Laura Secord was born 250 years ago today. She was the very first figure in Canadian history I knew by name, though family lore has it that I referred to her as "Laursecord." As a toddler, I was given a Laura Secord truck. My mother was a dedicated Laura Secord customer.
I was an adult before discovering that the company bearing her name has nothing to do with the woman or her family, nor had I been aware that she born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. That town has no monument to Laura Secord, which is not surprising as she played a key role in the American defeat in the War of 1812.
I was an adult before discovering that the company bearing her name has nothing to do with the woman or her family, nor had I been aware that she born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. That town has no monument to Laura Secord, which is not surprising as she played a key role in the American defeat in the War of 1812.
In this land adverse to mythologizing, Laura Secord's name is legend. Much verse has been written in her honour, most of it in the nineteenth century, much of it quite long. My favourite is this relatively short piece from the last century found in Jean Blewett’s Poems (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1922).
LAURA SECORD
I search the pages of our history over
For a courageous one whose name would stand
For staunchest patriot, and for truest lover,
And prove the same by deed done for the land;
And my heart thrills, for ’tis a woman bears it,
You’ll find it, marble carved, on Laura Secord’s grave;
And you, and I, and every woman shares it,
The right to stand for what is good and brave.
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Late response, but just have to. As a child in the 1950s, I received a nice red tin with handles, with "Laura Secord" on the side. It came full of Kiddie Pops (as I think they were called). I used it as a lunch pail for some years. I still have it. I still use it (though not as a lunch pail, but for craft things). Also, a few years ago, I bought a delightful yellow cream egg tin, fashioned after those lovely yellow boxes that Laura's cream Easter eggs came in. I also use it for various craft things.
ReplyDeleteJust thought I'd share.... :^))
the red tin: https://i.etsystatic.com/11966391/r/il/cc79f6/6348824485/il_300x300.6348824485_4n5y.jpg
Wonderful that you still have it! I remember opening the doors at the back of the truck to find a selection of lollipops inside. My mother's favourite was butterscotch. Mine was black licorice with the red coloured (which I'm fairly certain was supposed to represent cherry) a close second.
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