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.
December 1928
96 years ago
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 with which to deal. 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 on 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.
George Lament, the popular Canadian National Railway agent at Moorefield, received a promotion, and moved to Parkhill at the beginning of the month.
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.
Conestogo Lodge 195 of the Masonic Order in Drayton held its annual meeting and supper. 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 Christmas gift that year was a season 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.
November/December 1953
71 years ago
Dry weather in the late fall of 1953 gave farmers plenty of time to finish ploughing. By December, though, retailers feared that above-average temperatures and below-normal precipitation would eat into their seasonal sales. Winter arrived at last on Dec. 14, with blizzard-like conditions that dumped six inches of wet snow on the landscape.
Public school students from across Wellington, 1,600 in number, attended the Royal Winter Fair on a special train. A few days later, foreman Alf Capper of the Canadian National Railway in Palmerston gave the Carry-On Women’s Institute a tour of Palmerston’s railway facilities.
The Grand River Conservation Commission completed its land acquisition for the new Conestogo Dam with the purchase of the Emmanuel Foell and Vincent Kraemer farms.
After 45 years of ownership, Rixon Rafter, the well-known blind editor, sold the Arthur Enterprise to Clive Williams.
The pupils of Rothsay Public School travelled to Wingham to perform on radio station CKNX. Their program consisted of vocal selections and instrumental music. Television was starting to take hold, especially with the start of broadcasts from CFPL, Channel 10, from London, which offered viewers an additional choice. Sproule Radio in Palmerston offered 17-inch receivers as low as $249.
Various social organizations, church groups and service clubs scheduled their Christmas meetings. Moorefield United Women’s Auxiliary held a bazaar on Dec. 5, featuring fancy work, candy and baked goods. A hot beef supper, at 90 cents per person, followed at 5:30pm. Maryborough Junior Farmers enjoyed their Christmas meeting on Dec. 8. The Moorefield Women’s Institute gathered on Dec. 9 for a Christmas program and to make plans for their 50th anniversary the following February. Drayton’s Women’s Institute met on Dec. 11 at the council chamber. They heard about plans for the new county museum, to be opened in 1954 in Elora. That same evening, the Drayton Home and School Association formally organized, with 33 members on the roll, and Mrs. Wilfred Campbell as president.
Santa arrived in Moorefield on Dec. 12, the special guest at a Christmas party at township hall. Principal Robert Thompson of Drayton High School put on a slide show, followed by carol singing, and the distribution of treats by Santa.
Drayton’s Rotary Club enjoyed a promotional film from Allis-Chalmers on Dec. 14, showing large equipment at work on major projects across Canada. Members enjoyed a dinner served by the St. Martin’s Church Ladies.
Drayton took on a festive air, as many residents put up coloured lights. Volunteers festooned a big Christmas tree at Main and Wellington Streets with bright lights. In Moorefield, merchants cancelled the half-day closing during December, and stayed open every evening during the week before Christmas.
*This column was originally published in the Drayton Community News on Dec. 5 and 19, 2003.
