There was a time...

I was going through Youtube videos of the 1950's TV show "What's My Line". One of the segments on the show involved the panel being blindfolded and having to play 20 questions to guest the identity of the celebrity guest. It made me think about how different popular culture is today.....

There was a time when to be a movie star you had to be versatile and have real talent beyond your physical appearance... The Golden age of Hollywood produced some of the most iconic actors and actresses ever...Clark Gable, James Cagney, Robert Mitchum, Lauren Bacall, Bette Davis, Jane Russell and the list goes on...When one of these artists gave you a peek into their private lives, it was an honour and a privilege, not a right and expected. I think the fact that their personal lives were kept hidden helped to add to the mystique...This also extended into the music world of the Jazz and Big Band greats.....

There was a time when folks would never have dreamed of walking out of their houses poorly dressed. Grace and etiquette were the watchwords of the day. Politeness and respect were demanded and expected. Where did that concept go? A time when Vegas and burlesque were the only places that dealt in the vulgar and the risqué. A time when women were ok with being referred to as Mrs. and saw it as a show of respect instead of an insult.

Not to say that the world of the early 20th century was all rainbows and lollipops but there was a decency that is sorely missing from the world of the 21 century.  Although we have made great strides in science, technology and human rights, we as a society lost something along the way and we didn't know it was leaving until it was already gone.

Because There Was a Time.....

Remembrance Day aka Armistice Day aka Poppy Day aka Veterans Day

Today is a special day to take a moment and honour those who believed in protecting an ideal and were willing to ensure that their children and grandchildren could live in a better world. Sadly time marches on and the last of the WW1 vets have passed on and the number of WW2 vets dwindles a little more every year. Parents take the time to teach your children about the importance of Remembrance Day. It isn't just a day off work or a day to collect time and a half. It's a day to remember that if it weren't for our great grandfathers and grandfathers leaving everything they held dear to travel to the other side of the world to fight, the world may be a different place right now. Take a moment to consider how your life would look if the axis had won.... If there are vets in your life, thank them and listen to their stories, you may surprise yourself with what you learn. Many who returned from combat, saw and did things that we cannot even begin to imagine or hope to understand.

As it is November 11^th , it seems timely to renew our understanding of the importance of this day and its special symbol – the poppy.

The association to the poppy to those killed in war existed for at least 110 years prior to its use in Canada. A correspondent during the Napoleonic War wrote of how thickly the poppies grew over the soldier’s graves in Flanders, France. He also wrote that fields, which were barren before battle, exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. It is believed that during bombardments the chalk in the soil became rich in lime from rubble, allowing poppies to thrive. After the Napoleonic war the lime was absorbed and the poppy disappeared. Sadly, the First World War saw the poppy bloom again.

The person most responsible for the adoption of the poppy was Canadian medical officer Lt Col. John McCrae. Hailing from Guelph, Ontario, McCrae was described as having the eye of a gunner, the hand of a surgeon and the soul of a poet.  McCrae, as a member of the Canadian Medical Corps, found himself on the front lines at Ypres on April 22, 1915. This was, of course, the first time that poison gas was used by the enemy. With the attacks coming in waves, the allies repulsed the enemy for 17 days. At the end both sides were left with tragic loss of lives.  It was during this battle that McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields.

Canadians sacrificed greatly during World War I. Fully 1/10 of our population served in the war. Many never came home. A scenario which was repeated during the Second World War, 24 short years later.

In 1918, an American professor in New York, named Moina Michael was so inspired by McCrae’s poem that she started wearing a poppy in memory of the millions who died during the war. This custom was picked up by a French woman named Mrs. Guerin during her visit to the US in 1920. Mrs. Guerin took the concept one step further when she returned to France. She created handmade poppies which were then sold to raise funds to aid children in destitute war torn regions of France.  She also suggested that the Canadian Great War Veterans Association adopt the poppy as their symbol, which they did in 1921.

Southern Albertans were greatly affected by both World Wars and other conflicts during the 20^th century.  Our Prairie sons and daughters have fought bravely in the name of Liberty and Justice.

When we wear a poppy we not only honour and remember the brave few who sacrificed so much but we also help ex-service personnel and their dependents. The revenue generated from the poppy drives held by the Canadian Legion is used to provide assistance to veterans and their families.

Sources:www.legion.ca;www.vac.acc.gc.ca;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields

British Home Children

Church groups, orphanages, and workhouses in Britain could no longer support the growing numbers of children in their care by the mid-19th century. The solution was to send orphans and abandoned children to other Commonwealth countries. It is estimated that between 1869 and 1948 Britain dispatched 100 000 children to Canada to work on farms or as domestic help. In some cases, siblings were sent to different locations. Many of the children thrived in their adopted country. Others suffered abuse, poor working conditions and loneliness.

“Little Immigrants” left an undeniable legacy on the Canadian landscape. Approximately 4 million Canadians can trace their ancestry to these children. Through their descendants, they share a haunting, little talked about tale of Canadian history.

Phil Coleman, Conservative MP for Brant, whose uncle was a home child, successfully introduced a private members’ motion that declared 2010 the Year of the British Home Child. The motion unanimously passed in the House of Commons in late 2009.

This September, Canada Post honoured the Home Children with a commemorative stamp. The stamp features the SS Sardinia on which children sailed from Liverpool to Québec, a map symbolizing their cross-Atlantic journey; a photograph of a child at work on a farm, and one of a newly arrived Home Child standing beside a suitcase while enroute to a   distributing home in Hamilton, Ontario. The frame around the photo symbolizes the relationships they developed in Canada.

NEITHER WAIF NOR STRAY

Dad, we lived with you for all those years
Without regard for your silent tears

You never let your thoughts be shown
Or the secrets of the youth you'd known

As life went on and our knowledge grew
We searched that inner part of you

But buried deep within your past
Were memories that would last and last

A past of which you were ashamed
But never spoke and never blamed

I wish you would have let us share
Your broken heart and deep despair

For you were neither waif nor stray
But one of many torn away

From your country, friends and kin
To an unknown world forced to begin

Without the love and kindness shared
Within the hearts of those who cared

You made the best of the years you had
But left this world alone and sad

Leaving behind for those like me
Your stolen youth and identity

If only dad we'd been a part
Of all you carried in your heart
M. Pauline King (in loving memory of her father, Edward King, a British Home Child)

For more information: http://activehistory.ca/2010/09/2010-is-year-of-the-british-home-child-in-canada-but-some-descendants-want-more-from-ottawa/

http://www.britishhomechildren.org/