Fred Dickinson’s diary opens a window on youth and the world of Ontario lakeland cottages at the beginning of the 20th century."The stories we hand down, the diaries we preserve become the fabric of our social history. Young Fred Dickinson’s 1904 account of tenting and cottaging is a spirited first-hand sketch of a long-neglected part of our heritage. Larry Turner places the diary within social, historic and geographic contexts giv...

The story is simple, seen through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy. As an adult he remembers the way things were back home on the farm on the west coast of Cape Breton. The time was the 1940s, but the hens and the cows and the pigs and the sheep and the horse made it seem ancient. The family of six children excitedly waits for Christmas and two-year-old Kenneth, who liked Halloween a lot, asks, “Who are you going to dress up as at Christmas? I think I’ll be a snowman.” They wait especially f...

Canada is a country rich in stories, and few take as much joy as Douglas Gibson in discovering them. As one of the country’s leading editors and publishers for 40 years, he coaxed modern classics out of some of Canada’s finest minds, and then took to telling his own stories in his first memoir, Stories About Storytellers.Gibson turned his memoir into a one-man stage show that eventually played almost 100 times, in all ten provinces, from coast to coast. As a literary touri...

Not Too Long Ago is back by popular demand in this newly revised and expanded edition! In this volume, today's senior citizens talk about some of the more exciting and memorable moments of their lives growing up in Newfoundland and Labrador. Read these richly detailed biographies, and meet: Charlie Bown — Bell Island Miner Arthur Clarke — Ambulance Driver Howard Elliott — Big Game Outfitter Margaret Giovannini — Outport Nurse Gordon Lannon — Train Conductor Howard Lethbridge — Trapper Jack...

Part of a series in which leading Australian authors write about their hometowns, this unique and evocative exploration is part memoir and part guide to Australia's Brisbane. Intertwining personal stories with the city's historical past, this account paints a portrait of the contemporary transformation of the city.

Whether you hike, bike, ride the rails, or drive, the shore of Lake Ontario can yield a treasure trove of heritage sites and natural beauty -- if you know where to look.Travel with Ron Brown as he probes the shoreline of the Canadian side of Lake Ontario to discover its hidden heritage. Explore "ghost ports," forgotten coves, historical lighthouses, rumrunning lore, and even the location of a top-secret spy camp. The area also contains some unusual natural features, including a mys...

On the morning of June 13, 1886, a rogue wind fanned the flames of a small clearing fire—and within five hours, the newly incorporated city of Vancouver, British Columbia, had been reduced to smoldering ash. Vancouver is Ashes: The Great Fire of 1886 is the first detailed exploration of what happened on that pivotal, yet seldom revisited day in the history of Canada’s third-largest city. Lisa Anne Smith tells the story with numerous archival photographs. She uses eye-witness accounts to de...

Ghost Towns of Muskoka explores the tragic history of a collection of communities from across Muskoka whose stars have long since faded. Today, these ghost towns are merely a shadow -- or spectre -- of what they once were. Some have disappeared entirely, having been swallowed by regenerating forests, while others have been reduced to foundations, forlorn buildings, and silent ruins. A few support a handful of inhabitants, but even these towns are wrapped in a ghostly shroud.But thi...

From the Cabot Trail in October to rafting the highest tides to drinking beer and singing “Barrett’s Privateers” on the Halifax waterfront to looking in on Annapolis Royal, one of the most interesting townscapes in North America, this is the list every Nova Scotian must have. From waterfalls you can literally enjoy to yourself to the hidden pleasures of a county fair, it is all here.We also get well known and not so well known Bluenosers from across the province to weigh in with th...

When Fort Victoria was first established in the mid-nineteenth century, eight pioneer families of Europe’s upper class formed the social elite of the modest colony. The self-named aristocracy of this new land, these families shaped a world suited to their proper tastes on the upper floors of the fort, and eventually, in beautiful homes that imitated the height of fashion in Europe. However, between their tea parties and balls, these particular families greatly influenced the progress of th...

Along the Shoreexamines the Toronto waterfront, past and present, through the lens of four lakefront communities and districts — the Scarborough shore (including the Bluffs), the Beach, the Island, and the Lakeshore (New Toronto, Mimico, Humber Bay, and Long Branch). Each retains a direct and immediate connection with Lake Ontario and the natural world. Exploring the history, landscape, geography, and people of each of these waterfront areas reveals a rich heritage that has gone l...

One hundred and twenty-five years of steamboating in Muskoka come alive with the anniversary celebration of the RMS Segwun.The Royal Mail Ship Segwun is the oldest operating steamship in North America, a Muskoka icon, and one of Ontario’s best-known tourist attractions. Built as a paddlewheeler in 1887, the RMS Segwun saw her initial career suspended in the 1950s when the ship ceased operations. Fortunately, she began a new chapter in 197...