Top 5 history stories in Durham Region in 2024
Published January 2, 2025 at 11:19 am
History writes itself every day. As they say in the business, today’s news is tomorrow’s history. But for the purpose of defining ‘history’ stories that have graced the pages of INdurham in 2024, we’re going to go with topics much, much older than yesterday.
Here are the Top 5 history stories in Durham Region in 2024.
The story behind the Man Called Intrepid and Camp X
Sir William Stephenson, the man called ‘Intrepid,’ fighter pilot, spymaster, founder of Whitby’s Camp X and a real-life inspiration for James Bond, left an indelible mark on the home of his spy-training camp nearly 36 years after his death.
https://www.insauga.com/how-sir-william-stephenson-the-man-called-intrepid-opened-whitbys-camp-x/
Bowmanville’s ‘Steam Punk’ Roller Boar
Frederick Augustus Knapp’s crazy Roller Boat scheme from the late 19th century ‘boasted’ a flawed design that delivered neither the velocity or the smooth ride promised and was difficult to control, making it a craft prone to repeated breakdowns rather than a breakthrough in design.
Nevertheless, the ill-fated 1899 maiden voyage of the Knapp Roller Boat from Toronto to Prescott (east of Belleville) was the stuff of history, despite ending in failure with the strange craft tied to a tree off Bowmanville’s coast just 50 miles into the trip.
Knapp’s Roller Boat at Toronto’s harbour. June, 1899
Downtown Oshawa pharmacy closing after 113 years
The Lovell Drugs location at 8 King St. E. – located at the city’s four corners since 1911 – will issue its final prescription January 31, with the company citing the post-COVID “challenges” in downtown Oshawa and the closing of the Oshawa Clinic a couple of kilometres to the east as factors.
https://durham.insauga.com/113-year-old-pharmacy-in-downtown-oshawa-to-close-january-31/
The ‘Jube’ is still in swing
The Jubilee Pavilion on Oshawa’s lakefront is a still a go-to spot to grab a hamburger for the kids in the summertime but for those with long memories, the ‘Jube’ was THE place to be to catch bands, both up-and-coming as well as established, as they toured through southern Ontario, or dance the night away to jazz, big band and swing in one of the premier dance halls of the era.
From Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, Bill Haley and the Comets and The Supremes to Rush, April Wine and Lighthouse, the Jubilee has seen it all in its 97 years.
Saying goodbye to a church as old as Canada
Built in 1867 by architects Gundry & Langley in the Gothic revival style, Simcoe Street United Church and its iconic steeple has been welcoming the community from its downtown home at Simcoe and Bagot as long as Canada has been a nation.
Declining membership – down 40 per cent since the onset of the pandemic – and a mounting cash flow exacerbated by a recently completed (and expensive) steeple rebuild forced its closure, with the last service April 14.
The sanctuary of Simcoe Street United Church in Oshawa. Photo Robert Bell