Sept. 8, 1993

25 Years Ago

Tribute opens Shawville Fair: In an emotionally charged ceremony, the 138th annual Shawville Fair was dedicated to the memory of the late Edgar Schwartz.
Special guest Dr. Grant Rogers officially opened the fair with the cutting of the ribbon. Barry Moore, MP, was also on hand to assist in the opening.
Mr. Moore commended all of the volunteers for the time and effort they all devoted to make the fair a success. He also congratulated Ron Hodgins, president of the Fair Board for the gracious gesture of dedicating the fair to the memory of Edgar Schwartz, a man Mr. Moore described as a friend to all and an unassuming man who was always a perfect gentleman.
In dedicating the fair to the memory of Mr. Schwartz, the Fair Board presented his widow, Dorothy Schwartz with a plaque.
No strike at mill: Union workers at Stone-Consolidated voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the latest contract offer put on the table by management.
Cletus Ferrigan, president of Local 420 of the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada was happy to see the end of the negotiations.
“We came up with the best possible arrangement without walking the picket line,” he said.
Tom Gray, manager of Stone-Consolidated, said the union agreed to a five-year contract with a wage re-opener in three years.

Sept. 19, 1968

50 Years Ago

Waltham washout: Maybe the cause was a break in a beaver dam, maybe it was something else. However, the flash flood last Wednesday took the bed out from under Highway 8 three miles west of Waltham near the small falls known as the White Water.
The washout carried away road posts and the culvert and left a gap in the highway about thirty feet wide by thirty feet deep, completely closing the road to Chapeau for an indefinite time.
Official opening cattle parade and horse show: Hon. Raymond Johnston unveiled a plaque in honour of those responsible for building the agricultural hall in Shawville.
The Shawville Community Band presented a concert of rousing marches and show tunes. Mr. C.R. Phillips, director general of production and management of the Canada Department of Agriculture officially opened the Shawville Fair and then the cattle came in.
Edwin Pirie and Son of Maryland, took top honours as premier breeder, premier exhibitor, best herd and best cow with his Holsteins.
Crawford brothers of Campbell’s Bay, Eason Russell of Bristol and Ronald MacKechnie of Wyman were top prize winners in the Ayreshire class.

Sept. 16, 1943

75 Years Ago

Local News: The farm home of George Campbell, about four miles east of Shawville was completely destroyed by fire on Wednesday morning of last week.
The blaze was first noticed by Hartwell Thompson, a neighbour, who was passing by and started when the family was at the barn milking.
A young boy, left in the home, escaped by himself uninjured.
The case of the fire is believed to have been caused by a defective chimney. Very little of the contents was salvaged and the loss is estimated at $2,000 with no insurance.
The motorized blood clinic from Ottawa will again visit Shawville on Oct. 7 and will receive donations of blood in the Sunday School room at the United Church. A strong appeal is going out from he clinic that there be a hearty response as the need for blood plasma is great, now that the offensive has started in which Allied and Canadian troops are being heavily engaged. Your donation of blood may be the means of saving the life of some wounded soldier.
The United States pay tribute to Canada in the following editorial from the Saturday Evening Post:
How Canada Saved the Day in the Battle of the Atlantic: as this is written, we seem to be well on the way toward victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. The menace of the U-boat recedes as Allied naval power grows and new techniques are developed for anti-submarine warfare. What most Americans don’t realize is that there were many desperate months when Canada stood between us and disaster.
There was a time before Pearl Harbour when the United States contributed substantial help in the way of escort ships for the freight convoys but after Japan struck, much of our naval strength was needed in the Pacific and we also had to use our fighting ships to guard the troop convoys crossing the Atlantic. The burden of protecting the freighters fell chiefly upon England and Canada. This does not mean that the United States was drowsing during those long and critical months. We supplied aircraft for freight convoy patrol and extensive ship and plane repair bases on both sides of the Atlantic. The fact remains, however, that we probably would have lost the war if the Canadian Navy hadn’t come through in a spectacular and heroic way. It is not surprising that Britain with her great sea power and resources, should have been able to shoulder 51 per cent of the job. But it is one of the marvels of this war that Canada, an agricultural nation of less than 12,000,000 people, could have contributed 47 per cent of the vast fleet of fighting ships necessary to get the freighters across.

Sept. 12, 1918

100 Years Ago

Local news: Rev. Mr. Tripp received a card from his eldest son Wilfred, which stated that he was writing it on ground that was held by the Germans the day before. Doubtless, Wilfred was with the Canadians when they made their 15 mile smash through the German positions in front of Amiens.
The annual School Fair for the Clarendon Schools held in the Exhibition Hall on Thursday last, when the handicap of very unfavourable weather is considered, came off very satisfactorily.
Mr. Robert Hobbs received word Friday that his son, Pte. Willie Hobbs had been wounded in one arm and one leg.
The Quyon Fair which was held on the following day of the School Fair had the advantage of dry although cool weather.
Mr. John A. Rennick is in a very serious condition as the result of a kick from a horse on which he was operating last Friday. The injuries sustained are in the head, one caulk of the animal’s shoe striking him in the region of the temple and the other inflicting a wound a few inches lower towards his neck. Mr. Rennick was in an unconscious condition for several hours after the horse struck him.
Quite a number of casualties to soldiers who hail from Renfrew and Pontiac counties were recorded in the long lists published last week, which indicates that our boys were in the thick of heavy fighting which recently took place and in which the Canadian troops added new and even greater laurels to the many brilliant achievements that stands to their credit.

Sept. 14, 1893

125 Years Ago

Local news: Shantymen’s wages are said to be good this year, running all the way from $16.00 to $26.00 per month.
Mr. Dave Cadieux is preparing to go into wagon making extensively again. He has up a fine shop for that purpose to a prominent place on Main Street in Quyon.
Threshing commenced in the vicinity of Yarm last week by Smith Bros. mill. The yield of grain is reported good.
A dog tried to run the P.P.J. express on Thursday evening last but unfortunately got left. He had his head taken off right back of his ears.
Quite an improvement has been going on in the way of building in Charteris this summer. Mr. Wm. Dagg has erected a fine large granary, Mr. James Kennedy has put up a new barn and Mr. John Palmer, bound to be on top, has a fine brick house nearly completed which, when finished will be the finest building from here to Shawville.
The Ottawa Journal is authority for the statement that “in lumber circles, it is not expected that any square timber will be made this winter. This determination is partly owing to the stagnant market for square timber and from the fact that even with good prices, there is more money in saw logs. A great deal of waste takes place in making square timber which is not the case in log making. Good standing timber is becoming too scarce and too valuable to be any longer slaughtered.”