SO YOU THINK YOU'RE SMART
Then take a crack at our Ottawa heritage quiz
1
Ottawa's first medical facility was a 20-bed military hospital established in 1826 on Barrack Hill and was only open to civilians in dire emergencies. Who established it? a) Sister Elisabeth Bruyère b) Colonel John By c) Dr. A.J. Christie
2
Celebrating its 100th year in business, C.A. Paradis first opened its doors on Rideau Street, but was forced to move in the early 1970s when the original building was expropriated for the construction of the Rideau Centre. It was also the first store in Canada to adopt this made-in-Ottawa culinary phenomenon:
a) The Instant Pot
b) The Cuisinart Food Processor
c) The KitchenAid
Stand Mixer
3
The City of Ottawa is built on the traditional, unceded territory of the:
a) Cree Nation
b) Algonquin Nation
c) Mi'gmaq Nation
4
Founded in 1846 as Eastman's Springs, this little village was once a popular spa resort for Ottawans seeking to “take the waters” for a variety of ailments:
a) Vars Waters
b) Clarence Creek
c) Carlsbad Springs
5
First cultivated right here in Eastern Ontario more than 120 years ago, this tasty fruit is now internationally famous — and our national apple:
a) McIntosh Red
b) Granny Smith
c) Gala Apple
6
Born 225 years ago on March 1, this early resident of Gloucester Township was described by one of her sons as having “a coolness, a courage, and a nerve which would cast the bravery of man in the shade.” Who was she?
a) Anne MacKay
b) Lamira Billings
c) Mary “Mother” Firth
7
How many artifacts are in the collection of the City of Ottawa Museums? a) 90,000 b) 170,000 c) 300,000
8
Where did the Ottawa Hockey Club (later the Senators) first
The Old Nepean Town Hall, as depicted by Ottawa artist
Ben Babelowsky.
win the Stanley Cup in 1903?
a) Dey's Skating Rink at Gladstone and Bay
b) Dey's Arena on Laurier Avenue
c) The Auditorium at
O'Connor and Argyle
9
Now home to the Rockcliffe Retirement Residence and Garry J. Armstrong long-term care facility, this island was used as a quarantine station and isolation hospital during the smallpox, typhoid and tuberculosis outbreaks. What is it called?
a) Porter
b) Petrie
c) Bell
10
Which of these was the first bank in Ottawa? a) The Bank of British North
America b) The Bank of Ottawa c) The Bank of Montreal 11
Which British governor general does not have an Ottawa street named after him?
a) Viscount Monck (1867-1868)
b) Viscount Willingdon (1926-1931)
c) The Earl of Bessborough (1931-1935)
12
Which hotel was closest to Parliament Hill at Confederation in 1867?
a) The British Lion Hotel
b) The Queen Hotel
c) The Russell House Hotel
13
The old Nepean Townhall, a limestone building on Richmond Road, housed Nepean's municipal government for 54 years. That ended when the City of Ottawa annexed 7,420 acres of Nepean Township. Nepean's administration stayed in Westboro for another 16 years, but when did the City of Ottawa officially take over Westboro and this beautiful Townhall?
a) Jan. 1, 1945
b) Jan. 1, 1950
c) Jan. 1, 1978
14
The summer of 1870 marked a devastating event in Nepean. Only a few buildings were left standing in Bells Corners and this event ravaged nearby farmers' fields. Most farmers rebuilt their livelihoods. What was the event?
a) Carleton County Fire
b) The 1870 Tornadoes
c) Great Nepean Earthquake
15
Which local pipe band celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2021?
a) The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa
b) The Royal Canadian Air Force Pipe Band
c) The Sons of Scotland Pipe Band
16
What is the original Algonquin name for the Ottawa River?
a) Odjow-o
b) Nibi
c) Kichi sibi
17
Which historic house became Ottawa's first city-owned heritage property in 1975, due in large part to the dedication of advocates in the community?
a) Billings Estate National
Historic Site
b) Fairfields Heritage House
c) Duford House
18
On June 5-6, 2021, Doors Open Ottawa will celebrate its 20th anniversary. What building adorned the front cover of the very first printed guide in 2002?
a) Heritage Building, Ottawa
City Hall
b) The Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons
c) Old Registry Office
19
A bronze statue of this famous African-Canadian musician — unveiled on June 30, 2010 by the Queen — adorns the corner of Ottawa's Elgin and Albert streets outside the National Arts Centre. Who is the statue of ? a) Portia White b) Oscar Peterson c) Salome Bey
20
For whom is Barber Street in Lowertown named?
a) Singer-songwriter
Jill Barber
b) The first House of Commons barber shop after Confederation
c) Former slave Paul Barber, among the first AfricanAmericans to permanently live in Ottawa
I was born for the second time on Sept. 20, 2014. In a faux grass colosseum, with five seconds remaining in what would go on to define much of what I am, or was, quarterback Jesse Mills heaved an oblong piece of leather into the sky and Lady Luck stretched my arms low to catch it.
As one-twelfth of the offensive unit on the Carleton Ravens football team, we did the improbable — winning the annual
Panda Game against our rivals at the University of Ottawa in a dramatic, dying-seconds comeback — and my new identity took shape. Nate Behar was a football star now. A boisterous and arrogant one. It was not a complex role to assume, nor a mask I ever struggled to don.
If that game was my birth, then the 2017 CFL draft was my high school graduation. Selected fifth overall by Edmonton, I spent two years playing wide receiver out west. Then came free agency and
I returned to Ottawa, proud and excited, to join the RedBlacks.
Yet 2020 chose a new path for us all. Like so many on this planet, my livelihood was put on pause while we recoiled and recovered as a society from the ongoing earthquake that is COVID-19. A football player with no 2020 season. So who am I?
The first time I was born, it was to an Israeli mother and a Jamaican father in London, Ont. I was darker than the vast majority of my city. My father had the mind and soul of an artist; my mother had the heart and capacity for love of a goddess. But as we all know, that's not always enough. So she raised me in London, and he coached me on from Toronto. I started football at age six, enthused and motivated. Then it happened.
I was taught as a nine-year-old how Black athletes are seen. I learned from four opponents my age one brisk evening, on the field that until then had been my safe place, that the answer is a n-----. They taught me with loud voices and wry smiles, surrounding me and thrusting the word deep into my heart, to ensure that time wouldn't soften the jagged edge of their dagger.
So how then are the Black men and women of sport to see themselves in a society absent of their sport? A society that puts its knee to the throat of those who look like you, a society that lets you die disproportionately in the hands of health care workers, a society that locks you away quicker, for less, over and over again. Who can we be when, even while thousands cheer us on, we strain to feel valued past the price of admission? There's no single blanketing answer, because we are not a hegemonic people. But the one clear answer is that we cannot be silent.
The third time I was born was a long and laborious delivery. The birth certificate reads June 2020, but conception occurred over years of experienced micro-aggressions, macro-aggressions and the online murder-porn stream of Black bodies. Without
the physical and emotional outlet of football to bury my head into — a coping mechanism I'm embarrassed to admit I've used too often — I saw that silence was no longer an option. As the child of an artist and a goddess, I began to respond the only way I knew how. With words. Sometimes in this form, written in editor-unfriendly run-on sentences, and sometimes in poetry.
No person of a subjugated race wants to grow into an expert on race due to their own subjugation. But as we were all taught in 2020, the universe does not care one iota for what you do or do not want.
This is who I am now. Outspoken and unapologetically me, which is to say unapologetically Black. But not a day goes by that I don't miss the boy who lived for nine peaceful years unaware that he was seen as less to some for his pigment. And every day, I look forward to the time where all three of me can exist together — looking on at a world that accepts and values me, screaming in joy in my safe space on the field, and writing about a society that invests its energy into love and creativity.
This is who
I am now. Outspoken and unapologetically me, which is to say unapologetically Black.
NATHANIAL BEHAR-WALKER IN JUNE 2020
But until then, I write in the face of the storm we collectively stare into, as the events that began in 2020 test us again and again. Reborn.
Pre-fixe menus, dimly lit restaurants, sparkling Champagne flutes, roses plunged into freshly filled vases, crisp hotel sheets: For most of us, none of these things will be happening this Valentine's Day.
Our collective quarantine for the past 11 months has quietly morphed into agoraphobia; everyone seems to be staying in, lockdown or not. Getting hot and heavy with our partners? Zoom school is not exactly an aphrodisiac for parents. For singletons, coronavirus hasn't made it easy to start new relationships.
Now the pandemic will rob us of yet another holiday, plucking it off the stem and discarding it like all the other celebrations before it.
One perk: With all this isolation, it won't be hard to find time on your partner's calendar. Still, chances are Valentine's Day evening will look like many others: standing at the kitchen island while frantically shovelling down food with the kids running around or just sitting on the couch alone, doom-scrolling through social media.
This year, we may not be booking special dinner reservations or digging out that one piece of sexy lingerie (or maybe we will), but we can still treat ourselves to some sweet — perhaps even steamy — reads. Here are some love stories to fill the void.
THE LOVE PROOF BY MADELEINE HENRY
A pair of Yalies fall in love until one of them — physics prodigy Sophie — is forced to cope with the unexpected. Can love transcend this new reality? The author of Breathe In, Cash Out explores this theme in her delightful second novel.
THE UNBREAKABLES BY LISA BARR
Caution: There are some blush-worthy, racy scenes here. The Unbreakables is about a love affair in Paris that weaves in sculpture, art, divorce — sex! — motherhood and personal reinvention.
LOVE POEMS FOR MARRIED PEOPLE AND LOVE POEMS (FOR PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN)
BY JOHN KENNEY
These slim books by a New Yorker contributor and Thurber Prize winner are packed full of laughout-loud poems that are all too relatable if you are married with kids — or just married.
THE LIGHT WE LOST BY JILL SANTOPOLO
One of the best love stories of the past five years, Santopolo's novel about a pair who meet on 9/11 touches on love lost and found again, obligation versus passion and the vagaries of fate. Be prepared to cry.
LOVE YOUR LIFE BY SOPHIE KINSELLA
A woman goes to a writing/yoga retreat and falls in love at first sight. But how do things go when Mr. Right-on-the-Retreat enters her daily life? Bestselling author Kinsella is at her wittiest self in her latest, hilarious comedy.
BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES: A MEMOIR OF LOVE, FAITH AND RESILIENCE BY ALLISON PATAKI
In this memoir, historical fiction author Pataki chronicles what happened when her young husband had a massive stroke when she was pregnant with their first child. This is a testament to true love, grit, loyalty and the power of the body — and love — to heal.
SWIPING FOR PRINCE CHARMING: A MODERN-DAY FAIRY TALE
BY SABRINA MARZARO
Set in Paris, this illustrated work of fiction is an ode to one chic, fabulous woman trying to find her Mr. Right and, after swiping right (or left), and dating all the wrong guys, she finally realizes she has everything she needs inside herself. It's a perfect gift for anyone out there in the bleak, pandemic dating world.
THE BOOK OF LONGINGS BY SUE MONK KIDD
A historical novel about a fictitious love affair between Jesus and Ana, an early feminist who tossed aside what was expected of her to run away with the one she loved.
APRON ANXIETY: MY MESSY AFFAIRS IN
AND OUT OF THE KITCHEN BY ALYSSA SHELASKY
A fun, romp-y read about Shelasky's adventures in love, sex and the foodie world, while dating an unnamed famous chef.
WRITERS & LOVERS BY LILY KING
A grieving waitress and aspiring author starts dating a renowned, bestselling author after he dines at her restaurant with his kids one night, but is he really right for her in the end? King's prose is stunningly gorgeous in this engrossing love story.
HOURGLASS: TIME, MEMORY, MARRIAGE
BY DANI SHAPIRO
Bestselling memoirist and novelist Shapiro delicately traces the course of her marriage in this candid, tender memoir.
MONTAUK
BY NICOLA HARRISON
A Hamptons housewife circa 1938 can't deal with her citybound, cheating, awful husband and connects with an unexpected group of women — and one unexpected man.
PARTY OF TWO BY JASMINE GUILLORY
Two strangers, a white man and a Black woman, meet in a bar and have quite a night. Turns out, one of them ends up being a senator. The always fun Guillory serves up another saucy tale.
AMERICAN DAUGHTER BY STEPHANIE THORNTON PLYMALE
This beautiful memoir is a testament to how the right partnership in adulthood can redeem even the hardest upbringing, and how even the temptation of great wine, flirtation and a snowy day with a handsome client can't beat finding love in your own relationship again, even if it means pretending you're strangers at a restaurant.