May 26, 1993
25 Years Ago
Pontiac students win Heritage awards: Pontiac students carried away some of the most coveted awards from the annual banquet for Heritage College. More than 350 students attended the gala event at the Maison du Citoyen on April 23.
Jesse Shutt of Calumet Island was chosen Intercollegiate Athlete of the Year. Jesse is a star member of the Heritage basketball team and is also an avid cyclist.
Also in the sport category, Jason Mousseau of Fort Coulonge was named Most Improved Player in Co-ed volleyball and Jamie Craig of Quyon was honoured as Most Improved in men’s basketball.
In the academic division, John Alexander of Quyon won the award for Commerce, Tammy Davis of Calumet Island won for Early Childhood Care Education and Alan Geue of Chapeau won for Electronics.
Firefighters quell Clarendon dump brush fire: Shawville-Clarendon Firefighters were on the scene of a fire on Saturday afternoon to put out the flames behind the Clarendon dump and keep it from spreading into the nearby forest.
Firefighters soaked the flames into the early evening and then returned the next day to douse it again.
May 30, 1968
50 Years Ago
Hon. Paul Martineau wins on first ballot by overwhelming majority: On Saturday afternoon, at Queen Elizabeth School in Kazabazua Hon. Paul Martineau, lawyer and native of Pontiac, won the nomination as official Progressive Conservative candidate for the new federal riding of Pontiac. He defeated Howard Brinkworth, a hotel proprietor from Portage du Fort.
Shortly after the balloting, the winner was announced. Both men then pledged unity and cooperation to sweep this new constituency for the PC’s.
Near fatality as trench caves in: Ritchie (Leslie) Dale lost his ladder and could have lost his life and John F. Hodgins came closer to doing just that than anyone would care to on Monday around noon as they were laying sewer pipes for John’s home on Main Street, Shawville.
Preston Hodgins had dug the eight foot deep trench and Ritchie was installing the pipes for John who was helping. John was down in the trench with Ritchie when the sand on the west side of the hole started to cave in. Ritchie yelled “stand up, John”, when he heard the sand begin to run and scrambled up the ladder to safety.
John stood up immediately but was trapped by the fast filling earth and couldn’t move. In a flash, he was buried face deep. Ritchie raced across the street to summon help from Allan Black and Arnott Hynes, who was at Black’s home. Allan and Arnott plunged in with shovels and managed to dig out faster than the earth could move in. John couldn’t budge, the weight of the earth was so great, until they had shoveled right down to his boots.
Minutes after getting him out, another slide completely covered that end of the ditch, submerging the ladder.
June 3, 1943
75 Years Ago
Local News: Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Bretzlaff die within 48 hours of each other. During the weekend, death entered the Bretzlaff home at Schwartz, Que.
On Saturday morning, Chas. Bretzlaff died after an illness of a year at the age of 71 years. He was born in Germany and came to this country when a child with his parents who settled in the township of Thorne.
On Saturday evening his wife, Mrs. Chas. Bretzlaff, who had been ill for six months was brought to the Pontiac Community Hospital where she passed away early Monday morning. She was in her 52nd year.
On Friday, the town hall in Quyon presented a busy appearance as the members of the local Red Cross, Mrs. R.S. Dowd, president, prepared the hall for the local blood donors clinic.
The Royal Air Force which saved Great Britain from invasion and which together with the growing American Air Force has been waging a non-stop air offensive against Germany, has scored another triumph says the New York Times. With unexampled daring, skill and ingenuity it has blasted two of Germany’s most important water dams which are vital parts of the whole industrial and transportation system of western Germany and has thereby delivered the most devastating single blow dealt from the air so far.
June 6, 1918
100 Years Ago
Local News: J.J. Turner’s building was successfully removed last week from the corner which it occupied for so many years, to a position some 40 odd feet west of the old stand, thus leaving the site clear for the erection of the proposed Merchants Bank building, which is to be built this summer.
Needed showers last week wrought a healthy change in the appearance of the fields throughout the country but the consequent gales of three days’ duration has made a good solid spell of wet weather most needful just now.
The King’s birthday (June 3rd) was observed by the members of the Good Cheer Club of this village, by a drive to Green Lake and basket picnic at that picturesque spot.
Don Reid, an employee of the Pink Co.’s garage at Pembroke, is dead as the result of an accident which occurred on Thursday last, as he was about to lower a car on the elevator, the chain of which broke, allowing both to fall. Reid was caught between the car and elevator platform and was crushed so badly that he died on the way to hospital.
Hon. G.C. Robertson, Labour Representative in the government, stated in the House of Commons a short time ago, that an arrangement had been completed by the United States Department of Immigration and Colonization for the interchange of farm labourers. Several thousand have already entered the Canadian West under this arrangement.
Pembroke papers report that Petawawa military camp is in full swing again, many troops having arrived and the number is increasing daily. Artillery training will be the main program carried on at this camp during the summer months.
German U-boats have appeared off the New Jersey coast and are credited with sinking several schooners and a couple of steamers. Uncle Sam’s destroyers have the task already in hand of putting the pirates out of business before they have a chance of sinking some of his troop-ships.
June 1, 1893
125 Years Ago
Local news: The weather is very unfavourable at present for farming purposes, as some farmers have sowed nothing yet. Some good fishing has been done during the wet weather.
A force of men are at work at the mill dam here, removing the logs which have come to view since the water escaped. The dam has been partly rebuilt; it will be of a much more substantial character than ever before. Competent millwrights have been engaged to refit the machinery, after which an expert miller will take hold of the mill and ascertain if it is competent to turn out satisfactory work. It is expected the mill will be in operation in a short time again.
Sam Towell of North Clarendon spends an hour every evening breaking in his chestnut colt, which promises to be a good goer.
The 24th of May passed quietly in this village, those of our citizens who felt disposed to celebrate the day, going to other parts. A number, (principally ladies) took advantage of the reduced railway fare to visit the Capital; others went to Portage du Fort to witness the baseball matches between the Bryson and P.D.F. clubs and to take in St. George’s church concert.
Another party went to Campbell’s Bay to attend a school concert in the neighbourhood, whilst a distinguished few, the disciples of Isaac Walton, hied away to enjoy the rugged scenery and fresh, invigorating atmosphere of the beautiful lakes and streams.
The water is falling fast in the Ottawa. It is a grand sight to see the Grand Calumet Falls now.
All day Sunday, crowds of people were seen watching the logs and timber bounding over the Chutes and circling around in the big eddy at the foot of the grist mill.
Who saw them? This is the question the boys are interrogating each other with respecting those Quyon young men reported to have ridden from Quyon to Shawville and return on the 24th with bicycles.
