By Gordon Lambie
There is too much news in any given year to round it all up in ten pages, let alone one, so rather than use up column space going back through everything that happened in 2021, here are eight images that stood out from the year gone by.
January
Kathryne Owen’s photo of smiling children playing on the Huntingville ice rink was a ray of sunshine at a time when the province was rolling steadily into what, at the time, was its strongest lockdown to date.
February
Although the vaccination campaign for COVID-19 got started in December of 2020, most people got their shots in 2021. Stories about the different vaccines available, who would or would not have access to them, and when dominated the headlines over the course of the year.
March
It’s hard to forget the morning that a moose made its way into the heart of Sherbrooke and took a swim in a backyard pool on Heneker Street. The massive mammal was eventually shot with a tranquilizer dart and driven out of town on the back of a trailer.
May
Ongoing pandemic stress on top of the usual challenges of the workplace inspired demonstrations related to working conditions across groups ranging from educational support staff and teachers, to nurses, daycare workers and police officers throughout 2021.
June
Sherbrooke was host to a vigil following an Islamophobic attack in London, Ontario in early June that killed four members of a family who were out of an evening walk. The Sherbrooke gathering drew more than 100 participants of all ages together to share messages of support
September
The mistreatment and abuse of Indigenous peoples was brought to the forefront of many Canadians’ attention this year following the announcement in May that hundreds of bodies were found in unmarked graves outside of a former residential school in Kamloops B.C.
November
Quebec’s municipal elections took place in November, and an unprecedented number of women were elected as mayors across the province, including Evelyne Beaudin in Sherbrooke.
December
At a time when the world was starting to feel dark and cold again, Lennoxville Elementary School students Mia-May and Ada brought their smailes to the front page holding bags of Hats, underwear, gloves, and socks collected at the school to donate to Mental Health Estrie’s annual campaign.
Photos courtesy Record Archives
