WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT YesterCanada

 

 

Sue Holmes

I finished reading your book YesterCanada and I
really enjoyed the stories. They were brief and to the point and illustrated various facets of Canadian life and human nature. Thanks for writing it!

 

Kelly Miller

I enjoyed this book so much more that I thought would be possible. I was a student who despised History class through all my school years, finding it dull as dirt, however, when I read the back cover synopsis of this book, I was intrigued.

 
All I can say is, it would be wonderful if all history educators used this book, YesterCanada – Historical Tales of Mystery and Adventure, in their classes. History would be SO MUCH FUN!

Such an exciting and amazing trip through unknown and little known facts about Canada and the mysterious, wild, brave and arguably crazy people who lived here. From a Prime Minister's wife riding on cow catchers, all the way to unmanned ships sailing alone, this book is a page turner from beginning to end.

 
Despite the fact that the cover itself, sadly, does not draw you to the book, the contents very quickly make you forget that from the outside it looks like one of those uninteresting school books that we were forced to read.

 
Elma Schemenauer presented each tale in an easy to read manner that instantly drew me into the stories. Many times, I didn't want the story to end and just as many times, I found myself on my computer looking up more historic details that surrounded these accounts. I couldn't put the book down, and I haven't stopped sharing these historic tales with family and friends since.
I highly recommend this book for history and non history lovers everywhere.

 

 

Shirley Dodding

I just want to write you a note about your wonderful book: YesterCanada.

 

We have just returned from California and I read your wonderful pieces on the plane going there and coming back. I am extremely impressed with the facts, knowledge and expertise you showed in how to write non-fiction and make it come alive.

 

Each story was brimming with colour whether it be in the tale itself or in the trees, landscape or the emotional feelings of the people. I could feel them, I could walk with them and I could see how they felt in every aspect of their life and journey.

 

Thank you, Elma, for such a rich tapestry of Canada, our heritage and our proud lifestyle.

 

Angele Liboiron

YesterCanada is a collection of 30 short stories that captured my full attention from the very first page through to the last. I’ve always been fascinated with history and was pleased when asked to review Elma Schemenauer’s novel. I thought I knew a lot about the country I was born and raised in and was expecting to know most of these stories, but I was wrong. The author has successfully created a selection of stories that are not only educational, but fascinating and enjoyable to read.

 

You’ll find yourself thinking how come I never heard of the story of The Woman Who walked to the Top of the World or world famous actor Charles Francis Coghlan had a connection to Canada. With beautifully written characters ranging from Lady Agnes to Tom Thomson, YesterCanada takes the reader on many incredible journeys and conveys more in a few pages than many do in an entire novel.

 

In Abigail Becker, Heroine of Lake Erie, we meet the brave Mrs. Becker who fights desperately to save a crew aboard the sinking schooner Conducter. I couldn’t wait to get to the last page to see if she indeed saved the crew or had the ship tragically sunk to the bottom of Lake Erie with everyone on board. In Lily of the Peace River we learn of the tragic tale of the demise of Edward Armson and his wife who perished alone in the wilderness leaving behind a daughter and one page turning mystery. Or the haunting page turner of the life of Tom Sukanan. His sad and lonely life brought me to tears.

 

By far my favorite story was that of Lady Agnes Macdonald’s thrilling train ride from Ottawa to Bristish Columbia. Written with such passion, I felt as though I was there with Lady Agnes, sitting on the cowcatcher chugging across the prairies.

 

There’s a huge amount of skill involved in putting together an array of stories with all different themes ranging from adventure, love, mystery, and even tragedy and still have the result feel like one book. Elma does this beautifully. It is rare, but some stories have the power to say with you long after you’ve turned the final page. Elma’s compilation of short stories is that kind of book. My only advice is clear your afternoon because once you start reading YesterCanada you’re not going to want to put it down.

 

Laura J. Davis

Who knew that our first Prime Minister's wife was such a formidable woman? Or that Manitoba had a haunted horse? Or that Nova Scotia had its very own Noah's Ark? These are just some of the stories author Elma Schemenauer shares in her book YesterCanada.

These historical tales of my country had me enthralled from the first page and I wondered why I had never heard about them in school when I was growing up. I mean, who wouldn't want to know that Sir John A MacDonald's wife perched herself on the cowcatcher of a train just to get a better view of what was up ahead? Or that her husband, much to the horror of those in charge of his safety, joined her?

The author has included factual stories as well as folklore, that I found incredibly intriguing. This will be a book that I recommend to many and hope that it is one that ends up in Canadian schools everywhere as "required reading". I wasn't even going to read this book because of the cover, but when I read the back story and another reviewer's opinion of it, I knew I had to read it. And that is the one thing I fear will keep people from reading this book - the cover - and that would be a shame, because this is one book every Canadian should read.  

 

​​Violet Nesdoly

In YesterCanada Elma Schemenauer tells thirty historical tales of Canada.

Using her considerable story telling skill she puts us right into the various Canadian settings these stories inhabit, from the grassy fragrance of the Saskatchewan prairie, to the bone chill of the arctic, to the salt spray of the seaboards, east and west.

What a fun read! You’ll find individuals, mysteries, wonders, and heroes aplenty in these 230 pages.This book is a must-have for all Canadian 150th birthday memorabilia collectors.

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Lloyd Jeck

YesterCanada brings to the reader thirty traditional tales, all rooted in Canada’s lands and waters, from coast to coast to coast. Most have been marinated in ancient times and cultural differences; others sneak quietly into the twentieth century. The author displays her writing skills by portraying rugged and remote as well as more urban scenes in such vivid word pictures that the reader may experience a feeling of actually being a part of the image. Characterization brings to life the actors in the drama.

This collection of Canadian historical drama not only enlightens but also entertains and deserves a must read sticker. Five Star rating.

Reviewed by Lloyd Jeck, author of: IN THE SHADOW OF THE PEAKS: ROCKY MOUNTAIN TALES and BRITISH COLUMBIA TRAILS HEADING NORTH.

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​Janet Sketchley

Author Elma Schemenauer has researched and brought to life 30 intriguing tales from Canada’s past, in a selection as broad as our nation’s geography. Stories feature First Nations tribes, visitors, and immigrants, in settings from British Columbia to Newfoundland, and range from as early as the 1200s to the 1900s.

Vignettes, with accompanying photos, range from the light-hearted to the tragic, and from fact to myth. There is lost gold, murder, shipwreck, even a mysterious infant floating down a river to safety. Meet a hermit, a priest, a prime minister’s wife, a bride imported from France. Read about courageous men and women, others bent on what their neighbours called fools’ quests, and about legends, mysteries, and drama.

Stories are told in an accessible and engaging tone, making YesterCanada an ideal book for adults and young adults alike. It would also be a good choice for reading aloud to older children, to cultivate an interest in the lesser-known details of Canadian history.

Elma Schemenauer has written many books for adults and children, and edited hundreds more. For more about the author and her work, visit elmams.wixsite.com.

 

 

Martin Verlaan

In her new book, YesterCanada: Historical Tales of Mystery and Adventure, Canadian author Elma Schemenauer has gathered a collection of interesting, intriguing and entertaining stories derived from Canadian history, folklore, myths and legends.

Each story has an enticing title like “Manitoba’s Haunted Horse” or “The Woman Who Walked To The Top Of The World,” drawing the reader into a world now long gone.

The writer has done her research, informing the reader of little known facts in a clear and precise manner. Her writing style is pleasant and easy to read.

YesterCanada: Historical Tales of Mystery and Adventure by Elma Schemenauer is an entertaining book from start to finish.

 

Reg Quist

YesterCanada by Canadian author Elma Schemenauer is a captivating collection of short stories. From deep-sea adventures to early settlers in French Canada, to prairie homesteaders and First Nations people, to a well told railway story, these tales are all eminently readable and entertaining.

The work cries out for a sequel.

In this tamed, homogenized and dependent world, there are so few ‘characters’ left. The author does well to grab these old ‘character’-generated stories before they are lost to memory. Reg Quist, author of Noah Gates and Hamilton Robb

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Robert White, Arts Connection

​Elma Schemenauer’s YesterCanada: Historical Tales of Mystery and Adventure will get you in the mood to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial.

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I’m a Canadian history buff and expected to have read most of the stories in this book. I was surprised to find there were probably less than half a dozen stories that I’d read before. The majority of the 30 tales were tidbits of Canadian history I wasn’t aware of and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

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The stories are quick reads but packed with a lot of information. If there was one shortcoming to YesterCanada it’s the shifting of viewpoints from one story to the next. Some were written from a first-person perspective, others from a third-person perspective. I found the switching back and forth somewhat off-putting and, at times, confusing. I would have preferred if Schemenauer had chosen one point-of-view and stuck with it.

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That said, YesterCanada is well worth reading to find out more about this great land of ours that turns 150 this year.

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Ruth Zavitz

​Elma Schemenauer has a way with words and it's a fascinating one. She expands anecdotes of Canada's past into fascinating tales: an ocean going ship built in the middle of the prairies, camels in the northern gold fields, an aircraft carrier built entirely of ice, and twenty-seven other incidents of more or less veracity. For readers who insist on separating fact from fiction the author provides an extensive bibliography. As for me, I enjoyed the well-written stories as they stand.

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Slavomir Almajan

It deserves five-star rating indeed! It is also a must-read book for readers of any age, any gender, any culture...

 

Elma Schemenauer invaded my searching heart with a new level of curiosity, way beyond "let's see what else is new" realm. She captured my full attention with Remember the Sunflowers, a captivating novel, deeply entrenched in Canada's prairie culture with all the harmonies and disharmonies of life in a real world.

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YesterCanada comes, at least for me, as a surprise that shattered all my reservations regarding short fictionalized history stories. Sometimes this kind of stories come as a cover up for poorly researched facts. YesterCanada is a real deal! It is not a mere attempt to fill the pages with nicely crafted words, although there is a lot of that in this book, but rather a heart's response to so many old stories and legends of this land.

It is a master's touch throughout every story and legend that brings to life the characters and the things that you never thought could breathe again. But they did and they did it with the author's life.

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Tom Sukanan is one of the most beautiful and complex characters in the book and the circumstances surrounding his life and shaping his destiny were, to say the least, not less complex. The restlessness he carried within drove him toward unleashing the best of him to the service of others. "It wasn’t that he didn’t care about other people. When new homesteaders arrived in the area, Tom offered to lend them a hand in building their houses. He also turned his inventive and mechanical abilities to projects that benefitted the whole community. It was Tom Sukanan who built the area’s first grain-threshing machine. It was also Tom who constructed a homemade sewing machine so that the women of the district wouldn’t need to do all their mending by hand."

 

The homesickness that hit him later on morphed into one of the most intense dramas that could hit the human soul. The creator became almost one with his creation. They both became an unsung song, victims of aging without legacy, of dying with unfulfilled dreams.

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The British Columbia Ship That Wouldn't Die is a symbol, a Thing that survived its creator, carrying his restlessness that built it across the oceans...

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Lillian Alling was more than a mere mortal woman. She was a heroine, a pursuer of her dream. Nothing could stand against it. Somehow a part of New York City and every place that her feeble feet touched became better and more alive. The obstacles sometimes would be simple acts of kindness or even apparent hostile actions driven by pure intentions. Wow! I dare you to read this story without falling in love with its main character!

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By the author's touch even the dead come to life, not necessarily through living but through animating the bored world by a mysterious and almost unbelievable story. Yes, I said to myself, love survives the mortal being and frees enough territory to accommodate an absolutely beautiful story.

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Elma Schemenauer grew to know intimately the world around her and made it more beautiful through her outstanding way of being restless for the sake of carrying the light of Christ through what He made her to be.

Thank you, Elma, for your beautiful work!