Not Kitchener A week after city council’s wrathy meeting, the head of the military district announced troops would not winter in Kitchener. As expected, locals weren’t pleased. News of North Waterloo’s 118th and Muskoka’s 122nd “homelessness” revived speculation (mostly in The Daily Telegraph) of the boys’ return home. The newspaper tried to bolster its theory and […] Read more…
Brr… The week before Thanksgiving, locals enjoyed downright balmy weather. The mercury rose to the 80s F (mid-20s C to low 30s C), but all that changed the day before Thanksgiving. At 3 pm on Sunday, temperatures hovered at 88F (31C) but dropped to 35F (2C) by Tuesday at 4:30 am. I couldn’t find Kitchener’s […] Read more…
St. Mary’s General Hospital St Mary’s Church’s Fr AJ Fischer announced plans for the city’s second general hospital to be built on five acres of land on Queen’s Park Crescent. The facility for 50-60 patients would be run by the Sisters of Charity (see notes) and would house a nurses’ training school. The Berlin and Waterloo Hospital […] Read more…
Anniversaries are funny things. One particular event on a particular date, with the rest often left in soft focus. It’s understandable that a number of articles focused on the name change’s centenary. Simply put, it was the culmination of a divisive battle drawn along racial lines, which was fuelled by patriotism. You’re either with us […] Read more…
First, we take Ontario; then we take Canada About a week after Ontario’s Temperance Act took hold, the four provincial liquor vendors’ cash register chimes probably wouldn’t have drowned out even the smallest of music halls. One wholesaler only rang up $22 in the first week ($429—see note on conversion): he wouldn’t have out-tinkled a […] Read more…
Drying out Ontario In the days before the Ontario Temperance Act became law, newspaper articles warned about life after 16 September. Fewer drunks, more money A Liquor License Board report ballyhooed possible benefits for a (more) ascetic province. Temperance was already in force in the prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) and so far they experienced […] Read more…