Hey! This week something special has happened. What, you ask? Why, Roch and I have teamed up to come up with this special edition article called "Eh! Important People: Canada!" For this article, we will be together talking about four important people from the country Canada! We have together written this article on important people from Canada, therefore, combining our columns! So, for this week, here is your important people and your Canadian info:

Laura Ingersoll

Laura Ingersoll was born to a Loyalist family in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1775. In 1795 the family moved to the Canadas, and in 1797 she married a fellow Loyalist, James Secord. They resided in Queenston in Upper Canada (present-day Ontario),

In May of 1813 the American army invaded again and the Secord home was forced to billet three American officers. On June 21, Laura overheard them discussing plans for a surprise attack on Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon at Beaver Dams, which would have allowed the Americans to control the Niagara Peninsula.

She walked 32 kilometres, including a six-hour climb over the Niagara Escarpment, before she met a group of Mohawks allied with the British, who led her the rest of the way to Fitzgibbon's camp. A small British force was then ready for the American attack, and almost all of the American soldiers were taken prisoner in the ensuing battle.

The story has become something of a legend in Canada. An older version said that Laura brought a cow with her as an excuse to leave her home; another version, more likely to be true, is that she told the American officers she was going to visit her brother. It is also said that she walked barefoot at least part of the way.

In 1860, when she was 85, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), heard of her story while travelling in Canada. He visited her and gave her a gift of $100. It was the only recognition that she received in her lifetime.

She died in 1868 at age 93.

Jennie Trout

Jennie Trout moved from Scotland to Canada in 1847. She and her parents lived just north of Stratford Ontario, on a farm. After getting married to Edward Trout in 1865, the couple moved to Toronto, Ontario.

In 1871 Jennie Trout passed her matriculation exam, allowing her into the University of Toronto. Because of her own illness, Jennie wished to become a doctor. By a special arrangement, Jennie Trout and Emily Stowe were the first two women admitted to the Toronto School of Medicine. Because of their gender, the two were often discriminated against. In protest, Emily decided to not complete the exam, and Jennie transferred to the Women's Medical College in Pennsylvania. On March 11, 1875, Jennie received her M.D. and became the first licensed female doctor in Canada.

Jennie had a nervous disorder, so she took interest in studying galvanic baths. She opened the Therapeutic and Electrical Institute in Toronto, which specialized in electrotherapy for women. She later opened institutes in Brantford and Hamilton, because of her success. She also ran a free clinic for the poor.

Because of her illness, Jennie retired when she was 41. However, she still asisted in establishing a woman's medical school at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

John A. MacDonald

John A. MacDonald was Canada's first Prime Minister. He was born January 11th, 1815, in Glasgow Scotland. When MacDonald was five years old, in 1820, his family immigrated to Kingston, Ontario where his family prospered.

In 1834 MacDonald set up his own law practice in Kingston, where he first found his interest in politics. Much later in his political career, MacDonald, and two other politicians, George Brown and George-Etienne Cartier formed a coalition. Their main goal was to make Canada a whole country, from sea to sea. On July 1st, 1867, Confederation was official. MacDonald was elected the first Prime Minister of the new country.

MacDonald married twice, once in 1843 to Isabella Clark, and again in 1867 to Susan Agnes Bernard. MacDonald had three children: John Alexander and Hugh John with Clark, and Margaret Mary Theodora with Bernard. MacDonald passed away on June 6th, 1891, in Ottawa, Ontario.

Terry Fox

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977. While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.

After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John's, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.

It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.

However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.

Spinner45: So that's the end of Eh! Important People: Canada.
rochrox: I just have one question, why wasn't I chosen as one of the important Canadians? (Just kidding folks)
Spinner45: I don't know! I guess you'll have to take that up with the authors.
rochrox: Well, I hope you still enjoyed the column.
Spinner45: Me too!
rochrox: We'll be back to our regular columns next issue, so don't forget to check them out!
Spinner45: This has been Spinner45,
rochrox: and rochrox,
Spinner45: signing off.
Spinner45 and rochrox: Bye!