• It was reported in the Canadian Bahá'í News that Amy Putnam from Hamilton had moved on to the Reserve by April, 1958. [CBN No 99 April 1958 p8]

• The Gulf Islands were not on the Guardians original list of pioneering goals but in January 1956, after several years of futile efforts to fill the goal of the Anticosti Island the Guardian gat the Canadian National Assembly permission to choose another goal. Mary Zabolotny did manage to fill the Anticosti goal but the Gulf Island goal remained.
• They arrived with personal care worker Bernice Boulding who became a Bahá'í the following year, the first in the Gulf Islands. The first local assembly was formed on the 21st of April, 1964. The couple pioneered to St Helena arriving on the 9th of April, 1964. [KoB273-276]

• He had immigrated to Montreal by way of Nigeria and the Sudan where he had worked on railway projects. He arrived with his wife Amy and their two children, a boy and a girl.
• He associated with the Bahá'í community for a number of years from 1916 but did not make a commitment. In 1921 while on his way to California, he stopped briefly in Wilmette and met with so much loving kindness that he could not sleep. That summer he wrote to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and received a Tablet from Him dated the 16th of August 1921. In five years time he accepted the Faith and became active.
• In December, 1925 he delivered an address in the same church as 'Abdu'l-Bahá had spoken in 1912. [BN No 10 February 1926 p8]

• For a list of delegates to the 12th National Convention see [CBN No 110 March 1959 p2].
• For the message from the Hands to the Convention see [CBN No 113 June 1959 p1-6].

• The first Bahá'í in Niagara Falls was Charlie Grindlay.
• The first native Niagara Falls resident to become a Bahá'í was Carol Bowie.

• For a photo see CBN No 117 October 1959 p1. Those elected were: Lorne Murphy, Mrs Georgie Hughes, Jerry Brda, Joan Anderson, Erna Henckel, Margaret Brda, Ted Anderson, Ruth Cunliffe, and Glen Hughes.
• At the Jackson Lake Summer School it was resolved to double their numbers by the 3rd annual summer school to be held in September 1960. New Tlingit Bahá'í Sally Jackson proposed that every Bahá'í in the Yukon recite three special prayers each day, the The Tablet of Ahmad the Long Obligatory Prayer and the prayer for Canada. By the time of the summer school they had enrolled eleven new believers and four days later, the twelfth new member, Joseph Smith, the first Tutchone Bahá'í also enrolled. [Native Conversion, Native Identity: An Oral History of the Bahá'í Faith among First Nations People in the Southern Central Yukon Territory, Canada by Carolyn Patterson Sawin p91-92]
• In January 1961 a travel teacher from Alaska, newly declared believer Tlingit Jim Walton, himself a fluent Tlingit speaker was able to introduce a number of First Nations people to the Faith. By the 21st of the month there were 36 new believers for a total of 55 in at least eight localities, Whitehorse, Camp Takhini, Carcross, Marsh Lake, Teslin, Aishihik, Carmacks and Whitehorse Flats, a Native village near Whitehorse. [ibid p94]

• Just prior to her passing Jean wrote an impassioned appeal to the Canadian Bahá'í community to do what you can in service of the Faith while you are yet able. Six months before her passing she was apparently healthy and active and then she received her diagnosis of cancer. [CBN No 110 March 1959 p3]

Mrs Audrey Rayne presided at the name-giving ceremony for the two children of Mr and Mrs K Ross in Halifax. [CBN No 110 March 1959 p3]

About 1,400 to 1,500 were sent. Advertisements were placed in the local newspapers announcing that the clergy had received this material and that a speaker would be coming soon to speak about the theme, "Christ and Bahá'u'lláh". The only negative reaction reported was from the town of Forest where the Faith was denounced from the pulpit. [CBN No 107 December 1958 p2; UC80-81]

• Note that Shoghi Effendi had encouraged such a proclamation in the British community. UD379 refers.

• Mary died 1996 and Ken in Dec 2020. [Contributed by Leslie Cole]
• Obituary: Knight of Baha'u'llah Mary Zabolotny McCulloch by Universal House of Justice, Kenneth McCulloch, and National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States compiled by Kenneth C. McCulloch.

• Winston Evans extended his teaching trip throughout Western Ontario to consult with the Promulgation Committee. Two new pamphlets were designed, "The Reality of the Return of Christ" and "Letters to Christians". He spoke at public meetings in Toronto, London, Ajax, Georgetown, Dundas, Forest and other communities. [CBN No 105 October 1958 p3; UC80]

The photo in this reference shows Indigenous believers of the Peigan Indian Reserve (Piikani First Nation), Blackfoot Confederacy, Alberta, Maggie Prairie Chicken, Rose Knowlton, Louise White Cow, Agnes Yellow Face, Councillor Samson Knowlton, Ben White Cow, Sam Yellow Face, and Allan (Otakkoyiisaapo'p) Prairie Chicken. Allan and Maggie Prairie Chicken were the first declarants of the Blackfoot nation in March 1958. [BN No 342 August 1959 p10]

• Memorial services were held across Canada both on the day of the funeral and on November 18th as requested by Ruhiyyih Khanum. [CBN No 96 January, 1958 p6]
• Following the directive of the Hands of the Cause resident in the Holy Land, the National Spiritual Assembly asked the Canadian community to refrain from "all manner of religious festivity" for a period of nine months which began on the 4th of November and ended the 4th of August. The "festive anniversaries" that fell during this period were Intercalary Days, Naw-Rúz, the Feast of Ridván and the Declaration of the Báb. In making this request the Hands were following Shoghi Effendi's example on the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf in 1932. [CBN No 97 February, 1958 p1]
• See report by Winnifred Harvey.

See [MtC198-199] for a photo.

"The fortuitous combination of British solidity and good judgement and American get-up-and-go and enthusiasm, which has characterized Canada, must not be lost in the Canadian Bahá'í Community. Its members must demonstrate their out-standing abilities, and through a greater vision, more consecration and renewed self-sacrifice, arise and attain their goals." [CBN NO 92 Oct 1957 p1-2]

The October issue included a graphic that illustrated the reporting structure of the national committees. [CBN No 93 October 1957 p7]

The purchase was made possible because of the generosity of the Canadian believers as well as an "exceedingly generous bequest made to the Canadian Bahá'í Community, on his death, by Fred Schopflocher". [CBNNo 77 June 1956 p4]

• The Haziratu'lQuds was to serve as the administrative headquarters of the National Spiritual Assembly, its secretariat, for Assembly meetings, the preservation of its records, for public meetings , a Bahá'í library, an Archives, for committee meetings and Bahá'í Conferences. Its influence would enhance the prestige and consolidate the authority of the National Assembly in the Bahá'í community, confer dignity and prestige upon the Faith in the eyes of the public and be the seat of one of the electoral bodies that would elect the Universal House of Justice. [CBN No 82 November, 1956 p 3]

• See [MtC198-199] for a photo.

• It was announced that Canada's National Endowment had been secured, a beautiful piece of property on the Niagara River in the shadow of Queenston Heights. It had been donated by one of the friends.
• The Public Congress was held in the Royal Ontario Museum Theatre on the evening of Saturday the 28th of April. Over 300 attended. [CBN No 77 June 1956 p2]
• It was learned that Canada's National Endowment had been secured, a beautiful piece of property on the Niagara River in the shadow of Queenston Heights, which had been donated by one of the friends. [CBN No 77 June 1956 p2]

• Note: Canadian Bahá'í News August 1961 p10 reported that this took place in 1960.
• "Arthur Irwin became a Bahá'í in 1947 and was a very active Bahá'í teacher to the native peoples of Canada, Alaska, and the Caribbean. He and his wife, Lily Ann, established the first Native Indian Friendship Centre in Calgary, Alberta… He was honoured by the Blackfoot, Peigan, Blood, and Morely tribes in Alberta for his honesty and integrity. A geologist with a doctorate in the field, Irwin worked on Indian reserves in Canada ensuring that fair market value was paid for leases on natural resources (Bahá'í World. 1994. "Arthur Bonshaw Irwin." Bahá'í World. 1994. Volume XXIII)."

See Shoghi Effendi's cable of 1 May 1955 and his letter to the National Spiritual Assembly dated 16 July 1955. [MtC220, 222]

Members at the time of incorporation were: Singe Saxton, Stella Pollexfen, Claire Atwood, Margaret Saxton, Angus Cowan, Bobbie Cowan, Ethel Martens, Moliie Macpherson, and Miron Thom.

1. Man's Relationship to God.
2. Man's Relationship to Society.
3. Society and Administration. [CBN No65 Jun 1955 p6]

"He considers the revised criteria you sent him for the Temple and Haziratu'l-Quds, as outlined in your letter of December 15th, satisfactory.
He is extremely anxious to have these properties purchased, either together in one-place, or if this is not feasible, then in two separate places, as he has already informed you. Eight of the eleven Temple sites have been purchased, and many of them in very difficult places; and he feels very strongly that it is a great pity that Canada should be behind-hand in this matter, in view of the fact that she is one of the oldest Bahá'í Communities in the world. No doubt the problem is more difficult for you to solve, owing to the special conditions in Toronto and vicinity; but we know that all problems are solvable for the Bahá'ís, with the power of God to help them; and he is eagerly awaiting news of your success."

He further clarified that while the Maxwell House was indeed a National Endowment it should not be considered as having fulfilled this objective of the Plan and a second one should be obtained. [MC2p222; CBN No 73 Feb 1956 p2]

• List of delegates. [CBN No 62 March, 1955 p1]
• On May 1st the friends shared in a Memorial Service for Marion Jack. The delegates and other believers gathered in Victoria Hall in Westmount for a brief commemoration and prayers in advance of the main Memorial Service at the Temple. [CBN No 62 March, 1955 from the 4-page insert]
• The Guardian's message to the National Convention dated 17 April 1954 was distributed as an insert to CBN No 54 Jun 1954. The message list recent accomplishments.
• See the National Convention report, the Guardian's supplementary message to the Convention and a letter, Progress at the World Centre from the International Bahá'i Council. [CBN No65 Jun 1955 p4]

The anniversary meeting of the Society, at which Cree First Nations danced with the skill of professionals, First Nations handicrafts and artifacts were displayed, and a full-blooded Haida spoke. His message was directed to the Native people to take up their responsibilities as citizens, to avail themselves of education and adapt themselves to the encroachment of modern civilization.

The Friends of the Indians (First Nations) Society did much during its 10 years of existence to promote its aims, through monthly meetings to which Indians are invited, through representations to government bodies, by enlightening public opinion through press releases, and through direct welfare and charity when needed. Its present executive committee include a Roman Catholic priest, a Unitarian minister, a Mormon elder, a Bahá'í, and others who are able to work together in harmony and unity. {CBN No63 PE 1955 P3]

The Guardian...urges you to concentrate on the native populations it is for that reason that we have opened new countries to the Faith. After all, Europeans, Americans, etc., can become Bahá'ís in their homeland. We have entered new fields all over the world to bring the light of divine guidance to the native population, who have thus far been deprived of the spiritual teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. May you be confirmed with this teaching effort among the natives. The great foal would be an assembly in Whitehorse, made up of native Bahá's or at least the majority natives..

It was through the participation of the Bahá'í in the Yukon Indian Advancement Association that many of the early Native people became Bahá'ís. [ibid p92]

In the message to the National Conventions dated 17 April 1954 Shoghi Effendi announced that "Israel Branches of the British, the Persian, the Canadian and the Australian Baha'i National Spiritual Assemblies have been legally established, recognized formally as Religious Societies by the Israeli Civil Authorities, and empowered to hold without restriction title to immovable property in any part of the country on behal'f of their parent assemblies." [Bahá'í Canada Special Insert June 1954]

On 4 December 1954, Leroy Ioas wrote "The beloved Guardian has directed me to write you... that the Israel Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada was to be established, and land on Mount Carmel registered in your name..." [MtC213-214]

"The land on Mount Carmel which the Guardian had instructed to be registered in the name of the Israel Branch of the Canadian Assembly was transferred to the title of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, Israel Branch, on October 1, 1954". Quoted from a letter from Leroy Ioas. [CBN No 61 February, 1955 p1]

The title deed for "Parcel No. 304, Block 10811, Mount Carmel, Haifa." was sent to the National Assembly. [MtC213-214]

• Frederick and Jeanne Allen arrived one day later and opened a small grocery store a few kilometers from Sydney. They remained until 1961 when they were asked to return to Charlottetown to maintain the Assembly. [KoB280-282; BW15458-459]

• John was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly from 1948–53.
• In 1953 they became Knights of Bahá'u'lláh when they pioneered to Bechuanaland sailing from Saint John on the 6th of January. [CBN No 50 March 1954 p2]
• from John and Audrey Robarts. "They are now comfortably settled at Mafeking, where they were fortunate enough to buy an attractive bungalow with electrical equipment and furniture a few days after their arrival. Housing is very scarce in Mafeking and people who have been living in hotels for months looking for accommodation eye them with envy. The house is situated in an orchard with 12 varieties of fruit, and overlooks a golf course on one side and a fine school playground on the other. John had a choice of positions offered him in the insurance field, Nina has an excellent school and Patrick is in Johannesburg at university." [CBN No52 May 1954 p2]
• In 1957 John Robarts was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God. [14 May 1954. Messages to Canada]

Other pioneers to Yellowknife were Ted Blencowe (1954 September) and later his wife, Helen, and Don and Midge Ulery, as well as Arthur and Lily Anne Irwin. [CBN No57 Oct 1954 p1; CBN No 207 Apr 1967 p8]

Because she was not able to find employment she departed on the 22nd of December and was replaced by Kay Zinky in February 1954. She was an American from Colorado Spring, Colorado, whose husband, a non-Bahá'í, supported her during her stay of one year, until February 1954. Margaret and Larry Rowdon with their daughter Ayn arrived in the summer of 1954. They stayed until 1969. During this time the rest of their children, Leslie, Ruth, Devin, Karen and Bret were born. [CBN No 49 Feb 1954 p2; CBN No 54Jul 1954 p2] [CBN Vol 18 No 1 May 2005 p24-26; HB25; BW13:453; KoB278-280]

The first person to declare on the Magdalens was Carole Bates, originally from Nova Scotia. [HB116]

• On his way from Churchill, Manitoba, to his pioneer post at Baker Lake, Dick Stanton presented a copy of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era to the library of the Hudson Bay vessel which serviced that northern outpost. [BN No 276 November 1953 p4]

• Visits were also made to Winnipeg,London, Ottawa, Toronto, and Kingston and others. [CBN No 42 July, 1954 p5]
• The tour concluded in the Maritimes with visits to Moncton and lastly Saint John. [CBN No 43 August, 1953 p2]

The objectives of Canada's Plan were:

1. Opening following virgin territories eleven North America: Anticosti Island, Baranof Island, Cape Breton Island, Franklin, Grand Manan Island, Keewatin, Labrador, Magdalen Islands, Miquelon Island and St. Pierre Island, Queen Charlotte Islands, Yukon;
   Opening two Asias Marquesas Islands, Samoa Islands.
2. Consolidation faith Iceland, Greenland, Mackenzie, Newfoundland.
3. Purchase land Toronto anticipation construction first Haziratu'l-Quds Canada.
4. Establishment national Bahá'í endowments.
5. Doubling number local spiritual assemblies.
6. Raising number incorporated spiritual assemblies nineteen.
7. Formation Israel branch Canadian National Spiritual Assembly.
8. Establishment American Asian teaching committees entrusted task stimulate coordinate teaching activities initiated plan.

"Appeal members entire community worthy allies chief executors Abdu'l-Bahá's divine plan dedicate themselves immediate requirements steadily unfolding mission discharge nobly sacred strenuous tasks ahead contribute memorable share prosecution decade long world spiritual crusade pay befitting tribute through future accomplishments memory founder faith occasion most great jubilee commemorating centenary declaration his mission city Baghdad."
(signed) Shoghi

The National Spiritual Assembly announced that the Hazira Committee would continue its search for a suitable building not exceeding $50,000, [CBN No 31 July 1952 p6]

• Mr. Eddie Elliott, member of the Spiritual Assembly of Montreal and son of a former servant in the Maxwell household sang the spiritual "Steal Away".
• Mr Rowland Estall, the vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly read some Writings and then delivered the eulogy.
• A cable that had just arrived from the Guardian announced that the southern door of the Tomb of the Báb would be named after him.
• Mr. Estall read the Prayer for the Departed.
• Mr Horace Holley, secretary of the National spiritual assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United states and Mr Fred Schopflocher, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, both distinguished Hands of the cause, had the honour to represent the Guardian at the service. Each of them read a prayer at the interment in Mount royal Cemetery. [CBN undated Memorial Issue]

See Speechless 4 December 2009 for a chronological biography as well as a bibliography / webliogrphy of other works on him.

See NUVO for a photo of his eviction from the New York Daily News archive and a short biography.

See as well BFA1p90-93; OBCC18-21, 25-26.

• In the months and years that followed their relatives enrolled in the Faith. It can be said that the Graham family established the first dynasty in Canada.
• 1952 November 2: Fred's mother Florence as well as Fred's sister Jeanie and her husband Orv Seddon enrolled. [UC35]

For a list of functioning local spiritual assemblies see CBN No 22 October 1951 p8.

Should in Greenland the fire of the love of God be ignited, all the ices of that continent will be melted and its frigid climate will be changed into a temperate climate-that is, if the hearts will obtain the heat of the love of God, that country and continent will become a divine garden and a lordly orchard, and the souls, like unto the fruitful trees, will obtain the utmost freshness and delicacy. Magnanimity is necessary, heavenly exertion is called for.

Verily, know, that the letter of 'Abdu'l-Bahá is a hidden mystery and concealed fact; no one is informed of its greatness and importance at these times. But in the course of time and future centuries, the signs thereof will be made manifest, the lights thereof will dawn. The fragrance thereof will be diffused and the greatness, the importance thereof will be known. The truth I say unto thee, that each leaflet from 'Abdu'l-Bahá will be a widespread Book; nay, rather a glistening Gem on the Glorious Crown. Know thou Its value and hold great Its station. [CBN No 19 April 1951 p9]

O God! We pray that from now on, Thou, the Beloved
will bestow upon Shoghi Effendi all the strength and
vigor that will enable him to pursue over a long unbroken
period of strenuous labor, the supreme task of achieving,
in collaboration with the friends in every land, the
speedy triumph of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.

This was adapted from his letter dated the 14th of November 1923

I cherish the hope that, from now on, the Beloved may bestow upon me all the strength and vigor that will enable me to pursue over a long and unbroken period of strenuous labor the supreme task of achieving, in collaboration with the friends in every land, the speedy triumph of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. This is the prayer I earnestly request all my fellow-brethren and sisters in the Faith to offer on my behalf.

He also had a prayer for the believers:

"Let us pray to God that in these days of world-encircling gloom, when the dark forces of nature, of hate, rebellion, anarchy and reaction are threatening the very stability of human society, when the most precious fruits of civilization are undergoing severe and unparalleled tests, we may all realize, more profoundly than ever, that though but a mere handful amidst the seething masses of the world, we are in this day the chosen instruments of God's grace, that our mission is most urgent and vital to the fate of humanity, and, fortified by these sentiments, arise to achieve God's holy purpose for mankind."