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Day 182 – The Canada Day Spoon

Happy Birthday, Canada! 

Canada was born on this day in 1867, when the British North America Act of 1867 (or BNA Act) united the Provinces of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec) with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into a single federated nation. 
My maternal grandfather was born in Phillipsville, Ontario and my paternal great-great-grandparents were from Prince Edward Island. I think that means I can be “grandfathered” in as a citizen, right? 

Anyway, this sterling sliver spoon, made by Oneida, marks the last major birthday our neighbors to the north celebrated—just 50 years ago in 1967. 

Fun Fact: July 1 in Canada was known as “Dominion Day” until 1982, when it was renamed “Canada Day” in honor of the patriation of their Constitution (at which time, the BNA Act was renamed as “Constitution Act, 1967.” 

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Day 174 – The Vancouver Spoon

Captain George Vancouver was born in Norfolk, England on June 22 in 1757. (I’m a day late!)

Captain Vancouver is most famous for exploring and charting the Pacific Northwest coastline from 1791 to 1795. He leaves behind two cities that bear his name, one in southwest Washington State and the other in British Columbia, Canada (where they also named an island after him).


This spoon is from the Canadian city of Vancouver and was in a collection my friend Kim gave me. I’ve seen the exact same design of spoon for at least three other places (Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the states of Nevada and Arizona). I’m no art doctor, but I’m pretty sure it’s not representative of any artwork from the Northwest Coast tribes. 

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Day 166 – The Calgary Zoo Spoon

Who has the coolest zoo in North America? Calgary, hands down. I can’t think of any other zoo that also has a prehistoric park, but Alberta is a fitting place, since so many well-preserved fossils have been found here. One more reason to love Canada.