Does the music from your past have the power to stop in your tracks, swept away in a myriad of nostalgic feelings? Well, it most certainly does for me. I can be just getting on with my life, be it a good day or bad, and a song that I love from my past is…
Tag: History
Newmarket: Ice Cutter, Soda Jerk, Candy Girl, Milkman Among Long Gone Jobs
Whether you are a history hound or simply researching your family tree, you have probably come across occupations that are now extinct or most certainly rare. Ever wonder what those jobs entailed or where they went? Let’s have a look at what some of our ancestors did for a living. Some occupations on our list disappeared thanks…
Orange Lodge Thrived In Early Newmarket
This article recounts the establishment and history of the Orange Lodge in Ontario and specifically in the Newmarket area to inform those who perhaps do not know much about its place in our history. There have been many organizations like the Orange Lodge over the course of history of this area, and I hope to highlight some of…
Old-Time Sayings Bring Back Memories Of Grandparents
Here’s a fun topic that should spark memories of our parents and grandparents: let’s look at the quaint ways they spoke, their phrases and unique idiomatic expressions. Canada is a country of immigrants, and our words and expressions reflect that fact. Newmarket’s early ancestors came from England, France and after the American War of Independence, the…
Old Movies Offer More Than Nostalgia About Our History
Why do we so love watching old movies? I draw equally upon my own experience as a lover of film and as someone who loves history and all the different ways we can re-capture our past. Movies often reflect what life used to be like, prompting memories and emotions to reappear, nurturing something deep inside us….
Symbols On Memorial Markers Tell Stories Of Lives Passed
This is the second in a two-part series on tombstones and monuments, including the secret meanings behind the symbols and language used on memorial markers. We will begin with an examination of the decorations frequently found on monuments, along with the inscriptions, exploring some of the motifs and commonly held interpretations of their symbolism. It is important to…
Exploring The What, How and Why Of Area Headstones
This weekend on NewmarketToday, we begin a two-article examination of tombstones or monuments. I have been conducting walking tours of cemeteries for years and a major focus of these tours has been the history behind burial markers and the hidden language that the engravings on monuments represent. I have also conducted presentations on the topic…
The Story of Gamble’s Inn
This weekend on Newmarket Today we examine the first hotel in the Newmarket area, located in what once was the first white permanent settlement in King Township, established at the beginning of the nineteenth century at Armitage, located on the West Side of Yonge Street, just southwest of the town of Newmarket and bordering on…
Charles Thompson’s Little Known History
Charles Thompson, while he is perhaps little-known today, was once one of the most important entrepreneurs in Ontario during the first part of the 19th century. Most of the traffic, whether it be of the human or merchandise variety, which travelled from York (Toronto) north to Simcoe County, was carried on one of his stagecoaches…
Historians Balance Facts With Narrative To Bring Alive Our Past
Art or science? It’s a topic that has been under debate for many years, in fact dating back to my final thesis at university back in the 1970s. What is the nature of the study of history? Is it more closely aligned to the arts or the sciences? I invite you to join the discussion…
