Author Archives: VB

An old cemetery tells a story. It tells of the founding families in a community, a child coddled by her mother for only a few months, a young husband whose wife died in childbirth and was left to raise an infant, a young person taken by a disease that could be treated today and anotherContinue reading “Clyde River Pioneer Cemetery – Never forget those you come from”

When I think of the beginning of a school year, I am reminded of all things that smell fresh and new…new shoes, new satchel, new books, new scribblers, pens and pencils. Maybe for our grandparents, it was a new slate. Now, it is a new iPad which is rather like a slate, only with someContinue reading “School Days Begin Again”

This past week, I took a tour of the archaeological dig in Stanhope. The site is on one of my favourite hiking paths within the National Park, the Farmlands Trail which is 2.5 km. I have walked the trail many times, but this time we had a Parks Canada guide and a local historian joinContinue reading “Stories under the Ground”

When I dropped by the Fitzgerald’s, Mike was busy in the workshop making Adirondack chairs. He had all the wood pre-cut and ready to go for a customer’s order of six. He is using Western Cedar from British Columbia; it’s expensive to buy and there is a lot of waste when cutting out the curvedContinue reading “The Fitzgerald’s – Woodworking, Gardens and Views of the Marshes”

Yesterday, I visited my great grandparent’s home in Clyde River for the first time in my life. I grew up in Clyde River and spent a great deal of time at my Grandfather Beer’s which was just the next farm to ours and also at my Grandmother MacLean’s in Meadowbank, but our connection with theContinue reading “Darrach-Poritz Homestead”

When I was a kid, people visited each other in the community, and when you went to someone’s home, they showed you interesting things whether it be knitted crafts, a quilt that they had made during the winter months, new things they had purchased or changes to their homes. If it was a farm, youContinue reading “McCrady’s Diss Hill Farm”

We received a note on our Facebook Page from the Terry Fox Foundation letting us know that it was 31 years ago today that Terry Fox passed through Clyde River. They also featured the note and our website link on their Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/TheTerryFoxFoundation that has over 16,000 fans. I remember Terry on thatContinue reading “Terry Fox passed through Clyde River 31 years ago”

We feature another excerpt from our Clyde River Notes series. This time, we have found an article featuring a semi-annual school examination held on January 26th, somewhere around the late 1920s. The evening is highlighted by a note to the teacher which was recited by Florence Beer in recognition of his patience toward the students.Continue reading “Clyde River Notes: Clyde River School Examination”

I grew up hearing about the Murchison Family and the beautiful property that they once had at the corner of Clyde River Road and the Trans Canada Highway. I remember hearing about the tennis courts, flower gardens and beautiful lawns and how when they sat down for dinner, they would enjoy sophisticated conversation for hours.Continue reading “The Murchison Property”