January 2017 Prudhomme’s Landing was once one of the biggest recreation and entertainment venues in Ontario. Founded by John and George Prudhomme, on the shore of Lake Ontario in Jordan, Ontario near St Catherines, In its heyday, Prudhomme’s Landing was a very popular and affordable spot for youth and families and once saw as many as 7, 000 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/abandoned-canadian-amusement-parks-prudhommes-landing-wet-n-wild/
November 2016 At Hamilton’s McMaster University, there is a memorial garden dedicated to the memory of McMaster student Nina de Villiers, who attended the university from 1990-1991. So just who is Nina de Villiers? Nina de Villiers was a nineteen-year-old McMaster University biology student and Burlington resident; the daughter of Priscilla and Dr. Rocco de Villiers. …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/gone-but-not-forgotten-the-legacy-of-nina-de-villiers-lives-on/
October 2016 A ghost town is a once flourishing town that is wholly or mostly abandoned, usually as a result of the economic activity that supported it has failed, usually due to resource exhaustion, natural disasters or government actions that make the area economically non-viable. One such ghost town in the Parry Sound District in Ontario is Depot …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-train-doesnt-stop-here-anymore-depot-harbour-ghost-town/
September 2016 On 24 September 2016, 60 volunteers from a wide age-range gathered in Centralia, Pennsylvania, a borough in the heart of Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal region, for a community clean-up. Although the borough is virtually abandoned, with only 6 residents remaining, two busy state roads run through it, so Centralia is far from deserted. Some of …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-great-american-clean-up-volunteers-clean-up-illegal-dumping-in-centralia/
August 2016 On the shore of Lake Ontario in Kingston, Ontario, sits an 8.6 hectare plot of land, encircled by large, foreboding limestone walls containing several limestone buildings within them. This complex was once known as Kingston Penitentiary, British North America’s first penitentiary. The prison sits beside Portsmouth Harbour, a site chosen for its convenient access to the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/do-not-pass-go-canadas-first-penitentiary-closed-after-178-years-service-but-its-legend-lives-on/
August 2016 On 19 August 2016, a ceremony was held to commemorate the re-opening of the historic Oro African Methodist Episcopal Church at the intersection of Line 3 North and Old Barrie Rod in Oro-Medonte Township. Several dignitaries attended he public ceremony including Ontario Lieutenant-Governor The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, MPs Alex Nuttall and Bruce Stanton, …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/restored-historic-oro-african-methodist-episcopal-church-re-opens-to-great-fanfare/
Note: this is an update of an article written in 2007. August 2016 Simcoe County is fortunate to have numerous museums, telling the story of the county’s military, railroading, frontier and aboriginal past. One small and little known museum that exists right in the heart of Barrie’s downtown is The Grey & Simcoe Foresters Regimental Museum. …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/military-museum-holds-regiments-history-2/
On 23 July 2016, Bala’s Museum held their annual “Everything About Anne Day,” where they re-create the day in 1922 when Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery came to Bala, Ontario, for a 2 week vacation. Starting off with the arrival of “Lucy Maud Montgomery” (played by Donna Hillyard) herself by carriage, the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/everything-anne/
July 2016 Toronto was once a beehive of aviation activity, with numerous small public and private airfields in the area, most of which have vanished from the landscape with little to remind people today of the property’s aviation past. Barker Field is one of those vanished airfields. Originally named Century Airport, the privately owned aerodrome …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/vanished-airfields-barker-field/
June 2016 As a part of the 100th anniversary of CFB Borden, the base unveiled the Borden Legacy Monument, built as a lasting monument to the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers who trained at Camp Borden and died in the European battlefields. The monument features two black granite walls, one that contains an urn filled with …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/borden-legacy-monument/
