Alexander Graham Bell

"The conception of the telephone took place at my father's residence in Brantford in 1874...the experiment of August 10, 1876 made from Brantford to Paris was the first transmission, the first clear intelligible transmission of speech over the real line, that had ever been made." 

(Alexander Graham Bell, March 13, 1916)

It's hard to believe that an idea as revolutionary as the telephone, was conceived on the banks of the Grand River just six kilometres from my house in Brantford, Ontario.  Alexander Graham Bell, after suffering from tuberculosis, had recently immigrated with his parents from Scotland to Canada.  In 1876, Bell, recently relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, spoke for the first time on his new invention, the telephone, using the famous words "Mr. Watson, come here!  I want to see you!".  Later that year, from his parents' homestead in Brantford, he placed the first telephone call over a telegraph line to nearby Paris, Ontario.  The first public showing of Bell's new invention came at the Philadelphia World's Fair in 1876.

Catalogue for the Philadelphia World's Fair 1876 courtesy 

https://www.pinterest.com/jaynejacobson/peder/.

Like any new invention, the telephone had some wrinkles to iron out, evident in the letter Alexander Graham Bell penned to his parents two years later (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/09/fledgling-invention-hit-by-lightning-at.html).  After moving away to accept a job as a professor at Boston University, Bell continued to make the journey back to Brantford every summer to visit his parents.  It was during his vacation that he would work on his famous invention.

In 1913, with the approaching of the World Exposition in San Francisco, the AT & T President suggested building a transcontinental telephone system.  The system, completed six months before the Exposition, connected Bell in New York City, with his trusty assistant, Thomas Watson, in Los Angeles (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2014/01/the-transcontinental-telephone-system.html).

At Bell's death, in 1922, thirteen million telephones had been sold.  In 1947, on the 100th anniversary of Bell's birth, Canada Post issued a stamp to commemorate the inventor.

http://postalhistorycorner.blogspot.ca/2012/12/1947-alexander-graham-bell.html

Canada Post Commemorates Canadian Photography

Canadian curators and gallery owners have chosen the best photography from the last 150 years to grace Canadian stamps.  Here are some of the photos selected from the website: https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/collecting/stamps/2015/2015_canadian_photography.jsf

1.  Nina Raginsky's Shoeshine Stand, Vancouver, BC (1974)

2.  Conrad Poirier's Friends and Family and Trips, Montreal Simpsons Store, 1936

3.  Isaac's First Swim, Lambton, Ontario, 1996

4.  Alex Colville on the Tantramar Marshes, Sackville, New Brunswick, 1970

5.  Angels, St. Jean Baptiste Day, Montreal, 1962

6.  Southam Sisters, Montreal, 1919

Sam McLaughlin: One Grade Only and That the Best

Sam McLaughlin, born in Enniskillen, Ontario, began apprenticing as an upholsterer in the family carriage business in 1871, earning only $3 a week.  Within five years, he was an official partner in the business.  He turned the carriage company into a car company and soon merged with GM to form General Motors of Canada.  Sam's motto always remained:  "One grade only and that the best." Under Sam's leadership, GMC became Canada's leading exporter of automobiles.

Sam didn't just contribute to the car business; he was a dedicated philanthropist, donating $200 million to organizations, charities and individuals.  McLaughlin received the Companion of the Order of Canada in 1967.  He passed away five years later.  His home in Oshawa, Ontario was designated a historic site in 1989.  Weddings are held on its beautiful grounds.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/collecting/stamps/2008/2008_sept_mclaughlin.jsf

John Ruskin Protests Sale of Jumbo the Elephant

"I...am not in the habit of selling my pets or parting with my old servants because I find them subject occasionally, perhaps even periodically, to fits of ill temper..." (John Rankin)

Many Londoners remember riding in a howdah on the back of Jumbo, the largest elephant in captivity, when they were young.  Many would also remember writing protest letters to Queen Victoria, whose own children probably rode on Jumbo, upon finding out that P. T. Barnum intended on buying the elephant.  The American had plans for Jumbo to tour with The Barnum & Bailey Circus.  But Londoners would not give up without a fight; they thought of the elephant as a pet, not a zoo inmate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumbo).

In 1882, London Zoological Society member John Ruskin joined in the protest by writing a letter to the Morning Post.  "I am not in the habit of selling my pets or parting with my old servants because I find them subject occasionally, perhaps even periodically, to fits of ill temper..." explained Ruskin, referring to Jumbo's temper tantrums.  

Legal proceedings were launched to halt the sale of Jumbo.  In the meantime, Ruskin thought:  "there is time for the children to say their say and pay their peace and make Jumbo their own forever."  However, in the end the London court ruled that P. T. Barnum had every right to purchase Jumbo, for which the zoo would receive $10,000.  

One would assume that Queen Victoria sent the schoolchildren's letters to the shredder (if there was such a thing in 1882).  Jumbo's fate was no better:  he was killed by a train in St. Thomas, Ontario three years later.  

Note:  For more information, read "Jumbo the Elephant" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2014/10/lemon-yogurt-bundt-cake.html.

http://vaheritage.org/category/collections/

The Unused Ticket to the Titanic

Canadian Eaton's department store buyer Nathan Mills paid 86 pounds for a ticket to the Titanic and yet he never boarded the ship. 

Timothy Eaton had taken 50 years to build up his business and now Canadians were quite familiar with the name, thanks in large part to its catalogue.  The Eaton's Catalogue was referred to as the "Homesteader's Bible" since it was used for anything from reading material for new immigrants to hockey pads for young boys to paper dolls for little girls to toilet paper for outhouse occupants.  Capitalizing on the success of the catalogue, Timothy's son Sir John, who carried on the business after his father's death, was looking for more goods to fill its pages.  Canada's population was relatively small at the time, sitting at a mere 8 million.

Back in April of 1912, Mr. Mills, from the hamlet of Woodham, Ontario, was sent to England to buy merchandise for the T. Eaton Company.  Mr. Mills, an employee of the Toronto Eaton's, along with his co-worker Mr. George Graham, a Winnipeg store employee originally from St. Mary's (near Woodham) were hoping to purchase goods in the metropolis of London (population 1 million) and other British cities, that they would not find at home:  tweed suits from Scotland and fine bone china from England.

After a week of buying, the Eaton's colleagues were ready to return to Canada, both eager to be a part of the Titanic's maiden voyage.  However, at the last minute, Sir John Eaton sent Nathan Mills a telegram detaining him for another week, saying he had more business for him to attend to.  Mr. Graham headed to Southampton without his business partner. 

The ship sailed, collided with an iceberg in the Atlantic and sank, many of its passengers perishing in the icy waters.  Mr. Mills read the death list and was shocked to learn that his colleague went down with the ship.  Mr. Mills returned to Canada later on another vessel, his life spared all because of some unfinished business. 


I dedicate this post to my Great Aunt Florence, a niece of Nathan Mills

Photograph of the Titanic courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic.