One of the many family reunions held during Yorkshire 2000 was that of the Fawcett family. Genealogists believe that this surname originated with a community known as Forcett located not far from the Yorkshire/County Durham border. The original spelling has been translated as: place by a waterfall. The Tantramar branch of the Fawcett family may… Continue reading…
Category: Bill Hamilton’s Tantramar Flashback — Series 1
Columns originally published in the The Sackville Tribune-Post
Do You Remember The Family Herald?
An era in Canadian journalism ended on Sept. 26, 1968, when The Family Herald ceased publication. Founded almost a century earlier, the magazine held a special place in the hearts and minds of many generations of readers. Last summer I was given two cartons containing copies dating from the 1930s through to the 1960s. It… Continue reading…
Is Truth Stranger Than Fiction? The Minudie Millionaire
Few people today will recognize the name of a once-famous American author, Horatio Alger (1832–1899). A century ago, Alger’s rags to riches novels topped best-seller lists and his name was known world-wide. Over time, his predictable plots about intelligent, hard-working boys who became millionaires, fell out of fashion. The subject of today’s Flashback, Amos King… Continue reading…
Camp Ta-Wa-Si Turns Sixty!
Far too soon the month of August is drawing to a close. Officially summer is still with us; however, the pace of life is changing. School and university will shortly reopen and another camping season is about to end. For more than a half century Camp Ta-Wa-Si at Johnston’s Point on the Northumberland Strait has… Continue reading…
The Lazy Hazy Days of Summer
The lazy, hazy days of summer have special meaning this year. A late spring on the Tantramar has made the season all the more priceless. As I write, my view from a cottage window fronting the Northumberland Strait will be familiar to many readers. Marking the horizon in the far distance is the dark blue… Continue reading…
Impact of the Yorkshire Migration
August 3rd will mark the official opening of Yorkshire 2000. Leading up to this important event, the last Flashback focused on the reasons for the Yorkshire migration; today the spotlight turns to its long range impact. The years 1771-75 were destined to be significant both locally and internationally. Relations between Britain and the thirteen American… Continue reading…
Let’s Remember: The Schools that are Forever “Out”
One outcome of the New Brunswick Free School Act of 1871 was a dramatic increase in the number of one room schools. For approximately 80 years, until the consolidation movement of the 1950s, the one room school was a feature of rural life in this province. As we near the end, not only of another… Continue reading…
Remembering a Forgotten Hero
By coincidence, as I began typing this column, the CBC’s This Morning featured an interview with John Gray and Eric Peterson. They were discussing the return of their highly successful 1978 musical Billy Bishop Goes To War. I stopped to listen, as the two enacted several scenes; noting particularly how the play was, once again,… Continue reading…
On Canada Day: Let’s Pay Homage to “Mr. Canada”
Any review of Canadian history during the twentieth century will inevitably red circle 1967 as a year of significance. From coast to coast to coast, celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of Canadian confederation were the order of the day. A central figure in these activities was a native of the Tantramar. On July 1, 1999,… Continue reading…
The Solution of a Masonic Mystery
New Brunswick society a century ago was notable for the number of its benevolent and fraternal orders. The provincial almanac for 1899 listed twelve of these organizations as being active within Westmorland County alone. Many, such as the Sons of England Benefit Society, and the Grange or Patrons of Industry, have long since disappeared. Others,… Continue reading…
