magazine / ma04
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March/April 2004 issue |
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Reverberations
Bearing witness
I find your article about the museum in Montréal ("Material witness," CG Jan/Feb
2004) powerful and inviting.
I very much agree with Elie Wiesel’s statement, "Not to transmit an experience
is to betray it." I have been in a number of Holocaust museums, most recently in my
hometown of Berlin, Germany, where American architect Daniel Libeskind expanded the existing
museum.
I am the child of a mixed marriage. My father went to Shanghai in October 1938, and my mother
and I survived an extremely difficult period in Germany. I lost most of my father’s
family during this time. One cousin survived years in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. It took
him some years before becoming a witness, even speaking about it to his children. His sister
lived underground in Berlin, eventually was caught and severely injured, was kept in a Berlin
hospital until the Red Army troops entered the city and thus survived. Her fateful time is
written about in Stella by Peter Wyden.
Gerhard (Gary) Knopf
Toronto
I live in south Wales, U.K., and have been a bird enthusiast for many years. I also collect
postage stamps that feature birds, and you would be astonished just how many there are.
Your article "The singing forest" (CG Jan/Feb
2004) referred to 30 species, 21 of which have appeared on stamps and most of them
are in my collection. I have actually seen some of the species mentioned, having visited
your lovely country to visit my daughter Debbie near Toronto, but we have not yet been
any farther north than Algonquin Park. We hope to put that right one day.
Bob Wilks
Porthcawl, South Wales, U.K.
Your welcome article "The singing forest" underlines
our paucity of knowledge about songbirds in the boreal forest. One particular study cited,
however, did reveal the miserable reproductive success rate of white-throated sparrows on
clear-cuts. This is surely an indictment of what we all innately know. We can’t expect
to have a sustainable, biodiverse forest when we are destroying it with heavy mechanized
equipment. Unfortunately, the forest companies aren’t interested in this research.
The excellent work of Kevin Hannah at the University of Alberta, showing the high natural
success rate of sparrows in old, unlogged forests, won’t make an impression on the
forestry accountants. Profit determines the size of the cuts, not the reproductive success
of the sparrows. Like the cod, so go the sparrows.
Paul Filteau
Thunder Bay, Ont.
Thank you for "The singing forest" by
Candace Savage and for the series of in-depth articles on the boreal forest on your website.
As the director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative, which convened the groups endorsing the
Boreal Forest Conservation Framework and commissioned the research on birds profiled in the
article, I was very pleased to see Canadian Geographic highlight the irreplaceable value
of this region.
In the months to come, the Canadian Boreal Initiative will be working with its partners
to widen support for the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework with governments and others,
and we’ll be supporting efforts to deepen our still-too-sketchy understanding of how
this unique set of ecosystems works. One of the most important underlying principles of the
Boreal Forest Conservation Framework is that the ecological and cultural integrity of the
entire region must be conserved, and land-use planning decisions must be based on scientific
and traditional knowledge as well as local perspectives. Maintaining the full range of ecological
processes in the boreal region while meeting human needs for economic development is one
of the key challenges that Canada faces in the 21st century, and it is driving our efforts
today to find workable solutions.
Cathy Wilkins
Ottawa
Underground films
As a fan of subways in general and the Toronto subway in particular, I loved the article "Underground
Toronto" (CG Jan/Feb 2004), but a couple
of corrections to the sidebars are in order. One mentioned a second station at Queen Street,
built to service an east-west Queen line that was never constructed and is now used for training
and films. This isn’t entirely true. The Queen Street line was intended to be an underground
passageway for streetcars but was never finished because of the increased need for a line
along Bloor. The station still exists but isn’t much more than a cavern with roughed-in
platforms. The station that does get used for training and films is the still intact Lower
Bay, which was open to the public for a few months in 1966 until breakdowns with the potential
to freeze the entire system caused the TTC to close it. Riders in the front car of a westbound
train leaving the Bloor/Yonge station can glimpse Lower Bay as the train enters the tunnel.
Natalie Murray
Ottawa
Not thistles…
Incorrectly named biological specimens are not a major issue but one that I watch quite closely.
In a caption listing the honourable mentions in the photo contest (CG Jan/Feb
2004), the plants in the bottom photograph are identified as a field of thistles. These
are not thistles. They are teasels (Dipsacus sylvestris), which belong to a different family
of plant: Dipsacaceae. Thistles belong to Asteraceae, the sunflower family. Teasels have
an interesting history as a useful plant; they were, for many years, used to card wool,
a function long since taken over by machines.
Bruce A. Bohm,
Emeritus Professor of Botany, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver
Labour of love
Reading "Mountainside memorial" (CG Jan/Feb
2004), I was quite touched by the fact that there are people like Mary and Oswald Salzsauler,
who give lovingly of their time and effort to restore a once-forgotten little cemetery — the
final resting place of miners and their families who lived in this remote town in Alberta.
These people and the story of their coal-mining town are part of Canadian history and should
not be forgotten. The cemetery in its lovely mountainside setting is a fitting memorial.
Beverley Henderson
Cobourg, Ont.
Childhood reveries
Thank you to Myrna Kostash for her wonderful article on the North Saskatchewan River ("Reading
the river," CG Nov/Dec 2003). An Edmontonian,
I found the article especially dear to my heart. As older children, we spent much time exploring
the shores of the river. We knew enough history to imagine explorers and voyageurs. We found
the caves, and I remember the biggest one was shored up with heavy timbers and lined completely
with linoleum. It was neat and tidy, with a few household articles still there at the time
of the first finding. Since it appeared that people had cared for them as homes, I had always
wondered about the history.
Ingrid Carlsson van Tamelen
Coquitlam, B.C.
Reverberations Online!
I just finished reading Dane Lanken’s article “Northern Threads” (CG Jan/Feb
2004), a truly wonderful story on Inuit clothes-making. The black and white photos by
Karim Rholem are outstanding and the quotations by the individuals kind enough to pose for
them are wonderfully revealing.
Henry Swiech
Ottawa, Ont.
The present Hagwilget Bridge, built about 1930, did not replace the aboriginal bridge (“Vanishing
B.C.”, Nov/Dec 2003). An earlier suspension
bridge was built across the canyon very close to the present site, which replaced the aboriginal
bridge. It was condemned after the cables corroded where they entered the anchors.
The current bridge was shipped about 120 kilometres up the Bulkley River and recycled into
a foot bridge to serve the CNR station and the small community of Walcott. It is still in
service.
Charles Low
Surrey, B.C.
I have long struggled with the issue of natural destruction and the way we have of making
it sound as if it is our fault. In the Discovery section (CG Jan/Feb
2004), the story of Hurricane Juan’s fury is one such case. How can people glory
at one of nature’s sunsets and be moved to tears when she downs a tree? The exact same
forces are at work. A tree does not last forever, sooner or later it dies, and we must accept
it for what it is - natural.
I wonder if we could save money and let nature refurbish herself as she has for millions
of years. Personally, I prefer the way she does it anyway.
David Jackson
Richmond Hill, Ont.
I would like to point out what I consider a minor error on a map in “Life’s
impressions” (À la carte, CG Jan/Feb
2004). The location of the Gunflint chert along the north shore of Lake Superior is
misplaced by approximately 0.7 centimetres to the northeast. It should be centred in the
Thunder Bay area to the southwest. The location of the existing dot shows a small purplish
area indicative of the Proterozoic aged rock. This is not the case. Rather, it contains
rocks that would be classified as intrusive. I point this out for interested parties who
may visit the area only to find rocks that are much older (Archean igneous and metamorphic
rocks) and contain no fossil record.
Kevin Sheppard
Aggregate Resource Information Officer
Ministry of Transportation (Geotechnical Section)
Thunder Bay, Ont.
The article on the Ediacarans (“Stone diaries,” CG Jan/Feb
2004), especially the photograph on page 55, tweaked my memory of something I found
on Baffin Island in August 1984. Until I read the article in Canadian Geographic, I always
assumed that the fossil I found on the bank of an unnamed river on the Great Plain of the
Koukdjuak was a species of fern. However, the map shown on pages 58 & 59 indicates that
the sedimentary rock in this area of Baffin Island is of an age that predates the ancient
ferns.
Our fish camp on the river was at 65° 55’ N, 73° 11’ W (see NTS Map 36
H). The fossil was found a short walk along the riverbank from the camp. An aerial view of
the river’s geology is also included and I apologize for its poor quality. It was damaged
by salt water when we crashed our helicopter into the ocean off southern Baffin Island in
September 1984.
Lionel Bernier
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Dr. Narbonne’s response: It is always difficult to positively identify a
fossil from a photograph, but I believe that you are correct that it is an invertebrate rather
than a fern. It seems most likely to me that it is an endoceratoid cephalopod, and extinct
group of armoured squid-like creatures that swarmed in the Ordovician seas. Most were less
than 50 cm long, but some reached sizes of up to 10 m long and were the "top carnivores" of
the Ordovician seas.
“Stone diaries” was very disappointing in its lack of objectivity. It contained
many things that are in the realm of opinion, theory or even wishful thinking, which were
treated as scientific fact. It seems the goal is to find the “holy grail” for
the religion of evolution rather than to objectively search fossils. Are people being chased
away because they may have different assumptions of the validity of the evolution model?
The time line is speculation and opinion, not science. A scientific fact must be repeatable,
observable and testable. Any part of the theory of evolution cannot be treated as a fact
but only conjecture. Is Canadian Geographic so concerned about being trendy that
it will suppress any possibility that evolution may not be the best model to fit the known
facts and the fossil evidence?
Gay Caswell
Brabant Lake, Sask.
The article "Grizzlies on ice" (CG Nov/Dec
2003) really caught my eye. The topic of polar and grizzly bears being affected by
warmer climates was brought up, and I agree that this issue will plague these populations
in northern Canada for years to come. If no forward action commences to resolve the greenhouse
effect issues, the population of polar bears and other species will decrease to numbers
that make population growth near impossible.
Brennan Dubord
Kanata, Ont.
I was astonished to read in Allen Abel’s otherwise fine article (“Underground
Toronto” CG Jan/Feb 2004) that he considers
Toronto a "cold, flat city." Perhaps he needs to walk, instead of riding the subway. Then,
he might notice that many people are friendly if approached. The weather is exhilarating
if one walks and, most importantly, Toronto sits at the mouth of three rivers (the Humber,
the Don and the Rouge] which cause significant ravines southward through this metropolis.
Witness, for example, the high span of the Bloor Viaduct. Further, Davenport Road is the
shoreline of Lake Iroquois and is approximately 200 feet above Lake Ontario.
Knox M. Henry
Toronto, Ont.
As I read “Kindred Spirits” (CG Nov/Dec
2003), the article on large families, I understood so many of the sentiments the families
expressed. With the birth of our twins, I realized that we had four children under the
age of two. Our family continued to grow. We had eight children with 10 years. The baby
of the family came 12 years later.
My husband, Fred, and I raised our family on a farm in rural New Brunswick. Now our family
includes 17 grandchildren. This photo was taken at the wedding of our youngest son, this
past summer.
Winnie Wilson,
West Branch, N.B.
We were a bit startled to find on page 73 of the November/December
2003 issue a face we had seen before (“Islands of the stone devils”).
As the local chairman for the Fort St. John/North Peace Museum in B.C., we had, for many
years, a very old tree carving of a similar face. The tree carving originated from the Tumbler
Ridge area, in north-eastern British Columbia, and is also featured in Michael D. Blackstock’s
Faces in the Forest.
We are very interested in the similarities our B.C. tree carving has to your petroglyph on
Qajartalik Island in Nunavik. Our tree carving was donated by our museum to the newly opened
Tumbler Ridge Museum in the summer of 2003. We felt that this was the right thing to do because
the carving would be as close to its original location as possible and protected from destruction
at the same time.
Larry Evans
Fort St. John, B.C.
The Doukhobors did not disband (“Vanishing British Columbia” CG Nov/Dec
2003). The Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood — in 1938, the largest
communal enterprise in North America - was brought to its knees by Crown Mortgage, Sun
Life Assurance and the Canadian Imperial Bank, when its mortgages were foreclosed during
the Depression. There are many excellent brick "doms" surviving as private homes.
Land was purchased in B.C. after the Dominion government reneged on the land blocs guaranteed
in the Northwest Territories (originally settled in Assinaboia and the Northwest Territories,
not Saskatchewan) and more than 600,000 acres were seized, creating the biggest land rush
in the West.
Every village had a barn and two cows as the vegetarians needed butter, cream and eggs for
many of their dishes, and they required milk for their children.
Readers wishing to know more about Doukhobors’ sojourn in British Columbia should visit
the Doukhobor Village Museum in Castlegar, site of the original settlement, or look
at our web site.
Larry A. Ewashen,
Curator
Doukhobor Village Museum
Castlegar, B.C.
My letter is regarding Doug Shaigec’s concern about the Windsor-Detroit border crossing
(Reverberations, CG Nov/Dec).
I would like Mr. Shaigec and the citizens of the Detroit-Windsor area to know that it is
possible for a rail tunnel to be used for regular or trucking traffic.
A few years ago I was visiting a friend in Anchorage, Alaska who suggested we go to Whittier,
Alaska. Whittier was originally an army base, accessible only by ship or plane. Over time,
a rail line was blasted through the base of the mountain. This enabled year round access
to Whittier. Now the bed of the tracts is built up, like at a typical train/traffic intersection,
to also permit traffic flow.
The train has overall priority through the tunnel. Then one-way traffic is allowed through.
I was very impressed with the overall design of the tunnel as well as the coordination of
traffic flow.
Renee Shaw
Camrose, Alta.
The "Windsor’s border blues" (CG Sept/Oct 2003)
article brought back fond memories of the 1960s Windsor border tunnel and Brigg’s Stadium.
As a sales representative I travelled to Windsor several times a year. Being a baseball nut,
I had to go to Tiger games. This was the routine several of us followed. Drive the car from
the hotel to the Canadian side of the tunnel and park as close as possible. Take the bus
through the tunnel to the terminal in downtown Detroit and walk to Brigg’s Stadium.
Buy tickets for the upper deck, first base side. (The best seats, I say.) After the games,
walk back to the bus terminal and take the bus back to Canada. Those were the days.
Norman B. Fraser
Toronto, Ontario
I enjoyed the article about the Hedley Mascot Gold Mine (CG Sept/Oct
2003). As a youngster, I lived at the Nickel Plate Mine in the 1940s. When the Mascot
closed, my brother and I and a few adventuresome friends would hike the short distance
from the Nickel Plate to the Mascot mine. From the end of the road there were approximately
700 stairs down the cliff face to the old buildings.
It’s great that these old buildings are being protected.
Murray Brown
Richmond, BC
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* Letters may be edited for length, accuracy and liability.
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