The Beaches in Toronto
After a formal banquet - and the room was filled to capacity - the brethren and many visitors, including the Grand Master, assembled, entered the lodge and were witness to a very memorable Masonic evening: beginning with the Empty Chair ceremony, followed by the 60 Year pin presented to Bro Lt Col Norm Cohen (ret), and then a precision Military Degree Team conferred an excellent EA degree for our candidate Bro Shin Suzuki. Another special guest of the evening was WBro Steve Connelly, who, while the candidate was resuming his personal comforts, assisted me in providing a presentation on the Vimy Gavel - a unique and valuable piece of Masonic history - and then delivered a presentation on Bro Lt Col Sharpe, who was responsible for leading a small troop of his men onto Vimy Ridge after the battle to retrieve the oak from which the six Vimy Gavels were then crafted.
WBro Derek McNulty sat in the Chair o King Solomon and led the degree, impeccaly; WBro Joe Curry sat in the South as JW, and RWBro Al Dvorak sat in the West as SW. It was a great evening indeed - and I finally received my own regalia, and will now be able to return the borrowed GSW regalia back to RWBro Mel Duke, with thanks. The Chair used during the Empty Chair ceremony was provided by Riverdale John Ross Robertson Lodge, whose member in attendance, RWBro Gil Carreirro, DDGM, granted permission to do so.
Sharpe was a member of Zeradatha Lodge in Uxbridge, and this past year a statue was erected and unveiled in his honour, as well as a bust within our Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, as he is one of two MPs to have fought in a war simultaneously. This September the Ontario government also honoured Sharpe, a World War I military leader, lawyer and parliamentarian by renaming the Durham Region courthouse after him.
The courthouse, located on Bond Street East in Oshawa, will now be referred to as the Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe, DSO, MP Courthouse, according to a statement on Sept. 12 from the Ministry of the Attorney General. The MAG called Sharpe a “legal pioneer,” noting Sharpe’s name is also inscribed on the Great War Memorial in Osgoode Hall Library.
“Over the past several years, the province has heard from people at every level of government in the region — and members of all political parties — about the importance of honouring lieutenant-colonel Sharpe,” said Attorney General Doug Downey. “We salute a Canadian hero who bravely fought on the battlefields of Passchendaele and Vimy Ridge while continuing to represent his constituents as a member of parliament.”
According to the announcement from the MAG, Sharpe was born in Zephyr, Ontario in 1873. He studied at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall before being called to the bar and practising law in Uxbridge, including as solicitor for the Town of Uxbridge. He was elected to Parliament in 1908 and served as the MP for Ontario North until his death in 1918.
After World War I broke out, Sharpe organized the 116th Ontario County Battalion and used his status and influence to ensure it was not dismantled in Europe, the MAG said. Many of the young men Sharpe recruited had perished in combat, eventually leading him to relinquish command of his battalion, the statement continued. Sharpe was hospitalized for operational stress and he later died by suicide in Montreal.
The 116th Battalion became the modern Ontario Regiment, whose armouries are a short walk from the courthouse, the MAG said.The Ontario government honoured World War I military leader, lawyer and parliamentarian lieutenant-colonel Samuel Sharpe by renaming the Durham Region Courthouse after him.
The courthouse, located on Bond Street East in Oshawa, will now be referred to as the Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe, DSO, MP Courthouse, according to a statement on Sept. 12 from the Ministry of the Attorney General. The MAG called Sharpe a “legal pioneer,” noting Sharpe’s name is also inscribed on the Great War Memorial in Osgoode Hall Library.
“Over the past several years, the province has heard from people at every level of government in the region — and members of all political parties — about the importance of honouring lieutenant-colonel Sharpe,” said Attorney General Doug Downey. “We salute a Canadian hero who bravely fought on the battlefields of Passchendaele and Vimy Ridge while continuing to represent his constituents as a member of parliament.”
According to the announcement from the MAG, Sharpe was born in Zephyr, Ontario in 1873. He studied at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall before being called to the bar and practising law in Uxbridge, including as solicitor for the Town of Uxbridge. He was elected to Parliament in 1908 and served as the MP for Ontario North until his death in 1918.
After World War I broke out, Sharpe organized the 116th Ontario County Battalion and used his status and influence to ensure it was not dismantled in Europe, the MAG said. Many of the young men Sharpe recruited had perished in combat, eventually leading him to relinquish command of his battalion, the statement continued. Sharpe was hospitalized for operational stress and he later died by suicide in Montreal.
The 116th Battalion became the modern Ontario Regiment, whose armouries are a short walk from the courthouse, the MAG said.
Sharpe was a member of Zeradatha Lodge in Uxbridge, and this past year a statue was erected and unveiled in his honour, as well as a bust within our Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, as he is one of two MPs to have fought in a war simultaneously. This September the Ontario government also honoured Sharpe, a World War I military leader, lawyer and parliamentarian by renaming the Durham Region courthouse after him.
The courthouse, located on Bond Street East in Oshawa, will now be referred to as the Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe, DSO, MP Courthouse, according to a statement on Sept. 12 from the Ministry of the Attorney General. The MAG called Sharpe a “legal pioneer,” noting Sharpe’s name is also inscribed on the Great War Memorial in Osgoode Hall Library.
“Over the past several years, the province has heard from people at every level of government in the region — and members of all political parties — about the importance of honouring lieutenant-colonel Sharpe,” said Attorney General Doug Downey. “We salute a Canadian hero who bravely fought on the battlefields of Passchendaele and Vimy Ridge while continuing to represent his constituents as a member of parliament.”
According to the announcement from the MAG, Sharpe was born in Zephyr, Ontario in 1873. He studied at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall before being called to the bar and practising law in Uxbridge, including as solicitor for the Town of Uxbridge. He was elected to Parliament in 1908 and served as the MP for Ontario North until his death in 1918.
After World War I broke out, Sharpe organized the 116th Ontario County Battalion and used his status and influence to ensure it was not dismantled in Europe, the MAG said. Many of the young men Sharpe recruited had perished in combat, eventually leading him to relinquish command of his battalion, the statement continued. Sharpe was hospitalized for operational stress and he later died by suicide in Montreal.
The 116th Battalion became the modern Ontario Regiment, whose armouries are a short walk from the courthouse, the MAG said.The Ontario government honoured World War I military leader, lawyer and parliamentarian lieutenant-colonel Samuel Sharpe by renaming the Durham Region Courthouse after him.
The courthouse, located on Bond Street East in Oshawa, will now be referred to as the Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe, DSO, MP Courthouse, according to a statement on Sept. 12 from the Ministry of the Attorney General. The MAG called Sharpe a “legal pioneer,” noting Sharpe’s name is also inscribed on the Great War Memorial in Osgoode Hall Library.
“Over the past several years, the province has heard from people at every level of government in the region — and members of all political parties — about the importance of honouring lieutenant-colonel Sharpe,” said Attorney General Doug Downey. “We salute a Canadian hero who bravely fought on the battlefields of Passchendaele and Vimy Ridge while continuing to represent his constituents as a member of parliament.”
According to the announcement from the MAG, Sharpe was born in Zephyr, Ontario in 1873. He studied at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall before being called to the bar and practising law in Uxbridge, including as solicitor for the Town of Uxbridge. He was elected to Parliament in 1908 and served as the MP for Ontario North until his death in 1918.
After World War I broke out, Sharpe organized the 116th Ontario County Battalion and used his status and influence to ensure it was not dismantled in Europe, the MAG said. Many of the young men Sharpe recruited had perished in combat, eventually leading him to relinquish command of his battalion, the statement continued. Sharpe was hospitalized for operational stress and he later died by suicide in Montreal.
The 116th Battalion became the modern Ontario Regiment, whose armouries are a short walk from the courthouse, the MAG said.
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