Six months later. Six months, ten pounds (in the wrong direction), three excruciating zoom meetings, one social media campaign against threats to historic sites, and two vaccinations later. To be precise. Oh, and one book, which is at the printers. This is a brief note to test the waters, because it might be time to come out of hiding. How you doin’? Photo gallery above courtesy the husband.
Thought I’d share some of the tidbits I found recently as I searched for the Lady Prospector. These have nothing to do with Caroline Maben Flower, but they do add background detail to the story of her time in Northern Ontario. The Royals During the spring of 1911, almost every page of the Cobalt Daily Nugget carried something related to the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary. I […]
Greetings, my online friends! [awkward pause: what to talk about? I know! The good old standby, the weather!] I have finally lost my patience with winter. It took a while, but now I’m getting cranky. Back in November, as we headed into the season, I actually looked forward to the long months, with the woodstove fired up, raisin bread in the oven, and several historical research projects to occupy […]
An interesting feature about our place here in Cobalt is the number of outbuildings surrounding the house, on and beyond our property. On the property “proper” sits the house, a garage, a bunkie, and a powder magazine. All quite normal for this part of the world. Pardon? No, not powder room, powder magazine. The building that holds explosives. I know! Welcome to Cobalt! Other structures, like those in the woods […]
The serviceberries are ready! Know how I know? Bear poop. Red, gritty bear poop all along the trails. Sure enough, as we walked along Nipissing Road toward home, I found a bush with burgundy berries. It was a good ‘un. More sweet than sour, not what I’d call juicy, but a perfectly respectable fruit. The seeds tend to get stuck in your teeth, but not as bad as raspberry seeds, for […]
I have a thing for trains. Trains are connectors and symbols of community. When you hear the whistle blowing, you feel a surge of anticipation, of arrival. Trains mean prosperity, commerce; the rumbling, powerful engines command respect, and in my opinion, reverence. It’s difficult to explain it to those who don’t share the same sentiment. Take, for example, our real estate agent. He didn’t know what to make of my […]
I live in a mining town. Technically, a former mining town. From 1903 to the late 1980’s, silver mining was the name of the game in the Town of Cobalt and Coleman Township. Our house sits on the Nipissing 404 Mine property – one of the largest producers in the area. The view from any window reveals evidence of the former industry. Bare slopes of rocky hills, gaping gouges on […]
Maggie Wilson Author 