They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them

In memory of our fallen Canadians:

Pte Jonathan Couturier — Afghanistan September 17, 2009

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays

If they were still alive, today would mark my parents 60th wedding anniversary. So what does that have to do with the Noronic? For that matter, what is the Noronic? I grew up with an awareness of the Noronic, a Great Lakes steamship which burned in Toronto harbour on September 17, 1949.

The fire remains Toronto’s worse ever disaster, taking the lives of 120 people, mostly Americans. The Noronic was docked at pier 9 on the night of September 16th, the fire was discovered about 2:30am. The cause of the fire was never determined. The 30 year old luxury steamship’s woodwork, well maintained with years of oil polish, served as an accelerant for the fire which quickly engulfed the ship. Read the rest of this entry