Hey, kids! Did you know that the name the Mi'kmaq people had for Dartmouth was Boonamoogwaddy, which refers to the tomcod, a fish caught in our coastal waters?
In 1750, English immigrants arrived in Halifax Harbour on the HMS Alderney and renamed their new home Dartmouth.
The ship's name has since been given to several of Dartmouth's landmarks, such as Alderney School, and Alderney Landing.
It may be that the new settlers wanted to honour Sir William Legge, the second Earl of Dartmouth and a nobleman in Queen Anne's court. Or it may be that the area called Boonamoogwady reminded the immigrants of the town named Dartmouth in England's beautiful West Country, located where the mouth of the River Dart empties into the sea. There, the sister communities, Dartmouth and Kingswear, are linked by ferries, very much like our Dartmouth and Halifax are.
Like people everywhere, we take pride in our own special neighbourhoods, but we also call all of Nova Scotia, Canada, and the planet Earth, our home.
Because of radio and television, telephones and the Internet, our "home" is getting both bigger and smaller at the same time.
This new Calling All Kids Weekly News column is about this amazing world we all share. Here you can read about our local history, our weather, our place names, our customs and our people.
You are invited, as well, to request information on any topic of interest to you. Are you trying to understand global warming and how it can affect us? Are you curious about what you see in our night sky? Are you wondering what wildlife might still be out and about this winter? Would you like to know how to tap a maple tree for sap next March? Are you looking for the name of a good book or a useful internet site?
All questions are welcome.
Email them to me, Smarty Pants, at smartypantsjw@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer them for you. You must include your age, full name, and address. Only your first name will be used in the response.
I very much look forward to your letters.
smartypantsjw@gmail.com
Jacqueline Warlow, mother of three, grandmother of six, writer and retired educator, lives in Dartmouth.
