Our Stories

a train crossing a bridge

History of Duffins Creek: A Waterway of Stories

Duffins Creek is one of Durham Region’s most historic waterways, carrying centuries of cultural and ecological significance. Long before European
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Autumn landscape showing a large silver maple tree with yellow and brown leaves dusted by fresh snow, standing in an open grassy park. Fallen leaves scatter across the snow‑covered ground, with additional trees and open space visible in the background.

The Earlscourt Silver Maple: A Living Memorial

A black and white aerial image of Brampton, taken in 1954. A railroad line can be seen stretching from the middle left edge of the frame to the bottom left corner. In the middle of the frame, there is a concentration of houses and buildings, the landscape dotted with clusters of trees.

Frank Kovalsky: The Commander

A large early‑20th‑century ocean liner with a black hull and white superstructure steams across calm water, emitting dark smoke from multiple funnels, viewed broadside against a pale sky and distant shoreline.

Empress of Ireland Memorial: A Silent Tribute 

Close‑up view of a carved stone urn atop a grave monument, weathered with patches of lichen. Leafless trees and soft daylight blur into the background, creating a calm, reflective cemetery setting.

From Veil to Urn: Symbolism in Cemetery Monuments

a very old Ford vehicle in black and white

Dr. Perry E. Doolittle: The Father of the Trans-Canada Highway

tree stump

Snags: The Hidden Life in Standing Dead Trees

Black and white photo of Mel Chandler standing with his hands on his hips. He is wearing a light-coloured button-down dress shirt, belted dress pants, and a cardigan. Behind him is a large leafy tree and a house across the road. Behind him are the gates to Pine Hills Cemetery, at the Kennedy side exit.

Living Among the Monuments: The Chandler Family at Pine Hills

Historic 19th‑century business document for Sanderson Pearcy & Co., featuring ornate lettering, an engraved illustration of a multi‑storey commercial building, decorative headings advertising paints, oils, and glass, and handwritten ledger entries dated Toronto, 1899.

Sanderson Pearcy: Entrepreneur and Community Builder

headstone covered in snow

James Henry Fleming: Toronto’s Gentleman Ornithologist

A vintage black‑and‑white portrait of Marion Alice Powell-Orr wearing a peaked cap with an insignia and a dark military jacket. The jacket features a winged badge on the chest and shoulder markings. The person is posed against a softly lit studio backdrop.

Marion Alice Powell-Orr: Breaking Barriers in the Skies

big monument surrounded by trees

O’Born Family: Champions of Print and Innovation

gallows of the Don Jail with plaque

Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin: Canada’s Last Executions

The staged picture entitled “Public health nurse Janet Neilson (right) on a home visit” shows the uniform she had to wear: it includes a black bonnet with white streamers. She carried supplies in a market basket.

Janet Neilson: Canada’s First Public Health Nurse

A detailed photograph of a Victoria Cross medal suspended from a deep magenta ribbon. The bronze cross features a lion standing atop a royal crown at its center, with an ornate scroll below. The medal hangs against a dark, textured background

Joseph Harcourt Tombs: Victoria Cross Hero of WWI

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Richard John Lucas: The Man Behind Canada’s Sugared Ham

panoramic scene of a park with blue sky

Thomas W. Thompson: Champion of Toronto’s Green Spaces

A large group of Toronto uniformed postal workers, including Albert Jackson, posed in several rows outside a brick building, with men seated and standing in formal arrangement, wearing matching caps and coats in a late‑19th‑century group portrait.

Albert Jackson: Canada’s First Black Letter Carrier

Snow‑covered cemetery scene showing three adjacent grave markers bearing the names Massey and Hewitt. The stones are partially buried in snow and set among dense winter shrubs and leafless trees, creating a quiet, enclosed landscape.

Foster Hewitt: The Voice that Made Hockey Canadian

A duotone image in black and yellow showing a young man with his arms crossed, looking slightly upward with a sense of optimism. A sign on the wall behind him reads "Watch for upcoming productions".

Walter Grealis and Stan Klees: The Godfathers of CanCon

A red poppy placed on a stone, representing remembrance of soldiers who died in the First World War.

Private Bertie Nakogee: Honouring a Forgotten Soldier