Histories, Mysteries, and Victories

Barbara Dickson

Writing about Everyday Heroes and Extraordinary Lives

Volume II Issue I Summer 2010

The Irish Famine of 1847

© Debra Tate-Sears 2006

Warmest Greetings!

I write ‘Warmest Greetings’ strictly as in my heart to yours, not as in I hope you’re sweltering! We’re enjoying – or is that enduring – quite a warm summer.

Wherever you find yourselves this summer, whether you’re enjoying your summer cottage in the Muskokas, or camping and canoeing in Algonquin, or catching up on some good reading, or booting across Canada or some other great nation, I wish for each of you a wonderful time of refreshment in mind, body, and spirit.

My first novel Mountains for Maddi set in the snowy Rockies – read that as cool and refreshing! – is a wonderfully light read and makes a great addition to any holiday plans.

Check out what people are saying about “Mountains for Maddi”. If you’d like, you can purchase the book at Multi-Media Publications, Inc.

Like last year, I’m offering a cool summer contest for everyone who subscribes to my newsletter, including new subscribers between now and August 31st. Your name will be entered in a draw for a super-duper souvenir from New Brunswick where I vacationed earlier this month. Last year’s contest winner received a souvenir mug from the Irish Memorial situated at Grosse Ile, Quebec.

Tucked within the pages of this e-newsletter are stories about many everyday heroes and extraordinary lives :

  • GECO:
    • “Route of Heroes” unveiled in Toronto
    • All He Wanted Was a Playground…the Tragic Death of Reginald “Butch” Halliday
  • Life is a Journey and MS is Just a Bump in the Road:
    • CCSVI Update: MS Liberation Treatment Causes Controversy
    • A New Generation Joins the Walk to End MS
  • Everything I Needed to Know about Blended Families...
    • Rule #5: We’re not Superman – Sometimes We Need to Ask for Help
  • The Back Page:
    • Avis Rideout: When I Become a Big Girl – Making a Home for HIV Orphans
    • Toronto’s Ireland Park – Remembering the 40,000 Starving and Dying Irish Who Landed in Toronto the Summer of 1847

Until next time, I wish you a wonderful summer and vacation season, filled with quiet reflection and an exquisite anticipation of cooler days ahead when God’s grand creation will explode joyously in its finest colours.

For those who have multiple sclerosis, or anyone whose health is compromised by heat and humidity, please stay cool. If you don’t have air conditioning at home, seek out a mall, a coffee shop, or a neighbourhood pool or water park – anywhere to escape these hot, hazy, crazy days of summer.

Please drop by my website and let me know you’ve stopped by.

As always, feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you feel might enjoy it.

Barbara

What’s New in Barb’s World

This past spring I had many opportunities to speak, both to MS audiences as well as groups interested in learning about GECO. In fact, I spoke to the Scarborough West Seniors where I combined my "When Life Hands You Lemons" presentation with my “GECO” talk. It's hard to believe but as it turns out, the two topics are related. I also premiered my GECO Tunnel presentation to the good folks on hand at the Eglinton Square Scarborough Public Library on June 15th.

I ventured to North Bay, Ontario on June 13th, as the keynote speaker for the local MS chapter’s AGM. The trip was memorable, not only because I met many wonderful people, but also because my husband and I drove just minutes ahead of the repatriation cortege of Sergeant Martin Goudreault. Sgt. Goudreault was killed by an IED on June 6th while he was on foot patrol in the dangerous Panjwaii District in Afghanistan. He was the 147th soldier killed as part of Canada’s mission there. This had been Goudreault’s third tour of duty. His remains and family were heading to Sudbury, Ontario. Folks stood at every overpass. The drive was both humbling and sobering.

Repatriation for Sergeant Martin Goudreault

I’m always amazed how everyday heroes appear quietly unannounced. My mind that day in June was focussed on the many people I would meet who live with MS – and are true heroes in my eyes. Then I’m gently reminded of another type of hero – the countless men and women who give of themselves, risking life and limb to keep our world free.

I’m deeply immersed in World War II research for a screenplay project I’m working on, and I can’t help but compare the similarities of that great war with the one we are waging in Afghanistan. Regardless of personal or political opinions or agendas, the men and women who served, and who continue to serve to make this world safe and free, garner my utmost respect and gratitude.

As I write this newsletter, several upcoming speaking engagements this fall are firming up. Please check my “Barb Speaks”webpage regularly to see if there's a presentation coming to a venue near you.

If you belong to a organization looking for a guest speaker, I’d be pleased to work with your group to provide a time of education, entertainment, and encouragement.

Please contact me through my website or via e-mail at: contact at barbaradickson dot ca.

GECO

News

Route of Heroes – Toronto 2010

Ceremony for the “Route of Heroes”

On June 17th, 2010, Mayor David Miller unveiled the “Route of Heroes,” a commemorative route for Canadian soldiers killed while on active service. The stretch of highway is an addition to the “Highway of Heroes” route currently extending along the Highway 401 from Trenton to Toronto. The new route travels southbound on the Don Valley Parkway to Bloor Street. The designated highway then heads westbound on Bloor to Grosvenor, then southward to the Forensics building where the remains of soldiers are brought for autopsy.

The unveiling took place in a small parkette just outside the Castle Frank subway station, where the Don Valley Parkway meets Bloor Street.

I’m researching World War II history for a screenplay project. As part of the process, I am interviewing men who fought during the War. My contact, Helen Pearce of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 1, invited me to attend the ceremony. I was thrilled to meet vets from WWII as well as active servicemen and women. The large crowd gathered was reflective of our pride in, and gratitude to, our courageous military personnel.

It was a privilege to meet vets who fought during WWII. Their senses of humour were still strong, their memories still poignant, and their health still mostly intact.

I asked several vets how they felt about the current war in Afghanistan. One vet summed it up best when he said, “As long as there are madmen trying to rule the world, oppressing the weak and vulnerable, we must step in and fight for the freedom for those who cannot fight for themselves.”

It was touching to remember the incredible contribution of the millions of Canadians who fought for our freedom so many years ago, as well as remembering the men and women who die while serving our country today.

WWII Veteran – Route of Heroes Unveiling – Toronto 2010

Standing Guard – the Route of Heroes Unveiling – Toronto 2010

I think one of the most poignant parts of the unveiling event occurred after the ceremony. People were milling around chatting. Pipers, who had marched at the end of the event, had stepped to a quiet place amongst some trees, away from the crowds. Quietly at first, then growing louder, sombre notes of “Amazing Grace” filled the late morning air. The unforgettable notes of the old song tugged at heartstrings as they wafted through the branches of the trees. These pipers, unrehearsed, and impromptu, offered their own heartfelt tribute to their fallen comrades.

Amazing Grace – How Sweet the Sound

Article

All He Wanted Was a Playground…the Tragic Death of Reginald “Butch” Halliday

When GECO was converted to emergency housing after World War II, the hundreds of families – including retired GECO workers and returning GIs – thought the undulating countryside of Scarborough would be the perfect place to raise a family.

The roads leading to and leaving the housing complex were quiet – mostly farm vehicles making their way to market or weaving their sleepy way home. The marked 30 miles per hour speed limit spoke of both the close proximity of children and to the area’s bucolic surroundings.

But Eglinton Avenue would prove deadly, claiming the life of seven-year-old Reginald “Butch” Halliday on June 23rd, 1950.

Read Reg’s story…

Grieving Friend of Reg Halliday

Next Time
  • Fond Memories of GECO Resident Don Walton

Life is a Journey and MS is Just a Bump in the Road

News

MRV of Blocked veins in neck

MS Liberation Treatment Causes Controversy

On April 7th, 2010, The MS Society of Canada held a Forum for a new controversial treatment for MS called the Liberation Treatment. The treatment is based on research done by Dr. Paolo Zamboni of Italy who believes multiple sclerosis is caused by CCSVI – Chronic Cerebral Spinal Venous Deficiency – which is a vascular problem, not an auto-immune disease or neurological condition, the long-held belief by doctors worldwide.

The MS Society encouraged people living with multiple sclerosis to ask questions about what the Society is doing to make the controversial treatment available in this country.

I had the opportunity to attend the forum and was interviewed for CBC Radio afterwards.

Late Breaking News!!! On July 28th, 2010, the province of Saskatchewan’s Premier Brad Wall announced funding to commence clinical trials for CCSVI. Saskatchewan has the highest rate of MS in Canada; Canada has the second highest rate per capita of MS in the world, next only to Finland. Wall stated his government is willing to fund trials of the “Liberation” therapy currently unavailable in this country.The announcement comes after continuous and increasing political pressure made by those living with MS in Canada.

The experts at the forum told the patients in attendance to be patient and to allow the medical community to verify Dr. Zamboni’s findings and to conduct more research.

People at the forum stated that’s hard to do when they watch their disease progress, days, weeks, and months slipping away. Some patients, desperate for relief from their symptoms, have travelled to other countries offering the procedure. The treatment involves opening veins in the neck, allowing improved blood flow from the brain to the heart.

Read the CBC’s summary of the seminar.

Watch a short video of the seminar...

Cogeco TV on Hand in North Bay

I was invited to speak in North Bay, Ontario, at the local MS Society’s AGM and Annual Social on Sunday, June 13th, 2010. It’s always a pleasure to meet people who live with the daily struggles of MS. It’s an equal pleasure when I’m given the chance to speak to the media, advocating on behalf of those same courageous people.

Local Television station, Cogeco in North Bay, Ontario arrived at the Best Western conference centre to hold an interview before the event began. While I didn’t get a chance to see the finished interview, my hope was the newscast helped educate and inspire people to give generously to help end MS.

Article

A New Generation Joins the Walk to End MS

Sunday April 18th, 2010 dawned sunny and warm, a perfect day to step out and walk ten kilometres to help end MS. Like the seventeen years before, I laced up my sneakers, ready to take on the world. Ok, maybe not the world, but certainly the park.

I’ve walked many years in Walks to End MS.

But 2010 will stand out from the rest.

Find out why…

We will end MS

Next Time
  • Vitamin D: What Researchers are Discovering about the Sunshine Vitamin and Its Link to MS

Everything I Needed to Know about Blended Families...

...I Learned from Moses

In this e-newsletter issue, we’re going to take a look at the fifth of ten reasons why Moses is the guy to learn from, when it comes to managing blended families. If you missed any of the first four reasons, you can find them in earlier editions of my e-newsletter on my Newsletter page of my website, or on my What Would Moses Do? page.

Reason #5: We’re not Superman – Sometimes We Need to Ask for Help

When Moses became step-father to a multitude of God’s chosen people, he felt overwhelmed on many occasions. The task was enormous on a good day, laden with much responsibility and accountability. And on a bad day? The sheer number of cranky wanderers involved could have made even the bravest of men run.

Moses stayed, but he had his ‘melt down’ moments. Discover how he managed when he realized he’s Not Superman

Getting a Little Help from His Friends

NEXT TIME :

  • Stepping Out: 7 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays

The Back Page

Ah, yes, my back page...the page where I share more stories of history, mystery, or victory; a place where I talk about everyday heroes and extraordinary lives.

Avis Rideout: When I Become a Big Girl – Making a Home for HIV Orphans

Avis Rideout with children of the Agape Home

Avis Rideout, born and raised in Triton, Newfoundland, first felt God’s call on her life when she was six years old. Sitting in Sunday school, she gazed at a poster depicting missionaries holding sick African babies. Its caption read, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel.” The Bible verse stirred Avis’s young heart. It was the same memory verse she had learned just weeks before. “When I become a big girl,” she said, crying, “I will go and preach the gospel to the world.”

Avis was true to her word.

Read Avis’s inspirational story, and discover what God did with Avis’s childhood promise.

This article first appeared in “The Testimony”, a national publication for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.

Toronto’s Ireland Park…

…Remembering the 40,000 Irish Who Landed in Toronto the Summer of 1847, Mostly Starving and Many Dying...

This past spring I discovered Ireland Park in Toronto, a memorial commemorating Ireland’s large immigrant migration in 1847.

I’ve called Toronto my home for almost a half of a century. Yet I didn’t know a memorial Park existed in the city.

Toronto’s Ireland Park

This Irish Monument at 5 Eireann Quay, along with several others spattered along the coast of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, stands eerily forlorn, honouring the tens of thousands of Irish immigrants who died from Typhus the summer of 1847 onboard ships bound for freedom. That summer, settlements – from Grosse Ile east of Quebec City westward as far as Toronto – groaned under the press of human misery. The Irish came homeless, penniless, and starving. Canada was their last chance at life.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I visited Saint John, New Brunswick where another Memorial honours the thousands of Irish who landed that fateful summer at Partridge Island, a small immigrant quarantine station just offshore. I’ll include more about Partridge Island in my next newsletter.

Read more and see pictures of Toronto’s Ireland Park.

NEXT TIME:

Irish Memorial in Saint John, New Brunswick

  • "Excerpts from the Life of Timothy Cragg” – David Cragg's great grandfather circa 1657-1724 written in his own words.
  • Partridge Island in Saint John, New Brunswick – another story in the Irish Famine in Canada series. 11,000 Irish landed on Partridge Island, Saint John’s quarantine station the summer of 1847, mostly starving and many dying of typhus. Saint John boasted a population of just 10,000 at the time.

You can reach Barbara through www.barbaradickson.ca or at P.O. Box 30001, RPO Huntingwood, Scarborough, ON, Canada M1T 0A1