Take a Road Trip Through Time on "Canada's Main Street"

I received "Canada's Main Street" under our Christmas tree and finished reading it while in Mexico. It is the story of the Trans-Canada Highway, one that most Canadians have travelled on and many use daily. Thanks to Craig Baird (guru of Canadian history at Canadaehx) for a great read! I loved the description of the early days; of the competition for the Todd Medal and the unheralded efforts of men like Perry Doolittle. Throughout the book, Baird describes the push/pull of the various levels of government. I also loved the side stories and the determination of the "Yellowheaders" to get the new highway to route via Edmonton and the Yellowhead route.

​I think the new highway may have inspired my parents to travel from our home in Winnipeg to Vancouver in the late 1960's in my dad's new gold '67 Pontiac Strato Chief. Before seat belt and child safety seat laws, he had custom-cut a large piece of plywood to cover the backseat and the leg space. With copious padding on the plywood, my brother, sister and I had a play area, as unsafe as it was.  From there, we watched the miles roll by, singing songs, as we journeyed on Canada's Main Street.