Carolyn McPherson

I adore CGP Grey's funny, clever, and highly educational videos. A particular favorite of mine is his Bizarre Borders, part ll, which no doubt derives from my having been born within eyeshot of a Canadian/US border. My particular border is between Stanstead, Quebec, (formerly Rock Island) and Derby Line, Vermont, and so it is possible to enter the front door of the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Vermont and find that there are no books on the American side. A thick black line, however, has been helpfully drawn on the floor. Walk over the line--you do not have to go through customs--and presto! you are now in Canada and can tborrow something to read. Genealogy in this area is--more or less--a nightmare because what was thought to be the 45th parallel runs though people's houses, and more than one person has discovered that his mother wandered over to the northern bedroom to give birth and so he was born in Canada! The citizens of this bifurcated community appear nonplussed by this state of affairs, and do their best to cope. In the case of the War of 1812, the citizens from both sides of the line gathered and voted to *not* participate. How easy peace-keeping would be if all nations could adopt such a policy. Finally, I must add this recent detail. As I've mentioned before, the border between the two countries is supposed to be on the 45th parallel. Imagine everyone's surprise, then, when state-of-the-art GPS measurements revealed that the 45th parallel actually runs a few hundred feet south of the old line. This meant that all of Derby Line, Vermont, was in Québec. I found it most interesting to check Google maps and yes! There is was. my family's ancestral Vermont homestead in Canada. I'm not sure precisely what legal machinations were required, but the old border has been declared to be the permanent present-day border, and no shots were fired in the process. Best wishes, Carolyn McPherson Now south of the Mason-Dixon line One thing: Could CPG Grey possibly speak a little more slowly? I hate missing even one pronoun or definite article.