The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who passed away on Feb. 23, 2015.
Some text has been updated to reflect changes since the original publication and any images used may not be the same as those that accompanied the original publication.
119 years ago – December 1904
Guelph’s Winter Fair had reached the height of its importance as an agricultural show by 1904.
Dozens of area residents piled onto already-packed trains at Moorefield, Drayton, Goldstone and Alma to take in the show that signaled the beginning of winter. As usual, Peel and Maryborough exhibitors placed well in the competitions.
The Hollen Beef Syndicate, one of the larger beef rings in the area, held its annual meeting on Dec. 14 at the Hollen school, at which arrangements were made for 1905.
Later in the month, the Glen Allan Beef Ring moved its slaughterhouse from the farm of John Rowe to that of H. Malloy, who had agreed to be the butcher for 1905.
With most teachers contracts based on the calendar year, there were changes at area schools. One of the new faces was Miss Mansfield of Goldstone, who signed up for the Parker school beginning in January.
A major business change was the sale of the Drayton Livery Company to D.T. Slimmon, for the price of $6,000 cash. The former owners had invested large amounts in the business.
Peel council met on Dec. 15, largely to pay the remaining bills for 1904. Richard Boyle, the celebrated bridge builder, received $129 for emergency work on the bridge at Lot 3, Con.16. Among the other accounts were $35 for printing at the Drayton Advocate office, and $30 to John Kaiser, for the year’s rental of the council chambers in Goldstone. The meeting concluded with an address to reeve Joseph Jackson, who was retiring, from the other councillors. They thanked him for his businesslike approach to township business, and the efficient way he executed his duties.
Mrs. R. Thompson received injuries in a freak accident. She absentmindedly crumpled a newspaper that was covered with gunpowder and tossed it in the kitchen stove. A stove lid narrowly missed her head, but she did receive serious burns to the face. Her son applied milk and soda to her face until the doctor arrived.
To the delight of publisher Coram, the merchants of Drayton and Moorefield placed large Christmas advertisements in the Advocate during December. John Lunz attracted attention with the intriguing heading, “Alluring Christmas Gifts.” Henderson’s Bookstore offered perfumes, stationery and the latest innovation: inexpensive fountain pens. Delmage’s store in Rothsay had some great deals, for three days only: canned vegetables for 13 cents, canned salmon for 10 cents, and seven pounds of figs for a quarter. Pollock’s Store, which had been running a fire sale for months, puffed bargains in clothing and groceries, including 22 pounds of brown sugar for $1, and five pounds of Christmas candy for 25 cents.
Schools and churches held their Christmas concerts and socials during the third week of December. The Sabbath School of Drayton’s Methodist Church staged the largest in the area. On Christmas afternoon crowds filled the town hall for a variety show, featuring recitations, short plays and songs. W.T. Hambly directed the production.
Bad weather forced the cancellation or postponement of several events. Moorefield’s Methodist Church postponed their Christmas dinner to Dec. 26, and Rothsay’s Anglicans did not hold their Christmas concert until Jan. 3.
An era came to an end at the nearby Rothsay Presbyterian Church, when Rev. Edmison preached his last sermons on Christmas day, ending 25 years at the local pulpit. At a business meeting on Dec. 28, Bill Falconer presented the reverend gentleman with a purse containing $100 as a gift from the congregation. Rev. Edmison and his wife departed two days later to spend the winter with a daughter in Michigan. They planned to retire to Toronto.
A petition to include a local option on the municipal ballot in Maryborough got the 1904 election season off to an early start. A pro-liquor letter in the Drayton Advocate cautioned that prohibition in the township would destroy the business sectors of Moorefield and Rothsay, where the township’s three hotels were located. There were another five on the boundary of Maryborough, he noted, in Drayton, Teviotdale and Tralee, plus another 13 in nearby towns. Business would be drawn there, he argued. Several others responded from the other side. One zealot claimed the local option would be worthwhile if it saved only one youth from taking up the liquor habit, and would “wash the hands of Maryborough clean from complicity” in the evil liquor trade. A more moderate voice stated that bars did not draw farmers; they sold their cattle, grain and produce where buyers were convenient and easy to deal with.
The campaigning on the liquor issue helped raise interest in municipal affairs, producing a lively campaign in Maryborough, where a civil lawsuit against the township was also an issue.
In Peel there was some controversy over a new bridge. The township had specified new abutments, and required that they be made of concrete using Portland cement. Some contractors did not trust the material, and most had little experience with it. The winning contractors, Frazier & Eichler, were among them. They had bid too low, and subsequently tried to scamp the work to save their shirts.
95 years ago – December 1928
Cool windy days and intermittent rain in late November and early December of 1928 turned rural roads into quagmires.
Farmers postponed their trips to town, and merchants feared there might be an adverse impact on their seasonal sales. Despite the bad weather, dozens of local people took a day to visit the annual Winter Fair in Guelph.
On Dec. 11, the weather turned cold, and the first snowfall of the season reminded people that Christmas was but two weeks away. Drayton merchants made a special effort to decorate their windows, and put up attractive displays of Christmas goods.
The release of population figures for 1927 created much interest. Peel Township retained its place position as the largest municipality in Wellington, with 2,954 souls. That was a drop of a half dozen from the previous year, and 71 less than in 1917. Maryborough had dropped slightly as well, to 2,122. Drayton offset these totals: gains there raised the village population to 593. Palmerston came in at 1,708, down from 1,843 ten years earlier.
The figures from the county also contained debt totals. Peel and Maryborough were virtually debt-free; Palmerston had the highest debt in the county, owing $65,000 for local improvements and $33,000 for water and hydro systems.
Maryborough council met on Dec. 3 to wrap up its business for 1928. There was the usual long list of bills and accounts to deal with. Many of them involved work to culverts and ditches completed during the fall. As well, council made payments to a couple of dozen casual labourers, who had been busy in November putting up snow fences.
Drayton council met Dec. 4 for its last regular meeting of the year. Councillors spent most of their time paying and discussing a long list of bills. Among them was the account of George Bramhall, Drayton’s one-man works department. They paid him for 69 hours of work at 21 cents per hour.
Skeptics scoffed, but the contractor announced early in December that Drayton’s new arena would be open for skating on New Year’s Day. The new building measured 182 feet by 70 feet, and covered an ice surface 160 by 60 feet. It replaced the old facility demolished by a tornado a decade before. The arena committee made a final plea for donations, and organized a bee, asking for volunteers with teams to help level the ground around the structure.
Arthur’s annual Christmas Poultry Show ran on Dec. 12 and 13, filling the pockets of those who raised chicken and turkey. The Arthur group advertised that six major buyers would be present, from Toronto, London and Kitchener. Palmerston got into the act in 1928, scheduling its own poultry fair for Dec. 18. As well, poultry buyers visited several small towns weekly during December.
Postmaster Fisher of Drayton collapsed while at work on Dec. 5, and remained in a coma for several days. He recovered slowly during the latter part of the month, but postal officials sent in a replacement to deal with the Christmas rush.
A group of locals calling themselves the Drayton Amateur Minstrels staged an old-time minstrel show on Dec. 11, called the Darktown Show. About 25 members appeared in blackface at the Drayton Town Hall.
A sad incident occurred at Palmerston, when John Johnston, a visiting American, grew impatient about a train stopped on the William Street crossing. The train lurched suddenly as he attempted to squeeze between two cars, and he was killed instantly. Johnston was a representative of the firm that had recently installed new pumps at the Palmerston well.
Dec. 15 was the date of Drayton’s annual Community Christmas Tree gathering at the Town Hall, with special guest Santa. The program included carol singing by local vocalists and the audience, and the distribution of treats to children.
At its final meeting of the year, county council made yet another plea to have the county road between Marden and Teviotdale made into a provincial highway. That route had originally been planned for Highway 9. Several councillors noted that the road carried more traffic than portions of Highway 6.
Drayton Women’s Institute sponsored a special seasonal program of motion pictures at the Drayton Town Hall on Christmas evening, and drew a full house.
A novel 1928 Christmas gift was a season’s pass to the new arena for skating. They were priced at $5 for adults and $3 for children. With a stretch of cold weather, there was ice in the new arena by the end of the month. The contractor had fulfilled his promise. On Jan. 1, local skaters came out in droves to try the new ice surface.
*This column was originally published in the Drayton Community News on Dec. 19, 2003 and Dec. 24, 2004.
