Past And Present Journeys

I am concluding this series today. And a note to those readers in the area- Winterlude gets underway this weekend.

Lieutenant J. Thad Johnson was part of a group of escort pilots who accompanied Charles Lindbergh on a tour of North America in 1927. It ended badly for Johnson, whose Curtiss P-1 Hawk collided with another in the group south of the city; he would die of his injuries. The American pilot received honours from his Canadian hosts in death as dignitaries officially mourned him. The accompanying display case features a photograph of the wreck, a model of his plane, and the strut of the plane itself.

The Second World War saw Ottawa become a place of refuge for the Crown Princess of the Netherlands and her daughters. Princess Juliana stayed here through that period, and one of her daughters, Princess Margriet was born here, with the government of the time passing a law to declare the maternity suite temporarily extra-territorial. A display case features photographs and copies of the birth certificates, in English and in Dutch. It is a connection that has endured, as Margriet has been over to Canada on numerous occasions.

Another visitor- The King himself. A panel and display case feature Elvis Presley's 1957 visit (long before his rhinestone jumpsuit era).

From one King to an actual Queen. 1967 was the centennial year, and Queen Elizabeth II came over for the occasion. She brought along six swans from the royal collection. Their descendents still are here today, swimming the Rideau River in warm weather and spending their time these days in winter quarters.

In 2013, six young people and their guide started walking on snowshoes from a Cree community in northern Quebec to Ottawa, reaching the capital by March. They were the Nishiyuu Walkers, calling for attention to the Idle No More movement, following the traditional routes of various First Nations peoples. Our prime minister at the time went out of his way to avoid them. 

This is a different kind of art. Joan Tenasco is the Anishinibeg artist behind this, an example of birch bark biting. The idea is to fold a thin slice of birchbark and bite it to form patterns and shapes.

2017 was our 150th anniversary, and among the visitors that year were a giant spider and a dragon horse. La Machine was the company behind a grand event of street theatre in the capital, with Kumo the spider facing off against Long-Ma the dragon horse around the landmarks of the city. A nearby video screen was set up with a short video of those few days, so I filmed it, which you can see right here.

And I finish off with this display case of gifts to the city from foreign ambassadors and dignitaries.