July 2020 The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) disappeared from the railway landscape 97 years ago, but fortunately, many of the former GTR stations remain standing today; mostly being used for non-railway functions. In Maple, Ontario, just north of Toronto, one of the former GTR stations is still a very busy railway station. Currently owned by …
Category Archive: Original Writing
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/memories-of-a-grand-era-the-maple-grand-trunk-railway-station/
Some police duties are better handled by police officers
July 2020 With the “Defunding the Police” movement gaining traction in many cities, the municipal council in Berkeley, California, announced back in March it plans to look at forming a special traffic enforcement department that will use unarmed city workers to conduct traffic stops, instead of police officers. Back in March, the municipal council in Berkeley, California, …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/some-police-duties-are-better-handled-by-police-officers/
The Guild Inn – A treasure along the Scarborough Bluffs
July 2020 The Guild Inn, also known simply as The Guild, is a historic former hotel along the Scarborough Bluffs, that now operates as a banquet and special events facility. Originally known as Brickford Manor, this white stucco, Arts and Crafts-style manor house, was built in 1914 by Colonel Harold on his 40 acres property. …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-guild-inn-a-treasure-along-the-scarborough-bluffs/
Premier Ford criticizes dramatic increase in parking rates on Barrie waterfront
July 2020 Premier Doug Ford recently criticized the dramatic increase in parking rates for municipal lots and street parking along the waterfront in Barrie to $10 per hour, calling it price gouging during a pandemic. As a Barrie resident, I’d like to offer some context to the issue. Part of the reason the waterfront parks …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/premier-ford-criticizes-dramatic-increase-in-parking-rates-on-barrie-waterfront/
We can’t afford John Tory’s Rail Deck Park vanity project
July 2020 Toronto Mayor John Tory is definitely one of the most likable politicians out there. However, I think his proposed Rail Deck Park, a plan to build an approximately 20 acre park atop the rail corridor rail corridor between Bathurst Street and Blue Jays Way, in downtown Toronto, should be put on ice, perhaps …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/we-cant-afford-john-torys-rail-deck-park-vanity-project/
Orillia’s former Grand Trunk Railway station faces an uncertain future
July 2020 The former Canadian National Railway (CNR) station in Orillia is facing an uncertain future after being sold to a developer. Originally built by the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in 1917, it became part of the CNR inventory when the GTR went bankrupt six years later. It replaced the original station, which was destroyed …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/orillias-former-grand-trunk-railway-station-faces-an-uncertain-future/
Restored Grand Trunk Railway station in Caledonia a local treasure
July 2020 The Grand Trunk Railway station in Caledonia is one of several restored railway stations that hearken back to the day of Canada’s “golden age” of railway travel, when railway stations had impressive and appealing architectural designs. The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) built the current station in 1908, the third GTR railway station to …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/restored-grand-trunk-railway-station-in-caledonia-a-local-treasure/
The Norfolk Carillon Tower – A towering memorial to the county’s war dead
July 2020 The Norfolk Carillon Tower, dedicated on 17 June 1925, was built to honour the men, and one woman, from Norfolk County, who were lost in The Great War. A carillon is a musical instrument that is usually housed in a bell tower on a church or other public building. Funds were raised by …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-norfolk-carillon-tower-a-towering-memorial-to-the-countys-war-dead/
Justin says we are to call out racism when we see it, so…….
Published in the Toronto Sun 17 July 2020 Trudeau’s race relations. Oy vey! The jokes just keep writing themselves when it comes to Justin Trudeau. In reaction to a disgusting incident on 5 July at a T&T Supermarket in Mississauga, where a 48-year-old male, identified by Peel Police as John McCash, launched into an almost …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/justin-says-we-are-to-call-out-racism-when-we-see-it-so/
Taber Hill – An unassuming hill that became a significant ethnological discovery
July 2020 Large parts of the earth feature rolling topography; any land formation, hill, or raised land, that is not high enough to be considered a mountain, that has been formed by erosion or some other force in nature like glaciers. Sometimes the hills we see around our communities are man-made, like Taber Hill, located …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/taber-hill-an-unassuming-hill-that-became-a-significant-ethnological-discovery/

