CPR Section House

CPR Section House

Monday, February 27, 2012

OOPS !

Did you see that I misplaced these last three posts. Sorry! They were for the Mattawa Fish blog . Well thank you for taking the time to look them over.

Ice Fishing accident!!


DON'T FISH ALONE .

How not to pull your truck out of the ice.


The language in this video is precisely profane...but what else could he possibly say in the immediate circumstances.

Multiple Vehicles Fall Into Lake - Video - WISN Milwaukee

Multiple Vehicles Fall Into Lake - Video - WISN Milwauke

Don't use the calendar to determine the thickness of the ice . Get out and check. Remember that snow fall actually insulates the ice from the cold air. So that ice doesn't freeze into thicknesses that can support heavy weight in small areas. The ice must be over one foot thick to support one heavy truck ( transport ). Several smaller trucks/cars can easily add up to the same weight fairly quickly. This year the ice has not got to the thicknesses of years past. Be careful out there.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

A Grand Way to Travel

The TRHA had this little video on their blog today and I couldn't resist sharing it with you. That's one trip - grand in every way- worth the effort and time.


Thursday, February 16, 2012

Tales on the Railroad

I found this story , spooky at that , called The Ghost Train . It supposedly happened in 1908 Alberta to a fireman working the CPR. It is taken from S.E.Schlosser's book - Spooky Canada .

I wonder how many tales like this one are out there told around the wood stoves in the bunkhouse back in the day.
Maybe you have come across one or two in your time. Why not share one with us?

Friday, February 10, 2012

An Anniversary

My second post in this blog was ' How It Started/Soldier War Bride/CPR ' on January 28, 2011. Today is the date , February 10 in 1946 that my Mum landed in Halifax - an immigrant war bride to Canada. Fresh out of the British Army.

The Canadian Encyclopedia sent out a reminder on their Fb page with a post on just that subject.

A couple of weeks after disembarking Mum found herself enjoying her first Canadian winter with new nieces and nephews.
Mum was one of over 40 000 women who made that trip on that ship and others.

Arriving in Canada during the coldest part of the winter was no easy thing. Other cold receptions did not make it any easier. But she stayed and made a new life with Dad in Northern Ontario courtesy of 'Canada' and the CPR.


More information about the ship is available here Cunard-White Star Line to the home page. You will find the ship's name in the right hand column. (RMS Mauritania 2)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Early 1960s - A Time Of Innocence


By the mid sixties , the Korean War , the Cold War , the very real threat of Nuclear War ,  the Viet Nam War ,and the strong arm tactics used against  Blacks , protesters ,college students , and Native people were quickly wearing out the fantasy of the perfect life our parents had imagined when the Second World War was put behind them.  The world appeared to be spinning out of control. This insanity had to stop.

Who was right? Who was wrong?  Things were not so simple anymore.

Top 25 Songs of The 1960s

Music began coming to us from all sides in the sixties. New sounds. New styles. New rhythms. Fast and furious. So much was happening in the world and it was affecting even our little town in northern Ontario.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Plain Folk

Coming from an area where country music , French Canadian music and other music from the people was common, the folk period of 1960's was a natural fit.

Sitting in backyards around campfires and in kitchens with guitars , fiddles and accordions was a regular pastime for many. Old favourites and new songs were taken on enthusiastically . Voices blending and harmonizing . Groups tied together by circumstance and time.

This Canadian Folk singer had a long career . Many of his songs are recognized world wide and are now classics. Gordon Lightfoot was one of the best Canadian exports of the 60's and 70's.

Another was Joni Mitchell.

And then there was American Bob Dillan.

These were only three of the many folk singers who shook our world bringing so many things into our small and sheltered part of the world for us to think about.

Time changes slowly in small towns but big things were happening quickly everywhere else . Folk singers brought these things to us . Music was the fastest way to expose people to new ideas . New ways of looking at issues. For a long time I didn't really understand from where these new concepts came or even how to relate to them . But each time the song was sung again , my awareness and thoughts expanded.