Sept. 1, 1993
25 Years Ago
Smoke detectors may become mandatory: Every house in the Pontiac will have at least one smoke detector if the Pontiac Fire Chiefs Association gets its way.
The 16 chiefs who are members of the Pontiac Fire Chiefs Association (PFCA) will approach their individual councils requesting they pass a bylaw making it mandatory to have smoke detectors in all homes.
Bill Black, county chief of the PFCA said the ideal bylaw would make it mandatory for all homes to install smoke detectors, regardless of when they were built.
Murphy shoots for the top: Shawville native lands try-out with OHL team: Luke Murphy is being scouted by royalty.
Murphy, 17, has secured a try-out with the Newmarket Royals, a team in the Ontario Hockey League.
Two days before leaving for training camp, Murphy is admitting to being a bit nervous but he considered the chance to try out for the Royals a great opportunity.
Murphy was named rookie of the year last year with the Pembroke Lumber Kings. He played in 56 games, scoring 23 goals and racking up 73 points.
Shawville’s Art MacIntyre, general manager of the Pembroke Lumber Kings thinks he will be a “100-point man” this season.
“He’s a natural,” MacIntyre said. “He’s one of the best prospects to come out of Shawville in the past 20 years.”
Sept. 12, 1968
50 Years Ago
Shawville riders in western games at Rupert Fair: At Rupert on Saturday, a number of Pontiac exhibitors took part in the sixth annual Gatineau Valley Horse and Cattle Fair.
Thompson’s Registered Quarter Mare Susie won first place for mare suitable for saddle 3 years and over in a class of twelve.
This new exhibition is fast becoming a major Western Quebec attraction with larger entries and larger gates every year.
Chris Judd gets gold medal at Quebec City: Last Saturday, Chris Judd and his wife and his mother, Mrs. Louis Judd and his grandfather, Gordon Brownlee were driven to Quebec City by County Agronomist Doug MacMillan where Chris was presented with a gold medal, a cheque for $50 and an opportunity for a six week trip to Europe for a cost of $200 for winning the Agricultural Merit Junior Competition for diploma graduates for all Quebec.
At a banquet, Chris was presented the award by the Minister of Agriculture.
Sept. 9, 1943
75 Years Ago
Local News: Mr. and Mrs. James Pitt of Bryson have received a telegram confirming information of the wounding and death in Sicily of their elder son, Pte. Lloyd Pitt. A brother, Harold, donned the uniform and is now in training at Chicoutimi. Two other brothers, Russell, who has already received his call but has been allowed farm leave, and Leonard, are at home.
High and public schools of this district opened on Sept. 1 with a full staff of teachers. In the High School the teachers are: Principal, John Tolhurst; science specialist, Gordon E. Samson; household science teacher, Miss Edith Barss; French speciality, E.K. St. Jean; Miss Clara Strutt, Mrs. M. McEwan, Miss Gwen Shaw, Miss Margaret Judd, Miss Sadie Tubman, Miss Audrey Fulford, Miss Amy Corrigan and Mrs. Athol Dale.
Friday, Sept. 3, appointed as a Day of Prayer by His Majesty King George VI was fittingly observed in Shawville at 11 o’clock by a public service in the War Memorial Park at the east end of the village.
A large number of citizens attended and stores and other business places closed for the hour of prayer.
Long, forced marches which had been part of the Canadians’ three-year training in England helped patrols to move rapidly and relentlessly from town to town in the invasion of Sicily. Peasant donkey carts were commandeered to haul heavy weapons and other equipment.
Sept. 5, 1918
100 Years Ago
Local news: Shawville Fair dates Sept. 16, 17 and 18.
It is expected notice will be issued in a day or two proclaiming Wednesday next, Sept. 11, a Civic holiday to enable Shawville citizens to attend Ottawa Fair.
Ad: Velveteen for fall suiting in a variety of colours. No better value will be shown in suit or dress material. Price only 75 cents per yard.
Corsets – we sell the famous D and A corset. Our new fall stock has just arrived and we have a complete range of styles: 75 cents to $3.00.
Mr. Joseph E. Dolan of Portage du Fort received intelligence through the Canadian Record Office on Thursday last, that his son, Crawford had been killed in action in the recent heavy fighting in which the Canadian army has been engaged. Crawford had been at the front a long time and had participated in some of the hottest fights of the war.
Thursday’s published list of men killed in action included the name of Pte. Harry Eldon McDowell, formerly of Shawville. This young man also had been at the front a considerable length of time and had seen much service.
The allied armies operating in different sectors during the past week have made some very important strategic gains despite a very stubborn resistance on the part of the enemy.
It looks as if Germany’s ruthless, insane submarine policy is going to drive Spain into the war on the side of the Entente. Spain all along has preserved rather a friendly neutrality towards the Hun, although she has had occasion more than once to act otherwise as is also the case of every neutral nation using the high seas.
Sept. 7, 1893, 125 Years Ago
Local news: A large gang of French-Canadians spent Monday night in the village, while enroute for Gillies’ Bros. Coulonge shanties.
The farmers are very busy with the harvest in Elmside.
The rain storm of last Monday is said to have done much damage in the neighbourhood of Carp village to grain fields. The river Carp overflowed its banks to a greater extent than during the spring freshets, covering whole fields to a depth of several feet in some places.
To the farmers of the surrounding townships I beg to state that the Bryson Grist Mill will be reopened on the 11th Sept. for milling purposes in its several branches.
The following yarn clipped from the Ottawa Free Press is given to our readers for what it is worth: They have seen a sea serpent in the Upper Ottawa. Mrs. John Lahey, the wife of a respected farmer who lives near the head of Allumette Island and about a mile from the Calbute Locks is authority
for the folowing story.
It is customary for the farmers’ wives living near the river to go to the shore to do their washing. Last week Mrs. Lahey was engaged this way, having chosen a grassy spot in a little bay just below her house. She set out to look for a rocky point to dip from. She saw what she took to be a log washed in against the shore. She stepped on it to dip the water from the outside, but it was slimy as though the bark had just come off and her foot slipped from it into the water. As it was impossible to dip her pail between the log and the shore, she got a big pole and attempted to push it out, when to her horror she found the side of the log sink inwards and she was unable to move it an inch. While she stood wondering at what she took to be a very strange phenomena, the apparent log rolled over suddenly and about ten feet from her rose the head of a hideous monster some five feet above the surface of the river.
It turned towards her and hissed in a snakish manner and then with another roll and a splash of its tail which seemed fully twenty feet away from where the head appeared, the uncanny reptile plunged into the centre of the river and disappeared. The lady fled at once to her house and was so greatly terrified that she fell in a faint on the floor and was confined to her bed for two or three days. It is recalled by inhabitants that about nine months ago the same thing was seen about the same spot in the river. At that time a man named Ercheart who was out fishing was drowned in a mysterious manner. He was found grasping the fishing pole with both hands and the pole snapped in the middle, showing that Ercheart had been pulled into the water by some monster that afterwards broke the line and made its escape.
