The May 24th Long Weekend is one of my favourite holidays. Over time, the focus has shifted from celebrating the birthday of Queen Victoria to celebrating the arrival of summer, but one thing has remained the same - it's a chance for people to get out and enjoy the first of the summer weather! This sentiment certainly isn't new, but not every May 24th has ended a happy one. In 1881, this holiday was marred with one of the worst tragedies that London, Ontario has ever suffered. Today, we're looking at the story of the Victoria.
Read MoreHello everyone, and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season. As I mentioned in my last post, I was back in Ontario visiting family. It was a wonderful visit, and it came to an end far too quickly (as holidays tend to).
While I was home, I was digging through some old books and folders and I came across a newspaper clipping. When I was away at university, my mum used to go through the paper and if she came across an article she thought I'd be interested in, she would cut it out and leave it on my dresser in my bedroom for the next time I was home. This article surfaced around June 2008, and I had read it and then dutifully tucked it away in a notebook. Turns out, the article was about one of the oldest and most well preserved shipwrecks in Lake Ontario, and it fits perfectly with my 2015 Shipster plan. So, thanks Mum!
Read MoreAs some of you may have heard, September was a very busy month for shipwrecks. The Canadian Government, working with Parks Canada and different agencies, finally located the HMS Erebus from the fabled Franklin expedition. Shortly after, a four-man team located the wreck of the Nisbet Grammer, a steel cargo ship that collided with another ship and sank to the bottom of Lake Ontario almost 90 years ago.
Read MoreThis week, we are going to leave the East Coast and venture along the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Brockville narrows. Just offshore of Cockburn Island lies the wreck of a drilling scow that met a quick and violent end - the John B. King.
Read MoreThis week I decided to feature a wreck from my home province; one that anyone who has visited the Niagara region is probably familiar with.
Anyone who has visited Niagara Falls (either the Canadian or American side, though your vantage point for this would be better from Canada) has probably seen the large, rusting wreck in the middle of the rapids leading the way towards the Horseshoe Falls. I remember being a kid and having my grandfather point it out to me, saying it was a barge that had broken free of its moorings and got stuck in the middle of the rapids. But what's the real story? Not to say my granddad was lying, but there's a way you explain things to an eight year old and a way you explain things to an adult. So, for this week's "Over the Waves", I decided to research the history behind this hulking wreck, referred to in publications as "The Niagara Scow" or "The Old Scow".
Read MoreThe SS Alexandria was a steam paddle boat that travelled along the Great Lakes from 1866-1915. She was originally constructed as a freight vessel, but was then refitted and extended to allow for passenger travel, making runs all along the Canadian shores with the occasional trip across to the United States. Towards the end of her career, however, she was changed back into a freight ship, moving goods from one port to the next.
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