Dear Subscribers,
I grew up in a small border town in Southern On-
tario. As a young girl, on my way to play in our lo-
cal park and I would pass a neat little yellow cor-
ner house with brown trim. I recall that a very old
man lived there who I’d always heard the
neighbours refer to as having arrived to Canada
on the ‘railroad’. As newly-arrived immigrants, my
parents, who barely spoke any English, were un-
aware of North American history, and therefore, I
naturally assumed that this man had crossed into
Canada via the CN railway bridge which con-
nected the American side of the Niagara River to
the Canadian side. He was distinctive in his broad-
brimmed straw hat with a frayed edge. But what I
remember the most about him was that he loved to
sit in the middle of his vegetable garden that com-
prised more than half of his yard. He would sit on a
stool holding a bare tree branch that he used for
planting seeds and tilling some of the soil around
the individual plants.
Sometimes he would
just sit and whittle the
wood with a small
pocket knife.
I have since realized
that when he was a
very small boy, his
family must have escaped slavery and settled in
our town during the latter stages of the
‘Underground Railroad’ era. How I now wish that
I had been aware of this important chapter in
history. What a missed opportunity to connect with
the past! This week’s issue of Chalk Talk features
resources available through the National Film
Board that document many aspects of Canada’s
Black History on film. As well, you will find
information about an upcoming event in June
commemorating the Bicentennial of the Abolition
of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
CoEd Communications is dedicated to supporting
the important work of teachers by providing class-
room resources on a range of topics. We invite
you to visit our website at www.4edu.ca to view
the many free teachers’ resources on offer.
As always, your feedback is important to us.
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