By now you have read and heard thousands of words about the who, what, where, when and why of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, as filtered through academics, journalists, performers, unionists, and historians a hundred years removed from the iconic events. The Black Rod is offering something different. We are taking you through Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine to the very streets of downtown Winnipeg on Bloody Saturday to let you experience the sights and sounds of that historical day through the eyes and ears of a contemporary eyewitness , a professional observer and recorder of the proverbial "first rough draft of history". We found this in the Montreal Gazette, June 23, 1919 (Page 9): Winnipeg's Tragic Outbreak Lasted Half Hour Only by J.F.B. Livesay of the Canadian Press Winnipeg, June 21 ----The tragic events of this afternoon covered not more than half an hour. At half past two, perhaps twenty thousand per
The origin of the Usher of the Black Rod goes back to early fourteenth century England . Today, with no royal duties to perform, the Usher knocks on the doors of the House of Commons with the Black Rod at the start of Parliament to summon the members. The rod is a symbol for the authority of debate in the upper house. We of The Black Rod adopted the symbol to knock some sense and the right questions into the heads of Legislators, pundits, and other opinion makers.