilles heel the other day...She was calling on behalf of the Cowichan Intercultural Society which is working on a history project.
Read MoreFor years, Mike Bieling, the man behind the White Cross program in the Cowichan Valley, has been trying to learn more about a man who's buried in All Saints' Cemetery, Westholme; he's a possible candidate for a White Cross.
Read MoreSo much mail over the past two weeks I hardly know where to begin. But the big event of those two weeks, of course, was Remembrance Day, so I'll start with a really positive email from Daryl Ohs of the Nanaimo Historical Society.
Read MoreWhat a wondrous technological age we live in! Hardly had last Thursday's Remembrance Day edition of the Cowichan Valley Citizen hit the streets than I had a response to my lengthy history of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)--all the way from Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.A.
Read MoreThis being Remembrance Day I've no wish to get into anything contentious so I'll content myself with a few notes on this, what I consider to be the most important day of the year...
Read MoreWhere did it go? 2021, I mean—it’s November!
Read MoreThere are so many news stories these days that have historical roots that I can’t keep up with them unless I want to condense them to the point of near pointlessness. Too, hardly a week goes by but that someone researching their family tree asks me about an ancestor I’ve written about over the years.
Read MoreHere’s a recent news item near and dear to my heart. The former Times Colonist building at Hillside and Douglas streets, Victoria, has been renovated, reinvented and reopened as a combined commercial and residential building.
Read MoreFirstly, this tip for what looks like a great presentation by the Nanaimo Historical Society, for those of you who’ve purchased a membership as I’ve encouraged you to do in previous editorials.
Read MoreCan you believe it, already the middle of October? What happened to the sun and heat? Most of us, no doubt, would welcome the return of sunshine but not the melting pot of June-July...
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