HomeMy WebLinkAboutHomecoming '87, 1987-07-01, Page 36PAGE A-36. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1987.
— Homecoming '87- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -—- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Men of community rallied to fight Fenians
Back in 1866, the threat of
“Fenian Raids’’ seemed very real
to Huron County settlers. The
Fenians were a group of rebel Irish
immigrants to the United States,
who thought it would be a good idea
to capture Canada and use it as a
base of attack against Britain in the
Irish struggle for the indepen
dence of Ireland. Even then, some
military thinking was fuzzy around
the edges.
The village of Ainleyville, re
named “Brussels” in 1872,
mustered up a corps of stalwart
volunteers, who marched to the
Lake Huron cliffs at Bayfield to
wait for the attack. It never came.
After many false alarms and
many separate occasions of the
Huron Volunteers being sent back
and forth through the bush to repell
these attacks, which never did
materialize, the men finally return
ed home and disbanded.
But in this peril, imagined
‘though it may have been, was laid
the foundation for a Huron Regi
ment which volunteered freely and
fought with distinction and valour
in two world wars. Brussels men
formed part of the 2nd Contingent
of the 33rd Battalion in the
1914-1918 war, and part of the
“Fighting 61st” in the 1939-45
struggle Many brave men lost their
lives in these wars, but their names
live on, lovingly remembered in
Remembrance Day services in the
village each November, and again
in the annual Decoration Day
Service held at the Brussels
Cemetery each June.
The Ainleyville Volunteer Corps
of 1866 was commanded by
Captain James S. Vanstone, with
John Leckie as his Lieutenant and
George R. Ross as Ensign. Nearly
60 names appear in the list of Corps
volunteers, from the records of
W.F. Vanstone, which were print
ed in The Brussels Post on March
18, 1915. Among them were
Robert, Charles and William Ain-
ley; as were George Alcock,
Thomas Bernard, Henry Cardiff,
Harvey Chapman, William Clark,
Alexander and Donald Ferguson,
two James Gibsons, Francis Kelly,
Ben McDonald, James McIntosh,
Alex McNair, Alexander Moore,
William Morton, Thomas Rice,
James Smith, Bishop Ward, Tho-
News items from
In hard news, it was noted that
while GA. Campbell was away
from his house for the evening,
somebody found where his key was
hanging and ransacked the place,
as well as going to the woodshed
and turning his toolbox upside
down. “We thought our citizens
were above this kind of work,”
sniffs the Post.*****
In the Classifieds, Baxter Ste
venson had 30 cords of dry, soft
mas Watson, and William Wright.
Except for the Ainley s, all the other
family names were still prominent
in the Brussels area.
Feb. 23, 1927
maple and elm wood, 14 inches
long, for sale at $3.25 delivered or
$2.75atthe pile; MarkGarniss had
two bull calves for sale, “both
Aberdeen-Angus and ready for
service, a right good pair’’; King
Bros, of Wingham had three only
Canadian Rat Coats for Women,
only $139 each, to clear; and John
Long of Brussels had new sleighs in
stock, also some good second-hand
ones.