Posts Tagged ‘John Rae!’
John Rae’s childhood home set to become memorial visitor centre
The John Rae Society has finally purchased the Hall of Clestrain, the childhood home of explorer John Rae. The Society, created three years ago to restore the 18th century building, acquires entry to the Hall and surrounding lands as of Sept. 30 — which would have been Rae’s 203rd birthday. The Society put down a…
Read MoreJohn Rae sails on through confusion & nay-saying
So here we are at Beechey Island, wending our way towards Victory Point, Rae Strait, and Gjoa Haven. We’re on the Ocean Endeavour, we’re sailing with Adventure Canada, and when I turn to Wikipedia, I discover a bit of confusion in the entry on explorer John Rae. I read that “Ken McGoogan has claimed that…
Read MoreMeet Louie Kamookak: champion of the Inuit oral tradition
Wonderful to see that my friend Louie Kamookak — Inuit historian, Franklin expert, and public speaker — has set up a website (click here). I’m looking forward to catching Louie in Ottawa on April 12, where he will participate in a panel discussion about Franklin and the Inuit oral tradition. It will be hosted by…
Read MoreEnough about me. Let’s talk about YOU. What do YOU think about me?
Looking back as the year winds down, I discover that this has been a great month for the ol’ blog. Second highest number of visitors ever. Yes, we are talking thousands. No big mystery, of course: people were keen to read about our Adventure Canada voyage Out of the Northwest Passage. And let’s not kid…
Read MoreConfusing poor John Franklin with conquistador Hernan Cortes
The 2014 discovery of Erebus increased interest in the Arctic, where climate change is more in evidence than anywhere else, while inciting commentary that has sometimes gone over the top. “What the Franklin Expedition glorified,” Roy Scranton wrote recently in The Nation, “was the war of Man—white men—against Nature. Franklin was indeed a tragic figure,…
Read MoreExplorer John Rae lives! Still going strong at age 202. . .
In Stromness, Orkney, the John Rae Society will unveil a plaque this afternoon (Sept. 30) at the Hall of Clestrain on the occasion of Rae’s 202nd birthday. Born in 1813, yes! the explorer lives on. Awarded by Historic Scotland, the National Commemorative Plaque recognizes Rae for having solved the two great mysteries of 19th-century Arctic…
Read MoreExplorer John Rae turns up in latest Ripcord Adventure Journal
A lovely bit of mix-and-match turns up in the latest Ripcord Adventure Journal. The illustration above, found as a double-truck on pages 21 and 22, combines the new Stromness statue of John Rae with the Hall of Clestrain in which the explorer grew up. Based in Ireland, backed by the World Explorers Bureau, Ripcord is…
Read MoreWho really discovered the Northwest Passage?
Gotta love the latest issue of Canada’s History. Check out the portrait of Arctic explorer John Rae by contemporary artist David Seguin. The question they asked me was: Who discovered the Northwest Passage? Editor Mark Reid writes that, in answering that question, I have “set the record straight” and sorted “the contenders from the pretenders,…
Read MoreJohn Rae tie prompts expression of remorse . . .and THANKS!
I have been remiss. I received this gorgeous tie — which is embossed! — a few days ago. And, though I posted on Facebook, I neglected to check in here to say . . . THANKS! I say this specifically to the John Rae Society, which is based in Stromness, Orkney, one of my favorite…
Read MoreJohn Rae sweeps Our Hero into the Polish Times
You can read the whole story of John Rae at Westminster Abbey by clicking here — but only if you read Polish. Me, I can read, in the highlight paragraph, not just my own name but the book title Fatal Passage. I find this noteworthy because we have two grandchildren, ages five and two, who…
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