Welcome to My Web Site
I created this web site quite a few years ago now. Much of my focus now is on my family genealogy and the community where I am from, along with some places I've been ... as indicated in the order of the menu above.
This is a personal site but I hope if you are visiting that you will look around a bit and possibly find something of interest to you. If you have any Corkum connections in your family, check out the Genealogy page and I would like to hear from you.
I hope you like the theme that I have used on this site. I'm old fashioned and believe the older web page designs were much more attractive than today's "blocky" look where except for the pictures every site looks the same. When I set up this site, there were nice templates still available ... I can't find any free web templates today that I like!
NOTE: Some menu's may have drop down lists. Click the title for the main page, or one of the drop down selections to go to the sub-page.
This is a personal site but I hope if you are visiting that you will look around a bit and possibly find something of interest to you. If you have any Corkum connections in your family, check out the Genealogy page and I would like to hear from you.
I hope you like the theme that I have used on this site. I'm old fashioned and believe the older web page designs were much more attractive than today's "blocky" look where except for the pictures every site looks the same. When I set up this site, there were nice templates still available ... I can't find any free web templates today that I like!
NOTE: Some menu's may have drop down lists. Click the title for the main page, or one of the drop down selections to go to the sub-page.
So, what is "Weebly"? If you want the explanation for the odd-sounding web site name, click here.
Here is a short summary of what you will find on this site.
Here is a short summary of what you will find on this site.
Genealogy - I retired in 2016 and decided to research my family genealogy to occupy my time. (Then I went back part time in 2018 until 2021.) This section contains interesting information I've found on my family and some notable individuals. If you think you may be related, there's a link there to my family tree web site. (All Corkum's in Canada and USA are related.) If you also have any interest in genealogy, I have a page with many useful web sites that you might find helpful in your searches. If you are a Corkum, there is family history here that you might like to know ... it goes all the way back to 1525!
Middle LaHave - OK, where is this place you may be saying? It's a small community in Lunenburg County on the South Shore of Nova Scotia where I grew up and I've posted some pictures and history here.
St. Mark's Lutheran Church - This is the church in Middle LaHave which I attended for most of the first 30 years of my life. The church closed in 2005 and I built a site to preserve some pictures and history. The building was later sold and is now a venue for concerts, weddings, etc.
My Travels - Vacation pictures and videos from some trips we've taken to Europe and Israel. Yeah, I know, why would you want to see our vacation pictures but just in case you want a look, here they are. Some people do not have the opportunity to travel so may only be able to view these places through other people's eyes (or pictures on Google!)
Israel - My wife and I have a particular fondness for Israel after having been there a few times. This link will take you to a separate web site where I have accumulated a large quantity of information on Israel. If you also have an interest in Israel, please have a look at this site. And much of what you may hear in the media is just plain wrong or very biased!
Interesting Stuff - This is just a collection of miscellaneous items that I found interesting - maybe you will too.
Rod Corkum
Nova Scotia, Canada
Middle LaHave - OK, where is this place you may be saying? It's a small community in Lunenburg County on the South Shore of Nova Scotia where I grew up and I've posted some pictures and history here.
St. Mark's Lutheran Church - This is the church in Middle LaHave which I attended for most of the first 30 years of my life. The church closed in 2005 and I built a site to preserve some pictures and history. The building was later sold and is now a venue for concerts, weddings, etc.
My Travels - Vacation pictures and videos from some trips we've taken to Europe and Israel. Yeah, I know, why would you want to see our vacation pictures but just in case you want a look, here they are. Some people do not have the opportunity to travel so may only be able to view these places through other people's eyes (or pictures on Google!)
Israel - My wife and I have a particular fondness for Israel after having been there a few times. This link will take you to a separate web site where I have accumulated a large quantity of information on Israel. If you also have an interest in Israel, please have a look at this site. And much of what you may hear in the media is just plain wrong or very biased!
Interesting Stuff - This is just a collection of miscellaneous items that I found interesting - maybe you will too.
Rod Corkum
Nova Scotia, Canada
Music
I have found some excellent music and want to share with you so I am putting them right here on the front page.
NEW October 2023 - This little girl is Elisabeth Ayres ... part of Ayres of Promise, a country/southern gospel family band from Florida. She is now 10 years old ... this was posted a year ago. This was obviously captured on a cell phone and the audio quality is not the best but she does a fabulous job on this song. And quite talented ... the web site says she plays multiple instruments. You can find their web site here. You should also see her little 3-year old sister Grace. A little too young to stay in key but definitely will be an upcoming performer ... they introduce her in this video.
NEW June 2023 - I've just found this group ... the Brandenberger Family ... an Amish bluegrass gospel group from Indiana and they have some excellent music. Here are two recently posted examples which I think are their best that I've seen so far ... "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" with lead singer Victor Brandenberger, and "Keep On The Sunny Side" by the three girls, Melanie (lead playing Dobro), Angela (fiddle) and Bethany (mandolin). For more of their music, go to their YouTube site. (Both of these songs were well known signature recordings of the Carter Family, the first commercial Country Music group formed in 1927.) September 2023 ... just added a new "Cajun Fiddle" tune by the three girls ... more great music!
This is one of my favourite songs. It was posted in 2018 and I learned that Jared Lutes (on mandolin) is a 4th cousin twice removed! He is in Moncton, New Brunswick. His wife, Marie-Josée Poitras (in the video) is also an excellent singer - listen to her singing "Quand Mon Heure Est La" ("When My Time Has Come" written by Jared in memory of his late mother). Jared's Web Site, and FaceBook.
And here is another musical family I discovered with some great music (no, they're not related) in Branson, Missouri - The Petersens. If you like Bluegrass style music, check them out on YouTube or their web site. They have a huge following - 800,000 subscribers - their videos can get 50,000 views on the first day!
And now for something a little different from the Petersens - a bluegrass band doing Abba ... and they completely nailed it! Have a listen. (They had 21,000 views in the first two hours of posting!)
I've had this song "A Place in the Choir" performed by the Irish group Damian McGinty and Celtic Thunder elsewhere on the site for a long time (it's from 2011). If this one doesn't have you singing along, there's no hope for you. The first time I saw this, I couldn't get the tune out of my head all day. Check out some of the other videos in the right sidebar and on their YouTube channel. (Watch for the little girl in the aisle just before the end - 3:50 on the counter.)
This song "Shine On" is performed by Gad Elbaz, a top Israeli singer and this is a very moving performance with The Holocaust Survivor Band, (Saul Dreier and Ruby Sosnowicz, both holocaust survivors.) This was posted in 2017. After watching the video, please read this New York Post article about The Holocaust Survivor Band. And if you like this music, please check out the other Israeli and Jewish music on my Israel web site - I have a long list of really good stuff (at least I like them!) Click the Israel link in the menu at the top of this page.
Joyce Seamone - YouTube put this one in my "recommendations". She is a 5th cousin. In this video from 2015, Joyce leads with "Testing 1-2-3", her debut song which earned her a gold record for #1 on Canadian country music charts in 1972. Additional songs in the video by members of the band, Total Country. Remember when Line Dancing was a big craze back in the 90's? Joyce wrote a song for that, "Two Step on Saturday Night" and it's a fantastic song with a great beat - watch that one here. And lastly, you can find an original recording of "Testing 1-2-3" from her 1972 album (posted on another channel) here. And if you like country music, search YouTube for Carroll Baker (the singer, not the actress) - she's another 5th cousin who was popular on the Canadian country music scene in the 1970's! She doesn't have her own channel but there are lots of songs posted.
Counter below reset November 18, 2016