Posts Tagged Ottawa

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

The National War Memorial in Ottawa is a monument every Canadian is familiar with whether we have seen it in person or on Remembrance Day national TV broadcasts. The history of this memorial is an interesting one. For one thing so many obstacles got in the way like political bickering and the death of the sculptor that it almost didn’t get completed at all. But, 14 years after it started, Canada became one of the last Commonwealth countries to finally dedicate a national memorial to its fallen soldiers of the First World War.  (more…)

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

A recent sojourn down Riverside Drive in Ottawa got me thinking about the pioneer families that contributed to the development of the National Capital Region. Long before Lieutenant-Colonel John By and his Rideau Canal and long before Canada was a united province let alone a confederated nation, there were some hearty families that settled the region, built homes, developed industries, and contributed to what would later become Ottawa. One such family were the Billings of Gloucester. Here, they built a magnificent home where the family would live for five generations. It is Ottawa’s oldest surviving framed home and has been a museum since 1975 celebrating their contributions to the development of Ottawa.  (more…)

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

Despite the heavy rains that came on June 6, the Doors Open Ottawa weekend was a great success. Nearly 60,000 people came out on June 5 and 6 to visit the 119 cultural and historic venues all around the city and surrounding area. As a historian who loves anything to do with heritage, I decided to sign up as a volunteer and really get involved. On June 5, I was at the Parks Canada Conservation Laboratories on Walkley Rd, and boy what a great day that was! If you thought Parks Canada was just about parks and good looking uniformed rangers politely telling you to put your campfire out, than think again and read on! (more…)