July 26, 1995

25 Years Ago

Hamelin signs with Sweden: A Bryson native and former Shawville Minor Hockey player has just signed a contract to play hockey in Sweden.

Craig Hamelin 23, will be playing for . . .

Solleftca in the Sweden’s division 1 league, a division just below the country’s elite league.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Hamelin says of his Aug. 31 departure date.

The five foot, nine inch centre has just completed four very successful years of college hockey at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

Community loses a dedicated worker: The Pontiac lost a dedicated community worker when Lloyd Neville passed away last month.

At 96 years of age, Lloyd was one of the last remaining World War I veterans of the Pembroke Lodge.

“He was a very gracious man,” says Ted Colton who knew Lloyd for nearly 70 years. “You couldn’t find anyone to say a bad word about him and he never said a bad word about anyone,” says Ted Colton’s wife, Eileen who knew Lloyd for more than 50 years.

At the tender age of 16, Lloyd joined the war effort but because officials discovered his age, he didn’t see action until 1917.

Lloyd was very active in his community, friends say. He was instrumental in seeing that a cenotaph be erected in Fort Coulonge.

Besides the last two and a half years of his life that he spent at the Marion Hill Nursing Home in Pembroke, Lloyd lived nearly all his life in Fort Coulonge, working as a clerk for the J.R. Booth lumber company.

July 29, 1970

50 Years Ago

About Ottawa River Pollution: The Department of National Health and Welfare has been involved with water quality studies on the Ottawa River above Aylmer.

Last summer, three surveys were conducted to assess the effect of effluents discharged from three federal facilities, the CFB Petawawa, Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories and the Petawawa Forest Experimental Station.

In all, 38 sampling stations were selected along the Ottawa River from Chalk River to Pembroke. Twelve samples were taken at each location, medians for total coliform ranged from 8 to 110 per 100 ml. Median fecal coliform counts which are more indicative of the presence of human wastes, ranged from 0 to 4 per 100 ml.

Baird’s barn raising: Last month, the barn of Mr. and Mrs. William Baird was burned to the ground and friends and neighbours responded quickly to the need by gathering for a barn raising bee. The Bairds’ many grandchildren gathered as well as their daughters and other friends were busy feeding the many workers who lined up for beans and buns, meat and pie. As Mr. Baird says, you don’t know how many friends you really have until you’re in trouble, then they all come to help.

Aug. 2, 1945

75 Years Ago

Local News: Service personnel welcomed to Shawville this week was Pte. William Barber, son of Mrs. May Barber of Shawville. He went overseas in the summer of 1942 and served in all parts of Europe.

A sad drowning accident occurred at Bryson on Tuesday afternoon when Pte. Hawley Pirie recently returned from overseas, lost his life while bathing in the Ottawa River. Pte Pirie was the 23-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. John Pirie of Shawville.

The young man went to the sand beach at the rear of what is known as the Wm. LeRoy residence with a few friends. He had only been in the water a minute or so when he appeared to step into a hole. His sister, Mrs. Denton Hodgins shouted for help and a young man, Delford Lepine, who had been swimming about 100 yards from the scene rushed to his assistance but failed to reach the spot in time to rescue him.

Dr. Renaud, County Coroner of Campbell’s Bay was called and it is believed the young soldier had suffered a heart seizure from the shock as he was unable to swim.

Britain had thousands of trained spies and guerrilla fighters ready to work behind German lines in Britain if the enemy had made a successful invasion across the Channel during the war, it has been disclosed.

Until a month ago, this underground organization was so secret that few outsiders even knew it existed. Those who did were unaware whether their best friends or next-door neighbours were members.

Giving details of the organization for the first time, the War Office described it as “one of the most interesting and colourful chapters in our anti-invasion plans.”

July 22, 1920

100 Years Ago

Local News: The past week has certainly been a discouraging one for those who have tackled the hay harvest. Rain every day, more or less. Looks as if there were something in that legend about St. Swithen after all.

Mr. John J. Caldwell’s new dwelling, corner of Main and Princess Streets is now being made owing to a bad attack of rheumatism which set in early in the spring, he was compelled to discontinue work at the structure and remain idle up to a couple of weeks ago, which in these days when carpenters are scarce and wages very high, was rather an unfortunate handicap.

Rev. Thos. E. Armstrong preached the sermon at the Methodist service here on Sunday evening. “Tom” as we are accustomed to call him, is another Clarendon boy who has made good in his chosen avocation.

According to an amendment to the Post Office Act passed during the recent session of parliament, the registration fee on letters and other mailed matter mailed in Canada is fixed at ten (10 cents) per each letter or article.

Mr. I. Kronick of Kronick Bros., Bristol, suffered the misfortune of having a leg broken while indulging in a friendly wrestling match with a neighbour.

Miss Lillian, eldest daughter of Mr. A.C. Hodgins, left for Ottawa to enter upon her probationary term as nurse-in-training at the Rideau Street hospital, her application having been approved by the Victorian Order of Nurses.

Whilst the H.C.L. is bearing heavily upon citizens of Shawville, as elsewhere throughout the country and whilst also the taxes they are paying are higher than any other municipality in the county, THE EQUITY is of opinion from information picked up, that the said citizens would not esteem it a very great additional burden if the council would engage some reliable person for police duty, especially on Saturday nights. The town is falling fast into disrepute through the disorderly conduct of certain individuals who seem to think they can say and do as they like, whenever they take the notion.

There is an inexcusable recklessness in the handling and driving of cars that requires looking after before some unfortunate falls a victim of this folly. So many cars are in use now, that some form of traffic regulation is necessary when it becomes congested as is invariably the case on Saturday nights.

July 25, 1895

125 Years Ago

Local News: The largest sale that has ever taken place this year in the lumbering business was effected in Ottawa a few days ago when Messrs. Hale and Booth disposed of their entire winter’s cut of logs to the Minnesota Lumber Company. The cut consisted of 165,000 logs or about 20,000,000 feet and the amount is something over $200,000.

There are five or six men confined in the jail at Bryson.

Mrs. P. Cain who was very ill with inflammation is now recovering rapidly.

Considering the great drought which has prevailed, the crops in this neighbourhood look fairly well.

Miss M.A. O’Donnell is teaching in School No. 3, North Onslow.

The town fathers of Bryson are doing some good work in the way of having the streets repaired and in building sidewalks where none previously existed. In this respect, the county town is ahead of Shawville, although the latter is generally regarded as the most go ahead place in the county.

An extended report of the Portage du Fort – Bryson lacrosse match played on the grounds of the former on Monday last. The match resulted in a score of one to nothing in favour of the P.D.F. boys. Some pretty rough work is said to have characterized the match.