Anyone who grew up in the late 1940s and 50s will recognize themselves and their experiences in this story of a Halifax boyhood. Whether its the thrill of skating while holding someones hand for the first time, waiting for a Saturday matinee in the raucous din of a movie theatre full of kids, or exploring a building left temporarily unsupervised, Malcolm MacLeod brings back the sights, sounds, and feelings of the era. Photographs from the same period show a city replacing old ways with the new world of big cars, suburbs, and fast food.

This is a book that captures the spirit of an optimistic age when the world was becoming a better place for everyone, every day.

For anyone who knows Halifax, there are special pleasures here. Theres a boys-eye view of the construction of the Armdale Rotary, the thrills of climbing to the top of the Dingle Tower, and the excitement of jumping from ice pan to ice pan on the semi-frozen Northwest Arm.

After growing up at Armdale (then a suburb, now part of Halifax, Nova Scotia), MacLeod gained a B.A. at Dalhousie University, M.A. at the University of Ottawa. He joined the faculty at Memorial University in 1968, left for a period of time and returned to stay 1978. He has just retired from Memorial's History Department.

Malcolm MacLeod's profile page

WILLIAM D. NAFTEL was a historian and regional manager with Parks Canada for thirty years, in Ottawa and Nova Scotia. He lives in Halifax.

William D. Naftel's profile page