Kitty Coleman

 Kitty Coleman Provincial Park

     Recently we spent some time in the Comox Valley area on Vancouver Island. While there, we visited both the Kitty Coleman Provincial Park and the Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens. Although personal names appearing in place names is common in B.C. (e.g.,Vancouver), Kitty Coleman caught my eye.

      A few years ago I wrote a book and in it “Kit" Coleman is mentioned. “Kit” is the diminutive associated with Kathleen Blake Coleman who was a famous Canadian journalist and war correspondent. She is the “Kit” I found during my research and I didn’t recall her ever being referred to as “Kitty”.  Could the Kitty Coleman for whom the park is named, be simply a West Coast, laid-back reference to Kathleen “Kit" Coleman?

Kit Coleman

   The short answer is “No”.  The famous “Kit Coleman” I wrote about showed up recently on a commemorative Silver Dollar issued by the Royal Canadian Mint. (For more about that Kit Coleman and the coin see, Kathleen "Kit" Coleman.)
   Although I am reluctant to use the following word in relation to an Indigenous woman, the infamous “Kitty" Coleman shows up in the database of BC Geographical Names where this is found:
   “Kitty Coleman was an Indian woman who, 40 or 50 years ago, left her tribe to marry a white man. He was later jailed, and she lived alone on this beach selling fish and berries. The beach became known locally as Kitty Coleman's Beach, hence the park name….There are frequent references to Kitty Coleman in court documents through the 1890's and into the early 1900's; she ran a brothel (location not specified), and was frequently cited for unseemly behavior or jailed on prostitution charges. In later years, she lived near Cape Mudge.”

     I confess to being curious about “Kitty” and did a cursory search. The following article was found and it is very interesting. Since it involves Indigenous matters and “colonial” ones, which are contentious these days, I will offer no comments, other than to say that the infamous Kitty and the famous Kit both deserve more attention and research.

       THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL. TUESDAY. MAY 8, 1906, p.7

“SLAVERY AMONG INDIANS”

A Bad State of Affairs Reported in

British. Columbia.

Ottawa, May 7.--  (Special) According to a return secured by Mr. Borden, there seems to have been ample grounds for the statements which appeared In the British Columbia papers a few months ago, that Indian children were being sold into slavery in that province. The matter first came to the attention of the department through a letter from the Rev, J. B. Kindle, of Cape Mudge, B.C., who wrote to Mr. Vowell, Indian superintendent at Victoria, transmitting the complaint of an Indian named Billy Seawhit and his wife Sarah.These Indians said that Mr. South, agent of the Children's Aid Society of Vancouver, had visited the Indian village at Cape Mudge, and had taken from the Seawhits their little girl, who was known as Edith Grant. From reports it appears that she was three parts white and one part Indian. Mr. Debeck, agent for the Indian Department at Cape Mudge, when, asked for particulars of the affair, reported that the child was in the hand of a vicious Indian woman named Kitty Coleman, and that, by order of two magistrates, the child was handed over to Mr. South, to be cared for by the society

at Vancouver. Mr.Debeck says that Mr. South, is a most humane man, and

took this action after full enquiry upon the spot Then, curiously enough,

Debeck recommends the Seawhits to consult a Vancouver lawyer, with a view to compelling the Vancouver society to deliver the child up to the parents. Transmitting Mr. Debeck's report, Mr. Vowell declares that from every possible moral standpoint Mr.South took the proper course under the circumstances. He comments upon the inconsistent position of Mr. Debeck in recommending to the parents to resort to law. They did secure a hearing before two Judges to Vancouver, and after full enquiry the child was ordered to be retained by the Vancouver society. Mr. Vowell proceeds to say that girls with white skins, thick brown hair braided down their backs, and big, innocent, childish eyes, are being sold today, and have been sold for years in British Columbia to the highest bidders. He points out that many of the girls are sent into the logging camps for immoral purposes, and urges that this practice should not be allowed to continue longer. He thinks that the administration of justice department in British Columbia should take hold of the matter. 

   Agent Debeck makes a special report to the department from Alert Bay, dated October 23rd last. He says almost every Indian in that agency who Is in the potlatch is a slave dealer; fathers sell their daughters, brothers sell their sisters or cousins, and he knew of one instance where a son offered his old mother for sale as a slave. He mentions one case where a boy was taken out of the Indian school, and a young girl of 12 or  13 from the girls' school was sold to him. They lived together for a while, and then the authorities compelled both to go back to sohool again. Mr.Debeck recommends a remedy for the existing evils, first of all, the putting down of the potlach, which is really at the bottom of all the evils complained of. He says It should be done with a firm hand, not in a slipshod manner in which Justice has been administered among the Indians in the past. Secondly, he suggests a rigid enforcement of the law, especially as regards the sale of intoxicants to Indians which  is at present, he says, a disgrace to any civilised country. Third, he suggests patting a stop to the custom of buying and selling women, and,  if possible, the compelling  of the Indians to marry their women legally, and lastly, if possible, to keep out the grafters. These different communications evidently stirred up the Indian Department, as a circular letter was sent to all inspectors and agents in the western provinces, asking for information on the subject of the intermarriage between whites and Indians, a number of alliances of a temporary character, the age at which Indian children should be allowed to marry, and the extent of the custom of selling young girls into slavery.

   Again Agent Debeck is to the fore with some pretty frank advice. He says: "You may legislate for these Indians until doomsday, and they will never do any good until this curse of their whole lives, the potlatch, is completely wiped out.” Further he says "People come here in the  garb of missionaries, start a store, commence trading with the Indians, making what they can out of them, ride roughshod over the Indian Act and are then upheld by the Indian Department.  As far as the Criminal Code goes. It Is about the same. All manner of crimes ore committed among these Indians, even to murder, and it is seldom that any of them are brought to justice."

[The source is provided and should be checked. This version is a result of my cutting and pasting and may contain errors. The bolded print is not in the original and was applied by me to call attention to the 'sensational' parts.]

Place Names:

   I suppose one could ask if a place should be named for someone who exhibited "unseemly behavior", ran a brothel and is described as "vicious'. I am not one who would ask such a question and am against the scrubbing of names from maps. For a good book relating to questionable toponyms see, From Squaw Tit to Whorehouse Meadow: How Maps Name, Claim, and Inflame by Mark Monmonier. For a fascinating book about names on the land, read Names on the Land by George R. Stewart.
  For a discussion of those books in MM see "Names on the Land" and the post about the author, George R. Stewart. 
  For more about name changing (and name calling) in B.C., where there are some who want to sanitize the landscape and remove names that often reveal interesting stories see, "British Columbia or Saquatchia?". 
  For my typical contrarian view about name changing, see "No More Name Changing".

  The geographical puritans are also worried about names in the Southern Hemisphere. See, for example, "The Meaning of Magellan."

AGEISM

Banning Those in Gen Z and a Few Millennials
   Most arguments about ageism involve attitudes toward the elderly and old age. I noticed recently an example of discrimination involving young people. I will leave it to you to debate the legal and ethical implications of not allowing those under the age of 30 to enter a restaurant. Here are some examples:

"A D.C. Cafe is Banning Patrons Under 30. Is It Legal?", Emily Heil, The Washington Post, Dec. 17, 2024.
"For years, the owners of Café 8, a Mediterranean restaurant and hookah bar in Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, have wondered how they could keep their patrons’ noise down around their establishment, which backs up to a residential neighborhood.
“They park on the front, they blast music, they party in their cars and all those things,” says Elif Sam, who manages the restaurant for her family. Finally, last month, they decided to take a step to attract an older clientele, rather than the younger, rowdier crowds. So they adopted a policy banning patrons under 30 after 8:30 p.m."
As for the legal part, it's complicated as most legal things are and the arguments around age discrimination are numerous.

"Still, while the family introduced the policy to help keep the peace, it might run afoul of D.C. law.
Under federal law, age is not a protected class in service settings the way it is when it comes to employment. And laws that do apply to public accommodations, such as eateries, ban discrimination when it comes to race, religion, national origin or disability status — but not age.
In D.C., though, the Human Rights Act expands the kinds of traits that businesses can’t discriminate against, including age over 18, personal appearance and political affiliation.
“It’s pretty straightforward,” said Andrew Kline, principal of the Veritas Law Firm, who frequently works on cases involving D.C. restaurants. He noted that the D.C. law includes a clause granting exceptions for “business necessity,” such as allowing establishments to ban patrons under 21 to prevent underage drinking. But he questioned whether Café 8’s new rule would meet that standard. “I think making the case that there’s a business necessity for keeping [out people over 21] would be troublesome,” he said."

There are other cases of exclusion elsewhere in the country. For example in St. Louis:

"A Restaurant Wanting a ‘Grown and Sexy’ Vibe Bans Diners Under 30:

At Caribbean restaurant Bliss outside St. Louis, age limits draw support and condemnation," The Washington Post, June 10, 2024.

"When Marvin Pate and his wife opened Bliss, their Caribbean restaurant outside St. Louis, they were aiming for an upscale, luxe vibe. They put jollof rice and tropical cocktails on the menu, offered hookahs for patrons to enjoy — and banned diners under the age of 30.

Since opening its doors in May, the restaurant has operated with an unusual age restriction, allowing in only women at least 30 and men at least 35, rules that the owners have been defending as necessary to maintain the kind of “grown and sexy” atmosphere they’re aiming for. “This policy is in place to ensure a mature, sophisticated, and safe dining environment for everyone,” the restaurant said in a Facebook post."

Some additional examples are offered in the article, but I have not found any Canadian ones, although child-free condos and adult-only developments exist here. 

"Legally, restaurants have the right to impose age limits, because age is not a protected class in that context. Controversies around age restrictions usually have cropped up when restaurants have banned children. Last year, Nettie’s House of Spaghetti in New Jersey was both rebuked and praised when it banned kids under 10, citing the noise and “crazy messes” they brought.

It’s far less common for such rules to target adults. But there are exceptions: In San Antonio, Horizons & More bills itself as a 30-and-up destination “for the grown & mature.” And in New York, the Auction House cocktail bar imposes a 25-and-up policy on Fridays and Saturdays.

Two years ago, two TikTokers shared a tale of being turned away from Melody Bar & Grill in Los Angeles because they weren’t old enough for the establishment’s 30-plus night. One response to the video seemed to come from someone who appreciated the idea of a 20-something-free zone: “I know it hurts right now, but when you are 30 you’ll understand.”

  Lately we have noticed, when dining out, that restaurants are far too noisy, but generally that is not because of the age of the customers. Still, I am in favour of keeping out noisy people, even those over 30, especially if they carry phones. It also would be great to be able to keep out obnoxious people. I am not sure how one does that, but I am certain that in Canada denying some the right to dine would be problematic, although years ago women were denied entry into many bars. Where I grew up, people of a certain colour could not eat in most restaurants in our small town. I suppose it is best to simply succumb to the self selection process and assume and hope that people of all ages will segregate in a restaurant they choose to be in and that the others won't want to join them. 

Light Reading for Labour Day

 Or "Labor" Day if you are from farther south and prefer shorter spellings. It is a nice day here in London, but before I go out to enjoy it, here are a couple of short items in case it is not nice where you are. 

Curious About the Curtis Cup? 
   It is highly likely that you missed this sporting event since there are many others at this time of year and you probably aren't interested in golf anyway. The Curtis Cup is for girls, what the Walker Cup is for guys. That is, they are golf events where the best amateur players from the U.S. compete against those from Great Britain and Ireland. This year, the GB&I team defeated the Americans at Sunningdale in England. 
   About the Cups, you can easily learn more by reading the sporting news from last weekend or consulting Wikipedia. I was curious, however, about the composition of the GB&I team and was willing to wager that most of the players on it had been playing their golf in the country which they defeated. My hunch was correct.
   If you don't watch much golf you may not know that golfers with the most exotic of names mostly seem to have attended universities located in the sunnier areas of the United States (I am speaking here about White players with foreign-looking names, not Black ones with unusual ones.) One assumes that foreign golfers don't have to take the usual tests required, because they are clearly smart enough to realize that getting a free, expensive university education while playing golf in a warn place is a good deal.
   Eight of the players on the GB&I team are listed below, along with the universities they attended. Only one went to a British university and, unsurprisingly it is one of the few in that country that offers financial support. I did not check the universities of the American players, but assume that most did not go abroad. 
   Here are the players. To make it a bit more challenging, I have provided the names of the teams, not the universities. For example, one of the Rhodes sisters, Euphemie, became a Deacon, while Patience became a Sun Devil. 

Lottie Woad - Seminole

Sara Byrne - Hurricane

Aine Donegan - Tiger

Hannah Darling - Gamecock

Beth Coulter - Sun Devil

Patience Rhodes - Sun Devil

Euphemie Rhodes - Deacon

Lorna McClymont - University of Sterling

*** Speaking of unusual names, Asterisk Talley beat Lottie Woad in the last match. She is 15. 

Al Pacino and Me
   There is a chance that you are more interested in Al than me, so that is Al pictured above. It is that picture that led to this post. It was noticed in a recent issue of the New Yorker which offers a portion of Pacino's new biography ("An Exclusive Excerpt From Al Pacino's Memoir, Sunny Boy: Personal History, Early Scenes," August 26, 2024. 

   Given that you are not interested in me, I will point out that I am dressed as Hopalong Cassidy in the picture above and he is marginally more interesting. I think I received the costume from an aunt and there was plenty of Hoppy memorabilia available for purchase. 

  Although Al was from the very urban South Bronx in New York and I was from the more rural Eastern Shore of Maryland, you may have noticed that we were both armed. Those were different times.

  If it was not such a nice day, I would go on about kids and guns and whether children should now be allowed to pretend and play with them - even Nerf guns or water pistols. Instead, read up about old "Hoppy" or wait a bit for Pacino's book.

  That is my picture, as I am now. Since not much of interest has been presented, here are a couple of tidbits you can read without much labour. 
  Pacino is older than I am, but he is much more active. At the age of 83, he just produced another child. Perhaps he is just trying to stay ahead of his old pal De Niro who had one at 79.  Pacino's partner, by the way, is more than 50 years younger than he is and he has other children, but has had no wives.
  He also has a better memory than I, since he recalls events that happened when he was four.

Beyond the Palewall (9)

 

 This is another in a series about news items of which you should be aware. For those who prefer a table of contents: 1) The first story is about yet another Canadian apology and we may soon have offered one to every group that has been offended. I don't think the apologies are being done alphabetically, since the last one was to the Italians. For more about that, see my post "Apologizing Again", where you will learn there is even a book about such a subject: A Guilted Age: Apologies for the Past. If you feel traumatized by long ago events or feel guilty about something that happened in the last century, you should have a look. 2) This one is about children now allowed outside in Toronto. I have also dealt with this issue in an insightful piece about "Children and Risk." 3) This one will be useful since you probably don't have a local newspaper to read and 4) A very interesting piece about the shootings occurring outside of theatres in Canada where people supposedly don't have guns. Even more interesting are the comments posted by readers of the articles, who apparently are not thrilled with the current government or sold on the virtues or multiculturalism. 

1) Apology Parity

“B.C. To Apologize For Historical Treatment of Doukhobor Sect,” Mike Hager, Globe and Mail, Jan. 31, 2024.

Back in the middle of the last century about 200 children were seized “ from their parents in southeastern British Columbia and sent to the New Denver residential school by the province after their sect, known as the Sons of Freedom, refused to send them to public school. The tiny group had broken away from Canada’s Doukhobor population, a religious group that settled in the region and Saskatchewan after they were banished from Russia in the late 19th century for their pacifist views, rejection of the Orthodox Church and refusal to participate in the military.”

They will now be getting an apology:

“B.C. Attorney-General Niki Sharma’s office confirmed a public apology to the survivors, who may number about 75, and their families will be made Thursday in Castlegar. A corresponding proposal for financial reparations is expected by the descendants of the Sons of Freedom community.”

B.C. Ombudsperson, Jay Chalke, says the  "government’s apology needs to be “unconditional, clear and public.”

He said he has also communicated to the Attorney-General that the wider community needs to be compensated, as well as the individuals who were sent to the New Denver residential school and their progeny.

“Clearly there has been intergenerational trauma from the events that happened in the 1950s and I don’t think government should be seen to have the amount of compensation they pay reduced through their own delay,” he said in a phone interview.”

2) Children Allowed to Play Again: The Return of PLUCK
 [There will be no image of children playing since it might be too disturbing for some.]

                      Playing Even Sanctioned by The Toronto Star

   “'We Aren't Talking About Sending Them Into Busy Streets or Near Rough Water.' Canadian Paediatric Society Recommends Risky Play for Kids, Toronto Star, Jan. 25, 2024

"Unstructured outdoor play, in particular risky play, is essential for the physical, mental and social development of children, according to new recommendations from the Canadian Paediatric Society."

"We have to reframe how we view risk and understand that risk is a part of life and it's a part of our children's lives," said Dr. Suzanne Beno, a paediatric emergency medicine physician at SickKids, chair of the injury prevention committee of the

CPS, and author of the guidance document released Thursday.”

The new recommendations say children should be kept "as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible," and land on the heels of a tussle in Toronto over whether the city should be closing tobogganing hills that have served neighbourhoods for generations....

The city has closed 45 hills this year, due to concerns about hazards including trees, wading pools, stairs and benches. It maintains a list of toboggan runs it considers safe.

Risky play helps build physical and mental health and resilience among children and youth and can help prevent or manage conditions like obesity, anxiety and behavioural issues, according to the CPS."

For the actual CPS report see:  "Healthy Childhood Development Through Outdoor Risky Play: Navigating the Balance with Injury Prevention.”

                   Playing No Longer Condemned by the CBC

   The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation imprimatur guarantees that a reasonable bit of playing should be allowed while wearing helmets.

   "Pop the Bubble Wrap and let Kids Play Outdoors, Pediatricians Say:

Pediatricians Encourage Parents to Allow Children to Take Risks, Even if it Leads to Minor Cuts, Bruises," Amina Zafar · CBC News · Posted: Jan 25, 2024

"The group said opportunities for risky play fell over recent decades as unscheduled free play outside gave way to planned activities. Now, kids spend more time indoors, often on screens.

The 2022 Participaction report card gave Canadian children a grade of D overall for physical activity and a D– for active play.

"It's the move away from helicopter parenting, from over-parenting, over-scheduling and the recognition that it's probably healthy and good for kids to be kids and to be allowed to experience developmentally and age-appropriate challenges."

3) News Deserts - Oases Shrinking

   Weekly a writer for The Atlantic sends out a newsletter, “Up for Debate.” In a recent one he asked his readers to respond to this question: “What is the state of local journalism where you live, and how does it affect your community?” There were many replies, all lamenting the loss of local reporting. Here is one from close-by Pennsylvania and, with a change of newspaper names, it could probably have come from any province in Canada.

"There are four newspapers covering a county of about 150,000 people. On paper, we’re not a news desert by a long shot. But the reality is we’re a de facto news desert because our newspapers are zombies. Three of the four newspapers are owned by Gannett, which, according to the online staff directories of the Chambersburg Public Opinion, Greencastle Echo Pilot, and Waynesboro Record Herald, employs exactly two journalists across all three newsrooms, which sporadically cover local government. The Echo Pilot lists no staff at all. The fourth newspaper, the Mercersburg Journal, is print-only and owned by a local chain. It covers our borough council and other local events in our tiny town reasonably well, and local officials tend to be extremely aware that what they say and do could end up in the paper the following Wednesday. For me, that’s evidence that traditional dead-tree news remains essential, though I wonder how sustainable it is.”

  This is a very important subject. For more about it see:

In Canada: Local News Research Project.

For the United States:

Northwestern University: The State of Local News Project.

University of North Carolina: Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. 

4) Shoot-Out at the Cineplex Corral

  "Cineplex Pulls South Indian Film Following Drive-by Shootings at GTA Movie Theatres," Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press, Jan.30, 2024
TORONTO - Cineplex has cancelled screenings of a South Indian film following four drive-by shootings at theatres throughout the Greater Toronto Area the day it premiered.
       Coming Soon To A Cinema Near You
   "Cineplex Pulls South Indian film Screenings After Incidents of Threats, Intimidation and Talk of Turf War," Joe Castaldo, Globe and Mail, Jan.31, 2024.
   "Movie exhibitors including Cineplex Inc. CGX-T -1.70% have pulled screenings of a South Indian-language film across Canada after individuals opened fire at four cinemas in the Greater Toronto Area last week, the latest incidents of intimidation related to Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam blockbusters.
   Videos obtained by The Globe and Mail show a person in a hoodie shooting a gun multiple times through the passenger window of a vehicle at the entrances of Cineplex locations in Scarborough and Vaughan. In a separate video, the driver of the vehicle fires at a Cineplex in Brampton. York Cinemas, a theatre in Richmond Hill, Ont., was also hit by gunfire. The shootings shattered glass and left bullet holes in windows. According to York Regional Police, the incidents occurred in the early morning hours, when the theatres were closed….
   Film distributors have contended that a turf war is being waged and that a group of individuals is trying to control the lucrative market for South Indian-language films in Canada, using vandalism and intimidation to pressure theatres and distributors to drop certain titles and ensure the films run in favoured cinemas.
   In recent years, Telugu and Malayalam movies have been affected, too. The Globe has found more than 20 incidents at Cineplex locations, independent theatres and other chains such as Landmark Cinemas across Southern Ontario, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Surrey, B.C.
  In December, noxious substances were sprayed inside three GTA Cineplex theatres, forcing audience members to evacuate.
The illustration above is the poster for the currently contentious film, Malaikottai Vaaliban. As far as I can determine, it is not necessarily the film that is problematic, but rather the issue of who gets to decide which South Asian films should be shown. 

Eagle Update

From: The Chatham Daily News, Aug. 7, 1934.

   On Dec. 19, 2018 I did a post recounting an incident in which a child was attacked by an eagle - see: "Eagle Attacks Child." Attached to the post were about 100 examples of news reports about alleged eagle attacks involving children, ranging from around 1825 to 1990. (Those of you who are wondering why such a bizarre subject received such intense scrutiny will have to examine the post.)
   One of the most sensational (and unbelievable) accounts is a Canadian one from Chatham, Ontario which occurred in 1924. Supposedly, 14-year-old 97 pound Fred Cunningham was lifted by an eagle from a golf course, but was quickly dropped. The story was widely reported and can be found in both The New York Times and The Manchester Guardian. 
   I recently discovered a source where one will find digitized copies of Ontario newspapers, including some from the Chatham area. A search of these papers yielded the example above. Although I did not find any accounts from the year in which the event allegedly occurred, I did find the example from 1934 which seems to verify that there was an eagle attack, but not the fact that a large boy was lifted into the air. (Those of you who are wondering how much an eagle can actually lift can find out by looking at Appendix 2: "Eagle Lifting Capacities" in my original post.)

Sources: 
  In the eagle post referred to above, the Chatham incident from 1924 is found on p. 35. Appendix 2 is on p.44.
  The archive of digitized Ontario newspapers is provided by the Leddy Library at the University of Windsor. For a list of the newspaper titles and the years that have been digitized see the INK-ODW Newspaper Collection. 

Halloween Sadism

There Should be No Orange Alert

 
    I have been away and am behind in my postings so I will make this short Public Service Announcement: Enjoy Halloween and Let Your Kids Eat the Treats!

    The subject of pins and razor blades in Halloween candy came up when we were visiting the grandkids. Apparently it is a problem even in Lotusland (Vancouver). Back here in the mid-west, where it is also a huge issue,  my wife is carefully packaging "Goodie Bags" which consist only of sealed sanitized items without peanuts and gluten which are wrapped in a related article from Consumer Reports endorsing the contents.
     Trust me. Tampered treats are not something to worry about. Rather than worrying next year, spend your time baking and making the kids some homemade goodies.

Sources:

     There is no reason you should trust me. You can trust this credentialed academic who has been studying 'Halloween Sadism' for over 30 years. From this attached report you will learn that it is not a problem. Apart from a table listing "Reported Incidents" for over 60 years you will find a thorough bibliography. Halloween Sadism: The Evidence, Joel Best.

Post Script: If you are still scared sh...less about all the other things that are likely to kill or injure your child, read his book: Threatened Children: Rhetoric and Concern About Child-Victims.

"Eagle Attacks Child"

Six years ago that was typical of the many headlines that appeared in newspapers throughout the world. A child was attacked by an eagle in a Montreal park and video proof was offered. The proof was soon found to be false and there was one less thing to worry about.
Given that many parents these days are highly attuned to the many, many dangers children face, they may have worried a little less about the eagle threat, but were probably kept awake wondering if such an event could happen.
I wasn't worried, but I did wonder. The event in this case was clearly fabricated, but I did recall reading about such attacks. I went looking for accounts of eagle attacks and found many of them over a period of 150+ years.
Recently the great eagle event of 2012 was referred to and I was reminded of all the hard work I did on behalf of worried parents everywhere. I was moved to assemble it all here and will attempt to embed the 50 page pdf in this post. If I fail, email me and I will send it to you.
Here are some samples to entice you. Although many of the reports I provide are from the United States, I can let my loyal Canadian readers know that I did find some that were close to Montreal. In 1881 a child was attacked near Gananoque and received minor injuries. The next year, a child was more seriously injured near Belleville. Things did not work out so well for the child in this account from 1895 and you can learn more of the gruesome details in the attached (I hope) report:
     “A few mornings since the wife of Jean Baptiste Romilly, a farmer in St. Vincent de Paul, a village about ten miles from Montreal, was feeding her fowls, while her child, aged about two years, was playing around, when suddenly a large bald-headed eagle swooped down and bore the little one off in its talons. The child screamed and extended its arms to its mother, who was beside herself with mental agony, but was powerless to render assistance...."   I can see that these snippets do nothing to ease the anxiety of anxious parents. I can assure you, however, that all the news is not bad and that the entire report will make you feel better.
For details see: Avian Abductions.
(or email me)

Children and Risk

Running With Scissors

    There is much talk these days about children and how one no longer sees them walking to school (or even walking), no longer playing outside (especially in wooded areas), and about the dangers they face in their bedrooms (which are monitored), lest they be crushed by a falling item from Ikea. The time not spent by parents in talking is spent by them in harnessing and helmeting the little rascals.

     I was pleased to read that the Brits have decided that the attempts to minimize risk for children have gone a little too far and suggest that risk should be returned to the childhood arena. Evidence for this change in attitude among the adults was perhaps first noticed with the Brexit vote, although it has long been known among the business-minded, who realized that higher risks often lead to greater returns.

Ideological Agreement

     The notion of bringing back risk, in these divisive times, may even be something to which we could all agree. It is suggested that “This view is tinged with nostalgia for an earlier Britain, in which children were tougher and more self-reliant. It resonates both with right-wing tabloids, which see it as a corrective to the cosseting of a liberal nanny state; and with progressives, drawn to a freer and more natural childhood. Britain is one of a number of countries where educators and regulators say a litigious, protective culture has gone too far, leaching healthy risks out of childhood.”

Even in Canada?

    Again, I was pleased to read that Canadians may be following along, if only to avoid the risk of missing out on the latest trend. The picture above is provided as evidence, although the pictures of the playgrounds in the U.K. showed examples of even greater peril - I just couldn’t grab them. And bringing back risk may be something even Canadians can agree upon since those of Indigenous stock, the coureur des bois, immigrants and all others living in a country that shares a border with the U.S. are certainly familiar with it. 

Sources:

    The quotation above is from, “Britain’s Playgrounds, ‘Bringing in Risk’ to Build Resilience,” by Ellen Barry, New York Times, March 10, 2018.

    The picture is from: “Putting Some Risk Back in Play:Delta Heeds Research That Says Not to 'Bubble Wrap' Kids,”  Sandor Gyarmati, Delta Optimist, March 11, 2016.

     “Should I Let My Child Walk to School Alone? Risks Come with Reward, Says Expert,” Glenda Luymes, Vancouver Sun, Sept. 1, 2017. The expert referred to is Dr. Mariana Brussoni, a B.C. Children’s Hospital and University of B.C. researcher who provides an excellent website: https://outsideplay.ca.

Post Script

   Before you decide to move to free-range parenting, remember that it was not too long ago or far away that one could be punished for providing a kid with a little autonomy.

“One recent Saturday afternoon, six police officers and five patrol cars came to my home in Silver Spring. They demanded identification from my husband and entered our home despite not having a warrant to do so. The reason for this show of force? We had allowed our children to walk home from a neighborhood park by themselves.” “When Letting Your Kids Out of Your Sight Becomes a Crime,” Danielle Meitiv, the Washington Post, Feb. 13, 2015.