Who was Simon Fraser and why should you care about him?

Most Canadians have heard of Simon Fraser because so many Canadian things are named after him. There's Simon Fraser University, for example. And the Fraser River



(which we now have seen a lot of).

And the Fraser Valley. And the RV company.


So here's a little background.

Simon Fraser was born in Vermont in 1776, son of Scottish immigrants. His father was a British Army Captain in the Revolutionary War (in other words, a Loyalist) and was killed after being taken as a prisoner of war. His father's brother was named Donald, and he was my great-great-great -great-grandfather. So I (and all my Bergmann relatives) are related to Simon Fraser. That's why you should care about him.

Simon's mother (and all the other Loyalists) left the United States and settled in Canada. Simon Fraser grew up near Montreal and became a fur trader and explorer. He navigated the Fraser River and when we went to Hell's Gate, there were books about him and even a statue in his honor. Is this beautiful, or what?



I asked the young girl collecting money, "Do I get a discount on admission for being a descendant of Simon Fraser?"

She got that "deer in the headlights"--I'm new at this job" sort of look on her face.

"I'll have to check," she said, timidly.

"I'm kidding," I told her. Instead, I got a senior citizen discount for Dean and I. I have discovered that young people are incredibly bad at figuring out the ages of older people and so far, nobody has even asked for ID to prove my age.