From 25th Anniversary Yearbook of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church (1995) Canada was founded more than 200 years ago by European settlers who came to this new land in search of a better life. Canada’s strength was, and continues to be, the diversity of its people. Its multicultural heritage can [...]
by Phil Egan Special to The Sarnia Journal Sarnians, and Ontarians in general, have had a tempestuous experience over the years with the practice of purchasing liquor. It wasn’t always as easy as it is today. In fact, there was a time not too long ago when it was pretty [...]
by Phil Egan Special to The Sarnia Journal (2015) It is a warm evening in early July, 1910. King George V is in his second month on the throne of the British Empire. Sir Wilfred Laurier is Prime Minister. You have just boarded the 100 foot long ferry, Skater at [...]
by Randy Evans for The Sarnia Journal (2014) This year Sarnia has joined a national Remembrance to respect the 100th anniversary of Canada’s entry into the Great War. The community had good reason to reflect. Out of a population just then reaching 10,000 a total of 1,090 men and women [...]
by Phil Egan (2015) It sits quietly on the lawn in front of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 62 on Front Street. Its massive gun is silent, but the battle tank “Calamity” still carries an unmistakeable air of deadly menace. As you might expect, there is a story behind it. [...]
by Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer (2003) Sarnia-Lambton’s greatest hero of the Great War may well have been George Hunter Stirrett. Stirrett, who was born in Forest, raised in Petrolia and lived his adult life in Sarnia, won the Military Cross (MC) and the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for [...]
by Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer (2003) In the spring of 1914, Sarnia finally shed its small-town image. It came on May 7 of that year when the community was finally given ‘city’ status. At that time, it adopted the nickname ‘The Imperial City.’ Mayor Joseph Dagan was the [...]
by Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer (2003) Humanity Saved! That’s how The Observer greeted the news that Germany had tossed in the towel, putting an end to the First World War on Nov. 11, 1918. The screaming headline, in the largest type size ever used by the newspaper up [...]
by Randy Evans for The Sarnia Journal (2014) One hundred years ago, Canada’s initial World War One recruiting drive was in earnest. All volunteers, Sarnia’s earliest enlistees were routed into military groupings based in centres other than their hometown. But this changed in 1915 with the formation of the 70th [...]
by George Mathewson for The Sarnia Journal (2015) A century ago, when Sarnians wanted to escape the city’s oppressive summer heat and humidity, they didn’t flock to Canatara Park. A trip to “the beach” in 1915 typically meant heading to the sandy shoreline between Christina Street and Colborne Road, an [...]
