War Memorials are located in communities around Nova Scotia, but none are like the one in Wentworth Park in Sydney, Cape Breton. The monument is very impressive, standing well over three metres high, and is inscribed with the names of 61 Nova…

Mona Parsons moved to Wolfville at the age of 10 – a move precipitated by the loss of her father’s business in a fire in their hometown of Middleton. Mona graduated from Wolfville’s Acadia Ladies’ Seminary in 1920, and furthered her studies at the…

On August 15th, 1945, the Halifax Chinese community gathered on Grafton Street for a group photograph, marking Victory Day over Japan during the Second World War. The group is pictured in front of what was, at the time, the Chinese Benevolent…

The first half of the 20th century was a challenging time for indigenous peoples across Canada, including for the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia. The federal governments of the era were generally disregarding the treaties of the 18th century and…

Comfort and care. Those are the words linked to the thousands of quilts made by women volunteers during the Second World War. Of all the services that women provided for wartime relief, perhaps the making of quilts represented the most intimate…

The Second World War was a terrifying time for Jews throughout the world. It would take the end of the war and liberating death camps for people to realize the full extent to which Jews were persecuted under the Nazi regime. Canada was not immune to…

In 1936, the recently widowed Flora Marsh (nee MacQuarrie) and her family of four teenaged children moved from Sydney, Cape Breton, to Halifax. The children grew up in a household rich with music, their mother a talented pianist from a musical…

On Saturday, May 4th, 1940, at 11.00 pm local time, the British freighter SS Graig ran aground in dense fog on Flint Ledge, some 60 km east of Halifax on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. The vessel had left Halifax on route to the United Kingdom…

Melville Island, as its name suggests, was once an island. Today, it’s a small peninsula that juts into the Northwest Arm, and home to the ArmdaleYacht Club. Its story – and that of the small peninsula to the east, known as Deadman's Island –is part…

Just off Route 239, overlooking the south arm of Sydney Harbour, you can pull off the road and enjoy and picnic and a hike in Petersfield Provincial Park. The park gets its name from the Petersfield estate, the grand home built by industrialist and…