Dick Meister: Celebrating the 4th with the enemy

Pub date July 4, 2009
SectionBruce Blog

Celebrating the 4th in Canadian territory settled by pro-British “Loyalists” who fled the U.S. after the Revolutionary War

By Dick Meister

The Fourth of July, as we all know, is Independence Day. Hurray for George
Washington and the revolutionaries, down with King George and the British.
That sort of thing.

But have you ever wondered what it’s like on the other side? Have you ever
celebrated the Fourth across the border in Canada, in that territory settled
by pro-British “Loyalists” who fled the United States after the
Revolutionary War? It is a most peculiar experience for one accustomed to
the American way of viewing the events of 1776.