Brian Roulston
Hello everyone, since 2015, I’ve been lucky to be among the many great volunteers and writers at the North End Breezes. It’s been fun researching and reading about our North End and the city in which we live, Hamilton, Ontario.
Celebrating National Nurses Week: From Florence Nightingale to Hamilton
by Brian Roulston Let’s celebrate nurses during National Nurses Week, May 6 to 12th, honouring their selfless commitment to care, whether in a hospital or doctor’s office or in a more dire need, such as a pandemic or natural or man-made disaster. At the urging of the...
Canada Goes Metric
Bu Brian Roulston It was no joke 50 years ago. April 1, 1975. Canada officially adopted the Metric system. The day before, an ad by Canada’s newly formed Metric Commission appeared in newspapers nationwide captioned “Say Goodnight to Fahrenheit.” The ad went on to...
Shamrockin’ from Ireland to Hamilton
By Brian Roulston Hey, Northenders! Let’s paint the town green and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style! Whether you’re Irish or not, it is our opportunity to embrace the vibrant Irish culture. With approximately 15.8% of our population proudly celebrating their Irish...
Recalling the Greater Hamilton Shopping Centre
By Brian Roulston I’m sure many Breezes readers have fond memories of shopping and hanging out at the corner of Ottawa and Barton Street.at what was once Canada’s largest shopping mall in the latter half of the 20th Century. Who could forget all the colourful and...
The 1934 Christmas Train Collision in Hamilton
By Brian Roulston Hamilton had never known a darker Christmas than Tuesday, December 25, 1934. It was a frosty -2°C day 90 years ago. As the clock struck 9:21 p.m., fate orchestrated the most devastating train collision since the Desjardins Canal Disaster, which...
Hamilton’s Guardians: The Civil Guard Story
By Brian Roulston As we stand for a moment of silence at the 11th hour on Remembrance Day, let's remember those who fought overseas and those who stood guard close to home. As the Great War began to escalate, there came compelling evidence of...
Love by the Old Sawmill
By Brian Roulston In the shadows of Hamilton, a timeless love story emerged in the early 1860s. A deep romance that was meant to stand the test of time was tragically cut short by illness. Yet, from this heartbreak emerged a poem that would captivate the world as a...
A Whistle-Stop Tour Through Hamilton
Brian Roulston Step back to early March 1933. Hamiltonians were excited about the news that the world’s fastest train would be coming to our city - The Royal Scot. Read on to learn more about the ‘speed demon of the iron road’ as it was often referred to, and its...
Racing Through Time: The Legacy of the Hamilton Jockey Club
By Brian Roulston The Hamilton Jockey Club opened under less-than-ideal conditions on a cold, gloomy, misty day. Admission to the track on Thursday, June 1, 1893, was a dollar, and it would cost you 50 cents to get into the infield. For the next 59 years, the Hamilton...
Highlights from Hamilton’s Early Obscure Telephone Past
By Brian Roulston The Centennial Exposition of 1876, officially known as the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, held at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, was the first World’s Fair held in the United States. It was ten...