We've received over 1000 letters over the past four years from readers of the Sympatico NewsExpress Today in History and other web sites. Thanks to all those who took the time to write and offer suggestions, criticisms or their own unique take on the events and people that have made our nation great. Here's a sampling.
From:
Schools and Educators
People Celebrating Anniversaries
General Readers
***
I came across your Web Page entitled, 'On This Day' and have
found it to be phenomenally well researched and pertinent to the
teaching of secondary school Canadian History.
I plan on using it daily in the fall with my students and will pass the
site on to my colleagues through RAPPORT, the Journal of the Ontario
History and Social Science Teachers' Association.
Dan Bowyer, Editor of RAPPORT
Turner Fenton Secondary School
7935 Kennedy Road South,
Brampton, Ontario
L6V 3N2
PH: (905) 457-5030
FX: (905) 457-8015
***
My name is Peter Haines, and I am Principal of Windermere Elementary
School in Windermere, B.C. Every morning I print "On This Day" for the
grade 7 teacher and his class. It has become an integral part of his
classroom activity. Thanks for providing this information and promoting
our awareness of both Canadian and World history.
***
Currently we are using this with our high school students. Each day
they are required to read this page, and come prepared with 2 of the
items to talk about. We plan to have them further research items on the
list every so often.
We want them to be aware that there is a lot of things that have
happened in Canada and the rich heritage they have as Canadians.
The biggest thing that we would like to see is the ability to have this
come via an email service (which would help on weekends and holidays).
This would also be easier for them to print.
So far, we have learned lots we didn't know and have been having a
great time with the site. Keep up the good work.
Jim Burkholder
***
Congratulations on your incredible electronic resource!
I would like to share with you just how we are making use of your Canadian Milestones in our school. I am the Grade 7 and 8 History teacher at Maplewood Public School in Essex. Each day, students peruse the daily information which we have downloaded an printed from [your] web site. After reading and then some dicussion, the students select what they believe to be the most appropriate choices. Decisions are made based on historical significance, entertainment value and sometimes humour. Readers then are selected to prepare for the school announcements over the P.A. system.
This experience is incredible! It's not often you see 13 year-olds engaged happily in historical debate. The interest in Canada' past has really increased in my classroom. Allowing the students to debate their choices and make the final decisions about 'what airs' school-wide adds value to their own experience. There is never a lack of volunteers to read and all ears are glued when the announcements begin. Students in other classes have even stopped to mention something they have heard that really stuck with them. In all, this is such a positive for the self-esteem of the students as they take their turn at the microphone. There is even discussion right now over the selection of a theme song to introduce our broadcast... You have the interest of Maplewood Public School. We encourage you to keep up the great work!
Debbie Price
Grade 7/8 History and Computers
Maplewood Public School,
72 Brien Avenue East
Essex, Ontario
N8M 2N8
519-776-7207
PS: I should have included the fact that Milestones provides a most valuable resource to me personally because I can make print materials!! This is particularly nice becuase I do not have a set of texts for my Grade 7 course. How's that for fun?
Thanks again,
Deb
***
I am a grade 7 Social Studies teacher. As part of my Assessment and Evaluation, I e-mail all my students a daily question. Students are requested to attempt 3 of 5 questions per week, research and respond. This helps them to search online and communicate with me daily. I even send the questions to the parents! The resources you provide me with are GREAT! Thank you
David Chisholm, Nova Scotia
***
Today in Canadian History" rekindles my fire about our great heritage. I
wish someone would take it from the WEB and e-mail it to every Canadian
on the Internet every day! At least every history teacher in Canada
should get this daily!
Greg Smith
Coordinator (Social Studies)
Program Standards and Education Resources Branch
BC Ministry of Education
5th Floor, 620 Superior Street
PO Box 9152 Stn Prov. Govt.
Victoria,BC, V8W 9H1
***
... Je trouve que votre site comporte une source incroyable d'informations. Je m'occupe du volet iconographique et audio-visuelle de la prochaine exposition et toutes les images et illustrations que j'ai trouvées en fouillant dans les livres, revues spécialisées, archives.... se retrouvent sur votre site.
Manon Pouliot, Service des expositions historiques, Musée de la civilisation, 16, rue de la Barricade, Québec CANADA G1K 7A6
***
The Milestones information is a virtual history gold mine for school. Congratulations! I would like to have students select some significant facts to read each morning for opening exercises to increase the awareness of Canadian history. Is it possible to have access to the next day's information to assist in the planning and preparation of our broadcast? Involving students in the choices requires time and speaking requires practice. Any possibilities?
Debbie Price
Maplewood Public School
Greater Essex County District School Board
***
I just wanted to let you know I love your site and I have visited it every
day since I bought my computer 2 weeks ago. Do you have this information in a book? I teach grade 8 history and it's always so interesting when you can let students know that such and such an event occured on this day in history. Grade 8 topics are Confederation, Western Expansion, and A Changing Society (changing role of children, labour laws, rise of unionism, women voting, WW1,...). We have a large timeline in class and are always looking for new things to add to it.
Carol Fraser
***
Congratulations!!! I am amazed at the amount of information you have
gathered. As a parent of four school-age children I am grateful! I've
been "surfing" the Net for over a year and have never encountered such a
thorough research.
Thanks again for a wonderful service! Ana-Mayte (Mendia) Coria
***
... Currently, I'm teaching Physical Education from Grade One through to Grade Five. Throughout the year, the students are excited to share declarations of their birthdays with me. It's at that point that I share with them that on their birthday, many important events and birthdays have taken place, including themselves. Hopefully, I'm pointing out to them that they too, have an important place in history and time, and that they can continue to contribute to our society in positive ways. Also, they at an early age can begin to learn and appreciate Canadian history in an informal and fun way.
I have a class list of each student's birthday on it. When I know their birthday is coming up, I go to your site and print one copy for myself as a
reference. During class, it only takes a couple of minutes to read a few
choice items. The students respond with amazement and excitement. Of course, I get a rush from opening up the world of history to them. If they ask me for a copy, I tell them if they're interested to visit your website for more information. I know your work is copyrighted, so I keep one copy for myself as an educational reference and I don't reproduce or distribute any copies. Let me know if you approve of this or not. I'm also open to paying a fee etc., to ensure having a copy as an educational resource or to obtain some kind of hard copy, book, etc.
Since discovering your site, I've visited many "Today in History" sites, but
none cover Canadian content quite as comprehensively, yet to the point as
your research has shown. The layout and content are very easy on the eyes.
What I'd like to see in the future is exactly what you've already shown in
the past, Canadian achievements and birthdays, followed by a global take.
I appreciate that you include a brief description of the important
Canadian/global person's contribution. Too many other sites simply list the
name of the person and their birthday. I may know who the person is, but
many of today's younger students may not know why or what they did to become famous or important in the course of history.
If possible, continue to occasionally choose global events that have sometimes involved Canada on the world scene.
I usually end my two minute spiel with, "Let's make some history today!"...
K. J. Wilson
***
I enjoy reading the Today in History section on a regular basis. As a
History teacher, I often find events that are topical to our classroom
discussions. My question is this, is this in published form anywhere at
a reasonable price?
Heather & Richard Jones
***
Just found your site, great resource for schools!...
Laurie J. Taylor, Coordinator, Library Services, Canapress (The Canadian Press)
***
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 21:45:14 -0500
I just wanted to let you know I love your site and I have visited it every
day since I bought my computer 2 weeks ago.
Do you have this information in a book? I teach grade 8 history and it's
always so interesting when you can let students know that such and such an
event occured on this day in history. Grade 8 topics are Confederation,
Western Expansion, and A Changing Society (changing role of children, labour laws, rise of unionism, women voting, WW1,...). We have a large timeline in class and are always looking for new things to add to it.
Thanks for your help.
Carol Fraser
***
Excellent site! One of the most useful for Canadian classrooms I've
seen.
Nancy Barkhouse P.O. Box 202 Dartmouth, N.S. B2Y 3Y3
Presently on Deferred Leave from Atlantic View Elementary
URL http://fox.nstn.ca/~nbarkhou/avshome.html
***
Greetings: I thought you'd be a good person to ask this bit of trivia
since your wonderful page "This day in History" is always very useful in
my Pre and Post Confed lectures.
Any thoughts on where I might track down Sir John A.'s quote "A good
carpenter can work with indifferent tools."
Much thanks,
Jon Swainger
UNBC History Programme.
***
From: Ron Hutchinson
Just a note to let you know how much I enjoy the Today in History page
everyday. Thank you.
It occurs to me that perhaps elementary and secondary schools, maybe
even colleges and universities, should make this page their Internet
default Home Page Location, in order to expose their students to
snippets of Canadian history condensed into a format that they would
probably find interesting and enlightening.
***
Subject: Today in Canadian History
Great web page - could it possibly be ready by 8:30? Our morning
announcements are read then by our Principal and we would love to read
these to our Multi-cultural students daily! Thanks, Mary Walker
***
... congratulations on a fine resource for our "Canadianists."
Linda M. Jones
Academic & Public Relations Officer
International Council for Canadian Studies
325 Dalhousie St., Suite 800. Ottawa, Ont. K1N 7G2
fax: (613) 789-7839 tel: (613) 789-7834, ext. 234
***
Hi!
I really enjoy [Today in Canadian History] and am using in for the Grade
7/8 class... Thanks for an informative page.
J.A. Copping / Susan Marshall
***
Subject: Today in History
Date: Mon, 09 Aug 1999 18:01:38 -0700
From: Chris Burkart
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
First of all I want to say how impressed I am with your website. You have
done a great job! Thank you from THIS Canadian...
Secondly, I have a request: I am a teacher in Coquitlam, and I want to do a
countdown to the new Millenium of Canadian historical events/people, etc...
such as you have done for today, August 9th. What I am thinking is that I
could post the day's events in a central location in our school for the
students to read. I would also keep a copy in my room, to discuss with my
class.
Would it be possible that I could gain access to a site where this
information would be available for a whole month, so that I don't have to
scramble each day for the information? I could get the material ready for a
month at a time that way.
Any help would be appreciated...
Christina Burkart
Coquitlam, B.C.
Canada
***
Subject: Milestones
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 07:59:21 -0500
From: Michel Theriault
... A neighbour of mine, who does not have Internet, is a supply teacher and goes to about 4 high schools in Gloucester. He uses it for projects and to spark class discussion and raise consciousness about our history.
Michel Thériault
tel: (613) 741-5146 (home)
tel: (613) 751-4024 (off.)
fax: (613) 741-9545
***
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
Message-id:
I prepare a monthly hallway calendar in our school with Canadian Trivia,
On This Day material and student birthdays. Your sympatico- On This Day
is great, but is there anyway I can retreve information for a whole
month or do you know of a site where it is possible. All the ones I
have found have a lot of American info and very little Canadian content.
Lynn Connell
Eaglesham School, Alberta
***
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 16:34:48 -0600
From: "Katherine I. Weaver"
[I like...] he concept: information about our own country and its history in a format that is accessible and enjoyable for the non-academic. . . and on the Web! It should hopefully spur further interest in Canadian history and maybe even current events, among people who find your site. Also, you've chosen a wide range of events to highlight. The quote of the day (today's being Marshall McLuhan's) is a nice touch: Canadians and the mass media often don't seem to remember or to place much value in the insights of our social commentators.
I am going to keep your site on my "favourites" for my children who are in grade school. This may seem a rather chauvanistic comment, but as someone who spent the first 36 years of her life in Southern Ontario and
only the last 11 in Alberta, I have been dismayed by the history curriculum
being taught to my children. My daughter will be entering grade six next
month; my son, grade five. They have yet to learn any Canadian history;
that is, any history of events which occured outside of the Province of
Alberta. My husband and I try to fill in the gaps . . . your site will be
a great help and I have no doubt they'll find it fun, too.
***
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 22:02:52 -0500
From: "W. Robert Downey"
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
... I enjoy this section of
the site a lot. I use it to give my daughter some insight to
the richness of Canadian history. God knows she won't get
much at school.
***
Subject: On this Day
Date: Tue, 07 Mar 2000 08:57:52 -0800 (PST)
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
I enjoy reading your page On this Day in Canada very much. I am presently teaching high school social studies in Nunavut and I was wondering if there is a archives of pages that have missed or might miss in the future. Also I was wondering if it is possible for me to have that page emailed to me every day?
Thanking you in advance.
Owen H. Hewitt
***
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 16:34:48 -0600
From: "Katherine I. Weaver"
Subject: Re: This Day in History
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
... I am going to keep your site on my "favourites" for my children
who are in grade school. This may seem a rather chauvinistic comment, but as someone who spent the first 36 years of her life in Southern Ontario and
only the last 11 in Alberta, I have been dismayed by the history curriculum
being taught to my children. My daughter will be entering grade six next
month; my son, grade five. They have yet to learn any Canadian history;
that is, any history of events which occured outside of the Province of
Alberta. My husband and I try to fill in the gaps . . . your site will be
a great help and I have no doubt they'll find it fun, too.
***
From: Patrick Wilbur
Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 10:59:00 -0700
Subject: RE: This Day in History
... I thoroughly enjoy your site. As a school principal I have a trivia question for students each morning and I often use your sight as a source for these questions.
Thanks and keep up the excellent work.
Patrick Wilbur
Principal, Fort Vermilion Public School
***
From: John Grubber
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2000 1:04 AM
I love the Canadian on this day site you run for Sympatico. Is there any way of accessing information about days in history other than the present one? I missed my own birthday (december 2nd) but I also like to give people printouts of Canadian and world history on their birthdays, but can't do it if I can't get the info until the day I want arrives. Please set up some sort of searchable archive or other way to access differeing days. I am a teacher, and i would also like to be able to have a little gift of Canadian history available for any students who have a birthday that comes on a weekend during the school year. regards, john p grubber
***
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 20:33:48 -0500
From: "K. J. Wilson"
As an educator myself, I really appreciate your efforts to maintain this excellent webpage. I find it's informative and highly interesting. I try to share it with my students on a daily basis when I can. Is it possible to include the format you started with earlier in the year? I find your global style (birthdays and events) along with the Canadian info a superb souce of history. My students become really excited that they share birthdays with people around the world as well as within our own borders. Let me know if you can, if you'll be starting this format again in the near future or why you mayn't be able to do this.
Thanks again, K.J.Wilson
***
Thank you. A wonderful resource.... I use it daily for my gr. 10 history class for introduction and discussion....I teach Canadian History so at the beginning of each lesson, I use information relevant to the topics for the course, not necessaritly that day. The purpose for me is to teach and reteach so that the material isn't all brand new when the topic comes up for detail study. for Example today I used Cairine Wilson as the first Senator appointed in 1930.....discussion followed as to women being declared "persons" legally etc. Igol Gouzenko affair to discuss beginning of the Cold WAr...Native issues-Nisq'a coming to agreement over land treaties... discussion why wait so long? Students came up with different answers etc. I have never used birthdays. But having said that I did today for fun. Some of the themes we are studying are Women, Immigration, Confederation, Technology, Native Issues, Social policies, Canada involved in World Affairs - Wars, French English Relations- I Use the today in History to actually follow the events of the October Crisis...., American-Canadian Relations....Tonie Ambrose
***
From: "Pierre Veilleux"
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 03:48:06
I am presentely building a website on the early history of Canada and I found many pictures to be good for my future site. I particularly liked the way the pictures are put into time categories. One thing to improve perhaps would be to have some thumbnails pitures of the originals.
***
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 22:12:23 -0400
From: Tony Infante
I love the history section you folks take care of, one thing I would
like to see, is on the Canadian Birthdays section, if you can go to
either an/or the official site of the person you are mentioning, or a
list of links of that person.
It would add to the educational level of this section.
***
From: "Curran-Dorsano, Maureen"
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 12:42:24 -0500
I am a teacher, developing a web site on the early French explorers. I
would like to use some of the images from the CanPix Image Base for this
project. The web site is strictly for educational purposes, so that seems
to fall within the realm of copyright use, but I'm not sure what "for
research purposes only" means. Does that mean I can or can't publish the
images on the web? Do I have to contact each individual institution to
obtain rights to include their images in my project?
Maureen Curran-Dorsano
Instruction and Technology Specialist
Normandale Elementary French Immersion School
5701 Normandale Road
Edina, MN 55424
(952) 848-4128
http://edina.k12.mn.us/normandale/
***
My parents celebrated their 50th Anniversay on June 27, 1950 and we are have the celebration on July 22, 2000. As part of our gift to them we are compiling information on what happened on that day. Would it be possible to e-mail me historical/news/tirvia information that occured on June 27, 1950?
Carole Kraushaar
***
Mike and Lorraine Hickling
Good morning,
First, I'd like to tell you how much I enjoy the site. It is very informative, humorous and easy to get around. Second, I was wondering if it would be possible to email me the National and Regional Events from March 9. I located this site one day too late to read the info. for my father's 50th birthday. As we are having a party for him this Saturday, I would love to give him the history that happened on March 9. I went to the Archives, but it only had birthdays.
Hoping to hear a favorable response,
Sincerely,
Lorraine Hickling
***
From: Barbara Millar
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
I have a situation that I hope that you will be able to help me with...!
On July 19, 1999, my dad will turn 90 [!] and we are planning a
celebration for him in Toronto. There'll be a slide show, speeches,
photos and anecdotes.
Do you, by chance, have information that we could share with the guests
either on events that happened on July 19 and/or anything notable about
July 19, 1909? Any birthdays of note? Any way that could access the
front page of the newspaper on that date? [National Archives might have
that on microfiche, huh?]
But, if you have some "stuff" that you could send me via e-mail, it
would be VERY VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
Thanks for considering my request...
Barb Millar
***
Subject: On This Day
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 09:51:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dave Kelly
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
I want to say I really enjoy your "On This Day". I find it interesting and
fascinating to find out what has happened in our country.
I have a question. Is there any function on your site to look up days other
than the current one? It would be fun to look up birthdays, anniversaries
etc of friends without having to wait for the actual day.
Thank you for your time and once again - excellent page.
Dave Kelly
***
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 10:09:02 -0500
From: Danielle Pepin
Organization: Ontario Orthopaedic Assoc.
I frequent this site often and find it valuable. I had planned to printout your site on November 8 to include it in my son's birthday card. However, I missed it. Is there any way to retrieve this information? Regards,
***
Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 00:16:42 -0700
From: Helen Mason
I've had trouble getting on line all
day and just when I finally get on it's 1 minute after 12 and I just
missed May 30 On This Day. It was my birthday on the 30th - could you
indulge me just once more and send me May 30th On This Day? Please?
My parents were thrilled with all the info you sent me for their 60th
Anniversary and 90th & 86th Birthday celebrations.
***
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 21:13:39 -0600
From: Elaine Mitchell
Dear sir, I hope that you can help me. My family is presently planning
a 50th wedding anniversary for our parents. Could you send me 'on this
day' info, or at least tell me how I can access this information. The
date is july 15th, 1950.
***
From: Lee Zommers
Subject: need some information
Is there any way I can backtrack and get some information for my childrens' baby books. I would like them to know what was happening on their bithdays, November 13,1996 and May 27,2000.
Thanks, Curious mom!!!
***
From: Len & Joanne Aubin
Subject: Birthday 25 Sep 99
My son was born on 25 Sep 99. In the excitement (he is my first born) I
forgot to get any news papers... Could you possibly tell me the:
World News Headlines,
Local News Headlines,
Weather,
Anything about the Economy,
Any Fashion Trends,
Popular Movies, and/or
Best Sellers, and
Anything of particular about 25 Sep at all?
I got you addy off the On This Day page on Sympatico and was wondering
if you would be willing to find out that kind of information for me? I
would really appreciate any info you could find to help me so I can
compile info in his baby book so he will know what the times were like
when he was born.... In advance I thank you for anything you can find
for me.
Len Aubin
Saskatoon Canada
***
Dear Dr. Sweeny:
Thank you for the wonderful "On This Day" page at http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day.
I was wondering, is there a way to call up other days? I am gathering information for a "This day in history" booklet for my parents-in-law, who were married on September 29, 1950.
Many thanks,
David Mackintosh
9502 - 74 Ave. NW
Edmonton AB Canada T6E 1E4
780-438-3946
***
From: Carol Rowsellxx
This is the first day of my life. I was very happy to read the history
in Canada. It is quite impressive to see what else happened on the birth
day other than just your own birthday.
Thank you for putting such an interesting site on the internet.
Carol Rowsell
***
Subject: I Just LOVE On This Day!
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 22:49:38 -0500
From: Carol Shetler
Thank you very much for all the work you do on compiling the snippets you put into On This Day. I sincerely appreciate your efforts, as I hold a
history degree myself and am a budding researcher and writer.
I will be sure to acknowledge you in my Millennium Eve journal/book which I have been writing all year. I have pulled at least one entry per month for my World News section from your highlights; I have called mine "Today in History". My journal will likely end up being between 180-200 pages, all neatly printed and put into a binder.
***
Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2000 05:31:21 -0500
From: Carol Shetler
Subject: World Events on "On This Day"
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
Thanks very much for adding World Events to "On This Day".
While writing my Millennium Eve journal last year, I found
"On This Day" a terrific source of historical tidbits about
Canada; now it will be an enjoyable source of world
historical events too.
Best regards,
Carol Shetler
***
Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 00:16:42 -0700
From: Helen Mason
I've had trouble getting on line all
day and just when I finally get on it's 1 minute after 12 and I just
missed May 30 On This Day. It was my birthday on the 30th - could you
indulge me just once more and send me May 30th On This Day? Please?
My parents were thrilled with all the info you sent me for their 60th
Anniversary and 90th & 86th Birthday celebrations. Thank you so much
once again. Helen.
***
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 12:45:08 -0600
From: ABW Shared Services
Subject: On this day - June 27, 1950
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
Dear Sir;
My parents celebrated thier 50th Anniversay on June 27, 1950 and we are have the celebration on July 22, 2000. As part of our gift to them we are compiling information on what happened on that day. Would it be possible to e-mail me historical/news/tirvia information that occured on June 27, 1950.
Carole Kraushaar
***
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 21:13:39 -0600
From: Elaine Mitchell
Subject: July 15, 1950
Dear sir, I hope that you can help me. My family is presently planning
a 50th wedding anniversary for our parents. Could you send me 'on this
day' info, or at least tell me how I can access this information. The
date is july 15th, 1950.
Thank you very much.
Elaine Mitchell,
***
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 00:33:35 -0500
From: Carol Rowsellxx
Subject: Oct.14
This is the first day of my life. I was very happy to read the history
in Canada. It is quite impressive to see what else happened on the birth
day other than just your own birthday.
Thank you for putting such an interesting site on the internet.
Carol Rowsell
***
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 17:23:34 -0600
From: "Katherine I. Weaver"
Your Web page refers to an order form. Is it possible to order the headlines, birthdays and other events for a specific day . . . in particular, February 21? My mother is turning 75 on February 21, 2001 and my siblings and I thought (as part of our celebration) to include a presentation of this kind of information. Please let me know if it is possible to obtain this information through your services. Thank you.
Katherine I. Weaver
***
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 16:34:48 -0600
From: "Katherine I. Weaver"
Thank you so much for sending me the information for February
21st. We will certainly use it as part of the event we are planning for my
mother and I will make sure that you, your company and Website are credited for the information.
As for your Website, what did I like about it? The concept: information
about our own country and its history in a format that is accessible and
enjoyable for the non-academic. . . and on the Web! It should hopefully
spur further interest in Canadian history and maybe even current events,
among people who find your site. Also, you've chosen a wide range of events to highlight. The quote of the day (today's being Marshall McLuhan's) is a nice touch: Canadians and the mass media often don't seem to remember or to place much value in the insights of our social commentators.
Finally, but I am going to keep your site on my "favourites" for my children who are in grade school. This may seem a rather chauvanistic comment, but as someone who spent the first 36 years of her life in Southern Ontario and only the last 11 in Alberta, I have been dismayed by the history curriculum being taught to my children. My daughter will be entering grade six next month; my son, grade five. They have yet to learn any Canadian history; that is, any history of events which occured outside of the Province of Alberta. My husband and I try to fill in the gaps . . . your site will be a great help and I have no doubt they'll find it fun, too.
***
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 17:36:41 -0400
From: Wendy Morgan
I was so pleased to come across your site detailing "This day in Canadian history."
I was wondering if I could ask for your help with something that I am researching. I am currently the coordinator of Canada Book Day, a national event that takes place annually on April 23 to coincide with UNESCO declared World Book Day. We are currently developing our print material for Canada Book Day 2001 and I am looking for a Canadian link...
Would it be at all possible for you to send me a list of important moments in Canadian history that took place on April 23? It would be especially wonderful to find an author who was born or died, an important book publication or anything at all to do with books, writers or literacy.
Wendy Morgan
Canada Book Day Coordinator
***
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 14:33:34 -0700
From: Brian Fidler
I just discovered you web site and I really enjoy the milestone section.
How do I go back and check to see what happened on my birthday.
Brian
***
Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 19:10:15 -0400 (EDT)
I go into your site everyday (from Connecticut). I haven't seen Colm
Feore's birthday listed. Do you know when it is? We know he was born in 1958 but have no other info. Can you help? Thank you.
***
Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 10:21:41 -0400
From:
Subject: Re: 50 years ago
I am researching events pertinent to May 20th, 1950 to include in a scrapbook for a fiftieth wedding anniversary. Please forward any Canadian happenings associated with this date. Thank you
***
From: Szumutku, Suzette
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 2:08 PM
Thank you for responding to my message so promptly. Unfortunately, I'm not sure a letter from me would be of great value as I am using the info for personal info only. Dec. 6th was my 50th birthday and I wasn't at work, and therefore didn't have access to the internet, to get the info so I could include it in my scrapbook and I need the Nov. 22 date because I am doing a scrapbook for my 3 year old grandson and I haven't been around to get the info on his actual birthdate either! It would be so valuable to have an archives choice for people like me (and probably for others too who use the info for much more "serious" reasons.) Thanks in advance for your assistance.
***
This page is quite interesting, and it gives the option to request
any day of the year, but I would also like to have the option to
request a specific date in a specific year also. That would mean
that to fill up the page it might included more mundane pieces
of news, but then look at all the pieces of news there are for
just today, in National, World, Business, Features, Sports, etc
etc. While most of the big headline events spanning several
centuries of one date are very interesting, I believe there might
be just as much interest in my idea--at least I hope so!!!
Dennis Dunnigan
Toronto
***
***
I enjoy this information very much. I am hoping to launch a children's
radio station, and will use bits of this as often as possible. If it's
possible to have the data e-mailed daily (free of charge, it's
non-profit), please include me.
***
I really enjoy reading your Canadian history column (in fact I am addicted). I couldn't get to a computer on Christmas Day to see what happened in history. Is there any way you could please e-mail me the text as an e-mail attachment? Pretty addicted eh?
I hope so, thank you so much for this great column.
Steve Power-Fardy
Displaced Canadian in California.
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1998 09:29:18 -0800
***
Wow. What a site!!! Thank you very much for posting these pages to the
WWW. My chest bursts with pride that Canada and our accomplishments and
history have been made so visible to the rest of the world.
Thanks again -
***
Simply put: BRAVO!
A first rate source for students, and non students alike. Efforts of
this calibre will do more to foster unity of this great country than all
the words that emit from all of our elected officials combined....
***
Keep up the great work, I really enjoy your stuff.
-- Paul Killoran
***
What a great service. Would like to get access to all the "yesterdays
and tomorrows " as well as the available "todays".
"Alan C.Cameron"
***
Claude Dion , Sat 8:54
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
I love to read your "On this day" page...
Claude Dion
***
Subject: History
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 10:26:36 -0400
From: W Calvin Lucas
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
I think your 'Today in Canadian History' is GREAT. I read it every day.
I am interested in the Prime Ministers of Canada from J. A. to the
present. I look forward to each day to see just when each one has done
something worthy for your article. I am still missing a few and
especially the order. It seems that we are able to check of the
Presidents of the USA but very few know the early or even middle Prime
Miinisters. Will leave the matter of you working their names in your
article. Please keep up the good work. THANKS
CAL
***
...very impressed.
Jim Olsen
***
So far you rate as my home page location. Congratulations.
Paul G. Brandon"
***
This is my first time viewing Today in History. It won't be the last.
What an interesting page. I'm sure most Canadians aren't aware of our
rich history and this page brings that forth. The Layout is excellent
and easy to read. Thank you for a valuable asset and a job well done.
Dave Godley.
***
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 08:13:48 -0400
From: "Helen L. Johnston"
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
I really enjoy this page. It's one of the first things I check
every day.
Regards,
Helen L. Johnston
***
Subject: Daily birthdays
Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 07:24:07 -0400
From: Dawn Monroe
Organization: @Home Network
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
Just wanted to let you know that I enjoy checking your event and
birthday list each morning.
It is great that you include at least one woman each day.
Today August 6 is also the birthday for
Rina Lasnier. Born 1915. She was a youthful playwright who blossomed
into a sucessful poet. She published her 1st virses in 1941. She would
go on to receive the Molson Prize in 1971, and the Prix France Canada in
1973.
I look forward to checking out your listing each day. Keep up the good
work.
***
From: Sospirando
Organization: PAPYRUS Http://www.interlog.com/~papyrus/OperaLinks.htm
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
I just found the Today in Canadian History page. I love it, am adding it
to my page of great Canadian sites called 'Totally Candian, Eh?"
(currently under construction at
http://www.interlog.com/~papyrus/Canadian.htm ), and will be checking
back almost every day, I'm sure, to find more interesting facts!
What a great idea!
Linda Peterson
***
Subject: Nice site!
Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 12:12:01 +0800
From: Carla Flaman
Organization: Canada China Business Council
I was admiring your site the other day and have a question for you.
Working with the Canada China Business Council in Beijing, we often host
a variety of special events events and socials for Canadians living in
this part of the world. Some interesting historical facts which take
place on the day of the event would certainly enhance our flyers (that
we fax out) as we endeavour to promote the event.
Is it possible for you to email me some data which took place on
September 23rd? Or is it possible for me to access this information on
your web site?
We would be glad to include your web site on the flyer if you like. We
will be faxing it out to +400 Canadian companies located in the Beijing
area.
Carla Flaman
Director of Communications
Canada China Business Council
***
Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 09:21:50 -0400
From: Brian Kirkham
I just love this site! I like, first of all, the fact that
I can find Canadian info on the site. I have checked out the Milestones
page and discovered all kinds of facts about Canadians that I did not
know. I have also used the shopping site to order unique Canadian
products for my Christmas list. I am impressed with the look and ease of
use of the site. I have downloaded the maple leaf cursor and I have
bookmarked the site for future use.
I would like to see many more links to other Canadian sites and
businesses. I have often searched endlessly for sources of Canadian
information and shopping. I have found it very difficult to sort
through all the information to find the things that pertain to my area
or that I can obtain here in Canada. I think I have finally found the
answer to the problems. Keep up the good work!!
Pat Kirkham
***
Subject: questiion and comment
Date: Mon, 04 Oct 1999 16:00:23 -0400
From: Chantal Groulx & AndrŽ Brillon
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
I find the "On this day very interesting and informative. Is there a way
to receive this in a newsletter form of some sort? If not, it would be nice
if it were possible for others like myself who don't always have the time to
go on the website.
Sincerely,
André Brillon
***
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 07:46:31 -0400 (EDT)
a great start to my day!!!!!!!!
judy
***
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 19:34:37 -0500
From: Wendell Wagn
I find I like the current format just fine with everything on one page. I also
appreciate the effort made to include all parts of Canada in daily items.
***
Subject: raise my glass
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 23:33:40 -0700
From: "Clifford R. Chatterson"
Hello I must toast you on the great site I've just found. It's very
reassuring to find a truly CND site. thanks for the work and the info.
Carry on . c
***
Received: from dmuise (win-mb50-166.netcom.ca [216.191.162.134])
Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 17:21:11 -0500
Great site! I'm looking for a site that lists important historical events by "month" (ie. "this month in history") - any suggestions on where to look would be greatly appreciated!
Darlene Muise
***
***
From: "Garry Scott" ***
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 18:35:17 -0700 ***
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 20:50:28 -0500 ***
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 19:36:53 -0800 ***
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 10:23:31 -0500 ***
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 22:06:15 -0800 ***
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 23:29:25 -0500 ***
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2000 00:52:35 -0400 ***
From: Brian Kirkham I just love this site! I like, first of all, the fact that ***
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 07:46:31 -0400 (EDT) ***
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 19:34:37 -0500 ***
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 16:56:23 -0500 ***
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2000 08:40:43 -0800 (PST) ***
From - Sun Dec 31 09:09:09 2000 ***
Date: Sat, 04 Dec 1999 09:03:07 -0500 ***
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 16:53:43 -0700 ***
Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2000 21:00:20 -0500 ***
Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2000 23:23:23 -0500 ***
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 09:19:17 -0400 ***
From "Sandra McCulloch" ***
From: Laura Chidlow
***
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 20:13:29 -0400 ***
From: Len Perdic ***
Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 16:18:52 -0500 ***
Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 09:52:14 -0500 ***
Tuesday, January 02, 2001 4:28 PM ***
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 20:47:41 -0500 ***
From: "Sarah Doubt" ***
From: "Rodney McLean" ***
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 13:49:26 -0400 ***
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 14:15:44 -0400 ***
history. To-day there was mention of some 58 convicted rebels being sent
into exile to Australia in 1839.
Could you please tell me more about them, names, crimes and ages. And
did any of them or members of their families ever come back to Canada?
I had no idea that any Canadians had been sent to Australia and now
I just have to know the whole story.
Any information you can supply will be read with great interest.
Ross Carisse
Subject: History Bites
Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2000 07:58:24 -0400
Love this column A small suggestion. Why not add a website at the end of each 'bite'for more in-depth info on that particular bite?=20
Thanks
Lesley
From: Victoria Branch - UEL
You may be interested to know that I became aware of your site from a
Rootsweb Mail List for United Empire Loyalists in a message from a
professional historian from the UK! With your consent, I will post your
other sites on this list and another couple to which I subscribe - Upper
Canada and Eastern Ontario - both of which are genealogical mail lists. As
you probably already know, many of those involved in genealogy, whether
professional or hobbyist, are also very interested in history.
I am also the coordinator of a Special Interest Group on British Columbia
Research for the Victoria Genealogical Society and was most intrigued with
BC historical images as well.
I visited your other sites and was equally impressed. I had been aware of
the Sympatico 'Day in History', again from one of my genealogical mail
lists and often take a look. It is such a joy to find a source of Canadian
information and images!
I appreciate your efforts and will continue to enjoy them. Thank you.
Joan McIlmoyl Cleghorn, U.E., APG
President, Victoria Branch
United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada
From: "david r. carr"
Subject: re Canadian Milestones.
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
This is perhaps the best source of its type that I have found for the milestone events and a bit of background. But I wonder if it can either be posted any earlier in the day, say by 6 a.m. ET, or if it can have a search engine to get the appropriate day, as I can with the Canada at 2000 site (which is not as nicely balanced, day to day)....or perhaps post the site sometime the evening before?
Thanks for considering my requests...any one of the above would be an enormous benefit.
Dave Carr
CFOS Radio
Owen Sound, ON
From: Valerie Cormier
Subject: This Day in History
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
This is a wonderful resource and a welcome alternative to the American
editions that are on the Net. Am wondering if it would be possible to
research other dates (as in an archive): I program a college radio show and
find this very useful and informative filler. Would be of great assistance
to be able to look backwards/forwards several days.
Thanks and regards,
Valerie Cormier
From: Phil Seymour
Subject: Milestones
Can I retrieve Milestones for a previous day?
I assume today's milestones are the same as those published last year on
this date unless something noteworthy happened last year on this date and
was added to the web page. Is this right?
If the web pages are the same then I would not need to retrieve a date more
than a year ago.
Thanks
Phil Seymour
We are launching a website directory on March 01 targeted at the Canadian Christian community. One part of our directory will be a kids area which we determined would be free of all advertising. We came across your site offering "On This Day in Canada" and thought it would be a great educational addition to our site, however upon linkng to your site we would be subjecting the children to the adverising on your site. We are not adverse to advertising and fully understand the concept and value of it but do not want to change our position for the kid's area.
Would there be a way to still offer that on our site without linking to a page with advertising on it? We would be willing to say "On This Day... is courtesy of Sympatico.ca" or whoever deserves credit for it.We would also be willing to offer you links to your site from other areas of our site in order to compensate you for your service to us.
We currently have a promotional Flash presentation at www.cccentral.com
that would further explain the scope of our site.
Mark Pasay
COO, Jampact Media Inc.
www.jampactmedia.com
From: David & Nyree Squarzolo
Subject: Enjoyable
This is my first visit to this web page and it won't be the last.
Reading Canadian historical events on a daily basis is enjoyable.
Please keep this as part of Sympatico's service delivery.
Regards,
David Squarzolo
From: Marjorie Faubert
Subject: the news today
This is the first time I have read these Items and I thoroughly enjoyed
them all and will continue to read them now that I know they exist thank
you.
Subject: what I like about your site
To: infonauts@sympatico.ca
I can find Canadian info on the site. I have checked out the Milestones
page and discovered all kinds of facts about Canadians that I did not
know. I have also used the shopping site to order unique Canadian
products for my Christmas list. I am impressed with the look and ease of
use of the site. I have downloaded the maple leaf cursor and I have
bookmarked the site for future use.
I would like to see many more links to other Canadian sites and
businesses. I have often searched endlessly for sources of Canadian
information and shopping. I have found it very difficult to sort
through all the information to find the things that pertain to my area
or that I can obtain here in Canada. I think I have finally found the
answer to the problems. Keep up the good work!!
Pat Kirkham
From:
Subject: on this day
IS A wonderful gift..especially to those of us (UE) living in the US..thanks
so much..a great start to my day!
I'm really very involved with genealogy and so,enjoy your site very much.I'm Sarnia born, U of T grad..living in NC for 21 years..wish I had found your site years ago!!!!!!
Just began daily use of it 2 weeks ago so have a lot to read.
Thanks again..will suggest it to many!!!!!!!!! judy
From: Wendell Wagn
... I find I like the current format just fine with everything on one page. I also appreciate the effort made to include all parts of Canada in daily items.
From: "Middlebro, Tanya"
I'd like Info on ordering your almanac. Also where'd you get the info about James Evans? He's a hero of mine
Tanya Middlebro'
Department of Justice
From: Patrick Couture
Bonjour,
Congratulations on the Canpix website, it is a great
wealth of information for people interested in
Canadian studies. Thank you for making this gold mine
available to us.
I was disapointed to see that the pictures of the
"Places" and "Cultures" categories seem to be
off-line. Do you know if these will be brought on-line
soon? Also, the French version's image menu is
missing. If it wasn't for these two little problems,
your web site would definitely be, and by far, one of
the very best site of Canadian history I have seen.
Patrick Couture.
From: gcarline
I enjoy your Today in History - but it would be a little more interesting if you could balance the presentation of material across the whole country - eg: including the West.
From: catharine dewar
Hi there. I really enjoy this site through Sympatico. However, I would enjoy it more and find it more useful if the items were divided into a few categories, not just lumped together as to the year. What about 3 or 4 headings such as: politics, sports, disasters, and important historical events in Canada (eg wars, the last spike, etc). Keep up the good work.
Keep up the good work. Cathy
From: Christine Oliver
Would it be possible to get a cd with the complete countdown site info on
it. It is such a good look at history that I would like to study it
further. Thanks very much. Christine
From: Carol Shetler
My brother has been travelling
back and forth to Laval Quebec from Oshawa, Ontario, every
weekend since early December, and while crossing into Quebec
near Cornwall this evening, he noticed a sign: "Upper Canada
Highway." This led him to call me on his cell phone to ask
me where the "official border" originally was between Upper
and Lower Canada.
Finding my answer of "the Ottawa River" unsatisfactory, he
has requested that I check into it further. He would like to
know specifically where the Ottawa River meets today's
Highway 401, as he would consider that to be the "border
crossing point" between Upper and Lower Canada. Anything you
could help me find out about what that point was called in
pre-Confederation times would be useful, too.
Many thanks! Carol Shetler
From: Carol Shetler
I have a question for you that I
am a little embarrassed to be asking because I should darn well know the
answer...I was playing a trivia game on NTN today which had a "Canadiana" section. Since it was compiled by Americans, these questions are always a little bit suspect. For example they once tried to tell us that Queen Victoria died in 1910; I soon set them straight on that one, and pointed out that 1910 should have read 1901. Not exactly a forgivable typo.
Today's "stumper" concerned Canada's "Head of State". I was under the
impression that since the repatriation of the Constitution in 1982 at the
latest, and the enactment of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 at the
earliest, the Prime Minister was officially Canada's head of state, with the
ability to enact treaties, etc. and send our country off to war. The trivia
game answer that was deemed correct is that "the reigning British monarch"
is Canada's head of state. To me this doesn't make sense, otherwise how
could both Canada and Britain be members of the G8, NATO, the United
Nations, etc. To me Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth and that is it. The Governor General is her representative in Canada and opens and dismisses Parliament, end of story. Is that what defines "Head of
State"? If so, those NTN guys must be right.
Please clarify so I can let those NTN folks know if they got it wrong...
From: Brian Selig
I would like to know if I can find information on dates other than the
actual one. Thank you.
Date:Tue, 12 Dec 2000 13:53:59 -0800
Hi, I'm an info nut and fortunately found a career in journalism. I liked the variety of your historical tidbits. They remind me that Canada, tho young, is developing as it is because of the efforts of many people, past and present. I've never had the urge to learn my history so when I hear about Louis Riel's rebellion (which my husband, the history nut of the family, kindly explains to me), I'm amazed. Canada, a place of such drama? I do remember the FLQ crisis and Pierre Laporte being killed. I'm not big on daily emails, nor do I care about birthdays of people like Celine Dion or MacKenzie King (interesting juxtoposition there). Just keep up the snippits of interesting tidbits for those of us with fleeting attention spans!
I am trying to locate a searchable on-line "Today in History" database which provides Canadian events. I have found a few which are American, but so far, have only found the Sympatico site for Canadian content which lacks a search option. Do you have any suggestions?
From: Bonnie Sperry
Subject: Have you ever considered this?
Hi there,
I am a radio announcer in Ottawa and I was wondering if you have ever
considered making a radio on-air prep page out of the Canadian
information you collect. I am always looking for information that I can
use on air and it sounds like this could be a good source. The only
thing that would be a problem is that I would need to be able to search
to any day of the year to get the "what happened on this day"
information. ie. for June 28th, I would have to be able to get this
info on June 27th. To be used on the air June 28th. This may not be
possible, but I just thought I would ask.
Please let me know what you think.
Thanks, Heather Sperry
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 8:28 AM
It's an interesting page; nice to see good Canadian content!
Cheers, Len
Just dropping a note to let you know I've enjoyed reading a little
Canadian history! I just happened upon your site today, I will certainly
visit again .
Janet Cartwright (Brampton, Ont)
Kudos on your Canadiana
Just discovered your Canadian Milestones at the Canada.com site. This is an excellent collection of tidbits of Canadiana. Keep up the good work.
Roger Fowler
I enjoy this site very much, a excellent information what has happen in the past. I would like to know if you are going to add 2000 events in the text. Thanks for the many hours of enjoyment.
From: "Deb"
Is there a way I can preview days in history other than the current one?
I quite enjoy this feature and would like to look ahead if possible.
Deb
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 00:40:56 -0400
> Is it possible to get milestones for a day that has already gone by?
>
> Sarah Doubt
> Product Support
> Protus IP Solutions
Thank you sooooo much. That was exactly what I was looking for and it works beautifully!!!!
I thought of one suggestion to make. If you could add the year option for the "on this day". Then a person could look for something even more
specific.
Sarah Doubt
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 11:09:34 -0600
I love quotations and discovered your Canadian quote of the day by poking around your site. I also like the feature on famous Canadian's birthdays. Both of these features would make excellent daily e-mails to us as site users.
Wonderful site. So loaded with info. that I am not sure I can find and use it all.
R. McLean
Moose Jaw
From: Margaret Ellis
I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading This Date in History... it serves as a great history lesson that each and every person should know. A lot of it is what we took in school (HOW MANY YEARS AGO??!!) and should not be forgotten. With today's education system, students are not taught much history which is a sad situation because without history, most mistakes of the past are bound to be repeated in the future.past are bound to be repeated in the future.
From: "Vivienne Machen"
I am new on the internet and a senior, I found your information very
interesting and learned some new things today, keep up the good work.
