May 11, 1994
25 Years Ago
John Langford and friends put on stepping show: It’s a show that never grows old. About 200 people, mostly parents and grandparents, turned out at McDowell School on May 6 for the show that has become an annual event since John established the Langford School of Dance 12 years ago.
As long as new students continue to sign up year after year to study at the feet of John Langford, Shawville will always have a perennial crop of stepdancers and John will always have a guaranteed audience for his spring recital.
In addition to the stepdancers, 37 acts made up the show including the fiddle playing and an audience sing-along led by Dorothy Porteous and MC Don Letts. Likewise, the flying feet of Chris Last, accompanied by the Fiddlers Three Plus One (Virginia Schwartz, Shawn Schwartz, Melanie Walls and Isobel Schwartz), showed the young beginners how the experts do it.
The first of 127,000 flags: Myrna Palmer and Daryl MacPherson of the Shawville and District Kinettes and Kinsmen will be helping to hoist the Canadian flag at McDowell School in Shawville on May 14.
In conjunction with communities across the country, the ceremony will launch a period of national celebration that will culminate with 127,000 flags being flown on Parliament Hill on Canada Day.
Pontiac-Gatineau-Labelle MP Robert Bertrand and Pontiac MNA Robert Middlemiss are expected to take part in the Shawville ceremony on Saturday along with the mayors of Shawville, Clarendon and Bristol and an RCMP colour guard.
May 14, 1969
50 Years Ago
Twenty five American bats migrate to Charteris: Science teacher John Sproviere has 25 bats, found at Charteris which had been banded at Washington, D.C. Numbers on the bands have been recorded to be mailed to the Department of Wild Life, Washington.
The bats are being kept alive in the laboratory at Victoria Avenue School in Shawville.
They were found by Roy Hanson and William Bell, amateur speleologists from Shawville who were exploring caves in the Charteris area. The bats were found sleeping about a mile into the cave.
Cages are being built for the bats who will be well treated while their captors wait to hear from Washington.
Wayne and Schuster with Davis and the L’Ecuyers: Ken Davis of Quyon and Conrad and Jacques L’Ecuyer of Fort Coulonge enjoyed meeting comedians Johnny Wayne and Frank Schuster in Montreal recently. The occasion was a promotion in connection with the conversion of B-A Oil station to Gulf Canada.
May 11, 1944
75 Years Ago
Local news: The mobile blood donor clinic from Ottawa was here Thursday and Friday of last week and donations of blood were made by 170 persons of Shawville and surrounding community.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Havelin have received word that their son, Spr. Mosie Havelin, R.C.A.S.C. has arrived safely overseas, Sr. Havelin received his training in Hamilton, Brampton, Port Arthur, Petawawa, Sheffield, Alta., Chiliwack, B.C. and Red Deer, Alta.
War of nerves keeps Nazis guessing when, where, how we are coming: speculation in this country as to when the invasion of Europe will begin can be answered truthfully out of information available to any newspaper reader: it has already begun, state the New York Times.
The air attacks, rising in fury day by day, are invasion. Every thousand planes is at least the equivalent of an armoured division roaming at will through the enemy’s country.
The invasion has begun in other ways. We are working on the German’s nerves. The closing of the Eire border, the curtailment of diplomatic messages and the suspension of overseas travel were all practical measures to prevent leakage of information but they were also stages in phycological warfare.
A London source having close connections with the European underground said that Hitler is making a secret inspection of the West Wall defenses.
The Germans announced that Hitler has met Mussolini recently at a “secret” meeting place, perhaps the Branner Pass, the Italian or French Riviera.
May 9, 1919 (Thursday)
100 Years Ago
Local news: The Bank of Ottawa went out of existence with the end of April and on Thursday morning, May 1, concrete evidence of this fact was given at the local branch in town when new signs bearing the legend: “The Bank of Nova Scotia” took the place of the old.
Mr. Duncan Presley, who a number of years ago conducted a store on the corner now occupied by the post office, visited Shawville last week and was struck with the changes that have taken place since he resided here.
Duncan spent the past eight years in Montana and recently came to Wyman, Que.
The farmers are all hoping for clear weather as the season is advancing and as yet little has been done in the line of spring work. On the clay lands nothing whatever has been accomplished in this district.
The householders of Ottawa should be intensely interested these days in the price-slashing contest that began last week between the Ottawa and producers dairy companies. The result of the rivalry was a reduction in milk from 13 to 10 cents a quart (and at that price, it is still too high)- then came a drop in butter of 5 cents per pound. Both these articles of food have been entirely too high in Ottawa at this season of the year.
Ad: Wanted: A good general maid. No washing. Liberal wages. Apply to Mrs. G.E. Reid, Portage du Fort.
The Second Division of the Canadian Army will start to sail for Canada on Thursday. Eleven hundred Canadian troops from Siberia arrived at Victoria, B.C. on Monday.
During its activities in Belgium and France, the Canadian Expeditionary Force captured an immense quantity of war trophies of all kinds.
These, it is probable, will be housed in a large building at the capital, which it is stated will be erected by Lord Beverbrook at his own expense.
The Peace Treaty, just completed and expected to be handed to the German representatives at Versailles on Thursday, is a ponderous document of fourteen chapters.
May 17, 1894
125 Years Ago
Local News: Mr. C.R. Morrison left here on Monday morning with two teams to work on the O.A. and P.S. Railway west of Eganville.
The annual exhibition of stallions was held and this brought together a considerable number of the farmers of the neighbourhood. The show was considered the poorest that has been held for years. Of the several draft animals that were brought to the exhibition, only one was pronounced eligible to compete.
A commencement was made on Tuesday last towards the erection of the proposed Anglican Church near Clarke’s Station. Next week, Mr. George Findlay will begin the work of laying the foundation.
The water is said to be falling very rapidly in the Ottawa River at present, owing to the cool, dry weather that has prevailed. Along the Calumet chenail, large quantities of logs are sticking daily as the water recedes from the inundated flat lands.
Tuff and Stobie of Gold Mine fame were in Bryson last week examining specimens of quartz which Mr. Ritchie has collected from different sections of the county.
Mr. C. McColgan of Quyon has recently finished the manufacture of 47 dozen pairs of driving boots, contracted for with several of the lumber concerns of the district.
Mr. W.D. Harris, C.B. Dunn and others of the engineering staff of the P.P.J. Co. were up the line inspecting that portion of the road not in operation west of Coulonge with a view to commence the work of repairing at once in order that it may be utilized for traffic as speedily as possible. Once taken up, we hope to see the work of construction continued without intercession until the road is completed to the terminus.
Rev. N.H. Naylor has been made Arch-deacon of the deaneries of Clarendon and St. Andrews.
The change in mail service between here and Otter Lake from tri-weekly to daily is under the consideration of the P.O. Dept. at present.
compiled by Bonnie Chevrier
