27 April 1909 On 27 April 1909, the Ottawa Journal published a small article announcing that Mr. C.C. Campbell of 193 Gloucester Street, was organizing an Ottawa company of boy scouts. Campbell had recently returned from Britain where he had been the scout master of the 1st Whitehead troop and the Secretary of the North Irish Division Council of boy scouts. Reportedly, he had been trained under the “eye” of General Baden-Powell. Boys aged between 12 and 18 interested in joining the scouts were urged to contact Mr. Campbell at his home address. Lord Baden-Powell, c. 1910-1920, Wikipedia. The bo ..read more

6 April 1884 The nineteenth century was a time of incredible change in Europe and North America. The industrial revolution was upending the existing economic and social order. A cultural renaissance, which drew inspiration from the past, was revolutionizing the arts. Meanwhile, evangelical preachers whose aim was to revive traditional Christian values were attracting thousands of converts, and in so doing threatening long-established churches. This religious revival was intertwined with other social crusades, including the temperance and abolitionist movements. Rev. William Booth, c. 1862, Wik ..read more

26 March 1975 Ottawa Mosque, 251 Northwestern Avenue, 2009, by Muhammad, Wikipedia According to a 1995 Citizen article, the first Muslim immigrants to Ottawa were Hassan Mahmood Wahad and his family, who came to the capital in 1903 from the small Lebanese-Syrian town of Kfarmishki, located about 90 kilometres southeast of Beirut. At the time, the community was part of the Ottoman Empire. The Wahad family found a home in the Byward Market alongside other recent immigrants. It must have been difficult. Initially knowing little English or French, Hassan Wahad and his family were cut off from thei ..read more

28 March 1950 President Truman appointed Lawrence Steinhardt to the post of U.S. Ambassador to Canada in October 1948. He was a career diplomat of considerable ability. After years of representing his country in some of the most difficult posts in the world, including the Soviet Union, Canada must have felt like a cake walk. Indeed, on his appointment, the ambassador told an Ottawa Journal reporter he looked forward to dropping a fishing line in the water and relaxing a bit. Duck hunting and skiing in the Gatineau hills also featured high on his “to-do” list in his new post. Steinhardt was no ..read more

30 July 1941 Paul Anka, age 15, with his first record release on the RPM label, 1956, Lost Ottawa, City of Ottawa Archives, CA4035.2. Paul Anka, the famous singer and song writer, was born in Ottawa on 30 July 1941 to Andrew (Andy) and Camilia Anka. Andrew was the son of a Syrian immigrant who came to Canada in 1902, while Camila (née Tannis) was Lebanese by birth. The couple owned the New Locanda restaurant and lounge at 300 Laurier Avenue West. (The old Laconda burnt down.) The family home was a modest dwelling at 87 Clearview Avenue. The civically-minded Andrew was a director of the Boys an ..read more

27 February 1912 Residents and tourists alike are familiar with Ottawa’s Lowertown. It’s the home of the popular and historic Byward Market, and a host of trendy boutiques and restaurants. It is also a predominantly Francophone, working-class, residential area that dates back two hundred years. But if there is a Lowertown, shouldn’t there be an Upper Town somewhere? There used to be. When Bytown, the village that was to become Ottawa, was settled by soldiers and construction workers building the Rideau Canal in the late 1820s, it consisted of two communities—Lower Town and Upper Town. On the e ..read more

7 September 1967 The Cradle Hockey League at the Ottawa Auditorium, 1964, Ross Dunn, Wikipedia. There is a small, unassuming urban park at the corner of Beech Street and Champagne Avenue South, containing an asphalt basketball court, an area used for road hockey and bike polo, a wading pool, some picnic tables and a bocce ball pit. In the winter time, there is an outdoor hockey rink. This unprepossessing, but well used neighbour park is named in honour of Ev Tremblay who lived much of his life at his modest home at nearby 160 Beech Street. Now largely forgotten, Ev Tremblay operated a window-c ..read more

19 September 1984 Pope John Paul II in Canada, 1984, LAC, 4444461, author unknown. Karol Cardinal Wojtyla of Poland was elected supreme pontiff, the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State on 16 October 1978. He chose the name John Paul II as a tribute to his predecessor, John Paul I who had died just 33 days after himself being elected Pope in August 1978. Pope Jean Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in more than 450 years. Almost immediately, Pope John Paul II began travelling, ministering to the Catholic faithful arou ..read more

20 December 1867 The Young Men’s Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.), or “the Y,” as it is now more commonly known, was started in England in 1844 by a small group of men led by George Williams (later Sir), a draper by trade. At that time, tens of thousands of young men were pouring into the cities from the countryside, drawn by the lure of jobs created by the industrial revolution. Williams and other philanthropists sought to provide spiritual aid and wholesome recreation activities that would keep these young men on the straight and narrow and out of the bars and brothels. The Y.M.C.A. movement ..read more

6 June 1891 In was the spring of 1891. The Conservative Party of Sir John A. Macdonald had just won a bruising election campaign, defeating the Liberal Party under its new leader, Wilfrid Laurier. It was a close call. While retaining a majority in the House of Commons, the Conservatives lost five seats while the Liberals picked up ten. The main campaign issue was trade policy, with Macdonald favouring protective tariffs under his National Policy with the Liberals endorsing reciprocity, i.e., free trade with the United States. Emphasizing continuity, the Conservatives fought and won under the s ..read more