Category: History

Easter Sunday at El Santuario de Chimayó

The El Santuario de Chimayó in Chimayo, New Mexico, is a sacred piligrimmage site considered one of the most important Catholic shrines in the United States, sometimes called the “Lourdes of the Americas,” since dirt at the sanctuary  has a reputation for healing. It is a National Historic Landmark in the United States,  part of […]

Mystery photos of Vimy Ridge

A week or so ago, I was going through box and box of old photos in the collection of my late mother, Catherine Rowland (nee Hill).  Almost all of the images are people photos, my mother, her brother, parents and friends from 1914, when she was born, until the Second World. I was surprised to […]

Those marauding pirates who infest certain cities and rob hardworking photographers

“Such miserable pirates are too sordid to engage a photographer to make a special series for them; they prefer to rob an already poorly paid class of men-men who have to depend for their living upon the sale of views taken during the short summer months.”   Most photographers today believe that the problems of […]

A visit to the North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site

I was in Prince Rupert and Port Edward, BC on Friday, May 29.  I was able to pay a brief visit to the North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site.  I had always wanted to see the site, but in the past my visits to Prince Rupert were either in the winter, when the site is […]

Old Burial Ground Cambridge

Harvard Yard in the Boston blizzard of 2003

Boston, like Kitimat, is buried in snow.  I was in Boston, staying in Cambridge for a conference, when the region was hit by a blizzard in December, 2003. According to the Boston Globe, the area has received 196 centimetres of snow so far this winter (77.3 inches).  Kitimat got about 180 centimetres  (70.80) inches during […]

Lawrence Crowe memorial

A heroic memorial to a casualty of the First World War

The First World War began one hundred years ago tonight; a war that eventually killed 16 million people, including 10 million serving in various armed forces. This is just one story of a young Canadian flyer in the Royal Navy Air Service who died not in combat, but from an aircraft accident in 1917. H. […]