Ontario became the fifth province to grant women the right to vote on April 12, 1917, after more than half a century of activism by the suffrage movement. My grandmother was part of this movement and so I have a particular interest in this part of our history. I fear that most women today do not fully appreciate the…
Tag: Newmarket
Your Memories, Photographs Vital To Preserving Our Heritage
I wish to solicit your kind assistance with several of the projects that I have on the back burner, so to speak. Several projects are merely awaiting additional information judged pertinent to the re-telling of the story of several local heritage topics of interest to yours truly and, more importantly, the community at large. If…
When A Little Village Became A Bustling Town
If I look back at the evolution of Newmarket, it appears that it was neatly planned by destiny. As I have previously mentioned in my articles, it is easy to see sharply defined transitions taking place at 50-year intervals – 1800, 1850, 1900 and 1950. However, given the rapid acceleration of economic, social, and political events after…
When A Runaway Wife Was A Man’s Stolen Property
An article in the November 1877 edition of the Newmarket Era tells a story that may seem a little strange to us today, though it would have been taken very seriously back then, which I think gives us a pretty clear glimpse into the social norms of the time and what passed for news back…
Newmarket: When Women Fought To Be ‘Persons’
Over the next few weeks, my articles will focus on the history of women’s struggle for equal rights in Canada, a topic that has been neglected in many of our history texts for far too long. This quest for equality is still very much on our lips today and I think it would be most helpful…
When Soldiers Came From Across Canada For Training
Let’s continue our look back to the years 1939 and 1940 in Newmarket’s history. When we left off last time, they were commencing the building of the Army Camp and the first soldiers were about to arrive in Newmarket. You can read part one here. Local businesses are starting to reap the benefits of having 3,500 new soldiers…
When Workers Fought For A 9-Hour Workday
Labour Day is a holiday that has become a part of our history and culture, yet we rarely stop and consider its true meaning and origin. Today, Labour Day is often more associated with fall fairs and festivals, or a last summer weekend at the cottage, than with what it was meant to be —…
When The EX Was The Place To Go Every August
It was about this time in August that the whole town was suddenly abuzz with the question that had been on everyone’s lips for generations, when are you going to the EX? Much more than a tradition, it was a rite of passage and the signal that another school year was fast approaching. For those…
From Empire State Building Builder To NHL Hockey Legend, Ward 7 Streets Honor Newmarket Notables
This article continues our series examining the provenance of Newmarket’s street names, as we find ourselves in Ward 7, bordered by McCaffrey Road to the south, Green Lane to the north, Bathurst Street to the west and Davis Drive to the east. I still have some strays to examine, so I anticipate one more article…
Newmarket’s Heritage Captured In Street Names In Ward 6
In my continuing series on the provenance of Newmarket street names, we’ll move on to Ward 6, which is bordered by Bathurst in the west, St. John’s Sideroad in the south, the CN Rail tracks on the east and McCaffrey Road to the north. Ward 6 is home to several streets dedicated to the memory…
