This column examines the Quaker pacifist influence in Ontario, its origin and effect on our history. Quaker or Friends pacification has become one of the known facts in our rich local history, so I wanted to examine it further. Quaker pacifism finds its roots in 17th-century England, but it continued to flourish and expand once the…
Tag: History
Avro Arrow Conspiracy Theories Abound
This column wraps up my four-part series on the Avro Arrow with a look at the various conspiracy theories that arose from the abrupt cancellation of the Arrow project. It seems it is a foregone conclusion any historical event will spawn any number of alternative facts, which then lead to a review of our understanding of…
Newmarket Historian Dedicated Years To Sharing Town’s Past
This column highlights the life and contributions of an individual who I believe is ‘the mother of Newmarket history,’ Ethel Willson Trewhella. If you have followed my columns, presentations, or videos over the past 40 years, you know her work is the foundation on which I and other local historians have built our narratives. She,…
Prospect Of Bypass Drives Quest To Find Lost Fort
This topic is one that resonates both from our historic past and the events currently before us — the Bradford Bypass extension. I hope to show a knowledge of our past can quite often benefit us when it comes to current issues. One of the first major export industries in our area was the fur…
Some Of Aviation’s Best Minds Designed, Built Arrow
This is the second article in a series on the Avro Arrow story, exploring the design and construction phases of the storied craft. Next, the story continues with Feb. 20, 1959, the day that became known as Black Friday in Canada, the day the Avro Arrow project was cancelled. The infamous Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was unveiled to…
The Final Days Of The Avro Arrow
In this final instalment of my three-part series on Canada’s Avro Arrow, I will look at the cancellation and fallout from the project’s termination, including its effect locally. In a future column, I will look at some of the many conspiracies that surrounded its demise. After all, no piece of history is immune to a…
The Avro Arrow and The Newmarket Area
This weekend on Newmarket Today we begin our much-awaited series of articles on the ‘Avro Arrow’ and its place in not only Canada’s aeronautical history but that of the world. Rather than jump into the story mid-stream, I have decided to examine the story right from the beginning. Over what I intend to be a…
How A Hamlet Becomes A Village Becomes A Town
Let’s delve into the meanings of some of the terms that I have been using in my series of articles for the various forms of human settlement. The main ‘units of settlement’ used since our first arrival are roadhouse, hamlets, villages, towns, cities, and metropolises. I’ll focus on the four smallest units that constitute much of…
Mills, Foundries Powered Early Newmarket
I am going to take the opportunity to answer some of the questions I have received from you, the readers. I have mentioned several of the earliest industries in Newmarket in my earlier columns, which are available at newmarkettoday.ca/remember-this. In today’s column, we shall examine early mills, foundries, cabinet manufacturers and the Canadian Family Sewing Machine Company….
Once Sleepy Newmarket Village Became Thriving Town
Anyone who has engaged in the pursuit of history, particularly our local history, will have quickly learned change, sometimes rapid, sometimes occurring over time, is inevitable. This column will look at some of the changes that took place in our business scene and the consequences they had on local employment. Change intially took place slowly in Newmarket,…
