Mar 13 2024
March 2024 Zoos, or animal parks, have been popular tourist attractions for hundreds of years in both big cities and small communities. Simcoe County currently has the Elmvale Jungle Zoo, a seasonal zoo opened in 1967 in Elmvale, Ontario, north of Barrie. Another zoo that operated briefly in Simcoe County in the early part of …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/gosslings-animal-park-a-long-forgotten-refuge-for-orphaned-and-abandoned-wild-animals/
Mar 08 2024
March 2024 It sits silently rusting away, but the bridge crossing the Nottawasaga River on the former Line 4 road alignment in Flos Township, north of Barrie, Ontario, has seen hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of vehicles travelling across its surface in the over 100 years it has spanned the river. Now this historic bridge …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/historic-vigo-iron-truss-bridge-faces-uncertain-future/
Feb 29 2024
29 February 2024 Mention “The Roxx” or “The Roxy” to anyone in the southern Ontario city of Barrie, who has lived there for more than a decade, they will likely know of the art deco influenced building in downtown Barrie that has been a centre for entertainment for almost a century. Starting out as a …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/from-the-roxy-to-mavericks-music-hall-historic-venue-has-entertained-for-almost-a-century/
Feb 27 2024
February 2024 An enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Bradford Leisure Centre to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to express their continued support for the Ukrainian people. Hosted by the Ukrainian Community of Bradford, dignitaries included Member of Parliament for York-Simcoe Scot Davidson, Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Mayor James Leduc …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/bradford-west-gwillimbury-shows-their-support-for-ukraine-on-the-2nd-anniversary-of-the-russian-invasion/
Feb 18 2024
February 2024 Another part of Barrie’s past has fallen to the wrecking ball. The southern Ontario city of Barrie is like many cities and towns across Canada, with many historic buildings in their downtown core. What became known as the “Pink Building” in recent years, due to the pink paint that covered its exterior, had …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-pink-building-is-now-gone-but-its-demolition-revealed-a-glimpse-of-barries-past/
Jan 20 2024
January 2024 What will become of the City of Windsor’s former Greyhound bus terminal remains unknown despite a plan by the University of Windsor to incorporate it into its $32.6-million downtown creative arts and music campus. For now, the vacant building will remain as such. Windsor’s Greyhound bus terminal opened in 1940, serving as the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-unknown-fate-of-windsors-abandoned-greyhound-bus-terminal/
Dec 20 2023
December 2023 Memorial Park, in downtown Port Hope, Ontario, is a popular gathering place. Complete with a playground for the children, a bandshell, the town’s cenotaph and plenty of open space for leisure, it also has something that looks quite out of place. What looks like a tombstone found in a typical cemetery, is actually …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/stories-and-hymns-joseph-scriven-memorialized-in-port-hope/
Dec 15 2023
December 2023 Innisfil Town Hall played host to the lighting of the sixth candle on the Menorah, lit by Rabbi Zevi Kaplan of Chabad Innisfil. With the horrors of the 7 October terrorist attack on Israel still fresh in everyone’s mind, the assembled crowd of Innisfil Jewish families and non-Jewish supporters celebrated the sixth day of …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/innisfil-celebrates-the-sixth-day-of-hanukkah/
Dec 10 2023
December 2023 A large, enthusiastic and festive crowd, attended Barrie City Hall on 7 December, for the annual Chanukah Fest and Grand Menorah Lighting, making a strong statement of Jewish pride and resilience. With the horrors of the 7 October terrorist attack on Israel still fresh in everyone’s mind, the assembled crowd of Jewish families and non-Jewish …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-first-night-of-hanukkah-larger-than-usual-crowd-attends-menorah-lighting-in-barrie/
Nov 27 2023
November 2023 On 5 November, I took my daughter to her first “official” concert: Depeche Mode. The band were on their Memento Mori Tour, in support of the album of the same name. I say first “official” because we had twice been to concerts before, once when she was eight, but we had to leave …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/just-cant-get-enough-of-depeche-mode/
