Saint John: Nothing Happened Here
Many people think that nothing significant ever really happened in Saint John, New Brunswick. This history podcast challenges those thoughts by uncovering little known tales from the city and providing fresh perspectives on the people, places and events of the past.
Episodes
20 episodes
Except for the Pirates of the Chesapeake 1863
In 1863, during the American Civil War, a group of Saint Johners were recruited by men professing to be representatives of the Confederate States of America to seize control of a civilian vessel in the United States. The men successfully hijack...
Except for Bootlegging, Rum-Running and Drinking During Prohibition
Saint John is known for its love of hard beverages, so it is no wonder the city was quick to get behind bootlegging, rum-running and drinking during prohibition in New Brunswick (1917-1927) and supplying the Americans during their prohibition (...
Except for the American Privateer Raid of 1775
In this episode, we are joined by guest co-host, Peter Gillies, to chat about the 1775 American Privateer Raid on Saint John Harbour. At the start of the American Revolution, privateers were used to disrupt British supply lines, esp...
Except for Farewell... For Now
Unfortunately, Season 1 of the podcast is coming to an abrupt end. Greg is unable to continue with the show. As we said in the last episode, there is a lot of work that goes behind the podcast. If you know Greg, he is very active in the Saint J...
Except for Season Two?
In this episode, Saint John - Nothing Happened Here goes back to the 80s. Also, it is revealed that a big decision must be made.If you would like Saint John -Nothing Happened Here to come back for a second season, vote ...
Except for the Fenian Threat of 1865/1866
In this episode, we discuss the Fenian movement of the 1860s and its effects on Saint John during security scares in late 1865 and the spring of 1866, including its political impacts in the latter year and beyond. Founded on both sides of the A...
Except for the Fight for Women's Voting Rights
This episode, released close to International Women’s Day (March 8), recalls an important political reform cause in Saint John’s past that was part of a national and international movement: the fight for women’s voting rights. Starting in the l...
Except for the 1914 Street Railway Riot
Two weeks before Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, the Saint John central business district was the site of another type of conflict, a labour struggle that pitted more than 100 members of the street railway union against the unpop...
Except for the First Skyjacking in Canada - Part 2
In this episode, we return to Sept. 11 1968 and the early moments of the first skyjacking in Canadian history on board Air Canada Flight 303. The flight had arrived from Moncton, New Brunswick to pick up passengers at Saint John with a final de...
Except for the First Skyjacking in Canada - Part 1
In 1968, Saint John made aviation history as the starting point for Canada’s first skyjacking: an Air Canada Vickers Viscount passenger plane headed for Toronto. This was the first of several acts of air piracy during the golden age of skyjacki...
Except for Naming the Streets
In Saint John, as in other cities, residents’ sense of geography is based on streets and neighbourhoods, but few stop to ponder why streets were given certain names or, in some cases, re-named. It turns out that many of the names of the city’s ...
Except for Victorian Christmases
In this last episode of 2024, we explore how Christmas was celebrated in Saint John in during the Victorian era (1837-1901). In this episode, we are honoured to include a discussion with Saint John’s “Mr. Christmas,” local author David Goss, wh...
Except for Benedict Arnold - Part 2
This episode examines Arnold’s attempts to set up a business empire in the pioneer colony of New Brunswick, based in the struggling and divided Loyalist town of Saint John from 1785 to 1791. As one of the few prominent residents with money, he ...
Except for Benedict Arnold - Part 1
Little remains to show that the controversial American military leader, Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), lived in Saint John for several years after the American Revolution, except for a plaque on a building in the uptown area of the city. His name...
Except for Boy Soldiers of the First World War
In this episode, Mark and Greg have a conversation with Saint John author, Heather McBriarty, on underaged soldiers in the First World War. As in other cities in Canada , Saint John was swept by a wave of patriotism that encouraged many young m...
Except for the Irish Famine Immigration
In early Saint John, most years saw an equal number of Protestants and Catholics coming to the city. In the second half of the 1840s, increasing numbers of Catholic immigrants, fleeing the Famine in Ireland, arrived in distress. During ‘Black 4...
Except for the York Point Riot of 1849
This episode examines one of the darker chapters in the history of New Brunswick and what would become Canada - social violence in Saint John in 1849 that took up to a dozen lives. Join us to hear about what happened on July 12, 1849, when seve...
Except for the Cholera Epidemic of 1854
In the summer of 1854, Saint John and the neighbouring town of Portland were hit by cholera, which killed between 1100 and 1500 people. The highest death tolls were among poor and immigrant populations who lived in low-lying tenement districts ...
Except for the 1785 Election Riot
In our opening podcast episode, we examine the dramatic 1785 provincial election in Saint John, the colony’s largest settlement, which was punctuated by a riot. This contested election, the first in the colony, revealed simmering tensions among...