Mark McNeil (@Songscribe) profile picture

Mark McNeil

@Songscribe

A multimedia storyteller — a journalist, songwriter, performer, local history buff and sometime cable tv host. Watch for my “Flashbacks” column in The Spec.

 Hamilton
shinythingspage.wordpress.com
Joined November 2011
  • Tweets119
  • Following305
  • Followers170
11Media
Photo by Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)Photo by Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)Photo by Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)Photo by Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)Photo by Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)Photo by Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)Photo by Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)Photo by Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)Photo by Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)
All news that is fit to print! Love this @MarkFlashbacks piece on the infamous 1955 #HamOnt City Council led starling shoot in Gore Park. Straight out of WKRP Cincinnati turkey’s flying episode. Especially loved that Toronto was to blame @JohnTory @s2avery @AndreaHorwath ! (-: – at Hamilton, Ontario
Image from Terry Cooke (@TerryJCooke)
Image from Terry Cooke (@TerryJCooke)
2
8
1,316
McMaster’s hospital officially opened 50 years ago this year but it still looks like it isn’t finished yet. Flashbacks: bit.ly/3M3Zca4
1
.@Songscribe always has really inspiring and important stories to share about #HamOnt history. Catch the full story on #TheHamiltonNetwork on-demand at cable14.com.
1
Congrats to the @TheSpec newsroom on 12 nominations and six wins. So proud to be part of this team. Shout outs to @NicoleatTheSpec @susanclairmont @sebibron @maria9860 @MarkFlashbacks @miltonatthespec @GrantRants, Steve Buist, Congrats also @RandyRatLFPress & @KatrinaAClarke
ONAwards (@ONAwards) profile pictureONAwards@ONAwards29 Apr 2022
The winners of the 2021 Ontario Newspaper Awards have been announced! Congratulations to all the winners and fellow nominees. onawards.ca/2021-results/
3
9
2
20
To fans of the iconic popular quiz show @Jeopardy, it was just another question on a recent television program. But, for people interested in #HamOnt history, there is a lot more to the words than that, writes @MarkFlashbacks thespec.com/news/hamilton-re…

A question of ‘Jeopardy’ for Royal Hamilton Light Infantry veteran

Riley officer fought at Dieppe and kept on fighting for people with spinal cord injuries, Mark McNeil writes.

thespec.com
4
The story of another of our Canadians @CWGC Stonefall. Thanks @TheSpec @Songscribe Take a look @andrewthornto20 @SusieRother @GreatWarNerd thespec.com/news/hamilton-re… #Rembranceis a photo on the dresser.

Unravelling the tragic story of my uncle, RCAF Sgt. Jack Gilbertson

On March 24, 1944, my uncle Jack was a 19-year-old tail gunner in a Halifax bomber that crashed at night in a farmer’s field in England during a training mission, Mark McNeil writes.

thespec.com
3
11
Great article today in @TheSpec by @Songscribe re: the parallels between Dr. Arnold's (@arnolddma1) current work with COVID-19 and another Hamilton doctor's work with Spanish flu patients in 1918. An interesting read about medicine & history: thespec.com/news/hamilton-re…

A tale of two Hamilton doctors: One took on Spanish flu, the other COVID-19

Flashbacks: Two doctors, from different centuries, yet, they both were chasing down the same therapeutic idea.

thespec.com
6
8
Mark McNeil retweeted
RHLI (@RHLIXIII) profile picture
RHLI@RHLIXIII23 Mar 2021
Nice to see the #RHLI recognized in this article. thespec.com/news/hamilton-re…

Tales from Hamilton’s iconic Pigott building

Flashbacks: A missing plaque and a found letter

thespec.com
1
1
If King Kong ever came to Hamilton, I think the first place he would go for a selfie is the Pigott building on James Street South...Flashbacks bit.ly/3sfr7cs
1
1
4
Exclusive story I wrote in today’s Spectator about major plans to preserve the historic Long and Bisby building, the last structure from Hamilton’s famed Sanatorium on the Mountain Brow. bit.ly/37eTorY
2
1
3
Imagine being abandoned by your family in the Hamilton Asylum for the Insane for 32 years and no one ever visited. The Tragic Story of Rose. Today’s Flashbacks column. bit.ly/2SSGFma
Image from Mark McNeil (@Songscribe)
History buffs will enjoy latest @TheSpec article written by @Songscribe detailing history behind famous ballad/poem, 'When You and I Were Young, Maggie'. bit.ly/2ANMXhl Watch as McNeil performs the classic song: youtube.com/watch?v=M1IMAdaE… #HamOnt #HamOntHistory #archives
Image from Hamilton PL (@HamiltonLibrary)
3
6
This video — in music, words and pictures — tells the tragic love story behind the famous ballad “When You and I Were Young, Maggie.” Check it out. bit.ly/2WxecF7
1
1
Flashbacks: Hamilton Cemetery tour guide shares his top 10 favourite tombstones, writes @Songscribe #HamOntHistory torstar.co/g5K650zwjUt

Hamilton Cemetery tour guide shares his top 10 favourite tombstones

Robin McKee has hosted weekly tours of the cemetery for 20 years. He’s also ‘literally danced on my future grave,’ writes Mark McNeil.

thespec.com
2
Nice tribute @Songscribe in today’s @TheSpec for longtime #HamOnt Councillor Bill McCulloch. Bill leaves a great legacy in many historic buildings he fought to save. He was a kind man with a wicked sense of humour & dedicated public servant. Bill will be missed @HamiltonsMayor.
Image from Terry Cooke (@TerryJCooke)
4
2
3
Hamilton has an amazing newspaper history with a golden age of rivalry from the late 1800s through the early decades of the 1900s where three major dailies competed. Here is a song about a fictional newsboy from that period. bit.ly/2UyK3nV
1
4
A thought for these troubling times: Better to be six feet apart than six feet under...
Her great, great grandfather helped bring hydro to Hamilton that set the stage for industrial growth in the city. bit.ly/391WCvT
1
2
4
Total cases in #HamOnt are now 5 with a 6th case that is technically a Halton case but has impact on Hamilton because it was a radiation oncologist at Juravinski Cancer Centre
4
10
9
“Is the LRT saga an example of ‘deva vu all over again’? Do you remember the ‘elevated transit’ plan from 40 years ago? See today’s Flashbacks column.” bit.ly/2PLqohX
Load more