Roberta M. Styran and Robert R. Taylor
pp. 167–183
Record
Abstract
The technological history of the building of the Welland ship canal (1913-1932) is well recorded with photographs, documents, maps and plans in various archives. On the other hand, the social history of this saga is harder for the reader to discover because the engineers, contractors, and labourers have left little trace of their experiences “on the ground.” Fortunately, a diary kept by the engineer in charge, Alexander J. Grant, has come to life. Covering the longest period of construction, it chronicles the day-to-day problems of a hard-working, intelligent professional -- but also offers glimpses into the emotional and social life of the man. It will be a valuable source for a future biographer of this remarkable engineer.
Brook Durham
pp. 184–212
Record
Abstract
Speedwell Military Hospital was a hospital for veterans of the Canadian Expeditionary Force located in the newly-built Ontario Reformatory in Guelph. Speedwell was part of a nation-wide program administered by the Department of Soldiers’ Civil Re-Establishment (DSCR) during the First World War intended to neutralize some of the social dangers associated with demobilization. As the health of individual veterans at Speedwell became closely associated with the nation’s economic strength, the ultimate goal of hospitals like Speedwell was the transformation of sick and wounded veterans into healthy and productive workers. However, as the needs of patients changed after the war, the initial promise of Speedwell as a site of rehabilitative labour made it clearly unsuitable for veterans in need of long-term convalescence care.
Michael D. Stevenson
pp. 213–237
Record
Abstract
The 1925 unveiling of the Champlain monument in Orillia capped nearly three decades of public commemoration of Samuel de Champlain’s explorations in North America. Promoted tirelessly by local entrepreneur Charles Harold Hale and designed by English sculptor Vernon March, the monument was beset by controversy, construction delays and cost overruns. Nonetheless, when completed, it was initially greeted with nearly unanimous international acclaim. Two overarching themes marked the monument. First, its backers sought to use it to improve frayed relations between Ontario’s anglophone and Quebec’s francophone populations. Second, the monument’s design misrepresented the mutually beneficial relationship between Champlain and his Huron allies and promoted Eurocentric and colonial mentalities that marginalized the Indigenous contribution to the development of New France and Canada. While the first goal was largely unrealized, the second has resonated down to the present day.
John S. Long, Richard J. Preston, Katrina Srigley and Lorraine Sutherland
pp. 238–262
Record
Abstract
In the 18th century the Indigenous peoples of the James Bay region shared land near the coast, a few resources, and furs from a vast hinterland with European newcomers. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 excluded Rupert’s Land – an appropriate decision for it was quite distinct from lands in the south where settlers were acquiring Indigenous land on the fee simple real estate model. What were the James Bay indigenous people’s conditions for sharing their land? It was arguably their principles, and not King George’s edict, that characterized the year 1763 at Moose Fort (Moose Factory). This paper draws on Hudson’s Bay Co. records to examine what was being shared with the newcomers in this northern region. Unlike in the southern regions, the newcomers had no intention of displacing Indigenous peoples. A modest sharing of land and a generous sharing of food and fur resources, on terms congenial to its first inhabitants, characterizes 1763 in this northern region.
