woodbuck27
10-30-2007, 11:56 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_John%2C_New_Brunswick#Military
Saint John.NB,Canada
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/locmap.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/64/SJhilton.jpg/260px-SJhilton.jpg
I am on extended vacation now still in Saint John,New Brunswick and return to my rsidence in Greenfield Park,Quebec on the S. Shore of Montreal at week's end. after I see a cover band do the Pink Floyd Album 'The Wall' on Thurs. evening at The Imperial Theater known for it's excellent acoustics as one of the finest live theaters in North America.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/28/Phare.jpg/170px-Phare.jpg
Saint John is known as the Loyalist City and the Most Irish City in Canada and the First City in Canada being the first Incorporated city in our nation.It is also well known as the Friendliest City in the East (well. . . I believe it is as friendly as any city you could ever visit.Wonderful hospitible people live here Packerrats.
Some facts about my HOME TOWN (Saint John) that I am very proud to present to y'all.
Saint John is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick and the oldest incorporated city in Canada. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 68,043. The population of the Census Metropolitan Area is 122,389. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the St. John River (the Rhine of North America).Just North of the City is another wide river called the Kennebecasis River. Many fresh water and salt water beachs abound within a 20-35 minute drive of Saint John,NB.
It is really a lovely and interesting place to visit with a fabulous history.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic03t.jpg
The Uptown area. Market Square and Market Slip where the Loyalists landed and founded Saint John.
It was then mostly just Rock and trees. A bleak place to start a life.
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/18/61/81/downtown-st-john.jpg
Interesting archeteture in Saint John. This is part of the Heritage Trail.
Pre-Loyalist Times:
Predated by the Maritime Archaic Indian civilization, the area of the northwestern coastal regions of the Bay of Fundy is believed to have been inhabited by the Passamaquoddy Nation several thousand years ago, while the Saint John River valley north of the bay became the domain of the Maliseet Nation.
The mouth of the Saint John River was first discovered by Europeans in 1604 during a reconnaissance of the Bay of Fundy undertaken by French cartographer Samuel de Champlain.
The day upon which Champlain sighted the mighty river was St. John The Baptist's Day, thus the name for the river Fleuve St-Jean (St. John River).
The strategic location at the mouth of the St. John River came to be fortified by Charles de la Tour in 1631. After several wars between the French and the British, Saint John passed to the British.
Fort LaTour was renamed in 1758 as Fort Frederick. Fort Frederick was destroyed during the American Revolutionary War and Fort Howe was built nearby at the insistence of newly-arriving Loyalist refugees.
Parrtown and Carleton developed around Fort Howe and both towns were amalgamated by Royal charter to become the City of Saint John in 1785, making it the first incorporated city in British North America (present-day Canada).
During the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, the city's location made it a probable target of attacks, thus several military forts were constructed, namely Fort Dufferin and one of Canada's sixteen Martello Towers.
The Irish potato famine (1845-1849) saw the city's largest immigrant influx occur, with the government forced to construct a quarantine station and hospital on Partridge Island at the mouth of the harbour to handle the new arrivals.
Speakin' of potatoes.
Well then you have to see our wonderful and very old City Market a meeting place on Saturdays for so many:
http://www.canada-photos.com/data/media/10/city-market_2281.jpg
And we must being Irish . . eat . . .our potatoes.
Reminds me of Ole Stompin' Tom's, Bud the Spud song but that potatoe is from. . . Ole . . . Prince Edward. . . Island.
These immigrants changed the character of the city and surrounding region from its Loyalist-Protestant heritage with their Irish-Catholic tradition.
Saint John became the province's leading industrial centre during the nineteenth century, fostering a shipbuilding trade that lasted until 2002.
http://www.theshipslist.com/icons2/saintjohnNB1898.jpg
Saint John, New Brunswick ca. 1898
Much of the city's shipbuilding industry was concentrated on the mudflats of Courtney Bay on east side. One local shipyard built the famous sailing ship Marco Polo- the fastest ship at it's time in the world = under sail.
Due to its location for railways and servicing the triangle trade between British North America, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom, the city was poised to be one of Canada's leading urban centres, however a disastrous fire in 1877 destroyed a large portion of the central business district.The City of Boston made a large donation to saint John for it's rebuilding effort to be what you would see in Saint John today along with all it's modernization the OLD remains intact.
The character of the city attracts many movie producers for movie production the last 30 years.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjskylin.jpg
View of the Downtown and South End skyline of Saint John taken from the newly opened Harbour Passage trail in late June, 2003
http://www.canada-photos.com/data/media/10/footpath_2279.jpg
Picture of a footpath of an intriguing pattern in downtown Saint John, New Brunswick:
During the First World War, the city became a trans-shipment point for the British Empire's war effort.
The Second World War saw the port decline in importance due to the U-boat threat which saw Halifax's protected harbour offer improved convoy marshaling.
However, manufacturing expanded considerably, notably the production of veneer wood for De Havilland Mosquito bomber aircraft. On account of the U-boat threat, additional batteries facilities were installed around the harbour.
Saint John's first airport was located north of the business district at Millidgeville. This location on a plateau overlooking the Kennebecasis River was a summer cottage area used by local residents to escape the coastal fog from the Bay of Fundy.
Note:
We refer to the fog as 'the Surf'. . thus the name The Surf City and my old ball team I organized after university days - 'the Surfers' is derived fr. that. We 'The Surfers' won the Co Ed Slow Pitch League Championship the first season that the league was founded.
It was here in 1932 where Amelia Earheart landed during her solo trans-Atlantic flight. The current Saint John Airport was developed post-war and is located in the eastern part of the city.
Physical geography
Situated in the south-central portion of the province, along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the St. John River.
Saint John is split by the south-flowing river and the east side is bordered on the north by the Kennebecasis River where it meets the St. John River at Grand Bay.
The St. John River itself flows into the Bay of Fundy through a narrow gorge several hundred feet wide at the centre of the city.
It hosts a unique phenomenon called the Reversing Falls Rapids where the diurnal tides of the bay reverse the water flow of the river for several kilometres. A series of underwater ledges at the narrowest point of this gorge also create a series of rapids.
The topography surrounding Saint John is hilly; a result of the influence of two coastal mountain ranges which run along the Bay of Fundy - the St. Croix Highlands and the Caledonia Highlands. The soil throughout the region is extremely rocky with frequent granite outcrops. The coastal plain hosts numerous freshwater lakes in the eastern, western and northern parts of the city.
The fishing and hunting are good here where it is permitted.
My Family and our friends hunt and fish near our farm property in Juvenile Settlement near Hoyt,NB. This settlement was founded by my forefathers The BELL's (maternal side) originally fr. around Donegal Ireland.The first BELL to arrive in New Brunswick fr. Ireland and take his land grant at a place called Coot's Hill was a Tailor and Hat maker.His sons founded Juvenile Settlement along with some other Irish Canadians as very young men.Thus the name Juvenile.
Check out this website designed by my Sister Woody if you would like to see what Juvenile is to me:
This is my personal experience or idea of GOD's Country.
http://pic4.piczo.com/woodysworldofsurfers/?g=11090097&cr=4
That scruffy fella with a beard and a big smile is me (woodbuck27) on the event of Woody's first Buck kill a few years back during a break fr. University studies. She got blood on her cheeks that morning. :)
A great experience for me to be with her on that hunt.Dad was also up that weekend so the Ole Duck Hunter (He never shot a deer in Juvenile but several at his home in Woodside,NB) showed Woody how to peel the balls of a buck.
That log cabin is where I entertain my buddies that want to really get down on a hunt.My Juvenile Hilton.About one mile back in the forest from the homestead and front road.We logged it about 4 years ago and we can drive right to the cabin now.It's like The Trans canada Hwy.Better in places. :)
We have deer,Bear,Moose,Coyote,Birch Partridge,Snipe and Woodcock to hunt on our own piece of GOD's earth.
Only a 30 Minutes drive fr. Juvenile (Mom's homestead) to my Father's homestead in Woodside,NB founded by my forefathers about 1780 who were given large land grants along the Oromocto River - Loyalist Soldiers on Dad's side of the family. We went for Deer,Moose,Ducks and Geese and the best Chain Pickeral and Bass fishing trips.
Other pic's are of my Brother (Dennis) and Marilyn, or Woody's man (Dan 'the Man') and Family and Friends that love Juvenile.
It is a heavenly experience up there Packerrats. ENJOY !!
More on my HOME TOWN, Saint John,NB.
Climate
The climate of Saint John is temperate.
The Bay of Fundy acts as a natural air conditioner in summer and diverts major snowstorms in winter. The Bay never freezes. Average summer temperature is 25 to 30C ; Average winter temperature is -10 to -20C but can become much colder at night.
In Saint John the height difference from low to high tide is approximately 50 feet due to the funnelling effect of the Bay of Fundy as it narrows.
The Reversing Falls in Saint John, actually an area of strong rapids, provides one example of the power of these tides; at every high tide, ocean water is pushed through a narrow gorge in the middle of the city and forces the St. John River to reverse its flow for several hours.These rapids are a huge tourist attraction as are the large jet boats that propell people through these powerful rapids.Not a place to canoe.
Even the world class kyaker has to look for ideal conditions and a careful course to navigate these fierce rapids at lower to low tide.
North End
The area north of the Highway #1 from the South Central Peninsula is called the North End; both areas being predominantly urban residential comprised of older housing which is undergoing gentrification.
Much of the North End is made up of the former city of Portland and comprises another former working class area which is slowly undergoing gentrification at the eastern end of Douglas Avenue; immediately north of Portland and upstream from the Reversing Falls is the former community of Indiantown.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic06t.jpg
The Reversing Fall bridge and Tourist Center and Dining Room etc.
Vessels navigating the Saint John River can only transit the Reversing Falls gorge at slack tide, thus Indiantown became a location during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries where tugboats and paddle wheelers could dock to wait. Being located at the beginning of the navigable part of the St. John River, Indiantown also became a major terminal for vessels departing to ply their trade upriver. Further north of the central part of the city, and northeast of the North End and Portland, along the southern bank of the Kennebecasis River is the neighbourhood of Millidgeville.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic08t.jpg
Harbour Passage
Located here is a campus of the University of New Brunswick as well as southwestern New Brunswick's largest health care centre, the Saint John Regional Hospital.
The eastern area of the North End plays host to the city's largest park, and one of Canada's largest urban parks. Rockwood Park encompasses 890 hectares of upland Acadian mixed forest, many hills and several caves, as well as several freshwater lakes, with an extensive trail network, a golf course and the city's zoo.
The park was designed by Downing Vaux, one of the designers of New York City's Central Park, in the mid-1800s. Mount Pleasant borders the park, and is generally seen as distinct from the traditionally poorer North End.
East Side
To the east of the Courtney Bay / Forebay and South of Highway #1, is the East Side, where the city has experienced its greatest suburban sprawl in recent decades with commercial retail centres and residential subdivisions.
There has been commercial development in the Westmorland Road-McAllister Drive-Consumer's Drive-Major's Brook Drive-Retail Drive corridor since the 1970s, including McAllister Place, the city's largest shopping mall, which opened in 1978.
The city's current airport is located further east on the coastal plain among several lakes at the far eastern edge of the municipality.
Many Cruise ships bring people to visit Saint John every year.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic09t.jpg
A Cruise Ship in Saint John Harbour.
West Side
West of the St. John River, the city is collectively referred to as West Side, however Saint Johners typically divide this into several neighbourhoods.
As mentioned previously, the Lower West Side (or sometimes "Saint John West") is the former working class neighbourhood that was known as Carleton at the time of the city's formation in 1785.
West and north of the Lower West Side is the former city of Lancaster, which was amalgamated into Saint John in 1967. The dividing line is generally agreed upon to be the street known, appropriately, as City Line, (that is where I am posting fr. now) with the streets below City Line being considered to be the West Side.
The southern part of Lancaster abutting Saint John Harbour and the Bay of Fundy is Bayshore and the location of Canadian Pacific Railway's Bayshore Yard.
The north end of Lancaster, known as Fairville, is home to Moosehead brewery (the Oldest and Independently Owned- Private Brewerey in Canada) The HOME of the former World Title Winning Moosehead Red Pale Ale . . . and older neighbourhoods clustered along Manawagonish Road. North of Fairville are the communities of Milford and Randolph. Randolph, which is home to Dominion Park Beach, is actually on the city's largest island, joined to Milford by a bridge over Mosquito Cove on Greenhead Road.
http://new-brunswick.net/new-brunswick/inp/pics/beach1.jpg
West of Lancaster, the city hosts its second largest park, and one of the largest coastal urban parks in the country. The Irving Nature Park sits on an extensive peninsula called Taylors Island extending into the western part of the harbour into the Bay of Fundy.
Economy
Saint John is the industrial powerhouse of the Maritime provinces of Canada and hosts the greatest concentration of industry on the Atlantic coast north of New York City.
Wealthy industrialist K.C. Irving and his family built an industrial conglomerate in the city during the 20th century with interests in oil, forestry, shipbuilding, media and transportation.
Irving companies remain dominant employers in the region with the most important businesses being eastern North America's first deepwater oil terminal, a pulp mill, a newsprint mill and a tissue paper plant. Until the early 2000s, Canada's largest shipyard had been an important employer in the city.
During the 1980s-early 1990s the shipyard was responsible for building 9 of the 12 Halifax class multi-purpose patrol frigates for the Canadian Navy. However, the shipyard was left without contracts for almost a decade following the warship construction.
Other important economic activity in the city is generated by the Port of Saint John, the Moosehead Brewery, the New Brunswick Power Corporation which operates three electrical generating stations in the region including the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station (I was the first Commissioning Assistantant assigned to that site following an early career as an Instrumentation and Controls Design Tchnologist with AECL or Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. in Mississauga,Ontario and the Senior Electrical Technician at the Colson Cove G.S. in Lorneville,NB) I was also a Senior EI and C Teck and Shop Stewart for IBEW Local 2309 - for as many as 110 men while at Point Lepreau.,
Aliant Telecom which operates out of the former New Brunswick Telephone headquarters (a world leader in telecommunications and Internet access), numerous information technology companies and the Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation - operator of New Brunswick's largest health care facility, Saint John Regional Hospital.
There are also a number of call centres which were established in the 1990s under provincial government incentives.
and YES! . . . We have CRACK Houses in Saint John . . too. :)
Prior to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the late 1950s, the Port of Saint John functioned as the winter port for Montreal, Quebec when shipping was unable to traverse the sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River.
The Canadian Pacific Railway opened a line to Saint John from Montreal in 1889 across the state of Maine and transferred the majority of its trans-Atlantic passenger and cargo shipping to the port during the winter months.
The port fell into decline following the seaway opening and the start of year-round icebreaker services in the 1960s. In 1994 CPR left Saint John when it sold the line to shortline operator New Brunswick Southern Railway. Canadian National Railway still services Saint John with a secondary mainline from Moncton, NB.
Energy projects
Canaport LNG
Canaport LNG, a partnership between Irving Oil (25%) and Repsol YPF (75%), is constructing a state-of-the-art LNG receiving and regasification terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick that will begin operations in late 2008.
It will be the first LNG regasification plant in Canada, sending out natural gas to both Canadian and American Markets. There is also a C$350 million pipeline planned to transport natural gas from the terminal to the U.S. border state.
Brunswick Pipeline
Emera Inc. will invest approximately $350 million, for full ownership of a proposed pipeline which will deliver natural gas from the planned Canaport(TM) Liquefied Natural Gas ( LNG) import terminal near Saint John, New Brunswick to markets in Canada and the US Northeast. Brunswick Pipeline will have a diameter of 30 inches and will be capable of carrying approximately 850 million cubic feet per day of re-gasified LNG.
Capacity can be expanded with added compression.[6] Brunswick Pipeline will deliver natural gas from the Canaport™ Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receiving and re-gasification terminal near Saint John, New Brunswick to markets in Canada and the US northeast.
The 145 kilometer pipeline would extend through southwest New Brunswick to an interconnection with the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline at the Canada/US border near St. Stephen, NB. The pipeline is under construction and it expected to be in service by the end of 2008.
Culture
Loyalist Days
Imperial Theatre, Saint John
Gothic Arches, Saint John
Saint John Theatre Company
Opera New Brunswick
Festival by the Sea
Saint John Shakespeare Festival
City of Saint John Gallery
Cobalt Gallery, Saint John
Handworks Gallery
New Brunswick Museum
Peter Buckland Gallery
Saint John Arts Centre
Third Space Gallery
Trinity Galleries
Canada Day Celebrations
Salty Jam
Canada Day Countdown
Sports
In the fall of 2005, Saint John Sea Dogs of the The Q began to play here at the 6,200 seat Harbour Station, in the city's uptown.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic07t.jpg
Harbour Station,Saint John,NB.
The Saint John Flames of the AHL played here from 1993-2003, winning the Calder Cup in 2000-2001.
1999 World Curling Championships
1998 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
1997 AHL All-Star Game
1995 Skate Canada
1985 Jeux Canada Games
Military
Besides being the location of several historical forts, such as Fort Howe, Fort Dufferin, and a Martello Tower, Saint John is the location of a number of reserve units of the Canadian Forces.
HMCS Brunswicker - a Naval Reserve Division.
D Company, 1st Battalion, Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Carleton & York) - an infantry unit of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
3rd Field Artillery Regiment (The Loyal Company) - the oldest artillery regiment in Canada and third in the British Commonwealth, a part of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
Note:
My Father trained and served and was in manouvers and battle for 6.5 years overseas's with The Loyal Company during WW II. He was one of the last to return to HOME being assigned to the security Force after the Allies took Hitler down.
31 (Saint John) Service Battalion - a Service Battalion of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
722 (Saint John) Communications Squadron - a unit of the Communications Reserve.
Notable firsts
Canada's first public museum, 1842. Originally known as the Gesner Museum, named after its Nova Scotian founder Abraham Gesner, the inventor of kerosene. The museum is now known as the New Brunswick Museum.
Canada's first quarantine station, Partridge Island.
The first chartered bank in Canada, 1830, the Bank of New Brunswick.
Canada's oldest publicly-funded high school, Saint John High School
The world's first foghorn as invented by Robert Foulis.
First penny newspaper in the Empire, Saint John News, established in 1838 (tri-weekly) by George E Fenety.
Canada's first Y.W.C.A. established in 1870 by Mrs. Agnes A. Blizzard, in a house on Germain Street.
First police union in the world was formed in Saint John in 1919.
First Miss Canada Mrs. Harold Drummie (nee Winnie Blair) - 1923.
First public playground in Canada which was started by Miss Mabel Peters. This playground is known as the Allison Ground Playground in Rockwood Court.
Note:
That is where I grew up living in Saint John. Rockwood Court. My Father helped build that place.I had the Best of the City and the Country. I played all sports and had Rockwood park just over a hill (a Mountain to me :) ) seperating my Parents and my home fr. all that wonderful natural parkland with many lakes etc. to roam and play in.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic02t.jpg
Rockwood Park Entrance.
This is a free Public Park by the way.
Today many of my Bud's back then are still close to me, and we are a large extended family.
more firsts:
First Minister of Health of the British Empire, W. F. Roberts, M.D.
First Knights of Pythias in British Empire.
First monitor top railroad cars in the world invented by James Ferguson. The original model is in the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John.
First orchestra to accompany a silent moving picture on the North American continent was by Walter Golding in the old nickel theater, May 1907.
First clockwork time bomb developed in 1880.
Notable citizens
Stompin' Tom Connors, musician
James De Mille, novelist, educator
George Edwin King, statesman, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
George Frederick Phillips, military hero
Walter Pidgeon, actor
Donald Sutherland, actor
William Murdoch, poet
Abraham Pineo Gesner, the inventor of kerosene, was born in Nova Scotia in 1797 but lived in Saint John from 1838 until his death in 1864. What began as Gesner's Museum in 1842 is now known as the New Brunswick Museum.
Louis B. Mayer, Hollywood producer of MGM fame, was born in Russia but raised in Saint John. The burial site of his mother can be found in the small Jewish section of the Fernhill Cemetery on Westmorland Road.
Arthur J. Nesbitt, cofounder of Nesbitt, Thomson & Co. and Power Corporation of Canada
Harry Saltzman, Producer of the James Bond 007 films. Harry bought an option on Ian Flemings' James Bond novels and became a founding partner of EON (Everything or Nothing) Productions and Danjaq, LLC along with Albert (Cubby) Broccoli. He died on September 29, 1994.
The Paris Crew - World Rowing Champions Robert Fulton, George Price, Samuel Hutton, Elijah Ross
Benedict Arnold - Arnold moved to Saint John after surrendering West Point to the British in the American Revolution
Alden Nowlan, poet
Anne Compton, winner of the Governor General's Award for Poetry, director of the Lorenzo Reading Series.
I will add Dutchie Mason.
BB King once described the Dutch as the finest Blues singer he ever heard and saw perform.
Well that is where I have ben since Sept.27,2007 and I'm having a really tough time returning to trhe City of the Damned. Montreal is really nice folks but to much 'the Mob',the gangs,The Druggies,the Triple X (XXX) Capital of North America.
Heck of a fine City to visit (I miss my Expos) and really beautiful women there and so cosmopoitan with outstanding value in food services and dining out and Old Montreal and the port is awesome along with the Summer Fireworks Displays weekly and La Rhonde is nice and a fun spot and the Casino is out of this world beautiful to me but it's lost it's soul somehow.
It still has the HABS (THe Montreal Canadians) though and they are off to a fine start in the NHL this season.
I will soon be back there posting but till then. . . .
A friendly HELLO fr. the Friendly Maritimes and the BEST DAM CITY in the East . . Saint John,New Brunswick,Canada. :)
Later. . .
woodbuck27
Saint John.NB,Canada
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/locmap.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/64/SJhilton.jpg/260px-SJhilton.jpg
I am on extended vacation now still in Saint John,New Brunswick and return to my rsidence in Greenfield Park,Quebec on the S. Shore of Montreal at week's end. after I see a cover band do the Pink Floyd Album 'The Wall' on Thurs. evening at The Imperial Theater known for it's excellent acoustics as one of the finest live theaters in North America.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/28/Phare.jpg/170px-Phare.jpg
Saint John is known as the Loyalist City and the Most Irish City in Canada and the First City in Canada being the first Incorporated city in our nation.It is also well known as the Friendliest City in the East (well. . . I believe it is as friendly as any city you could ever visit.Wonderful hospitible people live here Packerrats.
Some facts about my HOME TOWN (Saint John) that I am very proud to present to y'all.
Saint John is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick and the oldest incorporated city in Canada. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 68,043. The population of the Census Metropolitan Area is 122,389. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the St. John River (the Rhine of North America).Just North of the City is another wide river called the Kennebecasis River. Many fresh water and salt water beachs abound within a 20-35 minute drive of Saint John,NB.
It is really a lovely and interesting place to visit with a fabulous history.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic03t.jpg
The Uptown area. Market Square and Market Slip where the Loyalists landed and founded Saint John.
It was then mostly just Rock and trees. A bleak place to start a life.
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/18/61/81/downtown-st-john.jpg
Interesting archeteture in Saint John. This is part of the Heritage Trail.
Pre-Loyalist Times:
Predated by the Maritime Archaic Indian civilization, the area of the northwestern coastal regions of the Bay of Fundy is believed to have been inhabited by the Passamaquoddy Nation several thousand years ago, while the Saint John River valley north of the bay became the domain of the Maliseet Nation.
The mouth of the Saint John River was first discovered by Europeans in 1604 during a reconnaissance of the Bay of Fundy undertaken by French cartographer Samuel de Champlain.
The day upon which Champlain sighted the mighty river was St. John The Baptist's Day, thus the name for the river Fleuve St-Jean (St. John River).
The strategic location at the mouth of the St. John River came to be fortified by Charles de la Tour in 1631. After several wars between the French and the British, Saint John passed to the British.
Fort LaTour was renamed in 1758 as Fort Frederick. Fort Frederick was destroyed during the American Revolutionary War and Fort Howe was built nearby at the insistence of newly-arriving Loyalist refugees.
Parrtown and Carleton developed around Fort Howe and both towns were amalgamated by Royal charter to become the City of Saint John in 1785, making it the first incorporated city in British North America (present-day Canada).
During the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, the city's location made it a probable target of attacks, thus several military forts were constructed, namely Fort Dufferin and one of Canada's sixteen Martello Towers.
The Irish potato famine (1845-1849) saw the city's largest immigrant influx occur, with the government forced to construct a quarantine station and hospital on Partridge Island at the mouth of the harbour to handle the new arrivals.
Speakin' of potatoes.
Well then you have to see our wonderful and very old City Market a meeting place on Saturdays for so many:
http://www.canada-photos.com/data/media/10/city-market_2281.jpg
And we must being Irish . . eat . . .our potatoes.
Reminds me of Ole Stompin' Tom's, Bud the Spud song but that potatoe is from. . . Ole . . . Prince Edward. . . Island.
These immigrants changed the character of the city and surrounding region from its Loyalist-Protestant heritage with their Irish-Catholic tradition.
Saint John became the province's leading industrial centre during the nineteenth century, fostering a shipbuilding trade that lasted until 2002.
http://www.theshipslist.com/icons2/saintjohnNB1898.jpg
Saint John, New Brunswick ca. 1898
Much of the city's shipbuilding industry was concentrated on the mudflats of Courtney Bay on east side. One local shipyard built the famous sailing ship Marco Polo- the fastest ship at it's time in the world = under sail.
Due to its location for railways and servicing the triangle trade between British North America, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom, the city was poised to be one of Canada's leading urban centres, however a disastrous fire in 1877 destroyed a large portion of the central business district.The City of Boston made a large donation to saint John for it's rebuilding effort to be what you would see in Saint John today along with all it's modernization the OLD remains intact.
The character of the city attracts many movie producers for movie production the last 30 years.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjskylin.jpg
View of the Downtown and South End skyline of Saint John taken from the newly opened Harbour Passage trail in late June, 2003
http://www.canada-photos.com/data/media/10/footpath_2279.jpg
Picture of a footpath of an intriguing pattern in downtown Saint John, New Brunswick:
During the First World War, the city became a trans-shipment point for the British Empire's war effort.
The Second World War saw the port decline in importance due to the U-boat threat which saw Halifax's protected harbour offer improved convoy marshaling.
However, manufacturing expanded considerably, notably the production of veneer wood for De Havilland Mosquito bomber aircraft. On account of the U-boat threat, additional batteries facilities were installed around the harbour.
Saint John's first airport was located north of the business district at Millidgeville. This location on a plateau overlooking the Kennebecasis River was a summer cottage area used by local residents to escape the coastal fog from the Bay of Fundy.
Note:
We refer to the fog as 'the Surf'. . thus the name The Surf City and my old ball team I organized after university days - 'the Surfers' is derived fr. that. We 'The Surfers' won the Co Ed Slow Pitch League Championship the first season that the league was founded.
It was here in 1932 where Amelia Earheart landed during her solo trans-Atlantic flight. The current Saint John Airport was developed post-war and is located in the eastern part of the city.
Physical geography
Situated in the south-central portion of the province, along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the St. John River.
Saint John is split by the south-flowing river and the east side is bordered on the north by the Kennebecasis River where it meets the St. John River at Grand Bay.
The St. John River itself flows into the Bay of Fundy through a narrow gorge several hundred feet wide at the centre of the city.
It hosts a unique phenomenon called the Reversing Falls Rapids where the diurnal tides of the bay reverse the water flow of the river for several kilometres. A series of underwater ledges at the narrowest point of this gorge also create a series of rapids.
The topography surrounding Saint John is hilly; a result of the influence of two coastal mountain ranges which run along the Bay of Fundy - the St. Croix Highlands and the Caledonia Highlands. The soil throughout the region is extremely rocky with frequent granite outcrops. The coastal plain hosts numerous freshwater lakes in the eastern, western and northern parts of the city.
The fishing and hunting are good here where it is permitted.
My Family and our friends hunt and fish near our farm property in Juvenile Settlement near Hoyt,NB. This settlement was founded by my forefathers The BELL's (maternal side) originally fr. around Donegal Ireland.The first BELL to arrive in New Brunswick fr. Ireland and take his land grant at a place called Coot's Hill was a Tailor and Hat maker.His sons founded Juvenile Settlement along with some other Irish Canadians as very young men.Thus the name Juvenile.
Check out this website designed by my Sister Woody if you would like to see what Juvenile is to me:
This is my personal experience or idea of GOD's Country.
http://pic4.piczo.com/woodysworldofsurfers/?g=11090097&cr=4
That scruffy fella with a beard and a big smile is me (woodbuck27) on the event of Woody's first Buck kill a few years back during a break fr. University studies. She got blood on her cheeks that morning. :)
A great experience for me to be with her on that hunt.Dad was also up that weekend so the Ole Duck Hunter (He never shot a deer in Juvenile but several at his home in Woodside,NB) showed Woody how to peel the balls of a buck.
That log cabin is where I entertain my buddies that want to really get down on a hunt.My Juvenile Hilton.About one mile back in the forest from the homestead and front road.We logged it about 4 years ago and we can drive right to the cabin now.It's like The Trans canada Hwy.Better in places. :)
We have deer,Bear,Moose,Coyote,Birch Partridge,Snipe and Woodcock to hunt on our own piece of GOD's earth.
Only a 30 Minutes drive fr. Juvenile (Mom's homestead) to my Father's homestead in Woodside,NB founded by my forefathers about 1780 who were given large land grants along the Oromocto River - Loyalist Soldiers on Dad's side of the family. We went for Deer,Moose,Ducks and Geese and the best Chain Pickeral and Bass fishing trips.
Other pic's are of my Brother (Dennis) and Marilyn, or Woody's man (Dan 'the Man') and Family and Friends that love Juvenile.
It is a heavenly experience up there Packerrats. ENJOY !!
More on my HOME TOWN, Saint John,NB.
Climate
The climate of Saint John is temperate.
The Bay of Fundy acts as a natural air conditioner in summer and diverts major snowstorms in winter. The Bay never freezes. Average summer temperature is 25 to 30C ; Average winter temperature is -10 to -20C but can become much colder at night.
In Saint John the height difference from low to high tide is approximately 50 feet due to the funnelling effect of the Bay of Fundy as it narrows.
The Reversing Falls in Saint John, actually an area of strong rapids, provides one example of the power of these tides; at every high tide, ocean water is pushed through a narrow gorge in the middle of the city and forces the St. John River to reverse its flow for several hours.These rapids are a huge tourist attraction as are the large jet boats that propell people through these powerful rapids.Not a place to canoe.
Even the world class kyaker has to look for ideal conditions and a careful course to navigate these fierce rapids at lower to low tide.
North End
The area north of the Highway #1 from the South Central Peninsula is called the North End; both areas being predominantly urban residential comprised of older housing which is undergoing gentrification.
Much of the North End is made up of the former city of Portland and comprises another former working class area which is slowly undergoing gentrification at the eastern end of Douglas Avenue; immediately north of Portland and upstream from the Reversing Falls is the former community of Indiantown.
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The Reversing Fall bridge and Tourist Center and Dining Room etc.
Vessels navigating the Saint John River can only transit the Reversing Falls gorge at slack tide, thus Indiantown became a location during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries where tugboats and paddle wheelers could dock to wait. Being located at the beginning of the navigable part of the St. John River, Indiantown also became a major terminal for vessels departing to ply their trade upriver. Further north of the central part of the city, and northeast of the North End and Portland, along the southern bank of the Kennebecasis River is the neighbourhood of Millidgeville.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic08t.jpg
Harbour Passage
Located here is a campus of the University of New Brunswick as well as southwestern New Brunswick's largest health care centre, the Saint John Regional Hospital.
The eastern area of the North End plays host to the city's largest park, and one of Canada's largest urban parks. Rockwood Park encompasses 890 hectares of upland Acadian mixed forest, many hills and several caves, as well as several freshwater lakes, with an extensive trail network, a golf course and the city's zoo.
The park was designed by Downing Vaux, one of the designers of New York City's Central Park, in the mid-1800s. Mount Pleasant borders the park, and is generally seen as distinct from the traditionally poorer North End.
East Side
To the east of the Courtney Bay / Forebay and South of Highway #1, is the East Side, where the city has experienced its greatest suburban sprawl in recent decades with commercial retail centres and residential subdivisions.
There has been commercial development in the Westmorland Road-McAllister Drive-Consumer's Drive-Major's Brook Drive-Retail Drive corridor since the 1970s, including McAllister Place, the city's largest shopping mall, which opened in 1978.
The city's current airport is located further east on the coastal plain among several lakes at the far eastern edge of the municipality.
Many Cruise ships bring people to visit Saint John every year.
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A Cruise Ship in Saint John Harbour.
West Side
West of the St. John River, the city is collectively referred to as West Side, however Saint Johners typically divide this into several neighbourhoods.
As mentioned previously, the Lower West Side (or sometimes "Saint John West") is the former working class neighbourhood that was known as Carleton at the time of the city's formation in 1785.
West and north of the Lower West Side is the former city of Lancaster, which was amalgamated into Saint John in 1967. The dividing line is generally agreed upon to be the street known, appropriately, as City Line, (that is where I am posting fr. now) with the streets below City Line being considered to be the West Side.
The southern part of Lancaster abutting Saint John Harbour and the Bay of Fundy is Bayshore and the location of Canadian Pacific Railway's Bayshore Yard.
The north end of Lancaster, known as Fairville, is home to Moosehead brewery (the Oldest and Independently Owned- Private Brewerey in Canada) The HOME of the former World Title Winning Moosehead Red Pale Ale . . . and older neighbourhoods clustered along Manawagonish Road. North of Fairville are the communities of Milford and Randolph. Randolph, which is home to Dominion Park Beach, is actually on the city's largest island, joined to Milford by a bridge over Mosquito Cove on Greenhead Road.
http://new-brunswick.net/new-brunswick/inp/pics/beach1.jpg
West of Lancaster, the city hosts its second largest park, and one of the largest coastal urban parks in the country. The Irving Nature Park sits on an extensive peninsula called Taylors Island extending into the western part of the harbour into the Bay of Fundy.
Economy
Saint John is the industrial powerhouse of the Maritime provinces of Canada and hosts the greatest concentration of industry on the Atlantic coast north of New York City.
Wealthy industrialist K.C. Irving and his family built an industrial conglomerate in the city during the 20th century with interests in oil, forestry, shipbuilding, media and transportation.
Irving companies remain dominant employers in the region with the most important businesses being eastern North America's first deepwater oil terminal, a pulp mill, a newsprint mill and a tissue paper plant. Until the early 2000s, Canada's largest shipyard had been an important employer in the city.
During the 1980s-early 1990s the shipyard was responsible for building 9 of the 12 Halifax class multi-purpose patrol frigates for the Canadian Navy. However, the shipyard was left without contracts for almost a decade following the warship construction.
Other important economic activity in the city is generated by the Port of Saint John, the Moosehead Brewery, the New Brunswick Power Corporation which operates three electrical generating stations in the region including the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station (I was the first Commissioning Assistantant assigned to that site following an early career as an Instrumentation and Controls Design Tchnologist with AECL or Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. in Mississauga,Ontario and the Senior Electrical Technician at the Colson Cove G.S. in Lorneville,NB) I was also a Senior EI and C Teck and Shop Stewart for IBEW Local 2309 - for as many as 110 men while at Point Lepreau.,
Aliant Telecom which operates out of the former New Brunswick Telephone headquarters (a world leader in telecommunications and Internet access), numerous information technology companies and the Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation - operator of New Brunswick's largest health care facility, Saint John Regional Hospital.
There are also a number of call centres which were established in the 1990s under provincial government incentives.
and YES! . . . We have CRACK Houses in Saint John . . too. :)
Prior to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the late 1950s, the Port of Saint John functioned as the winter port for Montreal, Quebec when shipping was unable to traverse the sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River.
The Canadian Pacific Railway opened a line to Saint John from Montreal in 1889 across the state of Maine and transferred the majority of its trans-Atlantic passenger and cargo shipping to the port during the winter months.
The port fell into decline following the seaway opening and the start of year-round icebreaker services in the 1960s. In 1994 CPR left Saint John when it sold the line to shortline operator New Brunswick Southern Railway. Canadian National Railway still services Saint John with a secondary mainline from Moncton, NB.
Energy projects
Canaport LNG
Canaport LNG, a partnership between Irving Oil (25%) and Repsol YPF (75%), is constructing a state-of-the-art LNG receiving and regasification terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick that will begin operations in late 2008.
It will be the first LNG regasification plant in Canada, sending out natural gas to both Canadian and American Markets. There is also a C$350 million pipeline planned to transport natural gas from the terminal to the U.S. border state.
Brunswick Pipeline
Emera Inc. will invest approximately $350 million, for full ownership of a proposed pipeline which will deliver natural gas from the planned Canaport(TM) Liquefied Natural Gas ( LNG) import terminal near Saint John, New Brunswick to markets in Canada and the US Northeast. Brunswick Pipeline will have a diameter of 30 inches and will be capable of carrying approximately 850 million cubic feet per day of re-gasified LNG.
Capacity can be expanded with added compression.[6] Brunswick Pipeline will deliver natural gas from the Canaport™ Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receiving and re-gasification terminal near Saint John, New Brunswick to markets in Canada and the US northeast.
The 145 kilometer pipeline would extend through southwest New Brunswick to an interconnection with the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline at the Canada/US border near St. Stephen, NB. The pipeline is under construction and it expected to be in service by the end of 2008.
Culture
Loyalist Days
Imperial Theatre, Saint John
Gothic Arches, Saint John
Saint John Theatre Company
Opera New Brunswick
Festival by the Sea
Saint John Shakespeare Festival
City of Saint John Gallery
Cobalt Gallery, Saint John
Handworks Gallery
New Brunswick Museum
Peter Buckland Gallery
Saint John Arts Centre
Third Space Gallery
Trinity Galleries
Canada Day Celebrations
Salty Jam
Canada Day Countdown
Sports
In the fall of 2005, Saint John Sea Dogs of the The Q began to play here at the 6,200 seat Harbour Station, in the city's uptown.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic07t.jpg
Harbour Station,Saint John,NB.
The Saint John Flames of the AHL played here from 1993-2003, winning the Calder Cup in 2000-2001.
1999 World Curling Championships
1998 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
1997 AHL All-Star Game
1995 Skate Canada
1985 Jeux Canada Games
Military
Besides being the location of several historical forts, such as Fort Howe, Fort Dufferin, and a Martello Tower, Saint John is the location of a number of reserve units of the Canadian Forces.
HMCS Brunswicker - a Naval Reserve Division.
D Company, 1st Battalion, Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Carleton & York) - an infantry unit of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
3rd Field Artillery Regiment (The Loyal Company) - the oldest artillery regiment in Canada and third in the British Commonwealth, a part of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
Note:
My Father trained and served and was in manouvers and battle for 6.5 years overseas's with The Loyal Company during WW II. He was one of the last to return to HOME being assigned to the security Force after the Allies took Hitler down.
31 (Saint John) Service Battalion - a Service Battalion of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
722 (Saint John) Communications Squadron - a unit of the Communications Reserve.
Notable firsts
Canada's first public museum, 1842. Originally known as the Gesner Museum, named after its Nova Scotian founder Abraham Gesner, the inventor of kerosene. The museum is now known as the New Brunswick Museum.
Canada's first quarantine station, Partridge Island.
The first chartered bank in Canada, 1830, the Bank of New Brunswick.
Canada's oldest publicly-funded high school, Saint John High School
The world's first foghorn as invented by Robert Foulis.
First penny newspaper in the Empire, Saint John News, established in 1838 (tri-weekly) by George E Fenety.
Canada's first Y.W.C.A. established in 1870 by Mrs. Agnes A. Blizzard, in a house on Germain Street.
First police union in the world was formed in Saint John in 1919.
First Miss Canada Mrs. Harold Drummie (nee Winnie Blair) - 1923.
First public playground in Canada which was started by Miss Mabel Peters. This playground is known as the Allison Ground Playground in Rockwood Court.
Note:
That is where I grew up living in Saint John. Rockwood Court. My Father helped build that place.I had the Best of the City and the Country. I played all sports and had Rockwood park just over a hill (a Mountain to me :) ) seperating my Parents and my home fr. all that wonderful natural parkland with many lakes etc. to roam and play in.
http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/images/sjpic02t.jpg
Rockwood Park Entrance.
This is a free Public Park by the way.
Today many of my Bud's back then are still close to me, and we are a large extended family.
more firsts:
First Minister of Health of the British Empire, W. F. Roberts, M.D.
First Knights of Pythias in British Empire.
First monitor top railroad cars in the world invented by James Ferguson. The original model is in the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John.
First orchestra to accompany a silent moving picture on the North American continent was by Walter Golding in the old nickel theater, May 1907.
First clockwork time bomb developed in 1880.
Notable citizens
Stompin' Tom Connors, musician
James De Mille, novelist, educator
George Edwin King, statesman, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
George Frederick Phillips, military hero
Walter Pidgeon, actor
Donald Sutherland, actor
William Murdoch, poet
Abraham Pineo Gesner, the inventor of kerosene, was born in Nova Scotia in 1797 but lived in Saint John from 1838 until his death in 1864. What began as Gesner's Museum in 1842 is now known as the New Brunswick Museum.
Louis B. Mayer, Hollywood producer of MGM fame, was born in Russia but raised in Saint John. The burial site of his mother can be found in the small Jewish section of the Fernhill Cemetery on Westmorland Road.
Arthur J. Nesbitt, cofounder of Nesbitt, Thomson & Co. and Power Corporation of Canada
Harry Saltzman, Producer of the James Bond 007 films. Harry bought an option on Ian Flemings' James Bond novels and became a founding partner of EON (Everything or Nothing) Productions and Danjaq, LLC along with Albert (Cubby) Broccoli. He died on September 29, 1994.
The Paris Crew - World Rowing Champions Robert Fulton, George Price, Samuel Hutton, Elijah Ross
Benedict Arnold - Arnold moved to Saint John after surrendering West Point to the British in the American Revolution
Alden Nowlan, poet
Anne Compton, winner of the Governor General's Award for Poetry, director of the Lorenzo Reading Series.
I will add Dutchie Mason.
BB King once described the Dutch as the finest Blues singer he ever heard and saw perform.
Well that is where I have ben since Sept.27,2007 and I'm having a really tough time returning to trhe City of the Damned. Montreal is really nice folks but to much 'the Mob',the gangs,The Druggies,the Triple X (XXX) Capital of North America.
Heck of a fine City to visit (I miss my Expos) and really beautiful women there and so cosmopoitan with outstanding value in food services and dining out and Old Montreal and the port is awesome along with the Summer Fireworks Displays weekly and La Rhonde is nice and a fun spot and the Casino is out of this world beautiful to me but it's lost it's soul somehow.
It still has the HABS (THe Montreal Canadians) though and they are off to a fine start in the NHL this season.
I will soon be back there posting but till then. . . .
A friendly HELLO fr. the Friendly Maritimes and the BEST DAM CITY in the East . . Saint John,New Brunswick,Canada. :)
Later. . .
woodbuck27