by Jean Turnbull Elford (1982) Beginning with British rule in the northern part of this continent, land was acquired from the Indians as it was needed for new settlers. Because of legislation passed in 1763, no Indian band forfeited their land without their own and the Crown’s consent. The Indians [...]
by Jean Turnbull Elford in Canada West’s Last Frontier (1982) Point Edward, Lambton’s largest incorporated village, placed where Lake Huron empties into the River St. Clair, made its way into recorded history earlier than any other part of Lambton. The first written account comes from the pen of Father Hennepin [...]
By Steven McKenna (2015) The year was 1889 when Patrick Grandcourt Kerwin was born in Sarnia, Ontario in what was a young Canadian nation where residents were considered British subjects. Queen Victoria was the monarch and the Prime Minister of the day was Sir John A. Macdonald, leader of the [...]
by Phil Egam - Special to The Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. (2015) In the late 60s, I worked for a time as a bartender in the old Pine Room of the Vendome Hotel. It was a downstairs bar that could be entered either from the hotel above or from [...]
By Phil Egan - Special to the Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. Iceman wasn’t just a hotshot pilot in Top Gun. He was once a regular visitor to our homes. Like the milkman, he came in a horse-drawn wagon, and later a truck. As late as the early 1950s, the [...]
By Phil Egan – Special to the Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. Sarnians passing by the River City Vineyard church and homeless shelter on Mitton Street might be surprised to learn that this location was once the heartbeat of one of Sarnia’s most celebrated industries. It happened like this. In [...]
by Stephen Huebl (2005) Over the past 100 years, the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce has played an active and vital role in Sarnia Lambton's growth. But even before its official incorporation in 1905, the Chamber can trace its roots back to the late 1800s. It all started on Feb. [...]
by Paul Morden for the Sarnia Observer "Restraint" is the word that was used to describe Sarnia's VE Day celebrations, 70 years ago this month. Days after Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker, Germany's military surrendered, bringing the Second World War in Europe to an end. Victory in Europe [...]
by George Mathewson for The Sarnia Journal The Sarnia Farmers' Market supplied residents with food from local market garden for 91 years, until the downtown site was destroyed by a tornado. The current Ontario Street market opened four months later. Photo courtesy of Dorothy Alexander If you’ve been to the [...]
by George Mathewson for The Sarnia Journal (2014) It’s common knowledge that Sarnia’s airport is named for astronaut Chris Hadfield, the city’s more famous native son. But few know it was actually his father, Roger Hadfield, who first landed a plane at the airport. Or that the First Family of [...]
