New Beginnings (New Beginnings Series)
Page 32
Many amazing coincidences happened while I was writing this story. Sometimes it would be as simple as picking up a book and finding a historical moment that I could use. One prime example of this was one day I had only a few spare minutes and I was quickly searching through the Souris library for something to give me another idea or two. Finding nothing I grabbed a hardcover by Pierre Burton which I though was just a picture book of winter photography. Instead I found a whole chapter about William Notman, a very famous photographer in Montreal, and the official photographer for McGill University, and I could not help but include an interesting story about him.
I kept a calendar to make sure the time line would work out correctly. In one of the earlier chapters I had originally mentioned the “near full moon” which I had to change to the “full moon” when I was given a calendar for 1882 and found it fell on the correct day. I was very fortunate to have been loaned a nearly complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica from 1890, and was thrilled to find most research for the books were done in 1882 or 1884. Studying this time period proved to be very interesting and I look forward to doing more as the New Beginnings Series continues.
Following are some of the fact or fiction items that you may have wondered about while reading this story.
Original Manitoba names of locations:
-Plum Creek - Souris
-Lake MacPherson – Lake Clementi
-Tanner’s Crossing later became Minnedosa
-Rolston’s Colony became Rapid City
-Grand Valley was located about two miles east of Brandon from 1879 to 1885.
I have done many internet searches for General Thomas Rosser, and the injuries stated in this novel happened to him at the locations mentioned. I do assume though that a nurse was not there to treat his injury, but I did discover he waited quite some time to have it looked at. The other items mentioned about him in the book were researched, although last year I did learn when Brandon had their 125th celebration that his grandson was invited to the ceremonies. I am still not sure when he was married and have thought of changing my book to make that adjustment but have thought better of it as it could possibly have been something that he may not have mentioned in real life.
“Le Windsor”, in Montreal is all that is left now of the beautiful Windsor Hotel, considered to be the most elegant hotel in Canada at the time and was built between 1875 and 1878. The earliest building burnt in 1906. In 2003 I wrote to “Le Windsor” and was very fortunate to receive a very detailed description of the original hotel. There was no mention of an elevator in the original design, but they were used in some buildings at this time.
It was 1939-40 when the real advances were made concerning RH Negative blood. I really have no information as to when the first discoveries of this element were found, or rather not found in the blood. This is indeed probably the main fiction of this book.
It has been a wonderful experience writing New Beginnings and I hope that you have enjoyed reading it. If you have any questions, comments or knowledge as to factual changes that should be made (just in case there may be a second printing) I would like to hear from you at dlogeot@hotmail.com.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Dancing Northern Lights
An Explanation - Fact or Fiction