Hi...

Since this is Black History Month, please check out my post, from a few days ago, about The Underground Railroad! 

Also please check out this site which provides a lot of interesting information about Harriet Tubman and the giant role this very small church in St. Catherines, ON played in civil rights history.

http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/BritishMethodistEpiscopalChurchSalemChapel.asp

And....here's a very important name in musical history.  Jackie Washington was a wonderfully amazing man who chose to make Hamilton, ON his home. He is sadly missed... but his amazingly wonderful music lives on! Check it out at this site...  http://borealisrecords.com/artists/jackie-washington/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2009/06/30/jackie-washington.html

And... 

before moving on to answer the questions I posed yesterday, I would love to shanelessly drop a name here: Virginia Frances Schwartz, whom I still call "Ginny" because she was a classmate in high school! "Ginny" has gone on to become an award-winning author.   

http://virginiafrancesschwartz.com/biography.htm

 

http://virginiafrancesschwartz.com/biography.htm

 In her own words,  "One of the ways in which I have dealt with suffering in my own life was developing into a spiritual person. That means that I look to a higher place than just my own mind for everyday guidance. The songs and prayers of the slaves in Send One Angel Down and If I Just Had Two Wings mirror the spiritual belief that helped slaves endure centuries of degradations. In Messenger, the fatherless narrator is soothed by prayer, literature, poetry and a belief in the afterlife. These books explore ways to nourish a spirit that has been crushed by abuse and overwhelming family or social problems. Spirituality, or thinking about God, helps us to recognize our true self and develop our potential."


Virginia is an amazing, accomplished person who is proud of her roots here, in the Niagara Peninsula:


"I grew up in Canada in the heart of the fruit belt that stretched across Southern Ontario from Niagara Falls to Toronto. When I was young, it was completely rural, “like a slice of heaven” as my grandfather says in my latest novel about my family, Messenger. My backyard was a 20 acre orchard of blossoming fruit trees where I played, daydreamed and read."


http://virginiafrancesschwartz.com/biography.htm

And now, here are the answers to the questions from 2 days ago ---  TWO days ago???? Yikes! 

......................

Why are "The Royal Botannical Gardens", Hamilton / Burlington, Ontario called "Royal"?

http://www.rbg.ca/Page.aspx?pid=351

http://www.osrbg.ca/

http://www.rbg.ca/Page.aspx?pid=315#coots

“In December 1929 the Parks Board approved the suggestion that the name Westdale Park be changed to something more grand, Royal Botanical Gardens. This change was prompted by Thomas Baker McQuesten, a lawyer who eventually became the Member of Provincial Parliament for the City of Hamilton, who was a frequent visitor to Royal Botanic Gardens, in the town of Kew, in the south-western area of metropolitan London, England. Royal Botanic Gardens, also called Kew Gardens, has been a model for many botanical gardens around the world since the 18th century. McQuesten was authorized by the City of Hamilton to approach the Government of Canada for permission to use the term "Royal" in the name of the park.
A Royal Charter was granted by King George V of England for the name "Royal Botanical Gardens" in 1930. RBG is the only botanical garden in Canada with the right to use "Royal" in its name.”
http://www.rbg.ca/Page.aspx?pid=394 “Royal Botanical Gardens Lead Canadian Endangered Plant Recovery Project in Global Eco-Partnership
Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario, will receive a five-year grant to help save Canada’s endangered plants from extinction, as part of a worldwide “eco-partnership” established with a (US) $50-million donation from HSBC, one of the world’s largest financial services organizations.
The money comes from Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), which received (US) $11.6 million from HSBC to fund a living gene bank in botanic gardens around the world. The gene bank will protect 20,000 endangered plant species…”“HSBC launched the five-year global conservation program, called Investing in Nature, earlier this year in partnership with BGCI, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, and Earthwatch…”

Source: http://www.ashs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=109:horticultural-landmarks&id=308:royal-botanical-garden

  So, to carry on in the same vein, or tributary, of thought...Did you know that Hamilton, Ontario is called The Waterfall Capital of the World? 

This is why...

http://www.cityofwaterfalls.ca/

http://www.cityofwaterfalls.ca/albionfalls.html

http://www.cityofwaterfalls.ca/

 I found this blog (below) in my online search for photos ---- LOVE IT!!! & HAD to SHARE it with you...because GOOD NEWS travels! 

"Hamilton:Waterfall Capital of the World?
November 9, 2008 by newyorkoutdoors

I know many of you enjoy discovering waterfalls using my guidebook “200 Waterfalls in Central & Western New York.” Well, I left New York recently for a short jaunt west into Ontario, Canada – to a city called Hamilton.  It’s easy to get to – take the bridge across the Niagara River at Niagara Falls and follow the QEW to the end of Lake Ontario – before the QEW bends north around the western end of the lake. I headed there for a family reunion.
During a chat with my cousin, she queried “do you know that Hamilton is considered the waterfall capital of the world?” I admitted that I didn’t know this, but I had certainly enjoyed many waterfalls in and near Hamiltonas I thru-hiked the Bruce Trail. Then I get home and this article pops up: Hamilton:Waterfall Capital of the World?It’s karma – I was meant to pass along the secret. Plan a visit to Hamilton, maybe during spring melt when the waterfalls are gushing. Here’s a handy web site to guide your visit.Photo: Fruitland Falls by Joe Hollick" 

Source:  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2787624284410590937#editor/target=post;postID=1278593776176229872

Hope you found today's post about freedom, flora, and waterfalls fun & informative!  


Please be sure to listen to some of Jackie Washington's blues tunes too! 


Next time, I'll talk about the geological history of Niagara Falls and in the posts following that, mention of a Niagara Falls miracle and some of the stunts-persons who have performed at Niagara Falls. 


'til then, 
Patti