Theodore Tugboat, the eclipse and 7 more great photos from 2024

2024 was filled with some remarkable stories and the compelling images that came with them.

From a total eclipse that was the stargazing experience of a lifetime for hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents in the Hamilton-Niagara region to the partial, temporary sinking of the beloved Theodore Too tugboat in St. Catharines, this has been a year in pictures worth a second look.

Here are a few, taken throughout the year, that caught our eye and helped capture what the world looked like from the Hamilton and Niagara regions in 2024.

Want to squash the spread of an invasive species? Get your goats

This one came to us from Niagara Parks. Goats from local farmers grazed on plants including phragmites, an invasive species, at Gonder's Flats in Fort Erie, Ont., at the end of June.  

"Every morning they're excited to get out and chew down the phragmites," environmental planning technician Victoria Kalenuik said. "I've been there every morning making sure that they're ready to go."

Crumbling buildings

The historic buildings at 24 and 28 King St. E., collapsed on a morning in November, sending large blocks and debris tumbling into the street below.

No one was hurt but Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said she cringed "at the thought of what could've happened had this devastating incident occurred [Sunday]," during Remembrance Day ceremonies that drew hundreds to Gore Park, and included a parade that passed by the buildings the day before.

Bed bugs at a Hamilton apartment

In April, a tenant named Gerald and his dog stood outside 325 James St. S., in Hamilton, where Gerald described what it's been like to live in his bachelor unit in a downtown apartment building, where the property management company has had to spray for bed bugs two dozen times in the past year.

He said he couldn't lie on his bed, move his shower curtain, comb his hair or even put on his shoes without finding bed bugs. 

Few options for unhoused men

As the weather became cold in January, John Conrod said he had been homeless for six months after a forklift job fell through and he could no longer afford to keep his housing. He wandered the city with his sleeping bag on his back searching for a place to sleep. 

The damp and cold "hurts the bones," the 62-year-old Hamilton resident told CBC Hamilton, just days before the city issued a cold weather alert. "I never thought it would happen to me but it did," Conrod said. "I worked all my life. I've paid my taxes all these years and the government has not helped."

The artist who left a legacy on city walls

Painting giant murals on buildings in the city is a tough job that takes a lot of preparation, mural artist Scott McDonald says. Getting paid by the city for the work he did, might have been an even more difficult process.

McDonald was born and raised in Hamilton, and after going through throat cancer, he made it his mission to make a difference in the city. After painting several beautiful murals around Hamilton, he said, dealing with the city has left him feeling "ripped off" waiting years to get paid for murals he finished in 2021.

The total eclipse

The photos taken of April's total eclipse, from the Hamilton and Niagara regions, might have been some of the most extraordinary images taken all year long, anywhere.

The eclipse was a celestial spectacle for hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents in the area. It all happened at around 3:18 p.m. on April 8. This photo, from the CBC's Evan Mitsui, captured the start of the total solar eclipse from Niagara Falls State Park, N.Y..

The fog rolled in

CBC reporter Justin Chandler captured this image on his way to work early in the morning on Feb. 8.

The fog covered Main Street West that day and Environment Canada warned of black ice and "near zero visibility" for drivers in some areas. The weather agency had issued a fog advisory for Hamilton, Burlington, St. Catharines and Niagara.

Community support for 70-year-old transgender actor Lisa Stroud

In this photo taken in December, transgender actor Lisa Stroud, shown here in Hamilton's Strathcona neighbourhood, returned to acting after seven months off, following a violent attack in downtown Hamilton.

"My God, I was married. I have a son," she said. "I worked at Dofasco for 35 years and I'm a law-abiding citizen …. Why is there so much hate out there?" 

Stroud reported the attack to Hamilton police the next day, but so far, no one has been arrested. She said one of the detectives told her that her experience was "definitely a hate crime."

The partial sinking of Theodore Too

In this photo taken by Bobby Davidson of the Canadian Press on Dec. 18, 2024, the beloved life-sized replica of CBC-TV character Theodore Tugboat sits partially sunk at a dock at the Ontario Shipyard in Port Weller, Ontario. 

"At this time, the cause of this unfortunate incident remains unclear," Blair McKeil, Theodore Too's owner and CEO of Breakwater Financial, said in a statement at the time.

Just a day later, Theodore Too "was safely righted and refloated" at about 3 p.m. ET , said a statement from Breakwater Financial, the tugboat's owners. 

Theodore Tugboat was a children's television show that aired on CBC from 1993 to 2001. Theodore Too was built in Dayspring, N.S., in 2000. Its official birthday is May 5.