Available September 2006 ISBN-10: 1-55380-041-9 ISBN-13: 978-55380-041-5 5-1/4 X 7-5/8 210 pp trade paper $9.95 Cdn $8.95 US YA Fiction, Ages 10 and up

Goderich, Ontario

The town of Goderich, Ontario, situated on the east side of Lake Huron, was established in 1850, as an indirect result of the war of 1812-14. In an effort to compensate settlers in the vicinity of the Great Lakes who had suffered great losses during the war, John Galt, William “Tiger” Dunlop, and a group of investors from England formed the Canada Company. The British government granted the company a large triangle of land that included the intersection of the Maitland River and Lake Huron. This site became home to the town of Goderich, which is the only deep water harbour situated on the Canadian side of Lake Huron.

Goderich’s harbour played an important role in the settlement of Huron County. As the area became settled, shipping became a major industry. In 1855, the first railway came to Goderich, allowing agricultural goods and products to be transported to the harbour and shipped from there. In addition to being a flourishing port, Goderich soon became the site of a growing ship-building industry and, eventually, the largest underwater salt mine in the world. However, in the early 1900s, many sailors and seafaring folk did not consider Goderich to be a safe port. It was difficult to enter, especially in poor weather. Following the Great Storm of 1913, significant changes were made to the harbour.

Goderich has been referred to as “Canada’s prettiest town” due to the town’s elegant downtown square, an octagonal park from which eight streets radiate outwards from the Huron County Courthouse. Many of the original stone homes built in the late 1800s still exist in the town centre, which is situated on the bluffs above the harbour.

Links

http://www.goderich.ca/
http://www.hurontourism.on.ca/


The Suffragette Movement

During the first half of the 20th century, women were considered second-class citizens both by law and tradition. Motherhood was viewed as the highest achievement of women and any woman who desired a career outside of the home was viewed with suspicion. However, by the early 19th century, changing social conditions in Canada sparked new debate on the concept of gender equality, which led to the beginning of the suffragette movement. This movement focused on giving women greater equality in a predominantly male-dominated society. This gender inequality was evident in many aspects of Canadian society in 1913, including the following:

• Women did not have the right to vote in elections.
• Married women did not share ownership of their houses or land with their husbands.
• Women doing the same jobs as men were paid less.
• Women were not considered “persons” under the British North American Act.

Women, and men, who fought for the equality of women, were known as suffragists. Five women emerged as the leaders of the suffragette movement in Canada: Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby. Each of these women worked relentlessly to change public perception and secure fundamental rights for women. The result was that eventually women were accorded the vote throughout the country and finally deemed to be “persons” following the suffragette’s victory in the famous “Persons Case”.
Nellie McClung was particularly influential in the suffragette movement. In addition to being a suffragist, she was also a teacher, temperance leader, lecturer, novelist, politician, wife and mother, in her lifetime. Her understanding of human nature affected her views on temperance and feminism and, like the other “Famous Five”, she advocated for women’s rights while upholding the roles of wife and mother.

Links:

http://www.abheritage.ca/famous5/index.html
http://www.youthlinks.org/students/activity.do?lessonID=147

The Great Storm of 1913

November is a month dreaded by sailors as they attempt to make their final runs up the Great lakes while avoiding the treacherous fall storms that often materialize at this time of year. While there have been numerous severe storms in November, the Great Storm of November 7-10th in 1913 is generally considered to be the worst storm to ever strike the Great Lakes, with Lake Huron experiencing the most destruction and death. When the storm was finally over, 244 sailors were dead, 19 ships had been sunk with all hands aboard and 19 ships had been left stranded. It produced hurricane-force 145 km/h (90 mph) winds, 11 metre high waves (35 feet) and whiteout snow squalls. This blizzard, which raged for three days, resulted in a financial loss in vessels alone of nearly $5 million American, or about $100 million in present-day adjusted dollars. The large loss of cargo included coal, iron ore, and grain.

The storm originated as the convergence of two major storm fronts fuelled by the lakes’ relatively warm waters—a seasonal process called a “November gale.” A low pressure system tracked across the southern United States on November 6th through 8th, while an Arctic front moved south out of Canada on the morning of November 7th. These two storms collided

above Lake Huron on Sunday, November 9th and the storm intensified. Snow began falling, eventually dumping more than 30 cm in areas surrounding Lake Huron. Winds increased throughout the day, whipping the seas into massive waves in blizzard-like conditions. Ship captains reported rapid changes in the direction of violent winds and shortened waves, which lasted an unprecedented sixteen hours, the waves often coming in quick successions of threes. It was not until late on November 10th that the storm subsided after subjecting the vessels on the Great Lakes to incredible punishment.

Of the 244 sailors who lost their lives during the Great Storm, most of them were aboard the eight large freighters that sank on Lake Huron: The John McGean, Isaac M. Scott, Argus, Hydrus, James Carruthers, Wexford, Regina, and Charles S. Price. In some cases, the short waves are believed to have lifted the bow and stern of these large freighters, causing the ships to break in half in the middle where they were not supported. In other cases, captains had to make a decision to run before the wind or try to anchor and ride out the storm. Both options were very precarious, the former necessitating turning against the wind as the vessels neared the shore, and the latter made more dangerous by extremely poor visibility. People living on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, primarily south of Goderich along the coast towards Sarnia, were greeted with the horrific sight of dead sailors drifting ashore after the storm. They arrived draped over life preservers, wrapped in each others’ arms and frozen in clusters, having been unable to endure the freezing waters of the lake after their ships capsized.

Some strange tales arose from this tragedy. A sailor from the Charles S. Price washed ashore wearing a life preserver from the Regina. No-one knows what happened in the tempest on Lake Huron to produce this scenario. In addition, residents of Goderich reported hearing whistles on the afternoon of November 9th, likely the distress signals of the Wexford trying to navigate her way into Goderich harbour. Unsuccessful, she was eventually wrecked near shore south of the town. Most of the ships that sunk during the Great Storm have been found by divers and it is interesting to note that the shipwreck of the Regina remains anchored near the American side of Lake Huron. The diary of the Regina’s captain was recovered, intact and legible, a year later when his body washed ashore. One unidentified sailor was identified by his father as John Thompson, a sailor who had been aboard the Carruthers. However, John arrived home in the middle of his own funeral service, having changed ships and waited out the storm in Toronto. Finally, a seaman by the name of Milton Smith, was troubled by strong premonitions prior to the departure of the Price and left the ship, thereby escaping disaster.

It is difficult to imagine why so many captains would have ventured onto the Great Lakes in such terrible weather conditions, but it is important to understand weather forecasting in 1913. Weather reports were generally released twice daily, at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and, because only the newest ships had radios aboard, were received only when the ships were docked or passing through the locks at Sault Ste. Marie. The storm was noted on November 6th and upgraded to severe on November 8th. However, by the morning of November 9th, the storm appeared to be subsiding. Unfortunately, another weather report would not be released until 8 p.m. that evening with the storm then blowing full force. In addition, weather forecasters in 1913 did not understand fronts or atmospheric dynamics well enough to predict the events of Sunday, November 9th. Surface observations were made and collected at weather stations and by the time the hand-drawn maps were created, this information was often hours behind the actual weather conditions. Because most storms on the Great Lakes blew themselves out after three days, many captains, anxious to complete their final runs of the season, set off on the morning of November 9th in the temporary lull of the Great Storm, ignoring both their barometers and the storm warnings.

While the Great Storm of 1913 claimed more lives than any other storm on the Great Lakes, there have been many other severe storms in this area, producing many other shipwrecks. Two of the more famous wrecks are the Daniel J. Morrell and the Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank on the lakes in 1966 and 1975, respectively, despite modern technology. A single sailor survived the wreck of the Daniel J. Morrell while all twenty-nine of the crew aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald were killed. Both ships sank in November.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Storm_of_1913
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Campus/2712/
http://www.wmhs.org/html/storm.html

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