Barb Maddigan

Retired Trustee @ngpschools; life-long music student; part-time yogini; library assistant and hardcore book lover; information junkie.

[The Royal Canadian Legion @RoyalCdnLegion]

June is #PTSDAwarenessMonth.

For many of our Veterans and those still serving, the battles don't always end when they come home. Mental health is just as important as physical health. If you or a Veteran you know is struggling, the Legion is here to help navigate support and professional services. You are never alone.

To learn more, visit: https://t.co/VMcci8cCuk

[Mark Carney @MarkJCarney]

Introducing the Montréal Victoire: the first Canadian team to bring the Walter Cup home to Canada. Your victory was a milestone for women’s hockey — and a proud moment for all Canadians. 🇨🇦

[Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx @CraigBaird]

June Callwood was a respected journalist who wrote over 30 books. On top of that, she became one of our most important activists and spent much of her life helping others.
For that reason, she was called Canada's Conscience.

[Serena Mah @SerenaCMah]

A powerful wave of unity is sweeping Alberta. The response to #ForeverCanadian lawn signs has been phenomenal—thousands of signs now stand tall in across the province. Volunteers are organizing pop-ups to help distribute! #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli @LukaszukAB @ForCanMVMT

[Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx @CraigBaird]

It is Pride Month.
Throughout this month, I will be sharing the stories of Canadians who fought for LGBTQ rights.
Today it is the story of Canada's decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969.

[The Royal Canadian Legion @RoyalCdnLegion]

The Legion commends the government’s decision to establish an independent review board for awarding military honours to Afghanistan Veterans. We hope this results in a posthumous Victoria Cross award for Pte. Jess Larochelle for whom we’ve advocated for close to 5 years.

La Légion félicite le gouvernement pour sa décision de créer un comité d’examen indépendant pour l’attribution des distinctions militaires telles que la Croix de Victoria, aux vétérans d’Afghanistan. Nous espérons que cela conduira à une distinction à l’attribution posthume d’une Croix de à Jess Larochelle, pour qui nous militions depuis près de 5 ans.

[Dr. Kristopher Wells @KristopherWells]

This would be a good month to announce the long overdue updates to the Employment Equity Act. 🌈

[common(non)sense @katiabanina]

My granddad is the best person i know

At 11, he tried a cig and didn't like it and never smoked since
At 18, he was on the verge of death from sepsis when his mom's friend's husband, a long haul Aeroflot pilot, brought penicillin back from the US. When the antibiotics started working, the doc told his mom - don't cry, he might even live up to 40
At 21, he got a degree in nuclear physics, but wasn't allowed to work in the industry due to weakened health. He found himself in the Soviet space programme
At 26, he sent Sputnik to space, a few weeks before he had his first child
At 32, he made the discovery of the Earth's plasmasphere
At 60, he learnt English because the iron curtain had fallen and he could travel to the international space conferences. He needed to write and present in English
At 70, he would fight me for the dial-up internet as I wanted to chat to online friends, while he needed to send some work emails from home
At 85, he visited me in London and went to the British Museum five days in a row. One of the days we were having afternoon tea, and he exclaimed: "I'm so lucky! Had I not lived to this age, I would not have seen Amenkhotep III statue and had these wonderful scones at the Ritz"
At 90, he was the only person in my family who said I must absolutely take the opportunity to work in crypto
At 94, he still was still co-authoring scientific papers. And this hasn't stopped yet

Yesterday, he turned 95

Happy birthday granddad 😊

[Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx @CraigBaird]

Today is Decoration Day.
It was first celebrated in 1890 to honour the veterans of the Fenian Raids and the North-West Resistance. It slowly became less prominent and has become overshadowed by Armistice Day/Remembrance Day following the First World War.

📸 Randy Palmer

[Dr. M.F. Khan @Dr_TheHistories]

"She was Catwoman on screen. But her greatest role wasn't in Hollywood—it was in a silent garden, feeding her son by hand, learning to love without words, and showing the world that a mother's heart never retires."

At 48, Julie Newmar—best known as the iconic Catwoman from the 1960s Batman series—had already lost three babies to miscarriage. When her son John was finally born in 1981, she held him and wept with joy. Then came the diagnosis: Down syndrome. Three years later, meningitis stole his hearing and, eventually, his voice. By age four, John lived in complete silence. He couldn't hear his mother's voice, couldn't tell her when he was hungry or scared. Julie's marriage collapsed soon after. At 51, she was alone, raising a child who would need her for everything. There was no script, no director, no second take. Just a mother and a son who communicated only through touch and sight.

Julie learned sign language like her life depended on it—because John's life did. She fed him every meal by hand, spoonful by spoonful, year after year. Not out of duty, but out of a love fiercer than anything she had ever known. When John was older, they traveled together to Bali and Thailand, places where spoken language didn't matter. He couldn't hear the waves or temple bells, but he saw colors, absorbed light, and discovered his own voice through painting. His artwork ended up in galleries, proving that the boy the world might have written off had a vision worth sharing.

As Julie's legs began to fail from a rare degenerative disease, and John's spine curved under scoliosis, their world grew smaller. The adventures ended. But Julie planted a garden—eighty varieties of roses. Every morning, she wheels herself outside with her son, and they sit together in silence, watching petals unfold in the sunlight. For John, who experiences the world only through sight and touch, every bloom is a symphony, every rose a conversation. That garden became their cathedral.

Julie Newmar is 91 now. Two assistants help with daily care, but she is still there, every single morning, the gravitational center of her son's universe. She never called John a burden. She called him her teacher—the reason she learned what unconditional love truly means. "He caused the great expansion of my life," she once said. Hollywood remembers her as Catwoman, but the role that mattered most wasn't the one that made her famous. It was the one that made her fully human.

"She didn't just care for a child with special needs. She learned a new language of love, grew a garden of roses, and turned silence into a masterpiece. That's not just a mother's love—it's a hero's journey."

© Hollywood Historia

#drthehistories

[Native American Pride @native_am_pride]

Confirmed by Science: The Blackfeet Nation’s 18,000-Year Story

In 2022, DNA research confirmed what the Blackfeet Nation has always known through oral history — their ancestors have lived in the region of present-day Montana for more than 18,000 years, long before written records began.

For countless generations, Blackfeet Elders and Knowledge Keepers have spoken of an unbroken connection to their land, language, and culture. Modern science now validates what Indigenous knowledge has safeguarded for millennia.

This is more than history — it is a living truth. The Blackfeet story reflects resilience, strength, and sovereignty, standing as a testament to cultural survival, ancestral wisdom, and an enduring relationship with their sacred homelands.

[Mark Carney @MarkJCarney]

Congratulations to Mike Myers on receiving the Icon Award at the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards. 

You’ve made Canada so proud 🇨🇦

[SKI @skiistiredasf]

At just 13 years old, Alena Analeigh McQuarter made history as the youngest Black student ever accepted into a U.S. medical school.
Now 17, this brilliant young queen has already graduated high school at 12, earned a Master’s degree, interned at NASA, founded The Brown STEM Girl to inspire other girls of color, and continues blazing trails in medicine and science.
Her journey is living proof that when purpose, discipline, and brilliance collide, nothing can hold you back not even age.
The future is in incredible hands! 👏🏽

[Billie Jean King @BillieJeanKing]

When we have the freedom to show up as our true, authentic selves, there is no limit to what we can achieve.

This Pride Month, let's celebrate the courage to live openly, the power of community, and the belief that everyone deserves to be seen, valued, and loved exactly as they are.

Happy #PrideMonth!

[#WOMENSART @womensart1]

During the 2 World Wars, women in Europe used knitting for spying, including encoding messages with combinations of knits/purls...find out more in #UnravellingWomensArt the 1st @womensart1 book, along with many more wonderful and sometimes weird textile art facts....!

[Be A King @BerniceKing]

As we observe Black Music Month, I am thinking about the ways music shaped our home, our memories, and our movement.

My mother deeply valued the power of music, culture, and artistic expression. In our family, music was not only something we listened to. It was part of the spirit that sustained us, connected us, and carried so much of our history.

#BlackMusicMonth #CorettaScottKing #MLK #KingLegacy

[Dr. Kristopher Wells @KristopherWells]

Today is the start of celebrations recognizing Pride Season.

While we focus on celebrating queer and trans joy and resilience, there is still significant work to do to defend and protect our human rights at home & abroad.

Pride is and will always remain a core Canadian value.

[Wab Kinew @WabKinew]

Our seniors built Manitoba. They deserve to age with dignity.

That’s why we’re investing $72 million to expand Park Manor Personal Care Home in Transcona with 83 new beds and strengthen care for seniors.

We recently held a town hall to hear directly from residents, families and front-line staff because the best projects are shaped by the people who call these communities home.

[Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx @CraigBaird]

Before the Pyramids existed, the Indigenous Peoples were using Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump to hunt bison.
For 6,000 years, the site was used by the First Nations.
Long before Alberta existed, the Indigenous occupied the land and it remains Treaty Land.

📸 Parks Canada