New Waterford filmmakers cop Best Canadian Film – updated
And in Cape Breton news...
And in Cape Breton news...
A group of friends was planning a social gathering Thursday evening in Halifax. One demurred, saying work required her to attend Thursday's public consultation session on the proposed new central library. "If it helps," said another member of the group, "I can pre-summarize the public meeting for you." What a waste of money this — money that could be better spent on roads and health care. I can't believe the city is being so cheap with this design. A bigger new library will draw tourists from around the world. Will it block the view from Citadel Hill? Can we attach this to a new stadium? Why does Halifax...
Irving once helped sponsor a ship-wreck salvage operation off the northern tip of Cape Breton. One calm, sunny day, he ventured onto the salvage ship to see the work underway. Shortly after his arrival, an equipment problem halted operations for several hours. Irving, a notorious Type A personality, paced the decks restlessly. In the distance, he could see St. Paul's Island, the barren rock outcropping that lies a quarter of the way to Port-aux-Basque, NL. Irving directed the crew to lower the ship's tender into the water, and moments later, he was alone on Cabot Strait, rowing toward St. Paul's. Upon reaching the...
In his remarks at Irving's funeral, Dr. Richard Goldbloom, the celebrated Halifax pediatrician who is Irving's brother-in-law, re-told a story Irving liked to tell on himself. In the late-90s, the Canadian International Demining Corps, Irving's mine-removal charity, developed a center to train Mozambicans in the techniques of mine removal. Once up and running, the center was to be turned over to state government. The facility lay deep in the jungle. Irving flew in for the transfer ceremony, together with the state governor and the Mozambican Minister of Land Mine Removal. Upon landing, the government officials and their aides gathered into a tight...
Only a handful of people know that The Coast, Halifax's thriving lifestyles weekly, might not exist today but for the forbearance of Irving Schwartz. About 15 years ago, the paper was struggling to survive when a now forgotten freelancer wrote a hatchet-job profile of then-Public Works Minister David Dingwall. As part of his "research," the Coast reporter called Irving, who, with characteristic candour, offered a measured assessment of Dingwall's strong and weak points. When the story appeared however, the plusses had vanished and the minuses were torqued beyond recognition. To a reader who didn't know better, it looked as though Irving had gone out of...
Irving Schwartz, O.C., entrepreneur, humanitarian, community leader, devoted son of New Waterford, Cape Breton, and a leading figure in Atlantic Canada's Jewish community, died Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010, in Sydney. He was 81. Irving was the son of the late Abraham and Rose (Claener) Schwartz of New Waterford. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Diana Usher Schwartz; and his four children, Margo Schwartz (Adrian Noskwith), London, Eng., Joanne Schwartz, Toronto, David Schwartz, Halifax, and Stephanie Schwartz (Brian Brophey), Toronto. He had four grandchildren, Toby and Rose Noskwith of London, Eng., and Rachel and Sophie Fagan of Toronto; five siblings,...
The mine-removal NGO Mines Action Canada has released a statement expressing gratitude for Irving’s wisdom, commitment, support, kindness, generosity and sense of humour for many years. Money quote: In the mid-90s many people in Canada were caught up in the enthusiasm of the Canadian-led initiative to ban landmines. Irving went one step further and founded CIDC which has became Canada’s leading landmine clearance organization. There are children and innocent civilians in Bosnia, Croatia, Mozambique and other countries who can go about their daily lives without the threat of landmines because of the efforts of this amazing man from Sydney, Nova Scotia....
Irving Schwartz, whose death yesterday leaves a gaping hole in Cape Breton, loved to trade stories, so I offer this space to share a few about him. I hope you'll send me yours. [caption id="attachment_6585" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Creative commons photo. "][/caption] Irving's outrageous TV furniture pitches — always ending with his over-the-top delivery of the tag line, "I guarantee it!" — earned him nearly universal face recognition throughout eastern Nova Scotia. When my own weekly television debates brought me a tiny fraction of his notoriety in the 1990s, Irving liked to embarrass me by introducing me to strangers. At the Mull Cafe in...