thebitterguy: (Default)
A while back, I expressed my desire to visit the gravesites of Canada's Prime Ministers.

I got off to a good start, getting to see the gravesite of Sir John A.

I kind of stalled out after that.

I went back to the Government's website and dl'd a PDF. I'm rather upset that two of the early PMs were buried in Halifax (Thompson and Tupper), and I missed out on my chance to visit their final resting places when I was down there.

I'll probably endeavour to add Alexander to the list when next we go to Novi via Sarnia. Or possibly make a trip on Rememberance Day. Or just go on some brisk winter morning.

Mackenzie Bowell, one of the PMs who had the most indignities heaped upon him, is buried in Belleville, which makes him an easy trip to make whenever I head to visit ACB.

Laurier and Borden are both buried in Ottawa, and I think Cynra and I are due for a visit up there.

Arthur Meighen is buried in St. Mary's, which is an hour and a half from home.

Mackenzie King is buried in Toronto's Mt. Pleasant cemetery, which is supposed to be a nice place to visit anyway (if you can avoid the claustrophobic vampires! Man, that book sucked). King is one of the most interesting of our national leaders, having led the country through World War II with counsel from his mother. Who was dead at the time.

The biggest obstacle to the whole thing is RB Bennet, the poor bastard who had to handle the recession of the '30s. He's buried in Surrey, England. That would be somewhere near France, I think.

That brings us up through the PMs who ran the country up until the end of WW II, which I think is a good start.

It looks so easy, written down like that.

edit: I wrote this a month and a bit ago, but forgot to post it. I have, in the interim, visited the resting place of Alexander Mackenzie in Sarnia. I have not visited Mr. Bowell's grave yet, but probably will over the spring.
thebitterguy: (Default)
Visited ACB the past weekend, had a very good time. BBQ on Saturday (Huge steaks) and corn and lasagne and stuffed grape leaves. All good.

Gave Pater his copy of Palestine (interesting book) and we all had good time. Uday & Qusay were both there, although Uday didn't make it in until 8.

Sunday, Cynra & I went up to Kingston to start my quest to view the resting places of all of Canada's PMs.

Sir John A is buried in Cataraqui cemetary, where Kingston has been interring its citizens for two hundred years.

Old cemetaries are fascinating. It's like watching a scroll of history. Graves pass by, markers submerged into the ground, obelisks standing up, headstones standing erect. You get a sense of time and family. You see fragments of lives etched into granite, births and deaths, infants taken early, centarians who fought through world wars. You turn your head, a stone, turn again, another.

There are two possible reactions to this, really. You can shut it out, or let it in. Shut it out, and it's all rocks and numbers, dates and history. Let it in, and you realise it's all people, each stone a life led, breaths and dreams, favourite drinks and lost loves. Saints and sinners, good people and bad.

The subject of the trip was easily located; there were signs pointing towards it, and a fence surrounding it.

The marker itself is very simple. No towering monument, it's a simple cross stating his name, with the slogan "At Rest". An obelisk, perhaps ten feet in height, marks the grave area. Surrounding him are his family, his wife, brother, and infant son.

The fence gate was not even locked, and the burial area was well travelled. Around the stone were a set of wreaths, from the IOOF, the Kingston Law Society, and the Conservative party of Canada. The last two of them had fallen down, knocked down by wind. I picked up the Law Society's wreath.

It was what I suppose we have to expect, somber, humble recognition of our past. We have no towering monuments for our leaders; they even refused to name a mountain after Trudeau (a good thing, or last week's news would have included the story of three climbers being rescued from it). 

Next to Sarnia, I suppose. No hurry, as it isn't going anywhere.
thebitterguy: (Default)
And, it's EASILY ATTAINABLE.

Yes!

Okay, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna visit the graves of each Canadian Prime Minister.

I've even got a list.

Sweet. Aside from one trip to England (and Saskatchewan), it should be pretty darn easy.

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