Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Riverside Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Ottawa, Ontario

Waymark Code: WMT89H

The meetinghouse is across from the Central Experimental Farm.

The Riverside Ward (or congregation) is one of seven congregations in the Ottawa Stake. Stake is a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) term for a local territory, in this case greater Ottawa-Gatineau. Members of the LDS are also known as Mormons.

This congregation's chapel (or church) building dates back to the 1970s when the Ottawa Stake was created. The LDS building is easy to identify. The steeple does not include a cross. The cross is a symbol of the dying Christ. The Mormon message is one of a living Christ.

The worship service (or sacrament meeting) takes place here on Sundays at 09h30. Non-LDS visitors are welcome at the sacrament meetings. Non-LDS visitors are also welcome at the Family History Center. I am not LDS.

This building is multi-purpose. At the back of the building is the entrance to the stake's Family History Center. Family history research (or genealogy) is a necessary part of Mormon life. In Mormon teaching, all individuals living or dead should be allowed access to the spirit world as defined by LDS beliefs. Therefore, research is required to properly identify the dead individual. Back in the '90s before the LDS got so much family history material on to the web, I spent many hours every week undertaking research in this building.

The building address is 1017 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3K1.

https://www.lds.org/maps/meetinghouses/id=ward:50903

N 45° 22.76 W 075° 42.25

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Smythe Road bridge - Ottawa, ON

It is known as the CN (Canadian National Railways) bridge. When it was opened in 1961 it carried CN's Beachburg subdivision and the CP's (Canadian Pacific) Prescott subdivision. Before the bridge was built, the CN and CP lines both had level-crossings over Smythe Road, less than fifty yards apart. The two rail lines were moved much closer so that the bridge could be shared. By 1966, the CP closed that portion of the Prescott subdivision, also known as the Sussex sub. This rail line had been the first railway into Ottawa way back in 1854.

In 2016, this bridge hosts traffic only for VIA Rail, seeing sixteen passenger trains daily. Maintenance on the bridge continues. Recent work on the road level wall resulted in the destruction of a 1963 benchmark.

The only safe places for viewing the bridge are from the sidewalk along either side of Smythe Road.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Carbonear Mariners and the Ships They Sailed - Carbonear, Newfoundland

Waymark Code: WMT82T

Appropriately, this information panel is along the shore, across from the railway station.

Going Foreign
CARBONEAR MARINERS AND THE SHIPS THEY SAILED
Foreign going merchant mariners have been sailing in and out of Carbonear harbour for at least 500 years. In the earliest days, migratory fisherman from England, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the Basque country came to the fishing grounds in summer and returned home across the Atlantic in the fall. By the middle of the 1600s there was a permanent settlement here but the dry salt cod on which it depended still had to be shipped across the Atlantic.

For a brief period from 1870 to 1920, Carbonear's fleet of sailing ships actually grew. The 1920s saw a gradual decline until by the end of the thirties it was almost gone. During this period Carbonear produced more sea captains and crews than any other outport in Newfoundland. These mariners sailed the vessels, mainly schooners, with great skill and courage all over the Atlantic Ocean in the employ of merchant ship owners of Carbonear, elsewhere in Newfoundland and abroad.

The development of steam powered ships gradually changed the harbour at Carbonear from a busy port, with a waterfront crowded with merchant premises to what you see today. A hundred years ago there was a regular coming and going of ships loading up with fish and oil for Europe, South America, the Caribbean, the United States and Canada while others discharged their cargoes of salt, rum, molasses, coal, manufactured and agricultural products.

The narrow escapes, tall tales, tragedies and happy homecomings of the earliest seamen to visit these shores are mostly lost forever. However for the era explored by the Going Foreign exhibit we are more fortunate. Some of the mariners and many of their direct descendants still live in Carbonear. We invite you to visit the exhibit on display in the train station and enjoy some of the experiences and memorabilia they have so generously shared with Carbonear Heritage Society.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

L'aménagement de la Région de la Capitale - Gatineau, Québec

Waymark Code: WMT7Z2

The information panel was recently repaired but some of the text is now covered over. A timeline is included on the sign.


La région de la capitale du Canada forme une mosaique de villes, de champs, de montagnes, de rivières et de marécages. Elle s'étend en Ontario et au Québec et est reliée par la rivière des Outaouais. En 1857, lorsqu'Ottawa devint la capitale, elle n'était qu'une petite ville forestière. Durant les 40 années qui suivrent, Ottawa se développa au hasard des efforts d'embellissement subventionnés localement et de la construction d'édifices gouvernementaux. Puis, en 1889, le premier ministre Wilfrid Laurier fonda la Commission d'amélioration d'Ottawa, un organisme de responsabilité fédérale et municipale qui avait pour mission d'embellir et de conserver la capitale et ses environs. Ainsi, pendant 50 ans, urbanistes, visionnaires et leaders du gouvernement guidèrent les améliorations apportées, y compris l'acquisition graduelle de zones naturelles, afin de créer le parc de la Gatineau (au Québec) et la Ceinture de verdure (en Ontario). Enfin, en 1958, avec la Loi sur la Commission de la capitale nationale, la région était officiellement nommée << région de la capitale nationale >> et doublait sa superficie pour couvrit 4 660 kilomètres carrées (sa dimension actuelle). Elle continue d'évoluer, mais toujours à l'intérieur du même territoire.

Building a Capital Region
The Ottawa River unites a capital region of cities, fields, mountains, forests and marshes extending into Ontario and Quebec. When Ottawa became capital in 1857, it was a rough lumber town. Over the next 40 years, it grew haphazardly; improvements included new government buildings and locally sponsored beautification efforts. Then Prime Minister Laurier's government established the federal-local Ottawa Improvement Commission (1899) to beautify and preserve the Capital and its surroundings. For the next half-century, a succession of planners, visionaries and government leaders guided improvements to the Capital, including the gradual acquisition of natural regions to create Gatineau Park (Quebec) and the Greenbelt (Ontario). In 1958, with the National Capital Act, the region doubled to its current size (4,660 square kilometres) and became officially known as the National Capital Region. Today's Capital Region maintains these historic boundaries and continues to evolve from within.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Booth Barn Complex - Ottawa, Ontario

Waymark Code: WMT254

The barn is in the southern portion of the Central Experimental Farm.

The Booth barn and the surrounding acres were expropriated by the Federal government in the late 1920s. Though it is located some distance from the other structures on the Central Experimental Farm (CEF), the Booth barn was useful to the CEF after conversion to a cattle barn. Dating back to the 1870s, the oldest part of the Booth Barn Complex was a grain barn. The CEF ceased to use the Booth barn in the 1980s and the structures were in threat of demolition in the 1990s. Thanks to the efforts of the provincial and municipal heritage communities, the Booth Barn Complex survives today.

In the early decades, the farm was the property of Donald Kennedy. From 1886 until his death in 1925, the barn complex and the farm belonged to lumber tycoon John Rudolphus Booth. When the barn was built, this farm was far from the city of Ottawa. In 2016, the Booth Barn Complex is a unique heritage site found in an urban setting.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Fishing Ports

Description:
From time immemorial, man has had to seek food.  He started catching fish by hand.  Over time, he perfected his approach.  He brought together groups of fisherman: fishing ports.


Expanded Description:
A port is a location to accommodate boats and ships.  A port is usually on the seaboard, on the banks of a lake or along an important river.  Fishing ports are the most common ports in the word.  Often, fishing ports are small in size.


The size of boats welcomed at the ports will vary.  Deep-sea trawlers leaving to fish for several weeks will require plenty of dock space when they return to unload their cargo.  Small fishing boats leaving only for the day need only to quickly unload their fish for sale.


The objective of this category is to identify the various fishing ports around the world that are still active.  In this category, we are seeking as much information as possible.  The aim is to help visitors learn more about the methods of fisheries industry.


Instructions for Posting a Fishing Ports waymark:
The co-ordinates must be taken nearest to the loading dock.  Take care not to fall in.  Include a photograph of fishing boats and an overview photograph of the entire port.  Indicate whether the fishing boats are commercial or private (size usually makes the difference). 


Please also describe other activities which take place at the fishing port: sales of fresh fish from the harbour, a fish processing industry, a marina for the shelter of fishing boats, etc.


What are the main species being fished?  Share some history of the port.  Cite your sources (Wikipedia or others). 


Passenger-ship ports or cargo-only ports do not qualify in this category. 


Instructions for Visiting a waymark in this category:
Proof of your visit is required.  Attach to your log entry a photograph of you in front of the port or a fishing boat.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Trinity Bay South Corps - Dildo, Newfoundland

Waymark Code: WMT7RD

In 2016, this church is part of the Newfoundland & Labrador Division, Eastern Region.

The text below is taken from the corps' web site.

Many Salvation Army corps in outport Newfoundland can trace their beginning with local residents who visited St. John’s for commercial or work reasons, attended a Salvation Army meeting while there, and returned home to start a corps in their own community. According to collected information, Dildo-New Harbour Corps was established in the very same manner. In 1892, a local resident by the name of Samuel Pretty journeyed to St. John’s and returned home to start the Army in the small fishing village of Dildo.

It all began in a fish shop on Dildo beach. On Sundays the sounds of singing, hand-clapping, and the beat of an Army drum could be heard through the thin walls of the old fish shop. The noisy, up-beat, almost irreverent form of worship drew attention to itself. Soon more people were drawn to this free and lively style of worship as its popularity spread throughout the small community and into the neighbouring town of New Harbour. Many of the early followers were converted even before the corps was officially established. In just over a year enough support had been won for the Eastern Canada Division (which included Newfoundland) to decide that Dildo-New Harbour should be recognized as the 24th corps to be opened on the island. On Tuesday, December 5th, 1893, in a balmy 57 degrees Fahrenheit (Environment Canada), Brigadier John Read arrived on Dildo beach to officially open the corps and appoint the first officer, Captain Emma Mercer.

With a corps leader in place, events moved even faster. A citadel was built to hold services, and later it would also serve as a school for the children of Salvationists. Dildo-New Harbour Corps was on the march! As the congregation continued to grow, a larger barracks was needed for worship, so in 1905 a beautiful building, finished with varnished yellow pine on the inside, was constructed at the total cost of $700.

The corps continued to prosper and meet the spiritual and social needs of the people it served. A brass band was soon added to the corps providing music for the Sunday meetings and open-air services during the summer. This outreach attracted even more attention to the growing church and after the services many would follow the flag back to the barracks for another lively salvation meeting.

In 1955 the third citadel was built to accommodate a still-growing congregation. This was a modern building with central heating and washroom facilities! There was plenty of room in the basement for Sunday school, Home League meetings, and a band room. The corps boundaries also expanded during this time to include church members from, South Dildo, Whitbourne, Blaketown, Old Shop and Hopeall. No longer was it only a Dildo and New Harbour following. This growth called for a more inclusive name – Trinity Bay South Corps. The building served the growing congregation for almost half a century, and even though an extension had been added, by the year 2000 it became obvious that a newer facility was needed.

The present citadel was officially opened on May 18, 2002. The new building, all on one level, provides a spacious foyer, multi-purpose room, administration offices, meeting/prayer rooms, and a larger sanctuary for worship. The handful of humble believers who met in the old fish shop in 1892 planted a church that developed into a corps of vibrant and committed Salvationists. Indeed, the Lord has blessed and prospered the corps and it continues to play a very important part in the lives of many residents in Trinity Bay South.