Canadian History

In the second lecture of the 2014 History Nights At The Regent lecture series on Monday, February 3, Skyline International Hotels’ executive, Sean Billing, presented the business case for history. 

“History is a business,” stated Billing. “ In planning our $1.6 billion dollar development of the former rail terminus and port in Port McNicoll, Ontario near Barrie, we felt the history of the place provided the most compelling and unique opportunity to re-connect with the community.”

Billing is the General Manager of Horseshoe Valley Resort, one of the many Skyline International resort properties, which include Deerhurst Resort in the Muskokas, the King Edward Hotel in Toronto, and the Regency Hyatt in Chicago. He has been heavily involved in the company’s project to restore and return the Canadian Pacific luxury liner, the S.S. Keewatin, to its homeport after a 45 – year exile in the United States. Skyline sunk $2 million and a decade of work to bring the vessel home in June 2012. The ship’s return was the greatest event in recent years in Port McNicoll, a community that became a ghost town after Canadian Pacific closed its rail and ship service in the 1960s.

In making the investment decision, says Billing, the company was guided by some tested business principles such as offering a unique, authentic attraction that touches the senses, and provides an exclusive experience. Built in 1907 in Scotland, the Keewatin is the last of the luxury ships that carried passengers on the Great Lakes – a timepiece that still reflects the great age of ship travel. Skyline is betting that their investment in its restoration and return will attract clients to their ambitious re-development of its homeport. And they are right. Last year, 30,000 people paid a $15 admission fee to tour the ship. An estimated 100,000 are expected to visit in 2014 

Toronto producer, John Fulford -Brown of KEE MEDIA Group, introduced his compelling documentary on the story of the S.S. Keewatin. The one-hour program chronicles the herculean efforts of the company and community volunteers to “Bring Her On Home” – the title of the documentary.

The next History Night At The Regent lecture is at 7 pm on Monday, March 3^rd 2014. Kingston author and historian, David More, will tell the story of Canada’s first native –born naval commander, Rene Laforce. Laforce was so skilled in naval battles against the British, they hired him to fight for them against American forces during the War of 1812. But More will also be talking about his day job as manager of the tall ships owned by Brigantine Inc. and their plans to bring tours to Prince Edward County in the future. For more information, contact The Regent Theatre Tel: 613 -476 – 8416 Email: info@TheRegentTheatre.org.

We started our annual History Moments series in 2009, the 225^th anniversary of Loyalist settlement in Prince Edward County.

The idea then was to work with local heritage organizations like the museums of Prince Edward County, The Glenwood Cemetery and The Regent Theatre in Picton to produce a special commemorative series to mark that special year. The series proved so popular we have continued to produce these short features on local history themes every year since. Our two-minute vignettes now play in local theatres before movies, on TVCogeco cable television, on Kickin’ County Internet radio in Prince Edward County, on CKWS TV in Kingston and are distributed widely into area schools, libraries, museums and archives as well as made available as DVDs retailed in area stores.

Our fifth series will launch Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 7 PM at The Empire Theatre in Belleville.

The 2013 series will showcase more stories drawn from the rich past of the Quinte region including features on Canada’s fifth Prime Minister Sir Mackenzie Bowell of Belleville, medical researcher Dr. James Collip of Belleville, who helped discover insulin, teacher Marilyn Adams, the founder of the world-class Marilyn Adams Genealogical Research Centre in Ameliasburg, early settler Asa Weller, and the movie industry that once made Trenton Canada’s “tinsel town.”

In the great scope of history, this may never make any news headlines. But I did make history this summer. I caught a fish – a lovely female salmon in Lake Ontario near the Port Darlington marina.

I never catch fish. In my youth trolling West Lake in Prince Edward County with my uncle, we’d bring lots of weeds into the boat. But in years of trying, we could never catch any fish. We always told other more successful fishermen that we were “catch and release” guys adhering to a higher standard of conservation. It was a small lie that helped soothe our injured pride.

I’ve fished in plenty of places. I used to fish a lot in the North for Arctic char while I worked for CBC in Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island. Desperate for a bite after months of fruitless fishing, I did catch a small char with a piece of pepperoni as bait. Unfortunately, somebody’s dog ate it soon afterwards. 

In the mid- 1970s, I fished in the Pacific Ocean while working at CBC Prince Rupert.

Prince Rupert is a commercial fishing community so there must be fish there. I just couldn’t find them. In years of fishing in small boats on a big ocean, I never caught anything more than a cold and seasickness.

I then tried inland fishing with some buddies. The idea was that a bunch of us would cluster on a salmon river in northern British Columbia wherever there were bears fishing.  It seemed clever at the time. But from my experience, bears are not particular about what they eat.  And they view stupid fisherman just as tasty as salmon.  And after a record-breaking sprint to the safety of our truck, I never fished inland again.  

All of this brings me to the summers of 2012 and 2013. In both years my friend Jim Calvin of Wolfe Island has asked me to come out on his boat for a day of salmon fishing. While this would usually mean a day of sunburn for me, the truth is I caught a salmon both times – and I have pictures to prove it. It just goes to show you that all of us can make history.