Aug. 17, 1994
25 Years Ago
Midnight fire lays home to waste: Volunteers from the Shawville-Clarendon Fire Dept. were awakened just after one a.m. Monday to answer a call from Stark’s Corners.
When they got to the scene, a house on the Front Road belonging to Jean Avon and his wife Irene was totally engulfed in flames.
According to Ann Cyr, a neighbour, Mr. Avon who was . . .
the only one home at the time, had awakened to find smoke inside the house. Feeling that it was unsafe to open the door to the room he was in, Mr. Avon smashed a window and climbed out. In doing so, he sustained a head cut that was to be the only injury suffered in the event.
Mr. Avon went to the Cyrs who have no telephone. They had to go to two other houses before they could raise help.
By the time they had made their call and returned to the Avon house, the windows were blown out and the fire out of control. Firefighters arrived within minutes but all they could do was save the surrounding buildings and the car in the driveway.
Steam Show attendance up: This year’s Steam Show organizers got everything they asked for – good weather, lots of exhibitors and plenty of visitors.
“The overall attendance was up considerably from last year,” says Allison Corrigan, secretary of the Pontiac Steam and Gas Association.
The show, held last weekend just outside Norway Bay at Don McCredie’s Riverview North, drew about 500 more visitors than last year, organizers say.
The horse draw attracted large crowds on Saturday as did the pony ride and petting zoo which were new this year.
Aug. 20, 1969
50 Years Ago
Swimming lessons over for the season: Peter Jensen instructed a group of Shawville youngsters in the Red Cross swimming methods at Green Lake, which was sponsored during the summer by Shawville Lions Club.
Mornings at Green Lake were busy this past summer for Mr. Jensen and his assistants as the large classes of swimmers took their turns in the water.
San Antonio Valley Ranch Rodeo results: San Antonio Valley Ranch at Quyon was the scene of great excitement and keen competition and a good show for many spectators on Sunday afternoon.
Teams of riders from Ottawa, Metcalf, Pinto Valley Ranch, White Horse Ranch, Athens, Brockville, Shawville, Templeton, Aylmer and St. Sixte competed with a strong team from San Antonio for the club trophy which was finally taken by the Ottawa Valley Club.
To determine which of the members of that club would keep the trophy, a coin was flipped and Sally Thompson won and brought it home to Shawville.
Aug. 24, 1944
75 Years Ago
Local news: At a largely attended meeting in the municipal building last night, Duncan McLaren of Douglas was elected president of the Ottawa Valley Co-operative Poultry Products.
The annual Burnside sale held recently at Howick, Que. was an outstanding success. Burnholm Brown Ann, a three-year-old cow, consigned by Geo. T. Dagg and son of Shawville sold for $400 and her five-day-old calf for $60. Two heifers consigned by S. Wyman MacKechnie and sons of Wyman sold for $550 and $310.
Where and when hard-driving U.S. naval forces in the Pacific will strike next is the $64 question Japan’s new high command is wrestling with.
The American sweep into Brittany and the drive eastward in the direction of Paris appear to be gaining momentum. Some 13 German divisions have been eliminated since the Allied landings two months ago.
The end of the war in Europe can come through hopeless defeat of German armies in the field; it may come through a cracking of home-front support; or through a combination of the two, comments The Christian Science Monitor. That the German homefront is shaky, there can be not the slightest doubt. The constant bombings and the evident evaporation of the Luftwaffe must be deeply felt by the citizenry.
Aug. 14, 1919
100 Years Ago
Local news: Largest gathering every seen at demonstration in Shawville: The Great War Veterans are certainly entitled to congratulations for the great success which attended their demonstration here last Wednesday. As a sports day, it surpassed anything of that nature held here for many years, and so far as attendance is accounted a feature of success, it had all previous events distanced, not excepting some of the fall exhibitions.
Entering into the spirit of the event, the town assayed to don its holiday attire and some of the tradespeople took pains to decorate their premises in a becoming manner. Every available flag and strip of bunting was early flung to the breeze while a substantial arch of evergreens decorated with the National colours and bearing the word “welcome” on each side spanned the roadway for the busy corner of Main and Centre Streets.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the field sports was the tug-o-war between teams composed on the one hand of Bristol veterans with long Bill Woodus at the end of the string and a bunch of husky farmers from Murrell’s district. After a tough pull which lasted longer than one would expect, the latter had the veterans drawn from their moorings and the jig was up.
The G.W.V.A.’s undertook the serving of meals and refreshments and this in itself was quite a task. A quantity of ice cream was left in the hands of the caterers because the supply of cones ran out and there was no other way of serving it immediately available.
Aug. 16, 1894
125 Years Ago
Local News: A car-load of horses for Booth’s limits on the Coulonge went up the line on Tuesday evening.
Burglars attempted to rob the safe of the post office at Chapleau on Friday night. The combination lock was destroyed but the burglars got nothing.
Reports from several parts of the county say that wheat crop is not going to turn out as well as expected. Rust is prevalent in a great many fields and weavel is also said to have wrought considerable damage.
Quite a flurry of excitement was caused on the corner of Main and Pickanock Streets on Tuesday afternoon last by the peculiar and somewhat vicious pranks of a cow, which Mr. Ben Judd of Thorne brought into town for “McGuire’s mate market”. The cow, it seems, was dispatched in charge of Mr. Judd’s two sons, but became so exceedingly obstinate on he road that they had to return to their father to take charge of her. Mr. Judd managed the animal without difficult until she came within sight of Shaw’s big building and the crowd that happened to be in the vicinity and she balked, charging right and left at everybody. John G. was the first to show the white feather and it is said the agility he displayed in placing the garden fence between himself and that ere cow’s horns, should place him in the front rank of amateur athletes.
About noon on Friday last, a special train having on board Messrs. Thomas Ridout, C.E. Dominion Government inspector of Railways and his assistant, J.T. Prince, superintendent of the road, and others went over the line for the purpose of inspecting that portion of the road between Fort Coulonge and Black River which was built about eight years ago but never opened for traffic. This section will immediately be opened for traffic and the opening of the new section will be the means of adding about 20 per cent to the traffic of the railroad.
On Friday morning last, a gentleman from Otter Lake brought intelligence of the accidental shooting of a young man named Lafleur who resides in his neighbourhood.
A gang of men were on the way to Gillies Bros. depot, young Lafleur among the number, happened to be some distance behind the wagon and at the same time another man named Marchand had stopped to shoot some partridge which he had noticed by the roadside. He took aim and killed the birds but the bullet continued on its course and lodged in the right breast of Lafleur who unfortunately happened to be in line, although unseen by Marchand. Lafleur called to his companions that he had been shot. Raalizing the dangerous character of the wound, Mr. T. Lunam at once sent a team back with Lafleur and a messenger was dispatched to Campbell’s Bay for Dr. McNally who promptly came and ministered to the sufferings of the injured man. The ball, it was found, had penetrated through the young man’s breast and was lodged in his back near the shoulder blade. The doctor endeavoured to remove the missile but up to the time our informant left, had not succeeded.
