Feb. 4,1998
25 Years Ago
Maple sugar bushes beaten by January ice storm: When the sap flows at the Maple Dale Farms this spring, owner Eric Campbell says “It will be like rain.”
Campbell points upwards to the broken tops of the old-growth maples and suggests with the right climatic conditions, the sap will rise and flow from the broken limbs and tops, instead of through the spouts to the buckets set lower on the trees.
“With the right atmospheric conditions, such as a high pressure system, there will be more sap at the top,” Campbell says.
Campbell estimates 75 per cent of his 1,500 trees have been damaged by the recent ice storm.
“We won’t know until May but as far as I am concerned, the maple syrup business has bit the biscuit,” he says. “We were hit hard, but the whole industry was hit from here to down east and down in Vermont, it will be a strong market this year,” says Campbell.
Bonspiel Champs: The champs of the 1998 Shawville Community Bonspiel, Fraser’s Clothes Shop received the coveted toilet seat award after beating Pontiac Lodge, Kinsmen and Young’s Apartments to win what is being billed as the “World’s Largest Community Bonspiel.”
The winning team: Ann Horner, lead; Laurie Barber, second; Darlene Murphy, third; and Jerry Barber, skip. Fraser’s was tops among the 72 teams entered for the 10-day bonspiel.
Feb. 7, 1973
50 Years Ago
LIP grant for Bryson: A grant of $9,477 from the Local Initiatives Program in favour of the Municipality of Bryson was announced by Mr. Tom Lefebvre, MP for Pontiac County.
The operation of this project will create 8 jobs in Bryson and consist in the renovation of the town hall and construction of a new street.
Valerie Clarke is winner of exciting beauty pageant: Valerie Clarke, daughter of Mrs. Ruth Clarke, is a student in Special Commercial at the Pontiac Protestant High School. She also works part time at the Pontiac Home Bakery and plans to attend Algonquin College and become a medical secretary.
She became the winner of the first beauty contest to be held in Shawville’s Centennial year and was crowned as the Centennial Snow Queen.
Valerie will be officiating at various winter activities starting right away with the Rotary Carnival this Saturday.
A recitation about the meaning of Shawville’s Centennial was Valerie’s contribution to the talent part of the competition.
The crowd which filled the gymnasium and the entire balcony at the McDowell School had every reason to be tremendously proud of this great event which brought together a complete cross-section of Shawville people.
Feb. 19, 1948
75 Years Ago
Local news: The shareholders of the Pontiac Rural Telephone Company met in Hynes Hall on Monday with a good representation from the parts of the district served by the company and with the President, Dr. S.E. McDowell, in the chair. The financial report presented by the secretary-treasurer, H.E. Elliott revealed a most prosperous year.
Two rinks of the Renfrew Curling Club visited Shawville on Saturday evening for friendly games with Shawville winning on the round by 19-13.
A bill empowering the Quebec government to spend $5,000,000 over a period of three years to build and repair bridges has been adopted. It is hoped when this money is being dished out that this western section of the province, Pontiac county, will not be overlooked or neglected.
Another urgent request for this county is the matter of re-surfacing the entire Pontiac Highway No. 8. The whole county is a sportsman’s paradise and a number of fine summer resorts are within its borders. Many United States tourists visit the county each summer.
Messrs. Percy Belsher, Bob Hughes and other carpenters and helpers are engaged in building camps and other buildings in connection with the new $20,000,000 dam of the Hydro Electric Power at Portage du Fort. It is expected several hundred will be employed before the actual spring break-up. Camps will be located on the farm of William Bolton, a level stretch of land bordering on the Ottawa River. Two large warehouses will also occupy this site. The development is expected to be in service by 1951 and will require 400,000 tons of concrete.
Quyon Flyers of the Lower Pontiac Intermediate League suffered their first defeat of the season on Shawville ice on Monday night by a score of 5 to 2. In the first period Horner and Angus scored for Shawville, while the visitors went scoreless. In the second period Shawville scored again, with Kilgour getting the counter and Quyon getting their first goal by O. Trudeau. Three goals were scored in the last period, Angus and Corrigan for Shawille and Lebrun for Quyon.
The regular monthly meeting of the Women’s Auxiliary of Pontiac Community Hospital was held on Tuesday afternoon. Mrs. S.E. McDowell, Mrs. A. Draper and Mrs. A.H. Horner were appointed conveners of groups to arrange for funds to complete the furnishing of a four-bed ward in the new hospital. At this meeting there were twenty-four dozen surgical dressings made, twelve articles mended and forty new articles completed.
The Hotel Renfrew, formerly owned by John. A. Collins of Rockliffe, has been sold to Leonard M. Watson for an undisclosed price. The 73-room building is considered one of the finest hotels of its size in Eastern Ontario. The new owner, Mr. Watson, at present manager of the Hotel Cornwallis, was formerly manager of a Ford Hotel and an employee of a branch of the Bank of Montreal in Western Canada.
Feb. 1,1923
100 Years Ago
Local news: Next Monday is polling day and every red-blooded Canadian who has a vote should poll it. Don’t wait to be asked. This is a time when the elector is master of the situation if he only realizes it. Nomination Day: W.R. Macdonald is opposed. Charles Belec enters field as independent farmer. The Conservatives have opted the way for the election of a farmer as the representative of this county at Quebec.
Quite a number of cases of la grippe are reported in Shawville and neighbourhood but apparently no thought of the disease spreading through contagion.
Shawville downs city team: By a score of 5 to 3, Shawville’s senior hockey team triumphed over the Montagnards or a team representing that gilt-edged aggregation at the local rink on Wednesday evening last in the presence of a medium-sized audience which doubtless would have been large had weather conditions been favorable which they were not. To be candid, however, the visiting city team were not the Montagnards, as expected, but the junior outfit which it is said, goes by that name. The match got off to Referee “Cy” Hodgins’ whistle and for the first two or three minutes play was pretty even as the locals sized up the calibre of their opponents. Then they started in to get counters and when the period ended they had a string of four to the good, while the visitors had failed to find the twine.
The final stage of the match redeemed it from what many thought was a listless exhibition thus far. The visitors started in with an evident determination to win that made the home boys realize they would have to step some if they were to emerge with the long end of the score at the finish. Only one or two penalities of a minor nature were imposed, and fortunately none of the players were injured. Shawville: goal, Mackay; defence, H. Findlay and Bolam; Forwards, Cowan, Finnigan and Tureiff.
Feb. 10,1898
125 Years Ago
Local news: No less than fifteen carloads of dogs have passed Arnprior in the last four weeks for Vancouver, where they are going to be sold to parties bound for the Klondike.
Special services were opened in the Methodist Church on Sunday night and will continue indefinitely. The Rev. R.H. Whiteside of Low is assisting the pastor during this week, while the Rev. T.A. Sproule will assist during the coming week.
The Shawville Carnival on Tuesday evening was admitted by all who attended to have been the most successful of any yet held in the county regarding point of attendance, while the array of costumes presented was fully up to that witnessed at previous events. Quyon, Portage du Fort, Renfrew, Braeside, and Arnprior were well represented. The prizes for the best representative costumes were carried off by Miss Nessie McKay and R. Thompson respectively. The half mile race, a very exciting one, was won by Eddie Lang.
Dr. Harper, inspector of Superior Schools for the province, visited the Academy in Shawville on Tuesday and was highly pleased to note the unmistakable advancement which the institution has made under the present staff of teachers. It may be stated in this connection also, that Inspector Gilman while here last week, paid a visit to the institution and kindly donated two books as prizes to the Academy room.
Mr. Poupore, M.P. for Pontiac has placed upon the Order Paper of the House a notice of motion asking for all correspondence and papers in relation to the damage done by the construction of the Calumet and Rocher Fendu dams in the County of Pontiac. The motion also asks for all reports of the government valuators upon the different properties visited and adjusted by them.
