He was a public nuisance, a drunkard and a scamp; some even said he was crazy. Others went so far as to brand him a pirate. But when he’d finished he’d, single-handed. defied and defeated the courts of three nations.
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Her only known photo is fascinating in itself. She’s young (23), fair skinned with a clear complexion, plainish bordering on attractive, without makeup and neatly coiffed. She isn’t looking into the camera but slightly upward to her right, as if at something across the room. You can’t read anything in her expression other than that she shows no visible emotion.
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As I recently reported, the Cowichan Station Area Association, operators of the Hub, is working to take possession of the deconsecrated St. Andrew’s Church. Negotiations are underway with the Anglican Diocese of B.C. Apparently the beautiful century-old church beside the Koksilah River needs serious and expensive repairs and funding remains to be determined.
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“Great excitement has been recently produced in Victoria by the exhibition of a nugget of pure gold weighing 14 ounces, procured by the agents of the Hudson’s Bay Company from the Indians of Queen Charlotte’s Island. There is a generally prevalent impression founded on the discovery of gold in that island in the year 1851, that it will yet become a productive gold field.”
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To his superiors he was a rebel, a troublemaker and a bore; to his students he was a stern taskmaster whose word was law and whose temper, uncertain at best of times, was to be avoided at all costs. Still, he left his name on our maps.
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This week we conclude our comparison of the ‘On-To-Ottawa Trek’ by thousands of unemployed men in 1935 to the recent three-week-long occupation of Ottawa and the blockading of crucial border crossings by truckers and supporters virulently opposed to continuing government health mandate.
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We’re comparing the ‘On-To-Ottawa Trek’ by thousands of unemployed men in 1935 to the recent three-week-long occupation of Ottawa and the blockading of crucial border crossings by truckers and supporters virulently opposed to continuing pandemic legislation*.
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In trying to compare the ‘On-To-Ottawa Trek’ by thousands of unemployed men in 1935 to the continuing occupation of Ottawa and the blockading of crucial border crossings by anti-vaxxing truckers and their supporters, this week’s Chronicle is based upon the “recollections” of onetime Lake Cowichan resident and Spanish Civil War veteran Ronald Liversedge.
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One could argue that the truckers’ protest in Ottawa is another case of deja vu. The precedent, for those of us who know even a smattering of Canadian history, is the 1935 On-to-Ottawa Trek of the unemployed in 1935.
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Years ago, when I was still writing the Chronicles in the Cowichan Valley Citizen, I received a complaint from a young woman who accused me of writing only about male pioneers.
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Genealogists have a field day with Vital Statistics; they’re a treasure chest for family researchers and historians alike. But, of course, they really don’t tell you much beyond the barest of bones.
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I’ve often wondered why some people seem hyper-sensitive to their family histories; sometimes to the point of burning old papers, photos and other memorabilia that should have been passed on to future generations.
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You may recognize the names of renowned Victoria architects Samuel Maclure and Francis Rattenbury who’s as well remembered for his having been murdered by his wife’s lover as he is for having designed the B.C. Parliament Buildings. But how about Thomas Hooper?
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“Sale of the Burrard’s Inlet mill—the sawmill owned by J.O. Smith was sold on Thursday by his creditor’s assignees. It was purchased by Mr. Moody for the sum of $6900.”
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In my recent caption for the coming Christmas Chronicle, I sort of joked that, thanks to email, hardly anyone mails Christmas cards any more, with or without an envelope.
Read MoreBecause the Leader published weekly, Christmas 1921 was four days old when readers received their newspaper; hence there was a single and short reference to the holiday just passed.
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Christmas Day, 1858. For pioneer British Columbia journalist D.W. Higgins this was his most memorable Yuletide of all—the time Christmas dinner almost cost him his life.
Read MoreSince we did Christmas In the Stores, the main feature on this week’s front page, last week, this is going to be an abbreviated ‘100 Years Ago’.
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Today I’m taking you back in time to December 15th, 1921 when (if we don’t factor in inflation) prices are cheap.
Read MoreProof as to how much things have changed in a century is this issue of the Leader’s main headline, POULTRYMEN’S BUSINESS.
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