Canada 150th Birthday Celebration

Hopefully, a person cannot go anywhere in Canada these days without seeing something that says it's Canada's 150 birthday year. Wave those flags, people! Wear those pins! Sing the special song written to commemorate this wonderful year!

I was in Grade 5 when Canada celebrated its centennial year in 1967 with a special Confederation Train that traveled across the nation showing the history of our country in its cars. I remember walking through the low-lighted cars filled with posters, objects and wax-like people created to bring history alive. I loved every bit of it, especially the horn that blew the first 4 notes of our national anthem, O Canada. (Train horn audio courtesy of The Canadian Railway Hall of Fame)

The 1967 Centennial logo was a stylized maple leaf which was shown in mixed colors, or in a solid/white combination. The logo was everywhere. I don't know who came up with the idea but we used to draw it on the ground during recess and play hopscotch on it. It was my favorite variation of the simple schoolyard game.

For Canada's 150th, the logo we are seeing everywhere is similar, but with more variation, much like our diverse multi-cultural country. Much like the 1967 logo, its triangles stand for the state of our country today, as shown on the right. If I was younger, I'd be playing hopscotch on this one too.

As for a special celebration song, I still remember this one because it was easy to sing along. This video is a simple batch of photos showing 1967 centennial images, but the women's fashions make me smile.




There isn't an official Canada 150 song, but songs and videos have been written for the occasion, including this one by Walt Disney Studios in celebration of Canada's contribution to the entertainment world, and let me add that there is a very good mix of clips on this reel:




Bryan Anderson wrote a celebration song with 150 Canadian mentions and challenges you to find them all:




Which reminds me that Participaction has a Sporting Challenge going on that challenges you to complete 150 sports this year, provides a playlist to keep you on track, and offers chances to win prizes.

And finally, Canadian Pacific has announced that a CP Canada 150 Train will cross Canada this summer with special cars, including a pixelated car called Spirit of Tomorrow that needs the help of children writing down their wishes to make it come alive.

Click the CP Canada 150 Train page for the train schedule and more information.

This is an exciting year for Canadians with the upcoming July 1st being the biggest celebration day EVER! And I've only touched on a few of the topics concerning Canada's 150th, so if you know any others, please let us know in the comment section of this post.

HAPPY 150th BIRTHDAY CANADA!!!

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Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are woven under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yields fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, The American Heiress Brides Collection, and The Secret Admirer Romance Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/

Love Those Steam Locomotives

by Anita Mae Draper

In keeping with Monday's release party for The Rails to Love Romance Collection which includes a novella, Honeymoon Express, by our very own Inky Susanne Dietze, I'd like to show you a few of my train photos. And if you think this is a way for me to be connected to a book which I somehow missed submitting a story to, then you would be absolutely correct!

In July 1999 we stopped off in Winnipeg, Manitoba to ride the Prairie Dog Central Railway. We only went about 40 miles all total, but there were a couple stops for bathroom breaks as the coaches didn't have plumbing. One of those stops was at a Farmer's Market which was nice, and then we turned around using a wye, and headed back with another break on the way. Altogether it was about 3 1/2 hrs.

Prairie Dog Central Railway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 1999

The #3 steam engine on the Prairie Dog Central Railway was built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1882, was shipped to Canada, and went into service in 1883. Most of her time was spent in Western Canada.

The Manitoba Historical Society has this photo of Steam Locomotive # 3 as it made history in 1896 by pulling the first train into Dauphin, northwest of Winnipeg.

Steam Locomotive No. 3 Reaches Dauphin (1896)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Dauphin Collection #6, N10011

By the way, if anyone is looking for information on the Hudson's Bay Company, the Manitoba Historical Society website is the place you want to be looking at first.

One more photo I wanted to show of Engine # 3 was taken in July 1999, like the first one above, except this one has Nelson at the top of the stairs holding one-year-old Jeremiah, while Nick and Jess are standing on the platform about to go inside.

Do you know I can still smell the smoke and feel the jerky swaying of that train as if it was only a couple of years ago, and yet this past June we celebrated Jeremiah's high school graduation.

This next photo is a historical tidbit for you as it shows what the end of the cars looked like before the vestibule was put into use in 1887.

I took the photo while enjoying the history of Calgary Heritage Park on my 2011 Alberta trip. The photo not only shows open air between the two cars, but there's no platform or board even connecting the two of them. Then in 1887, the Pullman people invented a flexible gangway which joined two cars together enabling people to safely walk from one car to the other.

Prior to vestibules, people brought their own meals, and many trains made stops for meals and overnight accommodation.  But once the vestibule was in place, specialty cars like dining, sleeping, and parlor cars were added on and passenger travel by train changed forever.

As a train lover, I'm really looking forward to reading The Rails to Love Romance Collection. For a chance at winning a copy, click here. 

I've enjoyed riding in trains pulled by old steam engines in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Moose Jaw, and I've walked through several more in Saskatchewan's Western Development Museums.

What about you? Have you ever taken an old-fashioned train ride? Crossed a vestibule in a modern train? Checked out a museum train? I do enjoy talking trains.

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Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are woven under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yields fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, and The American Heiress Brides Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/

The Rails to Love Collection Release Party...and a Giveaway!

All Aboard The Rails to Love Collection, featuring Inkwell's own Susanne Dietze!

Here's Susanne, held by her rail-fan dad, with her brother, investigating a train way back in the 1970s. Trains have been a part of her life since infancy, so it's pretty sweet to be in a collection of train stories!

Care for some background noise that is sure to get you in the mood? Click play and then scroll on down.

Now on to the book!

Journey the Transcontinental Railroad along with nine unlikely couples who encounter all the dangers and disappointments of traveling the rails in the late 1800s. From sight-seeing excursions to transports toward new lives, from orphan trains to circus trains, can romances develop into blazing love in a world of cold, hard steel?

Here's our train. Actually, it's THE train. The Honeymoon Express, Susanne's novella, was inspired by a real-life train trip in 1876 called the Jarrett-Palmer Express. This is what it looked like:

Climb aboard and have a seat. Feel free to curl up with a good book or enjoy the passing scenery.

Our porter is Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman's own Sully, who looks suspiciously like Nash, the hero of Susanne's novella.

Welcome aboard. May I offer you a cup of punch? How about some dessert?

While we nibble our little cakes, here's the blurb on Susanne's story, The Honeymoon Express:

Can a jilted bride and a mysterious frontiersman thrown together on a trip meant for honeymooners solve a crime--and find love--before the end of the line?

Heroine Ellen needs a fresh start.

Ellen is a telegrapher

Sully was blue in the railcar on Dr. Quinn. when he wondered whether or not Michaela loved him. I wonder if Nash feels the same way as he struggles with his feelings for Ellen and his decision to never love again in Susanne's story.

If you'd like to win a copy of The Rails to Love Collection, please enter using the Rafflecopter below. Void where prohibited. Contest lasts until 11:59 pm EDT Sept 24, so don't delay!

PSST....The Rails to Love Collection is available from your favorite Christian retailer, and is priced at $7.49 on Amazon...that's half price! You can't beat that! Click here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Susanne Dietze is the proud daughter of a railfan and the author of almost a dozen historical romances. You can learn more about Susanne (but not her dad) on her website, www.susannedietze.com.