Category Archive: Things From My Travels

Jun 16 2017

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary – Was the notorious prison truly escape-proof?

June 2017 In San Francisco Bay is a small island, 1.25 miles off shore from San Francisco.  Discovered by Spanish explorers in 1769, the island was named La Isla de los Alcatraces – Island of the Pelicans, because of the large number of birds nesting on the island. Alcatraz Island became the property of the United States …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/alcatraz-federal-penitentiary-was-the-notorious-prison-truly-an-escape-proof/

Jun 06 2017

A post-apocalyptic future – The lost neighbourhood of Lincoln Way

June 2017 Many of us have visions of what a post-apocalyptic world might look like. In western Pennsylvania is the City of Clairton, a city that was the setting for the 1978 movie, “The Deer Hunter”, although none of the movie was actually filmed there. One residential street in Clairton is Lincoln Way, gives us a …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-lost-neighbourhood-of-lincoln-way/

May 28 2017

“Let’s Roll”: In memory of the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93

May 2017 In a lonely field in Stoneycreek Township, north of Shanksville, Pensylvania, travelers will find the Flight 93 National Memorial, on the site where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on 11 September 2001, killing all 40 passengers and crew, along with the four terrorists who hijacked the airplane. Flight 93 was one of the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/lets-roll-in-memory-of-the-passengers-and-crew-of-united-airlines-flight-93/

May 23 2017

Deep underground – Coal mining in Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Region

May 2017 Deep in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Region, in Schuykill County, is the Borough of Ashland.  Surrounded by forests and steep hills, the borough’s southern border follows the top of Ashland Mountain, which rises 400 to 600 feet above the center of town.  Mahony Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River passes through a water …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/deep-underground-coal-mining-in-pennsylvanias-anthracite-region/

Apr 30 2017

Watching over the children for eternity

April 2017 One of the saddest, but comforting thing I’ve ever seen is a stone Teddy Bear watching over the graves of infants in Pardes Shalom Cemetery in Maple, north of Toronto. It’s obviously very sad when a child dies, but I also find it heartbreaking to think of the child lying in their grave alone, without …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/watching-over-the-children-for-eternity/

Apr 18 2017

And then there were six – Pennsylvania’s lost town close to extinction

April 2017 The population in Centralia, Pennsylvania, in the heart of anthracite coal region, dropped to only six people in the fall of 2016 when Kathi Wormer, daughter of the Borough’s last official Mayor, Carl Womer, moved out of the house once occupied by her parents. The home at 102 East Wood Street, originally occupied by Carl …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/and-then-there-were-four-pennsylvanias-lost-town-close-to-extinction/

Apr 07 2017

WWI pilot trainee remembered in his hometown

Published in the Alliston Herald, 17 April 2017 The inscription of the tombstone of Royal Flying Corps Cadet James Talbot reads: “A noble young life given in service”. The weather on 7 April 2017 was cold and windy, with a thin layer of snow on the ground, as a crowd gathered at Union Cemetery in …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/wwi-pilot-trainee-remembered-in-his-hometown/

Jan 13 2017

Abandoned amusement parks in Canada: Prudhomme’s Landing – Wet ‘N’ Wild

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/abandoned-canadian-amusement-parks-prudhommes-landing-wet-n-wild/

Nov 21 2016

Gone but not forgotten: The memory of Nina de Villiers lives on at McMaster University

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.  …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/gone-but-not-forgotten-the-legacy-of-nina-de-villiers-lives-on/

Oct 30 2016

The train doesn’t stop here anymore: The ghost town of Depot Harbour

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-train-doesnt-stop-here-anymore-depot-harbour-ghost-town/

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