Time Warp

This week, Kate talks about Haliburton village in the early 1900's. It's a small pioneer town with limited accommodations. But where do temporary workers and visitors stay when they don't have a place of their own? Plus, it's the 1700's and the 13 colonies in the US are in rebellion against Britain. Paul talks about why an American army invaded Canada - their neighbours to the north - in 1775 tryi...

This week, Kate was looking through archived back issues of the Echo newspaper - and went down a rabbit hole again. This time it's about milestones in the of one Haliburton County man. Plus, Paul talks about the unbelievable conditions that early Arctic explorers faced in general, and specifically about the tragic expedition of one small flotilla led by Jens Munk in 1619-20. Kate Butler is the Dir...

This week, Kate talks about how summer is special and how a couple of Haliburton County traditional summer events were just the thing to lift winter-weary spirits. Plus, Paul brings a sad story from the months leading up to WW2 when a ship-load of 937 German-Jewish refugees sailed across the Atlantic in the MV St Louis to a hoped-for sanctuary in North America, only to be turned away - including b...

This week, Kate talks about an event that was momentous enough in Haliburton County to qualify for a local-only public holiday. It was something significant for any small pioneer community. Plus, Paul talks about the deadly collapse of the Turtle Mountain mountain rock face onto the community of Frank, Alberta, inundating parts of the town causing devastation and numerous deaths. Kate Butler is th...

This week, Kate completes the story of Maria Gilmore who came to Haliburton County from Ireland in the 1870's to join her estranged father. It's a story of a resourceful pioneer woman who learned to cope with very difficult circumstances. Plus, from the 1870's until the turn of the century was the 'Gilded Age' of industrial and economic expansion. A few elite did extremely well through often ruthl...

This week, in the 1860's Haliburton County didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing so how the heck do you make a garden fountain work? Plus, the Canadian army's contribution at the start of WW2 was still small, so what might be a small symbolic way to support the war effort. The answer seemed to be to send just under 2,000 soldiers to help defend Britain's colony of Hong Kong. There wasn't a wa...

This week, Kate talks about Haliburton village's annual tradition of guessing what day winter's ice would finally disappear from Head Lake. But when did the tradition start? Plus, Paul talks about Newfoundland's Indigenous people - the Beothuk - and the sad disappearance of the Beothuks starting with the arrival of Europeans in the late 1400's. And the story of Shawnadithit who's been called the l...

This week, Kate talks about how it wasn't always a one-way trip for pioneers in the late 1800's - it could be a two-way trip, or even back or forth several times for different reasons. And it wasn't often an easy trip, so why do it? Plus, Paul talks about Edward P. Doherty, a Canadian who enlisted in the US Civil War and at war's end was assigned to lead the hunt to track down US President Abraham...

This week, Kate talks about the Haliburton County of Tory Hill in 1914 and negotiations with the Ministry of Militia and Defence to purchase a local facility as a drill hall. Unknown to all concerned WW1 was just around the corner, which likely would have made a huge difference in the negotiations. Plus Paul talks about the riches to rags tale of Francis (Ratz) Rattenbury - an outstanding architec...

This week, Kate talks about Burleigh Wallace. Burleigh was a Haliburton County resident who was inspired to write poetry about local daily life and inadvertently ended up writing stories that gives us an historical perspective of the times. Plus, Paul talks about John Fauquier who was Canada's most highly decorated and successful WW2 bomber pilot including tours of duty commanding and flying with...

Last week Kate talked about pioneer women in Haliburton County in general. This week, Kate talks specifically about one woman - Isabella Hutchings. Plus Paul talks about the terrible impact of famine caused by the potato blight in the mid-1800's on the Irish. Millions emigrated with many coming to Canada. Unfortunately, many died enroute and there were many orphans as a result. Here's the story of...

This week, Kate recognizes International Women's Day and talks - broadly - about what lifestyle changes must have been like for pioneer women emigrating to a rural community like Haliburton County. Plus, Paul takes us back to Quebec in the mid-1800's and the integration of church and state at the time. The Guibord Affair was one of the first indications that the relationship was about to change wi...

This week, Kate talks about the tragic - but ultimately heartwarming - story of young Alice and Bill Smith who were orphaned twice in the late 1800's, and how the community responded to look after them. Plus Paul talks about what historian and journalist Peter C Newman called 'the greatest Arctic sea battle in North American history' - the Battle of Hudson's Bay. Kate Butler is the Director of the...

This week, Kate talks about dentistry in the early decades of the 1900's in the Haliburton Highlands. You have a terrible toothache - what do you do? Maybe wait for the travelling dentist who comes around twice a year? Or maybe take matters into your own hands. Plus, Paul talks about the the origins of Canada's Redpath family.....and the 1901 Redpath Mansion Murder Mystery - one of Canada's most n...

This week, in 1863 the Parsonage family arrived in Haliburton County and cleared land for a homestead. Unfortunately all the hard work was for naught as it was unfortunately someone else's lot. It was a tough first winter after that. Not too many years later the family largely joined the exodus moving west, looking for better agricultural land. Plus, Paul does a follow-up on the plague of bank hol...

This week, Kate talks about lumber camps. There's thousands of lumber camp stories - this is one of them. Plus, Paul talks about Jewish-Canadian boxer Sammy Luftspring. A shy, slight young man who overcame discrimination - and perhaps even used it as a springboard to success - and became one of Canada's best boxers in the mid 1900's. Kate Butler is the Director of the Haliburton Highlands Museum....

This week, Kate talks about how far away Haliburton's early fur industry attracted interest from as far as away as New York State. Not bad for a small rural County without great access at the time. Plus, Paul talks about George Orton who was Canada's first Olympic gold medalist. It all happened at the 1900 Paris Olympics - but he wasn't officially recognized as Canadian until over 70 years later....

There's not a lot of individual in-depth pioneer women's stories from pioneer times. Well, this week Kate talks about the story of Katherine Allcorn in Haliburton County from around the end of the 1800's - and interestingly a butter discussion breaks out between our hosts. Plus, Paul talks about the evolution of capital punishment in Canada, its slow demise, and the last two convicted murderers hu...

This week, Kate talks about the small communities in the late 1800's and how pioneer neighbors needed to get along and relied on each other. Here's an example from Eagle Lake in Haliburton County. Plus Paul talks about the inspiring story of Thornton and Ruthie Blackburn - escaped slaves who managed to escape to Toronto and ultimately became entrepreneurs and 'Persons of National Historic Signifan...

This week, Kate talks about the naming of Minden in Haliburton County. There are a couple of theories discussed, but bottom line is no one really knows for sure anymore. One theory is that it goes back to the Seven Years War. Plus, Paul talks about a plague of bank robberies in 1960's Montreal and how it even had a ripple effect as far away as Toronto. Today it's about one of those robbers - The S...

This week, Kate talks about the evolution of turkey as a Christmas meal. Turkey is a North American bird, but may have first appeared in England at Henry VIII's court. Plus, Paul talks about the the 1916 explosion and fire at the Quaker Oats factory in Peterborough, Ontario. The pre-Christmas disaster made news around the world and was a disaster for the community. Kate Butler is the Director of t...

This week, Kate talks about the first Christmas celebrations in Haliburton village's first year of existence including the need to postpone St George's dedication; music and getting around in those days. Plus, Paul talks about the unsolved hollywood-type theft of millions of dollars worth of art from Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts in 1972. It's called the Skylight Caper. They should make a movie!...

This week, Kate picked up a copy of the Echo newspaper from December 15, 1966, went down a research rabbit hole, and came up with some local historical Christmas items. Plus, Paul talks about Alberta's 1870's Lost Lemon Gold Mine in the Rockies. Was it cursed, and is it still out there to be found? Kate Butler is the Director of the Haliburton Highlands Museum. Paul Vorvis is the host of the Your...

This week, Kate talks about the recent death of Dysart Fire Department's Chief Mike Iles. It also led Kate to chat about the genesis of Haliburton County volunteer Fire Departments. Plus, Paul talks about the Ripple Rock Mountain that was located in a narrow section of the shipping passage between Vancouver Island and BC's mainland. It was a signicant hazard to ships that led to the sinking of at...

This week, Kate talks about the decades long history of a small town movie theatre named The Molou and what it meant before other forms of entertainment like TV were available. Plus Paul talks about the Canadian National Exhibition - also known as the CNE and the Ex. It's been around for almost 175 years. The changes at the Ex over the decades is really representative of the changes in Canada from...