Author Topic: Strong, gorgeous women!  (Read 546735 times)

Offline Lumière

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #390 on: December 17, 2008, 01:31:00 pm »

Rosemary Brown, 1930 - 2003
Politician, feminist




Born in Jamaica, Rosemary grew up on the tropical island.
After emigrating to Canada in 1951 she studied at McGill University and the University of British Columbia,
then pursued a career in social work. A determined feminist, Ms. Brown worked throughout her life to
promote equality and human rights. Her campaigns includes efforts to eliminate sexism in textbooks,
increase female representation on boards and prohibit discrimination based on sex or marital status.
Rosemary's dedicated community service won her a multitude of honours, including honorary degreees
from many universities and selection as an officer of the Order of Canada.
[heroines.ca]



Offline Lumière

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #391 on: December 17, 2008, 02:49:08 pm »

Laura Secord, 1775 – 1868




The War of 1812 was a war between the British (Canadians) and the United States. It was this time period that permanently established the borders that run the length of both countries. The Americans were pushing into Upper Canada, and on June 21st, 1813 a group of soldiers took over the Secord home in Queenston, Upper Canada.

Laura's husband still recovering from the Battle of Queenston Heights, had limited mobility. She cooked, served and cleaned up after the intruders. She also gave them plenty to drink. As the evening wore on, the soldiers began to talk of their plans. Perhaps they did so because of the alcohol or perhaps they knew that James Secord was not a threat.

Laura overheard Colonel Boerstler's plan to surprise Lt. Fitzgibbon at Beaverdams.
She knew that the Niagara peninsula would fall into the American's hands if the British were not warned of the impending invasion.  Although there is some conflict as to how she got there, the truth is that she did - by walking 20 miles (32 km).

By nightfall she was exhausted when confronted with Indians. She managed to convey the importance of her mission to the Chief,
and he arranged for her to be escorted the remainder of the way.

As a result, all but 6 of the American soldiers were captured.

The Horseshoe Falls and the fertile soil of the Niagara Peninsula are still proudly, Canadian.
[canadianaconnection.com]



Offline Lumière

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #392 on: December 17, 2008, 02:54:03 pm »

Marie Dressler,  1868 – 1934
Academy Award-winning Canadian actress






Marie Dressler is considered one of the greatest comediennes of her generation and one of Hollywood's best loved stars. She was, at one time, the highest paid star in the movie industry, earning more than Greta Garbo or Mickey Mouse. In 1930, at sixty years of age, she won the coveted Oscar for Best Actress. In the early 1930s, Dressler was North America's top box office draw, earning $4,000 a week, and in August 1933, she was the first woman to grace the cover of Time magazine.

While these accolades tell of her phenomenal success in the movie world, they only relate to the later years of Dressler's career. A discussion of her early life, stage career, and her transition to silent and talking pictures will show that Dressler was a youngster who had a dream of being on the stage; that she dared to follow that dream, and persisted in the development of her craft, through times of success and failure. At an age when most stars are long forgotten by Hollywood producers, Dressler reached the pinnacle of her career. Dressler's life story is worth recounting, not only for her triumphs, but also for her determination to be successful in show business, and for the immeasurable persistence she demonstrated in following her dream to its fulfilment.
[mariedressler.ca]


M. Dressler Quotes:


“I contend that every woman has the right to feel beautiful, no matter how scrambled her features, or how indifferent her features.”

“Fate cast me to play the role of an ugly duckling with no promise of swanning.
I have played my life as a comedy rather than the tragedy many would have made of it.”







Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #393 on: December 18, 2008, 02:53:27 am »
Milli, these are superb.  And I adore your current sig image.  You are a gift to us.  :-*

Offline Lumière

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #394 on: December 18, 2008, 02:59:51 pm »
Cheers, Elle.  :)



Canadian Herstory continues.. with this unusual piece of the past:


Annie Edson Taylor
, 1838 – 1921




She was the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel on 24 October 1901.
A schoolteacher by trade (she had received an honors degree in a four-year training course),
she spent most of her working years in between jobs and locales, her net worth having been wiped out
due to various disasters twice. She also became a certified dancing instructor, although she found
fewer students as she grew older. Desiring fame & fortune to see her way through her later years,
she decided she would be the first person to ride Niagara Falls in a barrel. ...

Taylor used a custom made barrel for her trip, constructed of oak and iron and padded with a mattress. ...

The Niagara River currents carried the barrel toward the Canadian Horseshoe Falls,
which has since been the site for all daredevil stunting at Niagara Falls.
Rescuers reached her barrel shortly after the plunge, and Annie was discovered to be alive
and relatively uninjured, save for a small gash on her head.
The trip itself took less than twenty minutes, but it was some time before the barrel was actually opened. ...

She briefly earned money speaking about her experience, but was never able to build substantial wealth.
[wikip.]
( ... she got gumption though ... especially because she was 63 when she did this..  ;)




Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #395 on: December 18, 2008, 05:36:22 pm »
Milli, these are superb.  And I adore your current sig image.  You are a gift to us.  :-*

I'd like to echo exactly what Elle says here. :)

----> Milli!

the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline Lumière

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #396 on: December 18, 2008, 07:27:15 pm »
Cute hug, Amanda.. lol.
Glad to know that I am not the only one enjoying this series.  ;)

Cheers,
~M


Offline Lumière

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #397 on: December 18, 2008, 07:29:26 pm »

Lois Hole
, 1933 - 2005
Canadian politician, businesswoman, educator and best-selling author.



As a young girl growing up in rural Saskatchewan, Lois Hole wasn't sure what she wanted to do when she grew up,
but she was quite certain that she wouldn't be a farmer's wife.

Sometimes life has a way of turning out differently than we initially planned. "Thanks to luck and good judgement, not only did I marry a farmer, I became one," wrote Lois Hole in her 1998 biography, I'll Never Marry a Farmer.

In the early 1950's, Lois and Ted Hole began farming on 200-acres of land near St. Albert. Making a living from the land was difficult at times and out of necessity, they planted a very large garden to help support their family.

Their garden grew very well and produced more vegetables than their family required, so Lois began selling vegetables to families in the city. Eventually the Hole farm became a major supplier of vegetables to families as well as wholesalers and they started a small greenhouse operation to compliment the vegetable business.

By the 1970's, the greenhouse industry began to really take off and in 1991 the Holes decided to make the greenhouse their primary focus. Lois Hole went on to write a number of popular gardening books to share her knowledge with others.

She also enjoyed community service and served in many positions before being appointed Lieutenant Governor of Alberta where she served until she passed away on January 6, 2005. 

The late Lois Hole was a farmer's wife, a mother, a best-selling author, an entrepreneur, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, and she was also one of our greatest ambassadors for agriculture and food.  [canada.com]

She was known as the "Queen of Hugs" for breaking with protocol and hugging almost everyone she met,
including journalists, diplomats and other politicians.
[wikip.]


Offline Lumière

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #398 on: December 18, 2008, 07:39:08 pm »

A strong, gorgeous woman I know - is a friend of mine who passed away last week.
She was a kind soul who genuinely cared for others.  She spent a lot of her time working towards setting up an organisation whose goal was to bring animals from shelters to the homes of senior citizens who could love and care for them & in turn gain valued companionship.

You went too young, B.  ... and you will be missed.


~M


Offline Lumière

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Re: Strong, gorgeous women!
« Reply #399 on: December 18, 2008, 08:47:12 pm »

Zanana L. Akande
Former Canadian politician




She was the first black woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
(as part of Premier Bob Rae’s New Democratic Party (NDP) government) and
the first black woman to serve as a cabinet minister in Canada. [wikip.]

In government, her particular interest was the education of disadvantaged children, whether their problems were mental, physical or emotional. She worked towards accommodating them in smaller, less institutionalized settings. One of the things that impressed her was just how functional many of these children are – capable of living and working in far less restrictive settings. They didn’t need to be in institutions, Akande says, although some opted to remain in a setting they were used to, and where they had friends.

Akande is currently president of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations. It was founded in 1975 with an ambitious programme that included increasing public awareness and providing forums for dialogue. It also seeks to encourage equality of opportunity, carry out research, and provide consulting, facilitation and mediation in public and private sectors. Overall, it strives to network and build alliances with other community-based organizations, and promote understanding around anti-racist issues.
[section15.ca]