Perhaps one of the defining historical moments of my generation was the arrival of Hurricane Hazel in Newmarket and the subsequent effects of this event on our town and region. I will confine myself to York Region and the resulting devastation, what happened, how it happened and what changes resulted. Floods were a regular occurrence…
Tag: Interview
Newmarket Men Stepped Up To Bravely Fight In War Of 1812
We step back in time to the period around the War of 1812 in this first of a two-part series. I hope to convey a sense of local life, observe how the war affected the fledgling hamlet of Newmarket and examine its lasting impact here. Along the way, we will meet a few individuals who became…
Newmarket Citizens Once Paid For Their Own Coveted Streetlamps
In today’s world, we tend to forget that life was very different if not downright harsh for our ancestors and the absence of electrical power and public lighting services was one of the realities that our ancestors had to endure. When the first buildings began to appear in Newmarket, only the sun, moon and stars…
Tales of Newmarket’s Taverns, Hotels Include Murder, Circuses, Morse’s Telegraph
At one time, Newmarket had more taverns and hotels per capita than any other place in Canada of its size! One need only to read my article on Prohibition locally to appreciate fully how much we loved our drink locally. The first tavern in the area appeared in Armitage, a small hamlet at the corner…
Tales Of Newmarket’s Taverns, Hotels Include Murder, Circuses, Morse’s Telegraph
At one time, Newmarket had more taverns and hotels per capita than any other place in Canada of its size! One need only to read my article on Prohibition locally to appreciate fully how much we loved our drink locally. The first tavern in the area appeared in Armitage, a small hamlet at the corner…
Interviewing Family, Friends Helps Capture Local History Before It’s Lost
Capturing our local history to ensure that it is never lost, and readily available to generations to come, is a topic close to my heart. I have been interviewing people and conducting oral history interviews for years, back to my university days. Now that I am getting a little older, it is my passion to…
Interviewing Family, Friends Helps Capture Local History Before It’s Lost
Capturing our local history to ensure that it is never lost, and readily available to generations to come, is a topic close to my heart. I have been interviewing people and conducting oral history interviews for years, back to my university days. Now that I am getting a little older, it is my passion to…
Gorman Name Lives On In Newmarket Lore, Nation’s Sporting Memories
Peter Gorman, who was a familiar figure for many of us in Newmarket, was a major force within the very fabric of our community. Mr. Gorman, like many others who found their way to our town over the years, proved to be an incredible addition to Newmarket. Arriving with his family from London, Ontario, he…
Gorman Name Lives On In Newmarket Lore, Nation’s Sporting Memories
Peter Gorman, who was a familiar figure for many of us in Newmarket, was a major force within the very fabric of our community. Mr. Gorman, like many others who found their way to our town over the years, proved to be an incredible addition to Newmarket. Arriving with his family from London, Ontario, he…
Newmarket And The Riel Rebellion
This article is the first in a two-part series in which I’ll highlight events from the mid-1800s to the turn of the century, a period that saw several historic events occur in Canada, which were reflected here in Newmarket. Prior to the uprising in 1837, William Lyon MacKenzie and Robert Gourlay had advocated for a…
