I have come across the following Canadian genealogy, history and heritage websites, social media, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.
This Week in Canadian History
In 1948, Canadian war ace Buzz Beurling was killed when his plane crashed during a flight to Rome. Beurling was recognized as "Canada's most famous hero of Second World War", as "The Falcon of Malta" and the "Knight of Malta", having been credited with shooting down 27 Axis aircraft in just 14 days over the besieged Mediterranean island. Before the war ended, his official total was 31.
For more information, go to http://www.constable.ca/caah/beurling.htm
(Tweet) Tweeting the Great War: Free Press retraces steps of Winnipeg soldier
While fighting in the First World War, Cpl. Stanley Evan Bowen also fought to keep the flame alive between him and his sweetheart in Winnipeg by writing more than 150 letters.
(Video) Celebration plans for Canada’s 150th anniversary announced in Saskatoon
A national physical activity advocate will receive $5.4 million from the Canadian government to help mark the country’s 150th anniversary next year, according to an announcement made in Saskatoon Wednesday morning.
(Video) Peace by Piece project threads WW I history together in quilts
Peace by Piece, an exhibit showcasing a collection of quilts commemorating the First World War held its grand opening Saturday, honouring the men and women involved in the Great War.
(Video) Ghost Town Mysteries: can Sandon, B.C. be saved forever?
Across British Columbia, there is a common thread to how our historical towns are maintained – or rather, for the most part, aren’t.
There is Barkerville and Fort Steele, heritage towns that have survived and become tourist attractions.
But much more common are the dozens of ex-towns spread throughout every region where virtually nothing remains.
(BLOG) Salt Lake City in September
Jane MacNamara and a group of fellow researchers are heading to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City this September.
The particulars of the trip are at http://wherethestorytakesme.ca/salt-lake-city-trip/
Newfoundland and Labrador
Harbour Grace courthouse placed on national list of endangered sites
The National Trust for Canada has identified the Harbour Grace courthouse as one the top 10 endangered historic places in Canada.
Great walks on the Rock: top 5 hikes in Newfoundland
Hikers in the province will find history mingles with stunning scenery along its varied trails.
Halifax’s wartime history evoked in Battle of the Atlantic ceremony
As the Battle of the Atlantic ceremony proceeded at the Sailors Memorial in Point Pleasant Park on Sunday, May 1, HMCS Montréal stood just offshore to carry out the committal of ashes ceremony while the Charlottetown sailed past on her way out to sea, and a container ship sailed up the harbour towards the container terminal.
Dorchester students successful at regional heritage fair
Five students from Dorchester attended the regional fair, and each student came back home with an award. Madison Holmes, Kassandra Goodland, Phaedra Williams, Dominick Fournier, and Cadence Nelson were all successful.
CFB Borden making Canadian history with sacred soil collected at Vimy Ridge
For the first time in Canadian history, sacred soil recovered from a World War 1 battlefield in France will be repatriated in a ceremony to be held in Barrie next month.
Canadian Canal Society supports Welland Canal Memorial
The Welland Canal Fallen Workers Memorial Task Force has received support from the Canadian Canal Society.
Canada’s threatened heritage
Canada’s iconic wooden grain elevators, a wooden Ukrainian church, the prairie grasslands, a particular lighthouse- these are all parts of Canadian heritage that have been listed as ‘threatened’ this year.
Why Ottawa needs a national museum of Indigenous Peoples
Walking down the tree-lined Mall in Washington, D.C., an Ottawa visitor might notice a familiar-looking building: the National Museum of the American Indian.
Riding Mountain National Park to offer expanded Indigenous culture programming
Parks Canada will offer more programming for visitors to learn about Indigenous culture and heritage in Riding Mountain National Park this summer.
Make your list of Mustseeums
Whether you’re inspired by nature or fascinated by history, Manitoba has you covered when it comes to museums. With over 270 across the province, there are more than a few that are likely on your must see list. We call those ‘mustseeums’!
Manitoba celebrates provincial flag’s golden anniversary
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Manitoba flag, and the provincial government will commemorate the milestone with a special exhibit.
Manitoba Museum sees record attendance Saturday
The Manitoba Museum broke a record over the weekend, hosting 9,934 people in one day.
The Museum offered free admission on Manitoba Day this past Saturday, marking our province’s 146th birthday.
The crowd beat out the previous record by 53 per cent — 6,500 visits on a day in 2014
Railway Museum picking up steam
The Alberta Railway Museum held its season opening on the Victoria Day long weekend and is now welcoming locomotive enthusiasts from Fort Saskatchewan and the area to experience a ride on their 1913 steam-powered train.
42 sites to explore during Doors Open Richmond weekend
Fancy trying dragon boating or taking a behind-the-scenes tour of a museum as an exhibition is installed? How about adding your own creative touch to a piece of community artwork? These are just some of the options offered at 42 arts, culture and heritage sites during the ninth annual Doors Open Richmond on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5.
Barkerville history celebrated in documentary series
There may seem like no shortage of stories from the gold rush town of Barkerville, but a pair of researchers have gone rather far afield to find stories of Barkerville's citizens.
Indonesian Canadian society to launch project to record community history
While the historical stories of Chinese and Japanese Canadians have been recorded and told, another group of Asian Canadians is hoping to do the same for their community.
Canadian Stories this Week
FamilySearch.org is 15 years old!
FamilySearch started with two key databases, which included Ancestral File and the International Genealogical File (IGI), along with a few minor genealogical databases 15 years ago. I remember it well! The site originally provided access to 400 million names. Today, FamilySearch contains more than 3.2 billion records. Isn't that amazing!
The press release says that “Over the past 15 years, FamilySearch has gone through a number of changes and revisions. Users can now access billions of digitized images of original records. It now offers a single unified pedigree called Family Tree, which allows users to work with each other to coordinate their work, thus dramatically reducing needless duplication of effort.File and the International Genealogical File (IGI), along with a few minor genealogical databases. The site originally provided access to 400 million names. Today, FamilySearch contains more than 3.2 billion records.”
And this week, in her weekly Wacky Wednesday hangout, Dear Myrt, went over the FamilySearch Pilot Indexing Tool, which is a Cloud Based Extension which will allow you to index the books the the Family history Library have at Salt Lake City which has your family name in them.
Well, this is finally getting down to the nitty-gritty of the library. By indexing these books that have the names we are researching, we done't have tp wait for them to be completed be someone else.
They won't be checked by someone else to the correctness, as it is done in the indexing programme, but they will be indexed.
So take a look. What do you think? Is this a step forward?
You can go to http://hangouts.dearmyrtle.com/next-hangout.html to view the video. You must register first at http://hangouts.dearmyrtle.com/
Canada Day celebrations
The Department of Canadian Heritage is calling for volunteers to help with this year’s Canada Day celebrations.
Volunteers will be assigned to Parliament Hill, Major’s Hill Park and the Canadian Museum of History, where a total of about 350,000 visitors normally gather to partake in the festivities.
Responsibilities of the 500 or so volunteers will include handing out flags, controlling crowds and helping people with special needs, among other tasks.
Manulife Financial Corp. will be this year’s sponsor for the volunteer program.
You can email the Canadian Heritage Volunteer Centre at PCH.centredesbenevoles-volunteercentre.PCH@canada.ca to obtain a copy of the application form or download the PDF version (1.3 MB), or call the Canadian Heritage Volunteer Centre at 819-956-2626.
If you need more information, you can contact the following -
- Call the Canadian Heritage Volunteer Centre at 819-956-2626.
- Email the Canadian Heritage Volunteer Centre at PCH.centredesbenevoles-volunteercentre.PCH@canada.ca.
The position that are required, are listed at http://canadaday.gc.ca/eng/1399993822481
And that was the week in Canadian news!
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