A team made up of Sandra Carson, Normand Pilon, and Gordon Graham did the historical research and wrote the texts of the plaques as well as the guidebook.

Chiefs for a day: Justin Boone, age 9 from Shawville and Ashley Tubman, 10, from Clarendon were named firefighters for a day on Oct. 13 by the Shawville Clarendon Fire Dept.

The two had a free lunch and grand tour of the fire hall and monitored fire drills at the high school and their own school, McDowell Elementary.

How was their classmates’ performance? “Good,” says Ashley, “better than the high school.” The elementary students know to stand in line and not talk, she said.

The two budding chiefs posed for a group photo with Principal Anne McGowan and firefighters Eddie Jean-Marie, Wayne Bohart, Chief Bill Black, Bill Atkinson, Robert Trudeau, Neil Sharpe and Todd Hearty.

Oct. 21, 1970

50 Years Ago

Plowing Match: A county-wide plowing match was held in Vinton on Saturday. A record number of contestants, sixty in all, took part in this well attended event and they all enjoyed the traditionally excellent sea pie and home baked beans served afterwards in the church hall.

They also all enjoyed the privilege of a free tankful of Imperial Oil courtesy of the Esso people, all that is, except for some of the contestants who settled for a bale of hay.

Dave Crawford took his fine team of horses to the plowing match and ran stiff competition for Bill Hodgins who kindly shared his horse drawn plows with Crawford.

The judging is done after the plowmen have gone home and the results won’t be known until they are announced Wednesday evening at the Vinton Parish Hall.

Turkey shoot winners listed: A Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot was held at Bear Lake on Sunday, sponsored by the Bear Lake Conservation Association.

The event proved to be a great success and 15 winners went home with one or more beautiful 18 pound turkeys.

Junior winners were: R. Babluck Jr. of Ottawa and Tim Powell of Shawville. Senior winners were: R. Babluck Sr., J. Normandeau, M. Guenette, D. McIvor, E. Champagne, R. Peck, J. Moorhead, L. Schwartz, F. Beaudoin, R. Beaudoin, H. Frost, P. Zacharias and J. Childs.

Ad: “Colonial Garden” English Ironstone dinnerware. Free with gift coupons from your Shell Dealer. Next time you drop into a participating Shell Station, you will receive free gift coupons with every gasoline purchase of one dollar or more. Simply collect the coupons and trade them for your choice of these beautiful English Ironstone dinnerware items.

Oct. 25, 1945

75 Years Ago

Local News: Among service personnel returning on the Ile de France and arriving in Ottawa Monday evening were: Sgt. Seldon Langford, son of Mrs. Mabel Langford. Selly enlisted in R.C.O.C. in May 1942 and went overseas in December of the same year. He served in Sicily, Italy, Holland and Germany.

Pte. Goldie Kearns of Quyon, Capt. Geo. Lake, and Sgt. Herb Redmond of Shawville.

The October meeting of the Shawville Women’s Institute met at the home of Mrs. A.G. Brough with Mrs. Shore presiding.

Mrs. MacLean, Mrs. Shore and Mrs. Garrison were apointed as a hospital committee to interview Miss Naudett and ascertain how the institute could help in making quilts for the hospital, or in any other way.

Canadian Federation of Agriculture statistics show that in the five years, 1939 to 1944 inclusive, Canada exported to the United Kingdom 2,600,000,000 pounds of bacon and pork; 197,000,000 pounds of beef (in 1944 and to June 1945, inclusive).

Oct. 14, 1920

100 Years Ago

Local News: By a vote of the ratepayers recorded on Tuesday last, the resolution of the Clarendon school board providing for a grant of one thousand dollars to Shawville Academy was endorsed. The purpose of this grant is to aid in defraying the expense of maintaining the teaching of the higher grades of the academy, which has been found too heavy a burden for local ratepayers to further sustain.

There will be special Thanksgiving Services in the Methodist church next Sunday. There will be special harvest decorations, sermon and song.

The death of Dean Evans in Montreal last week necessitated the cancelling of Bishop Farthing’s appointments here at Campbell’s Bay.

Mr. John Hobbs, the veteran river man, returned to town last Tuesday after having put in another steady summer’s work at the Cheneaux boom, where operations have ceased for the present year. John says this is the earliest date of closing down in ten or twelve years’ time and was due to extreme low water, resulting in a scarcity of logs, several ‘drives’ having been stuck in the smaller streams last spring.

Canada’s population is estimated for 1920 at nine million people.

On Wednesday last, at Mr. Jas. Glenn’s farm, Maple Ridge, Bristol, a very interesting event took place under the auspices of the Young Men’s Bible Class Bristol Presbyterian Church, when their first ploughing match was held. It was a grand afternoon, the place almost ideal for such an event and the contests created considerable enthusiasm. Though the entries were hardly as large as expected yet a fine crowd of spectators watched the proceedings and a real social afternoon was spent together.

Two tractors at work added to the excitement with each machine as the centre and admiration of certain groups.

The Fordson was very kindly demonstrated by Mr. G.A. Howard, agent, Shawville, and proved his machine a very efficient article for farm ploughing.

Oct. 17, 1895

125 Years Ago

Local News: Arnprior is likely to have two fine new boats next summer. A passenger boat as we stated before, to run to Portage du Fort and a long iron clad tow boat which the Upper Ottawa Towing Company intend building this winter.

A boy named John A. McMeekin, aged 15 years, son of Mr. John McMeekin, clerk of Mattawa, was brining a hunting party across the Ottawa River recently and while moving a loaded gun in the boat, it discharged, the contents entering the boy’s leg just above the knee. So great was the loss of blood before aid could be secured that he died in a few hours.

While A. Hudson, engineer on the C.P.R. was endeavouring to step on his engine at the station at Buckingham on Saturday morning, he fell and his left hand catching hold of the rail, the engine passed over it, cutting it off at the wrist. Hudson was a labour advocate and was to be the labour candidate for the Dominion parliament in Ottawa at the next general election.

When Sir John Macdonald was asked why he did not insist on a protective tariff while in power, previous to 1872; his answer was: “First, because from 1854 to 1866 we had reciprocity; secondly because from 1866 until I left the country in Mr. Mackenzie’s hands the circumstances resulting from the war in the United States rendered their keen competition with us impossible.”

Ad: Morrison’s Factory is still running on time. Lumber planed and matched on the shortest notice. Blacksmith work as usual in all its branches. Hiram Morrison, Shawville, Que.

Register or subscribe to read this content

Thanks for stopping by! This article is available to readers who have created a free account or who subscribe to The Equity.

When you register for free with your email, you get access to a limited number of stories at no cost. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to everything we publish—and directly support quality local journalism here in the Pontiac.

Register or Subscribe Today!