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Gwen Tuinman, Unrest, Random House Canada, 2024. By Nancy Miller-Chenier This historical fiction is focused on the unrest created by the Shiners, gangs of Irish immigrants that terrorized Bytown with extreme acts of violence between 1835 and 1845. Led by Peter Aylen, who later emerged as a successful lumberman, this period, known as the Shiners’…
By Sandra Milton and Nancy Miller Chenier, Adopters of Bordeleau Park After a brief disappearance earlier this summer, the much-loved dock at Bordeleau Park has made a welcome return to the Rideau River, thanks to the persistent efforts of city park staff and the local community. Installed originally around 2012, the floating wooden dock –…
By Michel Rossignol In 1864, Ottawa’s municipal government decided to improve the city’s firefighting capabilities by buying two hook and ladder wagons for two fire brigades, one in Lowertown and one in Uppertown. There were no funds to buy horses, so the wagons had to be pulled by twenty volunteer firefighters. There was another problem….
By Dave Bowen There’s no neon sign out front telling you you’ve arrived, no menu on the door with a list of offerings, nor even any big windows to peep in and see what’s inside. The only sign you’re at your destination is the small blue light over the door, lit when they’re open. But…
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By Josiah Frith, Lowertown Community Association There was a time when horses ruled Ottawa’s streets, pulling carts, carriages, and wagons through Lowertown and beyond. But the charm wore thin. Horses were unpredictable, left the roads filthy with manure, and limited the city’s ability to grow. So came the trains. By the mid-1800s, rail lines were…
By Allen Brown On March 24, city councillor Stéphanie Plante, municipal heritage planner Taylor Quibell and Lowertown Community Association president Sylvie Bigras unveiled a new plaque commemorating the Union of Canada and its demolished building, located at the corner of York and Dalhousie streets, the current site of the Andaz Hotel. Ms. Quibell recalled that…
By Malcolm and John Harding of Compu-Home Everyone who uses the internet is vulnerable to online fraud but certain groups are increasingly targeted by criminals who focus on their specific vulnerabilities. We all would do well to become aware of the ways in which friends and relatives (and we ourselves) are in groups that are…
By Josiah Frith I grew up understanding that the best things in life take time. My father, a municipal politician on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast in the 1980s, worked to preserve old-growth forests. He taught me that these forests were not just collections of trees, but thriving, self-sustaining ecosystems. Their strength came from their history,…
By Nancy Miller-Chenier Lowertowners know that our community already has a link with Rideau Hall through Adrienne Clarkson (née Poy), the 26th Governor General, who started her life in Canada at 277 Sussex Drive and decades later moved to 1 Sussex. This book shares the memories of Richard Legrand, amongst others, who moved from Rideau…