August 2022 The Roseneath Fairgrounds in Roseneath, Ontario, is home to a historic C. W. Parker Carousel; one of only two in Canada, and eight in total in North America. Built in 1906 by the C. W. Parker Carousel Company in Abliene, Kanasa, known as the king in the manufacturing of amusement park rides, it’s …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-roseneath-carousel-a-rare-historic-carousel-found-in-a-small-ontario-town/
August 2022 The Borscht Belt, the colloquial name of the Catskills area of eastern New York State that was once populated with resorts and bungalow communities for Jewish clients from New York City, in an era when Jewish people still faced discrimination elsewhere. Cheap airfare, a decline in passenger rail service, more integration and a …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/ghost-town-in-the-borscht-belt-the-rise-and-fall-of-parksville-new-york/
August 2022 The Halton County Radial Railway Museum, located in rural Halton Hills, Ontario, is a working museum; Ontario’s first and largest electric railway museum, dedicated to showcasing the history of urban and inter-urban public transit in Ontario. Operated by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association (OERHA), it focuses mainly on the history of the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/halton-county-radial-railway-museum-brings-public-transit-history-to-life/
August 2022 Any music lover in the Muskoka District of southern Ontario knows of The Kee to Bala; more commonly known simply as “The Kee.” The historic concert venue has been entertaining music lovers and those who love to dance to music since opening in 1930. Over the decades, it has played host to some …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-kee-to-bala-muskokas-historic-concert-venue/
August 2022 Couchiching Beach Park in Orillia, Ontario, is a 14.5-acre waterfront park that is a jewel to the town that bills itself as The Sunshine City.” Couchiching Beach Park plays host to many special events throughout the summer months, but it’s also a multi-purpose park, with a playground for kids, a marina, a beach, …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/orillias-rotary-train-has-entertained-generations-at-couchiching-beach-park/
July 2022 With the high cost of owning a house or renting an apartment in southern Ontario, sometimes people have to get creative when it comes to finding a suitable abode. In the small, unincorporated village of Campbellville, around 40 miles west of Toronto, a 110-year-old former caboose is for sale for the low price …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/did-your-ever-want-to-live-a-caboose-the-campbellville-caboose-may-be-for-you/
July 2022 (Updated April 2023 & May 2025) Note: This is Chapter 3 in my Borscht Belt series. Links to the other Borscht Belt articles are at the bottom of this article. If you don’t find a write-up on a specific hotel or bungalow colony in this chapter, either they are profiled in the other …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/a-third-serving-of-borscht-the-changed-face-of-americas-jewish-vacationland/
July 2022 Tyrone Mills, in the former Village of Tyrone, now part of Clarington, Ontario, is both a tourist attraction and a functioning mill, one of Canada’s oldest water powered grist mills still in operation. Erected in 1846 by James McFeeters and John Gray, it has served as a grist mill, flour mill, lumber mill, apple cider producer, …
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July 2022 Re: “Adapting to climate change is money well spent” Editorial, Toronto Sun, 20 July 2022: In one of the geography classes that I took in high school, my teacher distributed a handout containing a semi-satirical story relating to the issue of Global Warming. This was in 1985 or 1986. I found it quite …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/adapting-to-the-changing-climate-is-the-best-we-can-hope-for/
July 2022 Built in 1854, along the Credit River in Georgetown, Ontario, it’s a rare example of a pre-Confederation industrial complex still standing, although one that’s slowly crumbling. Originally operated by the four Barber brothers (Joseph, Robert, William, and James), the Barber Paper Mill also has the distinction of being the first electrical generating plant …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-barber-paper-mill-the-crumbling-remains-of-a-historic-mill/
