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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1981-07-15, Page 5Hamlet disappeared in face of Hensall competition Times -Advocate, July 15, 1981 Pogo 5 Puts Rodgerville back on the map with sign There never was much he says. The residents rivalry between Hensall and "were shrewd enough Rodgerville. said Elgin business men to know Hen- Rowcllfte, RR 1, Hensall, salt would be the centre of who has erected a sign in the gravitation." memory of the hamlet of Rowcliffe, now 81, Rodgerville, 1845 to 1890. remembers the old store, Rodgerville just resigned the Motel, the post office and some of the houses and blacksmith shops which once existed. The site was originally settled in 1834. The com- munity's namesake, Matthew Rodgers arrived in 1852 and after running a RODGERVILLE CHEESE FACTORY— A world famous cheese factory was operated in Rodgerville during the 1870s. This picture is a reproduction of a photo probably taken in 1873. It shows the typical wood construction. Shipka fiddler wins at two competitions By MRS. HUGH MORENZ SHIPKA Willis Desjardine won the Ray McNeilly trophy, at the Central Ontario fiddlers con- test. July 4th weekend held at Perth, near Ottawa, when he placed first in competi- tion of ages 19 to 60. Another first place win for Willis was at the fiddlers contest at Fergus July 10, where he won the Moore Business forms trophy in the intermediate class. T -ball game news Parkhill (Co-op► team played at Shipka July 6, score Co-op 29. Shipka 21. Shipka played at Grand Bend July 9. score Grand Bend 33, Shipka 15. Clandeboye girl gets job with CN CLANDEBOYE Kim Cunningham graduated June 26 from Fanshawe College with an Executive and Professional Secretarial diploma. She has accepted P. secretarial posi- tion with Canadian National Rail. London. Tracey Cunningham, graduated from Marvel Hairdressing School June 8. She is employed with Super Clips. London. Kim and Tracey are daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Cunningham of Clandeboye. Nancey Taylor and daughter Mary, returned Monday to Swift Current, Saskatchewan, after holidaying with Nancey's parents. Mary and Wilmer Scott. They accompanied the Scott's to Niagara Falls for a couple of days last week and visited with Mrs. Scott's sister. Mrs. Peg Gilmour at Ridgeway. Sunday a family reunion, including the Scott families and several Harrison relatives. was held at the home of Janet and Jack Neaman near Ailsa Craig. Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Lynn attended a picnic Saturday for the present and past trustees. of the Middlesex County School board, held at the home of Howard McLean. at Melbourne. Mrs. 011ie Hodgins is a patient in St. Joseph's Hospital. where she had sur- gery last week. Mrs. R. Worthington visited last week with her daughter and son-in-law, Kathryn and Bruce Sharpe, in London. Kathryn has just recently graduated from Althouse College and will be teaching at Plover Mills school near Thorndale, in September. Ruth and Alan Hill attend- ed the wedding of Alan's niece. Debbie Hill, at Cen- tral Baptist Church, London Saturday and the reception held at the home of the bride's parents. Lisa Carter spent last week at Huron Church Camp near Bayfield. Jerry. Lorie and Jonathon Morgan are enjoying a few holdiays camping near Ben - miller. Brinsley barbecue drawslarge crowd By GORDON MORLEY, BRINSIEY A large crowd attended the Brinsley United Church chicken barbecue Wednes- day evening which was a good success. Mr. and Mrs. George Prest visited with Mrs. Lois Stoughton. Niagara -on -the - lake and while there attend- ed a ceremony and saw the Queen Mother. Ebenezer Cemetery Decoration will be held Sun- day. July 26. Service will be at Brinsley united Church at 2 p.m. Mrs. Merle Lewis spent the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Lewis at the cottage at I't. Franks. Mr. and Mrs. Wilbert Lewis and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Lewis attended the Decoration at Parkhill cemetery Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Gladys Lochner and her granson Mark Lochner, Inwood visited with Mrs. Violet Allison and Kathleen Morley Sunday afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Trevithick, and Mr. and Mrs. Don Newery, London attended the Golden Wed- ding anniversary of Matt and Amy Treat of Grand Rapids, Michigan Saturday. Mrs. George Prest and Viola Lewis visited the Bible School at Nairn, Friday. Personals Doug and Ann Russell held a birthday party for their 2 year old daughter Jill, Satur- day evening. Guests were aunts. uncles and cousins on Ann's side of the family. Mrs. Lorne Fenner and Karen Guenther visited Saturday in Kingsville with their aunt, Mrs. Minnie Robertson and her daughter Mrs. Ada Staddon. Cliff and Velma Russell spent the weekend at his brother's. Earl and Greta Russell. in Essex. Tom. Rosanne, Jackie and Jenny Russell of Brucefield visited her parents Mike and Alice Schiebel, for the weekend at Belle River. Velma Russell, Rosanne, Jackie and Jenny Russell, attended a bridal shower, Saturday evening for Linda Verschueren, the fiancee of Velma's nephew, Roger Baldwin. Approximately 125 people attended this shower held at the Knight's of Columbus Hall in Essex. Bob and Joanie Maier, of Mio Michigan visited Wednesday with Hugh and Annie Morenz and other cousins in the area. The Morenz's attended a picnic supper, Sunday, at the home of Ross and Donna Corbett. when 15 family members gathered to celebrate Ross's father, John Corbett's birthday. A reminder! that the Shipka Community picnic is being held here Thursday evening July 16. Everyone welcome. Crediton East By MRS. STAN PRESZCATOR Stephen Glanville, Delta, B.C. and Mr. and Mrs. John Glanville RR 4, Walton were Thursday visitors with Mrs. Stan Preszcator and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Glanville. Mr. and Mrs. Nick Lansbergen and girls Mrs. Stan Preszcator, Barb Glan- ville, Master Robt England, Huron Park and Karen Foran, Blyth attended the Glanville reunion Sunday. Master Robt England Huron Park and Karen Foran, Blyth spent the weekend with their grand- parents Mr. and Mrs. Stan Preszcator. Mrs. Stan Preszcator and Barb Glanville also visited Sunday with their grand- mother Mrs. Mary Thornton in Seaforth Hospital and in the evening visited with Mr. and Mrs. Ed Regele RR 4, Walton. general store and post off- ice, later opened a hotel and stable which housed ex- change horses for the coach lines. In his book, Ghost towns of Ontario, author Ron Brown described Rodgerville as the first major village of a rapidly growing farming area. By 1863,the community had three general sotres, three blacksmith shops, a tannery, Rodger's hotel, and a Presbyterian church whose congregation numbered over 100. The turning point for Rodgerville came in 1878. "However," writes Brown, "due to the enter- prise of the Petty brothers, who owned land one and a half miles north, the ex- pected railway was not built at Rodgerville but near the Petty mills." Rowcliffe agrees that the loss of the railway killed Rodgerville. Businesses in the village either closed or relocated to the growing rail center near the Petty mills, a village known as Hensall. • By 1890, the population had dropped to 45, and by 1910, even the Presbyterian church was gone. Only a couple of the original Rodgerville houses are still standing to the west of Highway 4. Rowcliffe was "very anx- ious Rodgerville not be forgotten". "Every now and again, " he said, "people would men- tion Rodgerville and did not know where it was." Rowcliffe's parents bought their farm in 1891. The Rodgerville hotel was about 10 rods (50m) north of where the Rodgerville sign now stands. The brick house Rowcliffe lives in was built in 1906. Most of Rodgerville's buildings were of wood. "The problem in Rodger - Make plans for school By MRS. ROBERT LAING CROMARTY Mr. and Mrs. Robert La- ing and Tom attended the Orange Parade in Milverton on Saturday and sawart of the Milverton Suns - Quebec ladies softball game as well. A meeting of the teachers and officers of Cromarty Sunday School was held on Monday night at the home of Jean Carey. Plans were made for next year's program. Any children in the community are welcome and parents should contact the secretary, Andy Douglas, or one of the teachers so adequate supplies can be ordered. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Douglas visited Sunday afternoon with Mr. and Mrs_ Alex J. Pearson and Mar- jorie and Joe Pearson, all of the Orangeville district. Congratulations to Gordon Dow who is having his 80th birthday on Thursday, July 16. A family celebration was held at the Huron Restaurant in Exeter on the weekend. Cromarty church ser- vices have been called off for the rest of July and the first two Sundays in August. For the remainder of August, services will be in Hibbert United Church, Staf- fa, at 11 a.m. Congratulations are ex- tended to Bruce Miller and his bride, the former Cindy Siemon, who were married on Saturday. A large number from this community were guests at the wedding in Brodhagen and the reception at Mitchell Community Cen- tre. Mary Jane Johns was among the stepdancers who entertained at the Fiddlers' Jamboree in Mitchell on Sunday afternoon and even- ing. Nelson Howe and Ivan Norris also donated their talents to the program. Proceeds were donated to the Stratford and District Mentally Retarded Associa- tion. HARD AT WORK — This class at the Dashwood Vacation Bible School was hard at work Friday afternoon under the direc- tion of teachers Sheila Miller and Audrey Gibson. From the left are Shelli Roder, Rachel Nutt, Stacey Thurman, Tina Gibson, Julie Restemayer and Jennie Romphf. T -A photo ville" said Elgin's son Bill Rowcliffe, "was there was no rich family. Hensall was blessed with one rich man — Petty, who made the village." While Hensall won the railroad and a future, it may not have competed with Rodgerville, but it did have a rivalry with Exeter. Rowcliffe said the original settlers of Hensall came from Yorkshire in England. One son of the Petty family was named "Yorkie". Exeter's settlers came from Devonshire. Elgin Rowcliffe remembers the rivalry in. the form of a verse sup- posedly used as a grace by the Petty fanny, who later ran a pork packing plant. "Some have meat, they couldn't eat — they got it down in Devon (Exeter)," Rowcliffe recalled, "But our good pork, up here at York (Hensall) is as sweet as bread in Heaven." With this kind of competi- tion "how could poor • =.. .., REMEMBERS RODOERVILLE — Elgin Rowcliffe, RR along highway 4 to commemorate the once thriving buildings on the other side of the highway are all 1, Hensall, surveys the sign he erected hamlet of Rodgerville. A few run down that remain of the community. Rodgerville survive?" asked Bill. Not much remains of Rodgerville. Mrs. Ethel Poth of the Huron County archives said the archive does not have any pictures of the village as it once looked. Mrs. Dave Sangster reported her mother, the late Mrs. Robert Simpson, had written an article on Rodgerville's history for an archive publication. She said her mother had some pictures of the com- munity, but she Is unsure of what became of them. She was able to supply one photo of the Rodgerville cheese factory. Of the few remaining Rodgerville buildings, emp- ty and in. disrepair, Rowcliffe said he was "kind of glad" that original buildings of Rodgerville are still standing. Part of Rodgerville was In Usborne Township, and Rowcliffe wonders why the township couldn't put up signs to remember the other small villages of its past. He listed the hamlets of Hurondale, Lumley, Thames Road, Farquhar, Winchelsea, Elimville, Zion, Whalen Corners, Eden, and Iberon as being similar to Rodgerville. For two or three hundred dollars he said, signs could be put up to remember each of these villages. Of Rodgerville, Ron Brown writes "only lot lines, weedy yards and mounds of dirt where houses once stdod tell of a former village that was once the focus of a busy pioneer community. To Brown's list we can add Elgin Rowcliffe's sign Rodgerville 1845 - 1890. Church -Howe Antique8 nostalgia collectables HOURS: Weekdays 3-5 p.m. Sat. & Sun. 10-5 p.m. 8e ()wan st., H.nsall Montt 262-2192 Ws Buy & 5.N Consignm.nts ekwne CASH INYOUROLD WLNTARIO11CKETS FOR DISCOUNTS ON GREAT CANADIAN ENTERTAINMENT WITH HALF BACK. 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