Reminders... Lest We Forget - John McCrae
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What's In This Email For You? Do you ever talk to yourself? I often do. And these days, it happens more often than not. It goes like this in my head... 'onions, veggies, butter, eggs', while making an omelette. Or, like this... 'sugar, green onions, carrots' when I am reminding myself to replenish depleted kitchen supplies and add them to my list. Well, here's what's in this newsletter, and I had to recite the order, lest we forget. They're all important, so read to the end to find the sales.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Sherbourne Street Methodist Church in Toronto was known as 'The Millionaires' Church'. This was because many wealthy businessmen were members. They were Christians first, Methodists second, servants of the Church and community third, and millionaires last. Many shared the same or similar 'rags-to-riches' stories; they came from Peterborough, where they were derisively known as 'the Methodist Mafia'. In Peterborough, they also served in the Methodist Church and the community by helping to establish healthcare and other social institutions. They moved to Toronto, where they drove innovation and established many societal institutions. The story continues with another rags-to-riches story of Senator George Albertus Cox. He was a devout Methodist, a serial entrepreneur, politician, financier and philanthropist. His legacy lives on in the Canada Life Building near University Avenue in Toronto. On November 18, our Lunch N' Learn #10 session will focus on him. Senator George Albertus Cox built a family of interrelated financial firms to provide a range of financial services and support entrepreneurship.
------------------------------------ Various Remembrance Day Projects This year, I took a keen interest in how Remembrance Day was celebrated across Canada and across the ocean, namely, in England. In the days before November 11, Facebook was inundated with photographs of remembrance. I can't help thinking about how John McCrae's love of poetry, a meeting with his world-renowned favourite poet (H. W. Longfellow), the death of a friend, a moment of grief, and a poem that miraculously reached the right hands to gain exposure, became a universal symbol for remembering the war dead. You can read the story here. His statue should be moved from its obscure location off Sussex Drive to a prominent spot on Parliament Hill, near the War Museum, or at the War Memorial on Elgin Street in Ottawa. I couldn't attend the local ceremony, so I watched the Ottawa ceremony online. These are some of my observations. First, I was surprised to learn that John McCrae's poem, 'In Flanders Fields', has been memorialised in song. The picture above is a screenshot of the YouTube video I watched. While searching for a video of the poem set to music, I came across many other good renditions. Here is Ghent University Choir. Next, I discovered The Brantford Poppy Project. You HAVE to watch these!!! Then, I saw the Senate of Canada projected poppies on its building in Ottawa. It was fantastic. Senate of Canada poppy projection on the building. Finally, Across The Pond
John A. Pearson paid tribute to the animals who worked or were present in WWI. Over the doorway to the Memorial Chamber, he has engraved animals from the tiny rodents who lived in the trenches with the soldiers to the homing pigeons that carried messages. Other animals include the deer, the horse, the mule and the dog. "The Tunnellers' Friends - The humble beasts that served and died" is engraved in both English and French. And then I saw this tribute to the animals on the 'Beautiful Britain's' Facebook Page: REMEMBER THE ANIMALS - Kairen Jamieson The pigeon, the dog and the mighty horse all part of regiments in the great war's course. Even the cats were down in the trench purring comfort for the men in that awful stench. Mankind often forgets they were there and the many crosses these animals bore. These fine creatures helped the war staying with soldiers in the bloody gore. So think of animals on this Remembrance Day In the moment of silence...think where they lay ------------------------------- Sale Ends / New Sale Begins CALENDARS: Pre-order price holds until Saturday, November 14. What do you think about the new face of our store? 10% Off These Items: Until Saturday the 14th. ----------------------------------- New Sales Begin: From Nov 15 -30 1) If you enjoyed this newsletter, or learned something that someone else needs to know, then forward this email to them and ask them to 'Join The Community.' Until next time, |