Oct 19 2020
October 2020 Hamilton, Ontario, is like many older cities around the world that have lost historic buildings to neglect and re-development. Happily, many still stand and some have even been restored to their former glory after years of neglect. Back when the railways were king, Hamilton had one of its own railway companies, the Toronto, …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/hamiltons-historic-thb-railway-station-given-a-fitting-new-life/
Oct 18 2020
October 2020 The former Canadian National (CN) Railway Station on James Street North in Hamilton, dates back to a grand era when the railways were king and their passenger stations were often grand and architecturally stunning buildings. When CN needed a new station along the former Grand Trunk Railway line in North Hamilton, which they …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/hamiltons-grand-canadian-national-railway-station-now-a-banquet-centre/
Oct 12 2020
October 2020 In May 1942, George McNutt left his family farm in Medonte Township, taking a train from the nearby Canadian Pacific Railway station at Craighurst, and joined the Canadian Army, serving initially with the Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment. He never returned home. On 4 October 1944, Private George McNutt died while fighting in …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/oro-medonte-honors-long-lost-soldier-by-naming-road-past-family-farm-in-his-memory/
Oct 10 2020
October 2020 In October 2009, 23 year-old Private Kevin McKay deployed to Afghanistan with his regiment, the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based at Steele Barracks in Edmonton, Alberta. On 13 May 2010, Private McKay was on foot patrol near the village of Nakhonay, in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan. The …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/horseshoe-valley-honours-soldier-killed-in-afghanistan-war/
Oct 08 2020
October 2020 Cemeteries frequently contain elaborate and ornate monuments, some incorporated into the tombstones, and some stand-alone. Some monuments are simpler, but still eye-catching. The 6th Line Cemetery in the Town of Innisfil, Ontario, north of Toronto, has a large natural fieldstone cairn topped by an Ionian Cross at the main entrance to the cemetery. …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/ionian-cross-topped-fieldstone-cairn-a-monument-to-early-scottish-settlers-in-innisfil-township/
Oct 04 2020
October 2020 Before the motor vehicles and major highway systems, the railway was the fastest and most efficient way to transport people and goods across the country. In addition to the national railways, like Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, there were many smaller regional railways that criss-crossed the provinces and territories, connecting towns and villages …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/barrys-bay-railway-station-a-remnant-of-the-long-vanished-oaps-railway/
Sep 22 2020
September 2020 The small Village of Shanty Bay, north of Barrie, Ontario, has a historic church that is one of the few remaining structures in Ontario built of “rammed earth.” The “rammed earth” construction method involves mixing wet clay with chopped straw, compacted into forms and covered, when dry, with plaster or siding for durability …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-mud-church-of-shanty-bay/
Sep 20 2020
September 2020 In the years after World War I ended, cities, towns and villages across Canada erected cenotaphs to honour the men from their communities who died in the war. Most consisted of a carved square granite column listing the names of the dead, topped with a granite statue of a uniformed soldier. Some are …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/lest-we-forget-woodbridge-war-memorial-tower/
Sep 18 2020
September 2020 In the south-western Ontario city of Kitchener, a 62-foot tapered tower, built of rounded fieldstones from the surrounding area. This monument, on the shore of the Grand River, is dedicated to the Pennsylvania Dutch (Mennonite) immigrants who came to what was then Upper Canada. Travelling from New York State and Pennsylvania in the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/waterloo-pioneer-memorial-tower-a-monument-to-the-pennsylvania-dutch-pioneers-of-waterloo-county/
Sep 15 2020
September 2020 In the Woolwich Township community of West Montrose, sits the last covered bridge in Ontario. Quite fittingly, the area is heavily populated by Old Order Mennonites, the black-garbed traditionalists, who drive their horse-drawn wagons and buggies across this bridge, just like their Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors did two centuries ago. Covered bridges were quite …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-west-montrose-covered-bridge-ontarios-last-remaining-covered-bridge/
