October 2024 Within the growing and busy City of Vaughan, north of Toronto, Ontario, is the former unincorporated village of Teston. In the years after what was then known as Vaughan Township was surveyed in 1792, small communities were established at various street corners throughout the 105 square miles of land within its borders. Founded …
Category Archive: Things From My Travels
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/vanished-villages-of-vaughan-township-teston/
After 66 years, is Hamilton’s iconic Lakeland Go-Karts is closing?
October 2024 Lakeland Kartway has been a fixture of the beach strip area in Hamilton for 66 years, but the seasonal operation may have seen its last summer. The scheduled closure of the popular go-kart track, the oldest one in Canada, came as a shock to residents of the southern Ontario city and its neighbouring …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/after-66-years-is-hamiltons-iconic-lakeland-go-karts-is-closing/
Richmond Hill pays tribute to Terry Fox and his ambitious Marathon of Hope
October 2024 It was 24 July 1980, when Terry Fox ran along Yonge Street in Richmond Hill, Ontario, past a small parkette on the east side of the road. The young Canadian runner had begun his cross-Canada run, the Marathon of Hope, in support of cancer research a little over two-months prior in St. John’s Newfoundland. …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/richmond-hill-pays-tribute-to-terry-fox-and-his-ambitious-marathon-of-hope/
The house that chicken bought – Mississauga home once owned by Colonel Sanders
October 2024 Regardless of whether you are a fan of fried chicken or not, everyone knows the name and face of one of the most successful fried chicken restauranteurs in modern history, the man referred to simply as “The Colonel.” Colonel Harland Sanders was the Indiana-born businessman and founder of fast food chicken restaurant chain …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-house-that-chicken-bought-mississauga-home-once-owned-by-colonel-sanders/
Park re-named in honour of young Provincial Constable killed in the line of duty
October 2024 On 27 December 2022, 28-year-old Provincial Constable Grzegorz “Greg” Pierzchala, a rookie member of the Ontario Provincial Police, Haldimand detachment, was shot and killed while responding to a report of a vehicle in a ditch near the Town of Hagersville. It was nothing short of an ambush attack, with Pierzchala not even having …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/park-re-named-in-honour-of-young-provincial-constable-killed-in-the-line-of-duty/
The ghosts of Century Manor – Victorian Gothic manor in Hamilton faces uncertain future
October 2024 It’s a striking Victorian Gothic manor, the only remnant of the long-closed Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital on Hamilton Mountain. Century Manor was built in 1884, originally as the East House for what was then called the Hamilton Asylum for the Insane, a provincial facility tasked with housing the criminally insane, like murderers, serial killers …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-ghosts-of-century-manor-victorian-gothic-manor-in-hamilton-faces-uncertain-future/
Wilson’s Hill Cemetery – The final resting place of some of Simcoe County’s earliest pioneer settlers
September 2024 Cemeteries are like a window to the past and a reflection on the temporary nature of life. From peaceful gardens to majestic sculptures, cemeteries are only the final resting places for the deceased, but also sites of great architectural beauty and cultural significance. Walking through the rows of gravestones, you can see the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/wilsons-hill-cemetery-the-final-resting-place-of-some-of-simcoe-countys-earliest-pioneer-settlers/
From agricultural to industrialism – The demise of Barrie Bell and the Barrie Carriage Company
September 2024 The southern Ontario city of Barrie has never been known as an automobile manufacturing city, unlike Detroit or Oshawa, but it was in Barrie that the short-lived Bell Motor Cars Company located on of their assembly plants. Bell Motor Cars Company was an automobile company, based in York, Pennsylvania, that operated from 1915-1922. Bell …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/from-agricultural-to-industrialism-the-demise-of-barrie-bell-and-the-barrie-carriage-company/
Ghosts of Hurleyville – The remains of the NYO&W Railway in the Catskills
September 2024 Prior to the automobile, and more so before improved roadways, the New York, Ontario and Western Railway (NYO&W) was the principle way to get to the Catskills. The Catskills resort and Bungalow boom, starting in the 1930s was made possible in a great way by the railways. The NYO&W was a regional railroad …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/ghosts-of-hurleyville-the-remains-of-the-nyow-railway-in-the-catskills/
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/sullivan-countys-historic-bridges-the-stone-arch-bridge-in-kenoza/