Barrie, Ontario, is the hometown of the majority of Melina Druga’s historical fictional characters. The city, north of Toronto in Simcoe County on the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, appears in all six novels.
When the area appears in Journey of Hope, it is little more than a collection of buildings. The area had been a supply depot during the War of 1812 and wasn’t named Barrie until 1833.
By Rose’s Assignment, the community was thriving, and businesses included a hotel, a rail line, a bank, several stores and taverns, and a bakery.
By The Unmarriable Kind, the city had been ravaged by a several fires. New businesses included a brewery and a sawmill. The city had a population of nearly 5,000.
By the WW1 Trilogy, the city was home to more than 6,400 residents.
History of St. Andrew’s
The Steward family attends St. Andrew’s. The church, part of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, was founded in 1843. It was referred to as Barrie Presbyterian until 1898 with the name St. Andrew’s not becoming common until the 1920s.
The church moved to its present location in 1880 and held its first church service in 1883.
In the 1920s, a Sunday school annex was built as a memorial to those who died during World War I.
Royal Victoria
Hettie Steward worked at Royal Victoria hospital in the year between finishing nursing school and joining the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Its history gives us a glimpse into medical care during the first part of the 20th century.
It was founded in 1891 as Barrie General Hospital on Duckworth Street in a cottage that had four beds. The name changed to Royal Victoria in 1897 when a 13-bed building was built on High Street. In 1902, the hospital moved to Ross St. after a 35-room building was built at a cost of $20,000. The following year, the hospital purchased its first x-ray machine.
The hospital spent $37.87 monthly on staff salaries. Patients were charged $1.14 daily for their care.
Ontario
By the start of World War I, Ontario was Canada’s largest province, and its capital was Toronto. The nation’s capital, Ottawa, also is in Ontario.
Ontario in the years leading up to World War I:
- Ontario was invaded during the War of 1812 and, during one battle, the town of Niagara Falls was set ablaze.
- It is one of the four provinces that united to form the Dominion of Canada in 1867.
- Railroads linked Ontario to the Pacific coast.
- Windsor was the centre of the automobile industry.
- In 1912, the province acquired it’s current geographic size and became the nation’s financial and industrial powerhouse.
- In 1912, the speaking of French was banned in schools after the second year.
Ontario during the Great War:
- 205,808 Ontarians served, 7.5 percent of its (estimated) 1916 population of 2.7 million.
- As anti-German sentiment was high, the town of Berlin changed its name to Kitchener.
- Prohibition went into effect in 1916. Alcohol could still be produced for export, however.