Stories of Our Past Series – ��

Explosion in Halifax Harbour, 1917

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:35:21 +0000

In December 1917, one of the greatest natural harbours in the world was humming with excitement. Halifax Harbour was filled with naval convoys and merchant vessels while factories worked overtime in support of the Allied war effort in Europe. But on December 6, Canada's worst disaster struck, as two ships--one carrying high explosives--collided. The explosion killed and injured thousands, razing the city's North End and destroying nearly everything in its path.

The story of the worst human-made explosion before Hiroshima is the account of tremendous human suffering and devastation, yet also of human bravery and survival against all odds. Chaos and confusion reigned that day in Halifax and Dartmouth but what followed was a massive relief effort involving charitable assistance from all over the globe--especially Massachusetts.

Explosion in Halifax Harbour, 1917 includes a detailed account of the event, chronicling many remarkable human tragedies, rescue and relief efforts, attempts to place blame for the collision, and the reconstruction program that created Canada's first government-assisted housing program. The newest Stories of Our Past title includes 60 full-colour images as well as sidebars on many monuments and commemorations that pay tribute to this catastrophic event that took place 100 years ago.

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The Accidental Farmer

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:34:26 +0000

Nova Scotia's Ross Farm Museum is a living window into the province's agricultural history. Since the museum opened in 1970, it has been a favourite destination for school children, who have been educated about early times and farming. There, you can see straw hats being woven, wool being spun, and butter being churned. There is a blacksmith shop and a stave mill.

This delightful book, the latest in the Stories of our Past series, tells the story of the original Ross family who crossed the Atlantic in 1816, built a home, and overcame many challenges. Perfect for high-school students and general readers with an interest in local history. Illustrated with over 60 colour images, and including sidebar features and an index.

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The Saddest Ship Afloat

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:27:24 +0000

The latest in the Stories of our Past series explores the WWII Jewish refugee ship refused safe harbour at Halifax's Pier 21. Illustrated with photos and sidebar features on the voyage, the lives of passengers, a look at Canada's postwar refugee policy, and memorials of this tragic event in Canadian immigration history.

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The Charlottetown Conference

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:25:52 +0000

In mid-June 1864, the Province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec) was experiencing what contemporaries call "political deadlock": no political party could hold a majority in the Assembly. The past fifteen years had seen twelve different governments, and few important laws were passed. As a result, the "Great Coalition" was formed, seeking to turn the Canadas into a federal union. That September, delegates from the three Maritime provinces prepared to discuss their potential union in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. With the addition of delegates representing the Canadas, however, the conference became the catalyst for the formation of the Dominion of Canada.

The newest title in the Stories of Our Past series explores the political motives surrounding Confederation, with a focus on the pivotal role of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference. Highlighted with images, tables, and informative sidebars, The Charlottetown Conference is an accessible history of the birth of a nation.

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�Ұ��Ի�-�ʰ�é

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:24:08 +0000

In 2012 the Landscape of Grand Pré, which includes the entire Grand Pré Marsh and portions of North Grand Pré, Hortonville, Grand Pré, and Lower Wolfville, was declared Nova Scotia’s third UNESCO World Heritage Site. This newest addition to the Stories of our Past series details the area’s physical and cultural evolution in an accessible, highly visual format.

Grand Pré explores the interrelationship of the peoples and landscape of Grand Pré, from the legacies of the dykelands to the record-breaking tides of the Minas Basin. With a focus on the resilient first peoples of Grand Pré—the Mi’kmaq and the Acadians—the book explores the implications of the Grand Dérangement, including the arrival of New England Planters, the twentieth-century Acadian Renaissance, and the creation of the “Land of Evangeline.” Includes informative sidebars and 50 colour photos.

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Louisbourg

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:22:48 +0000

Now a national historic site, the fortified military settlement of Louisbourg was once a colonial jewel desired by both the French and English monarchies, traded with yet feared by the Anglo-Americans, and highly regarded by the Mi’kmaq. Home to Canada’s first lighthouse, Louisbourg became the capital of Île-Royale (Cape Breton Island) in 1720, and was an economically viable fishery, military stronghold, and strategic naval base for centuries.

In the newest addition to the Stories of our Past series, Louisbourg: Past, Present, and Future, historian A. J. B. Johnston explores the complex past of the Nova Scotian landmark in an accessible and animated format. Featuring over 50 images, including maps, archaeological excavations, and artistic renderings, Louisbourg illustrates a significant period in Nova Scotia history.

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Fire Spook

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:22:31 +0000

Graham, with a journalistic, fact-collecting approach, painstakingly tries to piece together what happened when mysterious fires and other mischief drove a respectable family from its home near Caledonia Mills, close by the Antigonish-Guysborough county line in 1922. It is a story that exists in countless versions and under names ranging from Mary Ellen Spook, to the Caledonia Mills Spook, the Bochdan of Caledonia Mills to simply, Spook Farm. It is also a story that has come down through the generations, told in Gaelic and in English, in country farmhouses, public meeting rooms and university residences for almost a century.Graham is at her best in introducing Alec MacDonald, his wife Janet Cameron and their adopted daughter Mary Ellen MacDonald whose father was killed by a falling box of coal in the Drummond Colliery in Westville. Alec and Janet had a connection to the family, and as was often done in those days, they took one of the four children into their care. The MacDonalds were plagued, to a degree that can no longer be substantiated; by nuisance occurrences such as cows loosened from their stanchions and household items disappearing but in 1922 they were subjected to mysterious, relentless fires that ultimately drove them from their home.Graham documents the MacDonalds' lives after they left the farm and examines the various theories put forth to explain the forces that so disrupted them. Some of the theories, she acknowledges, are as equally unlikely as evil spirits at work but it is interesting to see how investigators formulated their theories by relying heavily on certain pieces of evidence or personal accounts while discounting others.

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Joshua Slocum

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:20:31 +0000

The newest title in the Stories of our Past series tells the tale of the Brier Island boy who went to sea at sixteen and never looked back. The first person to circumnavigate the globe alone, Captain Joshua Slocum has remained a nautical icon since the publication of Sailing Alone Around the World in 1900.

In Joshua Slocum, journalist Quentin Casey takes readers from the treasured sea captain's humble upbringing on Westport, Brier Island, through his lifelong quest for adventure on the sea. Follow Slocum's career from ordinary seaman to master of celestial navigation, and experience a rare look into his personal life, trouble on and off the sea, and his mysterious disappearance. Includes sidebar features on little-known Slocum facts and over 60 images, including photographs, maps, and illustrations.

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Bluenose

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:17:00 +0000

The second title in the Stories of our Past series, Bluenose tells the story behind the ship on Canada's ten-cent coin. Beginning with the schooner's launch in Lunenburg in 1921, author Monica Graham describes Bluenose's career as a fishing boat, her racing exploits (seventeen years undefeated in the International Fisherman's Trophy), her representation of Canada at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, and her time as a shipping vessel in the Caribbean rum and sugar trade. The book's final chapter recounts Bluenose's demise on a coral reef in Haiti and the launching of the replica, Bluenose II.

Using a colourful design, and with photos, maps, diagrams, interviews with crew members, and sidebar features on sailing and shipboard life, Bluenose offers a fascinating introduction to a Canadian and Nova Scotian emblem to satisfy a variety of interests.

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Rum-Running

Terrilee Bulger — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 23:14:54 +0000

The first book in the Stories of Our Past series, Rum-Running is an intriguing look at one of the most fascinating aspects of Atlantic Canada's past. Journalist and author Allison Lawlor chronicles the history of this furtive trade and recounts the exploits and escapades of the East Coast's most infamous liquor smugglers. Complete with enthralling first-person accounts, fact-filled sidebars, and over 60 photos, and written in an easy-to-read, accessible style, Rum-Running is the rollicking story of one of the most captivating, and controversial, chapters of Canadian history.

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Stories of Our Past Series – ��������