The Citizen, 2002-07-24, Page 18liW4,11,:(-46Yz1 ,
NEWS
Opci 1..] louse
for
Siebolt and Annie Siertsema
in honour of our
40th Anniversary
August 5 from 2-4 pm
at Blyth Christian Reformed Church
orC
Best Wishes Only
GHOST TOWNS OF
ONTARIO
Vol. 1 &Vol. 2
Ron Brown rediscovers
vanished communities
including Sunshine, Bodmin
and Newbridge. $19.95 -
GHOST RAILWAYS OF ONTARIO
Ron Brown's first Ghost Railways
. book includes the stories of the
Guelph-Goderich CPR line, the
Toronto, Grey and Bruce and the
Wellington Grey and Bruce. $24.95
ONTARIO'S VANISHED VILLAGES
Read the stories of communities that
helped shape Ontario but no longer
remain including Lovat in Bruce,
Waverley in Grey and St. Joseph in
Huron. $19.95
On tario's
anishedvillages
uu u
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404 Queen St., Blyth
523-4792
117 I f IT II 1111 1 1 11 /1 1111
PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2002.
By BRENDA
RADFORD
Call
523-4296
In last week's column you learned
that in 1850 Thomas Hagyard came
to this area from England with his
family. Our village was named
Londesboro after the Earl of
Londesboro on whose estate.
Thomas Hagyard had lived.
That senior Thomas Hagyard
apparently had five children one- of
whom was also named Thomas.
Young Thomas was just nine years
old when he came to Hullett Twp. I
recently was given a copy of a letter
written by this younger Thomas in
1899 and thought you might find
parts of it interesting.
In mid-March of 1879 this
Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth, and
their six children (the oldest of
whom was 13 at the time) decided to
move to Manitoba along with II
other local families. Elizabeth's
brothers and sisters also rilade the
trek west.
Sometime earlier, a Hullett Twp.
politician, Thomas Greenway, had
gone west. Impressed by what he
found in the Red River area, he
arranged for homestead land claims
and a special train for the settlers to
the Emerson, Manitoba area.
Gang
hosts
euchre
Manning and Longman families
were also on this train.
Apparently the Hagyard family
felt Hullett Twp. was too heavily
populated and the farms rather small
at 80 acres. A farm of that size sold
for $2000 or More in the 1870s and
many young men had no hope of
ever owning their own.
In Manitoba, a few hundred
dollars would buy 320 acres of land
in the Nelsonville district.
Although he foUnd a land quite
unlike that of Hullett Twp. Thomas
Hagyard broke ground on June 7.
t 1879 and by harvest time had both a
house and stable built. Winter. too,
brought. new experiences, such as -
50°F temperatures.
In the spring of 1880 _travellers
informed the Hagyards that many
back in Londesboro were sure all the
settlers had perished. Interestingly
enough that summer, Thomas wrote
a letter to the Clinton paper telling
all back in Huron County about the
little colony's experiences.
Thomas himself never returned to
Londesboro although Elizabeth did
visit.
Thomas admitted to having days
of intense apprehension . and
forebodings about his decision to
move his family. However in 1979 a
cairn was erected in the area of their
settlement 100 years earlier.
The inscription reads "This cairn
is dedicated to the ,memory of our
pioneers who came from
Londesboro, Ontario in 1879 and
had the courage and foresight to
lay the foundation of this
community."
Coincidentally, while I've been
discussing our village's pioneers,
etc. the municipality has been doing
some work at the Londesborough
cemetery. They've been
straightening headstones and
replacing the cement bases in some
cases.
For those of you who may be
wondering, the Londesboro
Cemetery still does accept burials.
FROM LONDESBORO
OMedic Alert
ALWAYS ON CALL
www.medicalert.ca
For more information
14366-848-3259
444444444
4 ("pm gla it
for
on and Kittie MacGregor._.
in honour of our TIP
ft August 3
ft 30th Anniversary .4P
ft
from 2-5 pm
with the renewing of our ft ft vows at 5 pin at our home 1,11
so at 41410 Londesboro Rd. ea
Bring your lawn chair and a '7
14 salad if you wish as we will ft
elp be having a beef BBQ eip
after the vows.
"0 Best wishes only please IP.
444444444
PEOPLE AROUND
LONDESBORO
Twelve ladies of the Cheerio Club
met for dinner at the Harbour Lights
Restaurant in Bayfield on
Wednesday, July 17.
Following their meal Genevieve
Allen welcomed them to her trailer
at Pine Lake for the afternoon.
Dorothy Johnston began the
meeting with a poem, Unconditional
Love.
The gift of the month, presented
by Dorothy, was won by Reta
Kel land.
An interesting discussion around
the origin of the Cheerio Club
ensued.
Originally • called the
Grandmother's Club. Margaret
Manning began the gatherings
around 1939 or 1940.
Beth Knox provided some
impromptu entertainment and the
group also enjoyed some card
playing.
The next meeting is to he held on
Aug. 14.
The Londesboro Happy Gang
Seniors hosted their monthly euchre
party on Friday, July 12 at the
Londesboro Hall. There were 18
tables of card players that warm
summer evening.
It was a close race for the top
three scoring pairs. Marjorie Smith
and Vera Ahrens had -79 points;
Clarence and Adeline Allen scored
78 points and 77 points were tallied
by Raymond and Lois Haggitt.
Seven lone hands played
successfully was the most by Rita
Flynn and Verna Gibbings. Share-
the wealth winners were Dorothy
Dalton, Lois Haggitt and Kay
Konarski.
The seniors will host their next
card party on Aug. 9.
4.•444444 44% Ha ppy
3rd se:
Birthday S.
9, Big Brother Oft
ft
ft
ft
Love Wade,
Dad & Mom
444444444
Preserving the past
The workers of Newman's Monuments Foundation and
Repair of Clifford spent much of Friday rebuilding the grave
markers at Londesboro Cemetery. With many of the stones
in poor condition and at risk of toppling, half of the markers
were repaired in 2001 and the job was to be finished this
year. (Janice Becker photo)
Cheerio Club
enjoys dinner
Wyatt
Machan
••
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