On this date in 1980 (from @CdnPressNews):
The World Health Organization officially declares smallpox eradicated, the first and only human disease to reach that status.
Today in history from @CdnPressNews
1826: Spring arrives late in Winnipeg with ice break-up that sounds loud as thunder at the forks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, flooding the banks. Nearly 50 homes were sent downstream, and somewhere between five and 13 people were killed.
@OlyBackstrom Thanks Oly. He was a great big buffoon, a big-hearted teddy bear, a brilliant life artist, a passionate crusader and so much more. He was the greatest friend.
This is Troy, on the left, back when I lived in Fernie. We were up at Island Lake prepping for a music concert. He was a musician, an artist, a writer, a trade unionist, a coal miner, and a guy who knew how to live well. He was larger than life.