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ben bradley

@benbradleyca.bsky.social
3.1K followers 1.4K following 1.5K posts

cultural & environmental historian. #bchist and #cdnhist and #envhist. landscape, mobilities, public pasts, fordism, tourism, parks, infrastructure, rowdies, fruit stands, seasonality, 1970+, etc.

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Reposted by ben bradley
ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
do i know any #pnw historians here who “need” these? (purged from a recent acquisition of western canada travel ephemera). perhaps @larrycebula.bsky.social ?
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
two weeks left to propose a paper, panel, or "other formats" for the #chashc2027 conference, being held at st johns college, university of manitoba. #cdnhist
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
do i know any #pnw historians here who “need” these? (purged from a recent acquisition of western canada travel ephemera). perhaps @larrycebula.bsky.social ?
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NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Call for Environmental History Proposals at the Canadian Historical Association Meeting in Winnipeg NiCHE would like to organize a series of linked panels on environmental history at CHA 2027. niche-canada.org/2026/09/25/c... #envhist #cdnhist @cndhistassoc.bsky.social
niche-canada.org
Call for Environmental History Proposals at the Canadian Historical Association Meeting in Winnipeg
Call for papers: Submit environmental history paper and panel proposals for CHA 2027 in Winnipeg by October 16. Sponsored panel opportunities with NiCHE.
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
got this catalogue / book from two rivers gallery in pg. had no idea that david thauberger had painted there, but makes sense w pg bc largely a socio-economic extension of edmonton and the northern prairies. #bchist
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The Tyee @thetyee.ca · 24/09/2026
Hupačasath First Nation has served an eviction notice to the Boot Lagoon hatchery — an Atlantic salmon facility that supplies 14 farms in Clayoquot Sound and is operated by industry giant Cermaq. thetyee.ca/News/2026/09...
thetyee.ca
Hupačasath Nation Boots Salmon Farm Hatchery off Its Territory | The Tyee
Citing wild fish health concerns, Hereditary Chief Alton Watts wants industry giant Cermaq to ‘vacate the area.’
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
awful news from sicamous: a big fire at the d dutchman dairy, which with its ice cream and petting zoo has been a popular roadside attraction for many decades. #bchist
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"safe and spectacular": through romantic cariboo via the great north road. from a cariboo highway promotional brochure that dates from, i think, the late 1930s. #bchist #cdnhist
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"safe and spectacular": through romantic cariboo via the great north road. from a cariboo highway promotional brochure that dates from, i think, the late 1930s. #bchist #cdnhist
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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
It’s the 110th anniversary today of the last time Stonehenge was sold by one private owner to another. Wealthy local barrister Cecil Chubb went along to a property sale at the Palace Theatre in Salisbury on 21 September 1915 and bought the monument on impulse for £6,600
1915 Country Life advert for Stonehenge, featuring b/w photo of the monument, and the words “STONEHENGE, THE WHOLE EXTENDING TO ABOUT 6,400 ACRES. The Vendor is prepared to leave two- thirds of the purchase money upon mortgage at 4 per cent. for five years to approved purchasers of lots exceeding £300 in accordance with the conditions of sale. TO BE OFFERED BY AUCTION ON 21ST SEPTEMBER, AT THE NEW THEATRE, SALISBURY, BY Messrs. KNIGHT, FRANK & RUTLEY, IN CONJUNCTION WITH Messrs. EDEN, BAINES & KENNAWAY. ESTATE OFFICE, HEYTESBURY, WILTS. Solicitors: Messrs. FARRER & Co., 66, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
in these busy times, @jmcelroy.bsky.social, consider the hidden gems of the (arrow) lakes district! #bchist #cdnhist
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 19/09/2026
"Dude, remember that time I got four teas here? I just lined them up. The server was like, ‘What the fuck? No way you are drinking four teas!’ And I’m just like, 'Yeah, just watch.' Boom." buff.ly/W4cbWGJ
buff.ly
It’s Friday Night, Bro: Let’s Get Sober as Fuck
“Teas, right? Let’s get some teas. You want some milk? Don’t be a milk pussy, dude. Get some calcium. I don’t want to be the only one with strong bones. Yes,...
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Jason Kint @kint.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Eye popping. Court just unsealed Summary Judgment motions in New York Times v OpenAI / Microsoft. Easy to see why the AI companies had so many redactions (pink). Their own people wrote the lede for NYT, the "largest theft of labor in human history"... "more and more substitutive..." /1
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NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Call for Papers – A World of a Thousand Cuts: Forests, Wood, and Industrialisation Across the Globe in the 19th and 20th Centuries 6-8 July, 2027, hosted by the University of Turin Proposal Deadline: 30 November 2026 niche-canada.org/2026/09/17/c... #envhist #foresthistory #globalhistory
niche-canada.org
Call for Papers - A World of a Thousand Cuts: Forests, Wood, and Industrialisation Across the Globe in the 19th and 20th Centuries
This 2027 University of Turin conference re-examines 19th-20th-century global industrialisation by exploring how timber's ongoing role reshaped world forests.
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ICEHO @iceho.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The next World Congress is now announced! We hope to see you all in Toronto, Canada, in 2030. The venue will be at York University, Toronto, and Toronto Metropolitan University and McMaster University will also be a part of the planning, which is headed by Jennifer Bonnell. Read more below! #envhist
iceho.org
The Fifth World Congress of Environmental History — ICEHO
The next World Congress of Environmental History is set to take place in York, Canada, in 2030.
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Camera Traders @camera-traders.com · 15/09/2026
Just in: only downside of using a Graflex Crown Graphic is that you have to yell out "WHAT A SCOOP!" every time you take a picture.
camera-traders.com
Graflex Crown Graphic with 135mm f4.7 Schneider Xenar (no RF)
The Crown Graphic is a relatively lightweight (wooden body and aluminium bed) 4x5" press camera. The front standard can tilt, shift, and rise to provide a variety of lens movements: not as much as a monorail, but enough for nearly any application. Important to note: the rangefinder coupling in this camera is shot, so y
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
my dealer in kelowna has hooked up a really big score... #bchist #vitrifiedlandscapes
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
have been watching "rumpole of the bailey" for the first time in 30+ years. had forgotten how good it was
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Rachel Cole @rmartincole.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Cover of "Wyoming Truck Accident Facts 1973-1975" with the first letter of each word ("WTAF") in a larger font and an illustration of a crumpled truck license plate.
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UGuelph History Department @uguelphhist.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Rural History Roundtable is out of the gates early, announcing its Fall 2026 line-up: Sept 22: Cody Groat & Rebecca Small of @westernuhistory.bsky.social; Oct 15: Doug McCalla of @uguelphhist.bsky.social; and Nov 12: Jennifer Jordan @sociologyofplants.bsky.social All are welcome! #aghist #cdnhist
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It’s official: Cathedral Grove is British Columbia’s best roadside attraction www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Cathedral Grove winner of The Search for B.C.'s Best Roadside Attraction | CBC News
A controversial parking lot, adjacent logging and more than 100 years of interest make Cathedral Grove a site of competing values.
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Canadian Paintings @canadianpaintings.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Off Season (Doll Museum, DeSable, P.E.I.) David Thauberger 2024
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Canadian Paintings @canadianpaintings.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Whiteout David Thauberger 2024
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Kettle @kittenstrudel.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
David Thauberger, Winter Garden, acrylic on canvas, 2024
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Canadian Paintings @canadianpaintings.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Dusk - Grande Prairie David Thauberger 2024
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Canadian Paintings @canadianpaintings.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Ideal City (Spring) David Thauberger 1996
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
macmillan provincial park in 1961; barkerville provincial park in 1958. from the cp lyons collection at the uvic special collections and archives. @bonnezab.bsky.social @jmcelroy.bsky.social #bchist #cdnhist
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
"It's great to know that we found it and it's not causing any trouble right now and hopefully that's the way it stays." williston lake's peregrinating island has been found, safe and sound. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Lost island in northern B.C. lake — that appeared then disappeared — located, says B.C. Hydro | CBC News
B.C. Hydro says a mini forest bigger than a Canadian football field landed ashore after drifting some 30 kilometres northwest of its last known location.
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
macmillan provincial park in 1961; barkerville provincial park in 1958. from the cp lyons collection at the uvic special collections and archives. @bonnezab.bsky.social @jmcelroy.bsky.social #bchist #cdnhist
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Mathew Iantorno (he/him) @mathewiantorno.com · 01/09/2026
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Used bookstores navigate 'suspicious' bulk orders amid AI book-shredding fears | CBC News
Used booksellers in Canada are navigating how to handle mysterious bulk orders, as suspicions grow that companies are buying up their old books so they can be scanned for AI training — and then trashe...
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Here's my video on Cathedral Grove vs. Barkerville. It's a very British Columbian matchup, reflecting different parts of our history and values. It's always a joy to get to explore these things in the context of a bracket, and either one would be a worthy winner.
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
development pressure on cathedral grove and in cariboo too. vancouver sun, 20 july 1931. #bchist @jmcelroy.bsky.social @bonnezab.bsky.social
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
BARKERVILLE VS CATHEDRAL GROVE THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH OF THE SEARCH FOR BC'S BEST ROADSIDE ATTRACTION IS HERE TREES VS GOLD NATURE VS COMMERCE TWO MYTHS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA ONE WINNER VOTE NOW
cbc.ca
Search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction: Finals, Cathedral Grove vs. Barkerville | CBC News
Two public attractions steeped in history – cultural and natural – have made it to the finals. But which one will voters choose to win it all?
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Jason Haslam @jasonhaslam.ca · 30/08/2026
🧵 It’s great that we’re “attracting talent,” as they say, but where’s the half-billion $ to hire permanently the generations of beyond-excellent, Canadian-trained academics who have been forced into precarious positions by systematic defunding by federal & provincial gov’s for the past 30 years?
thestar.com
Why Ivy League professors are leaving Trump’s U.S. for Canada’s new $541-million research program
AI researchers, Ivy League professors, and at least one winner of the MacArthur “genius” grant will move to Canada from the U.S. with funds from the federal government’s research chair program.
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Andrew Kurjata @akurjata.ca · 29/08/2026
Where did this floating island come from? A mystery on a B.C. lake www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
An island mysteriously appeared — then disappeared — on B.C.'s largest reservoir | CBC News
B.C. Hydro says it's monitoring for the reappearance of a mysterious island first spotted by boaters 100 kilometres from the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in northeastern B.C.
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Forrest Pass @forrestpass.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
File under "Seemed like a good idea at the time": this Canadian National Railways slogan is a little cringeworthy today.... (From CNR fonds, @library-archives.canada.ca)
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McGill-Queen's University Press @mcgillqueensup.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
We've got a book for that! Interested in reading the real story of Lake Ontario? Daniel Macfarlane, professor at Western Michigan University, has written the authoritative history of the use and abuse of Lake Ontario. Read it now! #LakeOntario #researchthatmatters buff.ly/woiwybh
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Dr Ian McCormick @wokestudies.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Let's make this book a bestseller: Rabbit Farming in the Middle Ages and Beyond: A Landscape History. David Gould. www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
Since their introduction to the British Isles after the Norman Conquest, rabbits have successfully colonised the English landscape. Yet the species was not initially wild but was instead reared within manmade warrens for its meat and fur in a form of animal husbandry that was surprisingly widespread and long-lived.

Historical and archaeological approaches allow the spread of rabbits to be traced as more and more English locales hosted those warrens, the physical remains of which are still numerous across the country. This book provides a history and a comprehensive investigation of the types of structures associated with rabbit farming and details how warrens were managed, both on a day-to-day basis and in terms of how they were placed within the landscape.

In contrast to their eventual fate as food for the poor, rabbits were initially bred for the wealthy few and it follows that rabbits would have been viewed differently by past societies. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, this volume explores the species’ historic status and discusses associations with conspicuous displays of wealth, Christian symbolism, and female sexuality. It also investigates the extent to which rabbits were simply viewed as destructive pests or as providing opportunities for poaching.
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
development pressure on cathedral grove and in cariboo too. vancouver sun, 20 july 1931. #bchist @jmcelroy.bsky.social @bonnezab.bsky.social
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The Enchanted Forest will NOT be advancing to the final of the Search for B.C.'s Roadside Attraction, due to hundreds of automated votes from IP addresses with the same pattern in the final 90 minutes of voting. The final will be Barkerville vs. Cathedral Grove. what a world
Text says: "In the final 90 minutes before the close of voting yesterday, there were 85 instances where five or more votes were submitted at the exact same second, at consistent timing intervals, from the same pattern of anonymized IP addresses. In total, 672 votes were submitted this way, and all 672 were submitted for the Enchanted Forest."
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Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The beautiful chaos of a used bookstore is unmatched.
Looking into bookstore from
The street at night
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
gold-rush era ghost town vs. enchanted village = a roadside attraction showdown to determine which will go up against cathedral grove. #bchist #cdnhist www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction: Semifinal 2, Enchanted Forest vs. Barkerville | CBC News
After four weeks of voting, we're left with Cathedral Grove as one of the two finalists in the Search for B.C.'s Best Roadside Attraction. But what will it face?
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
OTHELLO TUNNELS CATHEDRAL GROVE ONLY ONE CAN ADVANCE TO THE FINAL OF THE SEARCH FOR BC'S BEST ROADSIDE ATTRACTION VOTE EARLY VOTE OFT wait never mind that's voter fraud www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction: Semifinal 1, Othello Tunnels vs. Cathedral Grove | CBC News
The story of British Columbia's complex relationship with our natural environment, our early attempts to control it, and our later attempts to celebrate it can be seen in the places voters have chosen...
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
like swallows returning to capistrano, potatoes (and tomatoes and eggplants) are returning to central saanich after a 40-year ban. #aghist #bchist www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
After decades-long ban, potato farming is allowed again in Central Saanich, B.C. | CBC News
Potato farming was banned in Central Saanich decades ago in response to a devastating pest. However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency lifted the complete ban in December. Farmers in the area are no...
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Alan MacEachern @alanmaceachern.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
In 2019, the Historic Sites & Monuments Bd of Canada identified 4 strategic priorities for designation. How many of each have been designated since then? 🔵diversity: 33 🔵Indigenous peoples: 14 🔵Can & the world: 9 🔵environmental history: 1 Ouch. niche-canada.org/2026/08/18/a... #envhist #cdnhist
niche-canada.org
A Failure to Commemorate - a call for submissions
Environmental history remains vastly underrepresented on Canada's national register. Pitch your ideas for a new NiCHE series and help shape HSMBC designations.
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
MR PG VS BARKERVILLE! WOOD VS GOLD! 20TH CENTURY RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT VS 19TH CENTURY RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT THE FINAL QUARTERFINAL OF THE ROADSIDE ATTRACTION BRACKET IS HERE www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction: Northern finals | CBC News
Two nods to B.C.’s vast resource sector have made it to the top of the standings in the north but only one will make it to next week’s bracket semifinals.
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Rebecca Bollwitt @miss604.com · 19/08/2026
Leading up to the civic election this fall, @museumofvan.bsky.social will hosts Austerity Tours to highlight the problems, risks and missed opportunities museums typically hide from view. The aim is to make voters understand the risks austerity pose to irreplaceable cultural heritage.
miss604.com
Austerity Tours Offered by Museum of Vancouver
Museum of Vancouver will hosts Austerity Tours to highlight the problems, risks and missed opportunities museums typically hide from view.
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Here is my tribute to the wonder and weirdness that is B.C.'s Enchanted Forest tourist attraction. No snark: it's honestly such a privilege to try and explain some of these very British Columbian culture things for the public broadcaster, and I hope this video hit the mark.
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
🏰🏰🏰 ENCHANTED FOREST 🍑🍑🍑 KEREMEOS FRUIT STANDS INTERIOR ROADSIDE ATTRACTION FINAL IS HERE
cbc.ca
Search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction: Interior final | CBC News
Voters will determine whether the Enchanted Forest or Keremeos fruit stands will represent B.C.’s Interior as the search for best roadside attraction heads towards the semifinals
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Justin McElroy 🇨🇦 @jmcelroy.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
SHANNON FALLS OTHELLO TUNNELS THE SOUTHWEST BC ROADSIDE ATTRACTION FINAL IS HERE
cbc.ca
Search for B.C.'s best roadside attraction: Southwest B.C. finals | CBC News
Two natural wonders compete to represent the southwest in the Search for B.C.’s Best Roadside Attraction semifinals.
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