Once again Remembrance Day is just around the corner so I present what has become an annual event, the story of a young Canadian who served with many US citizens in the British Royal Airforce under British Officers.             This is a story I’ve posted before but I think it should appear again in recognition of Remembrance Day and of a very good friend with whom I loaded and unloaded many cartridges of a variety of calibers. I also had the pleasure of hearing his guitar behind my vocals on several occasions and playing both bass and guitar behind his excellent vocals.             I’ve changed a few things but those who knew him will recognize the story and the man it portrays.             Following the Battle of Britain he returned to Canada   and taught fighter pilots for the last...

Writing Outside the Lines           I was reading an article in the “Roundup” magazine from Western Writers of America about “writing outside the lines.” I wasn’t into it very far when I realized, that is exactly what I do. In my stories I often include back ground that is not in keeping with accepted and promoted history. The reason for that is that I’ve found things that sometimes don’t support the usual teaching. The following are a very few facts I’ve found over several years of research that disagree with what is often accepted. 1.      “Nothing of significance happened in Canada” Several dozen significant events took place in Canada. Several wars where fought on her soil; between France and England (several times), between England and the USA, between several aboriginal nations and Norwegian, French and British forces. Events in Canada had an impact on and continue to have an impact on world event...

“Into the Mountains”   background Gabriel Dumont Louis Riel's Children Jean Louis and Angelique In 1885 after years of unfulfilled promises from Canada’s Federal Government the M é tis of the North Battleford and Frog Lake areas of the North West Territories (in today’s province of Saskatchewan) rebelled over their treatment. It was known as the Northwest Rebellion or the Second Riel Rebellion since it was led by Louis Riel who had led a rebellion in 1870 in the Fort Gary/Red River area (today’s Winnipeg). Riel was indeed the leader but the military leader or M é tis General was Gabriel Dumont and they were joined by some Assiniboine and Cree people. Despite being ill equipped in relation to the Canadian Militia and North West Mounted Police … (Though both sides had some repeating rifles about half of the M é tis’s were muzzle loading/percussion weapons. Toward the end when supplies where disappearing a few flint locks appeared. ) Martini-Henri 1871 in...

Apparently there are those that think our ancestors always had the worst of motives when they presented their ideas. John A. McDonald and Sir Isaac Brock were not creating a country they were stealing. Samuel de Champlain, Henry Hudson and Giovanni Caboto were not mapping new country they were subjugating the populace in “new” lands. Having read some of the writings of John A. and of those around him I’m 100% sure that he wanted free of the oppressive, ignorant demands of the British Colonial Secretary. His second concern was that the neighbor  to the south would attempt to absorb “his” country. He also thought that the various “Indian” (ie: aboriginal) peoples would be defeated by a more efficient economic system and history proved him correct. He also thought that they should learn some of the systems brought from Europe or the peoples, their societies and language would also disappear. History almost proved that to be correct as well but due to an understanding impar...

Frank Beaton and W W I In the early ‘60s I worked on a couple of ranches on the south side of the Peace River and one of those I worked with was a man named Frances Beaton Jr. better known as Frank. He was the son of a long-time Hudson’s Bay Company Factor at Fort St. John. Frances Beaton Sr. was a Scott and his wife and Frank’s mother was a Dane-zaa, better known to we pale-face as Beaver Indians – probably because the HBC could usually depend on them delivering high quality pelts. Dane-zaa group near Fort St. John 1914 Dane-zaa men near Fort St. John about 1910           Frank had many stories to tell about his up-bringing and because of a couple of those stories I gave him and his father a cameo appearance in “The Making of Jake McTavish.”           One of the stories he told was about he and several other young native men meeting in Grande Prairie, Alberta and signing up for s...

Looking for up instead of down? You have things that are important to you. Maybe number one is a partner that supports you even if that partner disagrees with you. Perhaps it’s a collection of things such as the ‘right’ decisions (whatever your definition of ‘correct’ might be), happy thoughts, loved ones, and your favorite car or perhaps a good horse or dog. They support you in the good times and the bad. How did they become your most important ‘support’ as you travel through life? Is it the way you were raised? Is it something you learned in school or picked up along the way? Maybe you read the Bible at some point and thought, “That’s the way things should be.” Is it important for you to confront those destructive aspects of society – liars, bullies, thieves, and other immoral fools? Have you had enough of religious fundamentalists, supremacists and other terrorists? Perhaps you just ignore the unhappy or destructive you see around you – despite knowing that ignoring them a...

In my last posting from the end of April I said I would recite and video the rhyme "Knowing What Matters" and I finally managed to get to it. I also recorded a song I wrote but I see the system I'm using has some trouble handling the sound. Unlike the last song I recorded there is no back ground noise, but the system cuts out a little when I ask too much of it. However, here they are. Knowing What Matters That Woman Three of my stories, one of them a noval are available on Amazon for nothing of at least very little. Simply click on the links. Into The Mountains By Dave McGowan A short story about the aftermath of the Métis Rebellion and an escape to the North West. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07R47MMLN/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Dave+McGowan&qid=1556319383&s=digital-text&sr=1-2 The Yearlings By Dave McGowan A short story about a woman rancher and pioneer, alone and faced with theft, rape and perhaps … And with a connection to...