Culture and Arts

The Canadian Museum of Civilization has introduced a sculpture of a life-size bronze wolf in a copper canoe which it commissioned from internationally acclaimed Namgis First Nation artist Mary Anne Barkhouse. Now on exhibit: On the foggy night of May 29, 1914, two ships collide in the St. Lawrence River. The Empress of Ireland, with 1,477 souls aboard, sinks in less than 15 minutes. An estimated 1,012 people — passengers and crew — perish. more »

Joan L. Cannon writes: Unless memories and tradition count as “things,” these concrete reminders are not just things. They’re emblems. They’re absolute reminders — souvenirs in a literal sense — of what has happened in many lives, not just our own. As such, they serve as records that are apt to endure longer than any on paper.             more »

Julia Sneden writes: To me, they were just my big cousins, glamorous in their uniforms — so brave, so tall, so handsome — and it while I knew they were going off to danger, I never for a moment considered that they might not come back. It's right that we pause to remember the cost, and also right to look back and remember that they were often youngsters who fought as much for their own remembered good times as they did for that anomalous thing called "my country." more »

Two unusual interments at San Francisco National Cemetery are "Major" Pauline Cushman and Miss Sarah A. Bowman. Cushman’s headstone bears the inscription "Pauline C. Fryer, Union Spy," but her real name was Harriet Wood. Also buried at San Francisco National Cemetery is Sarah Bowman, also known as "Great Western," a formidable woman over 6 feet tall with red hair and a fondness for wearing pistols. more »