Mastriano and the Maritimes (Again)

 

A Doctoral Dissertation in History - In the News!
   This is an update on a post I did about Dr. Mastriano's dissertation which was done at the University of New Brunswick back in 2013. Mastriano is now a Senator for the state across the lake, but he was defeated when he ran for governor of Pennsylvania back 2022. During that campaign, questions about the quality of his dissertation were raised, which created problems for both Mastriano and UNB. All of the issues are discussed in my post and my only purpose here is to provide a brief update and add to the sources I have already provided. 
  In 2024, Mastriano sued UNB and a few other individuals for a variety of reasons which are outlined in this article: "Controversial U.S. Politician Sues UNB for Releasing His widely Criticized PhD Thesis: Doug Mastriano Says UNB Leaked His Thesis, Resulting in Lost Potential Revenue From Book Sales, Speaking Gigs," Aidan Cox, CBC News, July 12, 2024.
  Lately universities have been losing lawsuits, but the good news is that UNB will probably not have to pay the millions sought by Mastriano. Given that most of the news these days has been about the Arday Affair, which involves another problematic dissertation and a university (Cambridge), you may have missed it.
  Here is a source for this recent development: "Judge Removes University of New Brunswick From U.S. State Senator's Defamation Suit," Canadian Press, Sept. 24, 2026.
 "FREDERICTON — An Oklahoma judge has removed the University of New Brunswick as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania state senator with ties to U.S. President Donald Trump. 
   Sen. Doug Mastriano alleged defamation, racketeering, antitrust and other claims against UNB and almost two dozen academics in 2024 over criticism of his academic research into the American First World War hero Sgt. Alvin York.
   The university granted Mastriano, a retired U.S. army colonel, a doctorate for his research in 2013. York was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading U.S. soldiers behind German lines in France during the First World War to disrupt machine gunfire. More than 20 German soldiers were killed and 132 captured. A movie about York's heroics won Gary Cooper a best actor Academy Award, and the story was memorialized in comic books.
   Mastriano’s academic credentials from UNB were called into question in 2022 when The Associated Press reported allegations from scholars asserting that his doctoral dissertation was plagued by factual errors and amateurish archeology. The university then conducted an independent review on how he received his PhD.
   Mastriano claimed in his lawsuit that UNB engaged in co-ordinated efforts to destroy his academic reputation and eliminate him as a competitor in First World War scholarship, as well as to interfere with his political campaigns.
   Mastriano was a little-known state senator in Pennsylvania until he took an active role in the movement to overturn Trump’s 2020 election defeat. He attracted headlines when Trump backed him for Pennsylvania governor during the senator's unsuccessful campaign in 2022.
   In the 2024 lawsuit, Mastriano was seeking millions of dollars in damages, claiming criticism of his research cost him income from tourism-related events, as well as book, media, television and movie deals. The senator claimed his book sales were reduced, his publisher stopped possible second editions and that he had been prevented from university job opportunities.
   He was also suing former UNB president Paul Mazerolle, vice-president of research David MaGee and professor Drew Rendall, who a few months before the 2022 election for Pennsylvania governor made public Mastriano's dissertation that was based on his research into York.
   Another defendant was James Gregory, who as a University of Oklahoma graduate student and researcher into First World War history and York, filed an academic fraud complaint against Mastriano with UNB.
   UNB successfully argued that it was immune from the jurisdiction of the U.S. district court for the western district of Oklahoma because the school is an “organ of a foreign state.” In a Sept. 1 ruling, District Court Judge Bernard M. Jones II cited UNB's creation in 1859 for a national purpose, its active supervision by the provincial government and the fact that its staff are considered to be public employees."
 The above is also found in  The Toronto Star, "Judge Removes University of New Brunswick From U.S. Senator's Defamation Suit," Sept. 24, 2026.
  I have found no additional information from either UNB or Senator Mastriano about this new development. 
  The University of Kentucky Press has published two books by Mastriano based on his dissertation - Alvin York and Thunder in the Argonne - if you wish to decide for yourself.

Post Script:
  The lost lawsuit alluded to above, is this one: "University of Lethbridge Was Wrong to Cancel Frances Widdowson's 2023 Lecture, Judge Rules," Stephen Tipper, CBC News, Sept. 18, 2026. For another example see, "Professor Timothy L. Jackson Wins $725,000 Settlement," in MM. 

London's Bicentennial (Snippet 46)

 Pigeon Racing - From Boston to London - 1887
   You will learn from the article below that a fellow released some pigeons on a Tuesday morning in Forest, Ontario and one of them had arrived back home in Boston by Thursday afternoon. That beat the record from the year before, when a pigeon from London took a bit longer to fly back to Boston.
   There are still likely many pigeons racing to and from London. Back in the 1970s the baby sitter who took care of a bunch of our kids up around UWO had a husband who had a loft in the backyard and he frequently let the residents loose to race.

   Even those who are more aristocratic can be interested in pigeons. This picture is from a British Pathé film which can be watched by clicking on this link: "The Guiding Princess (1943)." (1:36)

Sources: 
 The Canadian Racing Pigeon Union has produced a good "Short History of Pigeon Racing." There are around 20,000 registered pigeon lofts in North America.
 A thorough and much longer article is found in Wikipedia under "Homing Pigeon."

The Bonus: There were once also Passenger Pigeons.

The Great Outdoors - and Libraries

    Those who work in many university libraries are no longer much interested in the gathering and collecting of books, particularly those which are printed. The stacks are being removed and the spaces are now often simply auditoriums to which students can go to watch their screens. I have suggested before that it might be better for the librarians if they collected something - see, for example, "Libraries As Cabinets of Curiosities." It would also likely be better for the students since surely the collection of just about anything would be more interesting than a gathering of students looking at their laptops. Well, maybe not, but at least the librarians would have something to do and the place could legitimately be called a "Library."

Utah State University's Outdoor Recreation Archive

  Utah State's ORA is a good example of an interesting collection and the purpose of it is explained in the mission statement:
  "The mission of the Outdoor Recreation Archive is to document the history of the people, products, and brands of the outdoor industry through unpublished documents, published materials and audio/visual materials. We strive to make those materials widely accessible to the public, including Outdoor Product Design and Development students, academics, enthusiasts, industry (including marketing and design), and others with interest in the history of outdoor gear."

  Catalogues are collected and while students might not be interested in the older ones, they may be attracted to the more recent examples. 

 

   There are also posters, and periodicals ranging from the Atlantic Coast Kayaker to Washington Trails. 
   Even the books would attract browsers, for example: Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the End of the Map; Mountain Girl: From Barefoot to Boardroom and A Mountaineer's Life. 

  Click on the link provided above to examine the collection. I noticed when looking through the ORA books that they had a copy of Simple Fly Fishing. That reminded me of the collection of "Angling Books" held by the Western Libraries and Harvard, Princeton, the University of Alberta and UBC also have a lot of books about fish and fishing. Perhaps some libraries will continue to be interesting places to visit.

CANCON - A Camping Collection That is not Campy
  For a Canadian outdoor collection, visit Trent University in Peterborough. In the Trent University Archives they have gathered, since 1968, books about camping, brochures and pamphlets about camps, as well as the magazines and newsletters they produced. If you want to read a digitized version of Canadian Camping, you can, without actually going to Peterborough. 
  Since 1925, Camp Tanamakoon in Algonquin Park has operated a summer camp for girls. It is likely that this book in the Trent collection would be both interesting and useful: Camp Tanamakoon, 1925-2024 : a collection of stories from Alumni to celebrate 100 years!

   If libraries are repositories rather than sheds for students, perhaps both the Aesthetes and the Hearties and the Athletes and the Arties will continue to be attracted to them.

Post Script: 
  If you are interested in literature relating to the outdoors and forests and streams and mountains, check the university library near you. While they may not have a special archival collection, they may be able to offer access to related material. For example, EBSCO offers a digital archive of over 1,000 issues of Outdoor Life Magazine, from 1898 to 2010. (Not all libraries can afford such purchases or repurchases and use may be restricted.)



The Bonus:  
  One of the largest "outdoor" libraries is available to you over the internet. Visit: Biodiversity Heritage Library  It contains thousands of titles, including: Forest and Stream. The birds above are found in the BHL.

London's Bicentennial (Snippet 45)

 Rabbit Report - 1886
  We have noticed this year, an abundance of bunnies in the Old South section of London. One hundred and forty years ago, a reader of Forest and Stream magazine had a question about the types of rabbits in this area. The Arctic hare was not one of them.

   More interesting than this post is the person who answered the question posed by the correspondent. Clinton Hart Merriam knew about bears and birds, as well as bunnies. Apart from the Wikipedia entry, see the profile at the Boone and Crockett Club, from which this picture is taken.

The Bonus:
   If you are more interested in squirrels (black, grey/gray or even white) see my post, On Squirrels, where you will  learn that they are known to migrate. They also often SPLOOT.  Another bonus: some squirrel recipes are provided.

The Canadian Canoe Museum

  There have been few posts lately because I took a few days off to visit Peterborough where the Canadian Canoe Museum is located. Even if you are not interested in canoes or museums, I encourage you to go anyway, because Peterborough is a pleasant place and it is on the right side of the border. 


  Even if you are not interested in canoes, you should still check out the Canadian Canoe Museum. It is an easy place to visit, with good parking and it is very impressive building containing a cafe among all the canoes, where one can even have a glass of beer or wine.

  If you are concerned that the place does not seem diverse enough, there are many sizes of canoes and kayaks, in many different shapes and colours and there are some from South America and the South Pacific.


  If you are more interested in paintings than in paddling, visit before next April to see the Exhibit - "Canoe Perspectives". The exhibit alone is worth the trip. It contains, "A selection of works by prominent artists, including Frances Anne Hopkins, F. H. Johnston, Alex Colville, and Ken Danby, among others. More than 40 works are presented chronologically, spanning nearly 200 years. Selections from the Museum’s collection, including three canoes and related works such as César Newashish’s Wikwas Timanikan (Birch Bark Canoe), Helen Pelletier’s Wiigwas Mukuk (Birch Bark Basket) and Bill Mason’s Paintbox."

  If you are unable to travel to Peterborough you can still see the Exhibit which is from the McCreath Collection. Simply buy this book which is also recommended. Here is the description from Amazon:

Sources:
  The website of The Canadian Canoe Museum. 
  The Museum is more interesting than you might think: "Canoe Museum Kudos," Jacqueline Kovacs, Canada's History, Summer, 2026.
   The building is certainly interesting and was designed by Heneghan Peng Architects and Kearns Mancini Architects. See: "The Canadian Canoe Museum," Canadian Architect, Dec. 2016.
It is easy to find additional articles like this one:

Bookstore Bits

Shakespeare and Company 
  This storied bookshop is in Paris, not England, and Shakespeare never visited it. There are lineups to get in, however, and it has been around for a long time. A recent article in The Economist wondered why it is so popular: "What the World’s Most Famous Bookshop Reveals About Culture: Shakespeare and Company in Paris is Turning 75. Is its Success Replicable?", Aug. 27, 2026
   Probably not, to answer the question posed in that title. Many people  show up because it is on the left bank of the Seine. Myth has something to do with it since there was an earlier Shakespeare and Company and the American owner of that shop had many famous friends, like Hemingway. It also helps that the shop has "hundreds of thousands of social-media followers," some of whom may actually read books. It also does not hurt that many have seen films in which the bookshop has a role, Midnight in Paris and Before Sunset, for example. Even those who stay at home may have watched Emily in Paris, the TV series.

  While Shakespeare and Company may have been seen by many, those who enter are not allowed to take "selfies", or photos inside the store, which is said to enhance the store's mystique. If you buy a book, it is stamped with the shop's name and logo, which proves one was there. Authors also visit and sign books which "can triple sales" and "higher-margin merchandise, including tote bags and notebooks, accounts for around 30% of total sales." I suppose that what this "Bookshop Reveals About Culture" is that the success of Shakespeare and Company cannot be attributed solely to books or a great desire to read them.

The Bulk Buying of Books
   Back in Canada, very large numbers of used books are being purchased. This is not necessarily good news. They are not bought to be read, but to be scanned. The books are pulled apart and used for training for large language models like Claude.

  "Physical books, particularly those published before OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, are in demand for AI companies. That's partly because some experts say the language models degrade when repeatedly trained on their own output, so they need to be fed with content that is guaranteed to be free of AI-generated text."

That is from: "Used Bookstores Navigate 'Suspicious Bulk Orders Amid AI Book-Shredding Fears," Kevin Maimann, CBC News, Sept 1, 2026.

A Beautiful Bookshop
  In the article in The Economist there is mention of Livraria Lello in Porto which looks like "a cross between a cathedral and a robber baron's mansion." You have to buy a ticket to get in.

London's Bicentennial (Snippet 44)

A Transatlantic Flight From London to London in 1927
  In my last snippet, to mark London's 200th birthday, I wrote about a London brewer who was kidnapped in 1934. In this one a London brewery (Carling) offered in 1927, $25,000 to any aviator who successfully crossed the Atlantic. There are many accounts in the news about these London stories and samples about this one are found below.
  Also provided are some sources for those who would like to read more about this aviation adventure, which was not a successful one. The Sir John Carling was able to make it to Newfoundland after a couple of delays, but the plane did not go much farther and was never found, nor were the pilot and aviator.
   

 "Flying From the Heart of the Empire to the Soul of the Empire" - 1927

From the Evening Star (Washington) Aug. 11, 1927.

Sources:
  The picture of the postcard is found at Miller & Miller Auctions where a good account is provided by Tess Malloy: "Brewing With Ambition: The Ill-fated Carling's Brewery London-to-London Challenge: A Daring Transatlantic Journey Ends in Tragedy and Mystery," Oct. 9, 2023.
  The "Empire quotation" is in this article by Larry Cornies: "A Plane Was Lost, and So Was a Story of London's Aviation History," London Free Press, May 21, 2022. Here is a portion:

  "Mere months after Charles Lindbergh's gruelling 33½-hour flight from New York to Paris in May 1927, London entrepreneurs decided the coming age of aeronautics was too exciting to pass up. And Lindbergh's achievement sparked what local historian Alice Gibb has called "the ultimate public relations campaign in London's history."

   That campaign was put together by Arthur Carty, a former London Free Press reporter who had built a news and publicity service with his uncle Edmund Carty, and Charles Burns, president of Carling Breweries.

   The ad they posted in The Free Press on June 29, 1927, only 38 days after Lindbergh's flight, was for a "Canadian aviator to fly from London, Ont., to London, Eng." The $25,000 prize - the same amount paid to Lindbergh - would be equivalent to about $400,000 today. The funds were held in trust by London businessperson Ray Lawson, with the support of mayor John M. Moore and London Chamber of Commerce president A.J. Grant.

  A flood of applications poured in from pilots willing to risk the 6,200-kilometre trip "from the heart of the Empire to the soul of the Empire" in a Stinson Detroiter monoplane, made by Stinson Aircraft Corp. in Detroit.

   The pilot ultimately chosen was Capt.Terence Bernard Tully, a 33-year-old decorated Royal Air Force aviator and former Aero plane test pilot for A.V. Roe and Co. Tully and his wife Anne had immigrated from Ireland four years earlier; he had logged more than 2,500 hours flying for Ontario's forestry service. Tully then selected Lt. James Medcalf, 28, another RAF veteran, as his co-pilot and navigator."
  The pilots took off from Harbour Grace, NL and the story is reported by some folks out east: "Disaster Strikes: The Sir John Carling," Community Stories. (n.d.)

See also, "Harbour Grace Airstrip," by Harbour Grace Tourism.