Category Archive: Original Writing

Sullivan County’s historic bridges – The Stone Arch Bridge in Kenoza

September 2024 Arch bridges have been used for several thousands of years, going back to the Roman Empire. While true arches were known by Etruscans and ancient Greeks prior to their use by the Romans, it was the latter who realized their usefulness for bridge construction. Over the centuries, arch bridges have been built out …

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A lone grave in Niagara’s countryside – The sad story of Mary Misoner

September 2024 In a rural area of Niagara Falls, Ontario, not far from the roar of water rushing over the iconic natural wonder, is a grave dedicated to a young pioneer woman who died not long after arriving in what was then Upper Canada, over two hundred years ago. Her grave is not hard to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/a-lone-grave-in-niagaras-countryside-the-sad-story-of-mary-misoner/

Stonehenge – The iconic monument on the Salisbury Plain

September 2024 Derek Smalls: “Can I raise a practical question at this point? Are we going to do Stonehenge tomorrow?” David St Hubbins: “No, we’re not gonna fucking do Stonehenge!” Stonehenge may be a song by the great British Heavy Metal band Spinal Tap, but it’s also prehistoric megalithic structure, found on the the Salisbury …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/stonehenge-the-iconic-monument-on-the-salisbury-plain/

Lost villages of Simcoe County – Kempenfelt Village

September 2024 There are many ghost towns and vanished villages across Canada and the world. Some died off when the local industry that sustained them dries up. Some towns are simply absorbed into the growing communities around them. The former Village of Kempenfelt, now a part of the southern Ontario City of Barrie, is just …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/lost-villages-of-simcoe-county-kempenfelt-village/

Country singer Lindsay Ell makes for a great musical summer night in Peterborough

August 2024 The Peterborough Musicfest just finished it’s 37th year as an outdoor summer concert series, held on Wednesday and Saturday nights in Del Crary Park, along the shore of Little Lake. Ell headlined the 10 August show, the third last show of the summer series that included a wide variety of original artists and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/musical-summer-nights-in-peterborough/

Let’s have a drink – Professions where drinking plays a prominent role

August 2024 “I didn’t give up. I just couldn’t carry on. There’s a difference.” Firstly, my name is Bruce and I am an alcoholic. At a recent support group meeting, the daily reading touched on something that I know very well, that being professions that are soaked in booze. It’s a little scary just how …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/lets-have-a-drink-professions-where-drinking-plays-a-prominent-role/

Can we have some honesty with Safe Supply/Consumption sites?

August 2024 The debate over safe supply/consumption sites is one that I find really, really frustrating. One side says that if we close safe consumption sites, more people will die, while the other side says that if we don’t close safe supply/consumption sites, more people will die. Who’s telling the truth? Well, it depends on …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/can-we-have-some-honesty-with-safe-supply-consumption-sites/

No Name – Loblaw goes back to the past for “new” store concept

August 2024 Loblaw recently announced the creation of their ultra-discount No Name store concept, with first three stores scheduled to open in September in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville. What a great new idea for a store! Oh wait, am I the only one who remembers when No Frills stores were literally like walking into …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/no-name-loblaw-goes-back-to-the-past-for-new-store-concept/

Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project dedicates more markers in 2024

August 2024 An enthusiastic crowd gathered in a parkette in the Hamlet of Woodridge, New York, on 25 August, for the dedication of a historical marker commemorating the Borscht Belt. This was the ninth in a series of historical marker dedications, and the last one for 2024, that have taken place in this historic part …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/borscht-belt-historical-marker-project-dedicates-more-markers-in-2024/

From industry to parkland – The ruins of Lindsay’s Old Mill

August 2024 Like many towns established in the early 1800s, the driving force behind them were frequently the local  mills.  In 1828, William Purdy re-located his family to Ops Township (present-day Lindsay, Ontario) from Vaughan Township, north of Toronto, Ontario, after the mill he had been operating was destroyed.  Purdy was approved for the land …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/from-industry-to-parkland-the-ruins-of-lindsays-old-mill/

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