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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Clinton News Record, 1925-07-23, Page 7o�- SONMENIMATAVENNEfigniiMi d G1I4S i1Id dt'�k. LIVELY HAPPENINGS IN CLINTON AB UT THIRTY-FIVE YEARS- AGO' Dr. Shaw Describes St. Andrew's Dinner, with the Impressive Highland Toasts. Joe Copp and Joe Wheatley nighty Athletes an Those Days. (Continued from last week) July 6, 1895:_ The. officers of the 33rd Regiment held their annual dm- ner at the Rattenbury House tonight. .Among those present were the follow- ing: Lt. -Col.; A. Wilson; '.Surgeon Holmes; Capts. Combe, Rance, Todd,. Forrester, , Howard Jackson; ..'Beck, Maj; Jordan, Maj. Wilson, Capt. 1 Rob - ells, Capt. Hays, W. Shaw, G. D: Mc- Taggart, John Young, W. Ransford, W. Jackson, Lt. M. D. McTaggart, R: 1hteDonald, D. Freeborn, Capt. Wil- liams. Very few of-_ these officers are now in the army.' The. speeches were numerous. John Ransford is re- ported as singing a song illustrating prominently that every, living being was tainted with Gritism or Tory- ism. An enchore was demanded and he sang "He's an Englishman." Evi- dently John did not prophecy that there might be a 3rd party, the:Pro- gressives, horn in the 20th century. Mr. W. Jackson asked the officers to take into their serious considera- tion some plan of .going to war for trade effects. He was more {prophetic lie also sang "Old Black Joe." Capt. Todd, in responding to the Lanai Corps,' mentioned the sheet sightedness of the opposition in cer- tain quarters to the proper mainten- ance of the Canadian Militia. Capt. Forrester compared the Can- adian and English solder, saying the former were more apt students than the latter, concluding that rural regiments were starved and too much money squandered at headquarters. Capt. Beck said he joined the force in 1865, was on duty at the Fenian Raid and told some reminis- • cences. . Capt. Rance recited "Excelsior" • in his usual good style. G. D, McTaggart responded to "Trade and Commerce" and as a taxpayer concurred in any 'expendi- ture for the militia and that in com- parison Canada was in as good a position as any other. Capt. Combe said such gatherings as this educated the members and that much bene- fit resulted from boys ` joining,the force. , The Ladies were responded to by L, McTaggart and R. J. McDonald, Storms: Ia those old days there were some storms. The following I can vouolr for, as my old friend and reliable citizen, Won. Harland, was an eye witness. He was plowing' in the field near the bush when he heard a great -roar. Looking around the dust was so' thick he lost sight, of the bush. Heat _.once unhitched the team and ' turned them towards the barn"andhe and they got there as fast as possible. But before getting there the hurri- cane had arrived and it met the straw stack and hurled it in the air. covering him up and it took some lit- tle digging to. get from under, By this time the rain had arrived, com- pletely soaking. him. As soon as the rain ceased he cautiously emerged from his shelter and upon" -looking around found fish in, great quantities that had been (blown from Lake Huron with the storm. ,Should George Lane, an old Clinton boy, come for the Re- union he will corroborate this story for it is said he got a good mess of those fish.., Id me + ey rto •n. W. t ra st' nd en w The visit of ` the British Bowlers was an inwrortant :event in the his- tory of the game in Olinten. They were welcomed at a banquet provided by the•ladies in the town hall. In the' afternoon the. Clinton klub defeated the British by 5 shots, being the se- cond on the tour to accomplish this task. , Bowlers: Away back in 1893 Clin- ton organized ' a Bowling Club and constructed -a, green behind'; the o Molsons Bank. But this soon. beca too small to accommodate the mem- bers. e ber s. Those playing then were W W .Farran, D .A. Forrester, J. P. Tis- dale, D. L. Macpherson, Lack Ken- nedy, H.. C. Brewer, W. Jackson; John Johnson, J. W. Irwin, John Harland and G. D. McTaggart. The Club se- cured grounds and laid'down ten greens where the presentr.quarters are. Success came froth -steady prac- tice and at local tournaments. Th won many prizes and soon became n ambitious and `sent a rink Niagara to play at the Dominion tournament, composed of G. D.M'c- Taggart, Billy Jackson, Davey For- rester and J. P. Tisdale. They re- ported a grand time. iBut the greatest victory was achieved at London at the Wester Ontario Bowling Tourney in JuIYr 1903. When the rink skipped' by Jackson won the Labatt Trophy, en- blematical of the championship of 0n-. tario, which meant •Canada, and tl second prize, called the Association, won by W. P. Spalding's rink, fir prize in doubles won by Hoover a Agnew. This record has never be equalled by,a -single club in one sea- son. The trophy rink was W. Br done, D. A. Forrester, Jas. Fair,. Jackson. Talk about -old times and old tim- ers, Here's. a report of a DominionDay Celebration in Clinton, July' 1, 1874, just 51 years ago. It says the Bthss Band played from the roof of Searle and Davis' store (you could not hit them with. bad eggs up there) and opened the day's proceedings, which consisted of Calithumpian parade, • Horse races and athletic sports • You will find Joe Copp the chief winner and Joe Wheatley came a close second. Joe Copp took first in standing jump, 12 ft. 11 in.; 3'. Moul- ton second. Three standing jumps, Copp lst,,36 ft. 1 s in. Running, hop, step and jump, Jiee Copp, 45 ft. 9 in., Joe Wheatley second. Pole Vault, R. Foster, J. Foster, Running jump, Joe Copp .,19 ft. 9 in.; Ben Cole 2nd. 100 yard race, Joe Wheatley, 1st; Sandy Taylor 2nd. 200 yard race, Joe Wheatley, let; Wm. Jones 2nd. These records in this vicinity have 1x co from . •,- .kr. ST. JOSEPH'S (CATHOLIC)' CHURCH This edifice was, built in 1908. For several.years -prior to the erection of the present building the Catholics worshipped in •a' church which had been made over from the first Pres- byterian church built in Clinton, which was on the same site. MASONIC 1YIEETING On Monday of Old Home Week, Aug. 3rd,' tlie Huron 'and Bruce Ma- sonic Lodge of Toronto will yisit Clin- ton Lodge and confer a degreee. At the same meeting old officers of Clin- ton, who have left town, will also par- ticipate in the work. -- SOME OLD TIME MUSIC PROMISED 1 OLD DAYS IN . CLINTON' Irl a letter from Lack Kennedy, Toronto, he Says, Alex,,, D. Fisher and he will arrive Sunday . and Chauncey will have his -guitar and jack knife. He left Clinton thirty-two years ago and lie will give a few of the old tunes when Billy McLeod, Harry Stan- bury and Bert Kerr will make the old quartette.- Lack says he would like to see Jinn Fair, Pat Spalding, Jack Howson, Ogle Cooper, Billie Muir, Horner 'Cooper, Charlie Coats, Harry Stanbury, and Grace Robert- son, Josie Scott and Dolly Buchanan. . In 1871 at Bayfield on 24th of May: Men's foot race, Joe Copp, lst; Tont Cameron, 2nd. Standing jump, Joe Copp, B. Cole. Running Jump, Joe Copp, , B. Cole. Hop, step and jump, roe Copp, G. J. Austin. Joe has raised .two pretty fair athletes but neither has shown the class of their" d'ad. On July 2nd, 1874 the following item appears: "New Butcher Shop: R. Fitzsim- ons begs to announce to the inhabi- tants of Clinton and Vicnity that he has opened a new butcher shop op- posite - the market; where he will be pleased to meet all his gold customers and as many.new .ones as may favor him with their custom. -All kinds of meat kept in season and -promptly de- livered anywhere' in the village." I doubt if any of the old timers are still in the same class of business as long as Bob and still going strong.. Memories: There are a few vents which occurred' during my first few years' residence in Clinton. The first was a St. Andrew's dinner, given by Sons of Scotland on Nov. - 3rd, 1892. The previous year Murray Camp 5. 0. S. had been organized and Chief W. P. Fortune and the officers deter- mined to hold the first St: Andrew's dinner ever held in Clinton. As almost every Scotchman in town and vicinity had become members the success as to attendance was assured froinhe outset. We interviewed Lack Kennedy, the only hotel man at that time eligible on'suto be called Scotch, and after con- ' suiting iting his mother, who by the way, was a better Scot than Lack, as she was,"Hielan," decided to serve the dinner. Mrs. Kennedy pleasantly agreed to loolt after the cooking, but regretfully announced' she could not make the "Haggis", a most essential part of the banquet. Mrs: Thos. Fair, having a more than local reputation for making this most wonderful and rare- dish, agreed roost willingly. In those days the Q.T.A. had not been born' so the liquid refreshment part was easily orocured. The dinner piovided has never been surpassed or even equalled before or since. It has gone down as history; Thos:` Fortune was Chief and John Croll, Chieftain; Jimmy Ross and Jack Dingwall; Pipers., Some of the guests were: Wm. Murray; Sandy Mc Murchie; Jas. Fair; Alex, and Jimnty Ingles, Ivan McGarva, Geo. McTag- gart, Coley:holm D. A. Forrester, D. L. and D. F. Macpherson, W. Coats; Jas. and Norman' Fair, J. J. and Ran- nie McDonald, W. P. Spalding, McGill Dixon, Charlie Duncan, Harry In- gram. M. D. McTaggart, D. McAllis- ter;, W. Weir. Dr. Gunn, Di: Turnbull, and some who were half Scotch, as Will and Tom Jackson, Syd Smith, Barry Combe, ;Torr Rance and N. Robson. It is unnecessary to say the ban- euet was ' a grand success. We sat down serene and complacent in front of our Haggis and our whiskey on one • never been beaten,,. The running 'hop, step arid jump was an extra good jump. The athletes of today with coach- ing and training by professionals have not equalled these marks in this • county. . mer, d .e'kYd!i n. r�.kri.'=7nrrii, [ :6d INTERESTINGLY RECALLED Former Citizens who are Pla.nning to Visit Clinton in August, Discourse on events of Long Ago July 15, 1925. S. B. Stothers, .Sec, Clinton Old Boys. Dear Sir: Yours of June 18th. ceived and I will be very glad to join youall in celebrating the old town's anniversary. Did not notify sooner as had objected to me -mak- ing the trip alone and my daughter was unable to -accompany me at this time. as she had arranged to take the little girl to the shore during school vacation. Now, however;( have con- vinced all that I can make the trip at least one way, so am arranging to leave so as to arrive in Clinton the last week in July, Now, about my hotel accommoda- tions. 'Not much necessary being all alone. One small roonr-with `,bath' if possible and don'tcare whether .I eat or not but would like to know that I CLINTON I-IYDRO SHOP AND POWER HOUSE The upper picture shows the ITydro and waterworks plant, with the reservoir to the right. The lower picture shows the hydro Shop;- which. will .be better known to old timers as the "Palace Block," corner of Al- bert and Rattenbury streets. This building has just recently been ac- quired by the Public, Utilities Commission and has been nicely fitted up, The top flat has, been rented to the local Oddfellows and the Clinton Club, each having _a very complete suite of club rooms. Clinton, boys used to go to the old pump on the market square for a. drink, All that is changed, however. Clinton's water supply is one of the improvements of which it is proud, a nd Superintendent Chant, will, we feel sure, be glad: to show home -coni ttg old boys ]sow 'tire water is now pumped. side ,surrounded by our bag pipes in the complete enjoyment: of our na- tional.pleasure. Of course the Eng- lish and Irish have -no national dish or national music so wouldn't enjoy. such a banquet. We began the din- ner with the usual ceremony with the Haggis at 8 p.m. and closed with Auld Lang Syne at 6 next morning. The toasts were many and all drunk in true highland fashion, the speech- es excellent. To those Englishmen like John Ransford, who may not have seen -Highland Honors at such gatherings the. following will ex- plain When the Toasts are given with Highland - Honours the whole of the coihpany wises with the Chief. The warden secures the door and stands at attention. The toast to the Patron Saint, St. Andrew. The Chief and company stand ontheir chairs and place their right foot on the table and; while in . this position (the Chief leading) pro- nounce the words Suas e' (west with it)' three times- to ' be followed by three hurrahs. Then the words suns e' (east with it) three times, followed by three hurrahs as before 'and -last- ly the word nish (now). three times, followed by three hurrahs at the final hurrah the piper will strike up a few bars of a stirring mleody. The Chief and company retiring to their seats. Toasts with Highland Honours can only be 'proposed by the Chief and the piper shall -only play at his re- quest. , Lion Alexander of Toronto sent the following lines had a place where T could' get under cover at night in case it should rain:'. I. was made very ,comfortable for some years by three generations .of the Rattenbury, family and if Joe is still' on deck it can possibly be ar- ranged. I landed in •Seaforth after. one in themorning after 'a 45 -mile drive, finding the hotel closed and dark as Egypt. A rear windowan- swered for an entrance and knowing my away upstairs got after a room, found several,with a man in each who in each case raised up but said nothing and I didn't say much as I' backed out and tried next door, - fin- ally finding one. and had a good sleep. and up for breakfast without a call. No looking'. back. Realizing how well I fared I can look forward to any chances. without 'misgiving. I know Clinton. The saddest part to me, Mx. •Secretary, is the absence of familiar .names to me on your an- nouncements. Of course, I must ex- cept Mayor Jackson but T do not want to be con$pelled to appear -be- fore the Mayor immediately on arriv- al, rriveal, though as a young man I remem- ber him 'as entirely commendable. D. Cantelon I remember well'as one of our most enterprising manufacturers - and Mr: 'Wiltse, 'a young merchant. The Treasurer, I remember well and glad to see he is proving true to fam- ily traditions. I knew one Mr. Mc-. Murray quite well but not sure of the A. 3, and the Secretary will have to wait until I see him but .be assured I will certainly be very glad to see you all and tell you how I appreciate your efforts to keep the grand Old Town in• line and not only in line but in front. A nervous affection of my right hand compels ine to write this with the left and am not at all proud of']t. Wishing complete success. - Yours truly, ' JAMES A. YUILL" "I wish you. joy St. Andrew's nicht, : Till morning sun comes glinting, Sing loud and dance, skirl pipes wi' might, I'll turn my-- ear to Clinton." "Good night, and joy be wi' ye, a' And -I wish my grannie saw ye." I.remetnber distinctly the origin and developmentof the 25 Club hi 1893. In the beinning the members' list was limited to 25 men. Only those unmarried were 'eligible. The objects were, as :noted in The News - Record of that date: "This commend- able organization is for mutual im provement. The debates are proving more interesting with each meeting. They are of a national nature, such as broadenthe mind and intellect of young. men. The next debate will be "Prohibition." • The rules and -constitutionhad to be radically revised, as the months. went by, for the resignations began to come in so rapidly on account of many forsaking their bachelor ways. So we struck out that clause and if we hadn't, these would only have been three members left, Dan, Macpherson,, W. E. Rand ' and - Dick Fair. But to our great surprise and delight W. Dr quietly forsook the other two, who to this moment have never' had the courage to propose. • Vankleak Hill, July 13, 1925. Mr, 5, B. Stothers, Dear Sir: Mrs. Hartley and I both thank you for your invitation to be present at the Old Boys' Reunion. We would-be delighted to be there but I am busy teaching my 14th Summer School, which -will not conclude till Aug. 14th. Since coming here I have not had a boy student in any of my Model School classes and• I often think of the boys I taught in Clin- ton No teacher could wish for bet; te.. I would like to go to visit the old town and meat Frets Sioman, Prod Thompson, Fred Ford, Mid all the other Feeds, Bills, Jacks, etc., whom I taught. I would like to meet all the girls too, and to congratulate then, all on the success they are mak- ing'of life. S would-also"like to meet that other bunch of boys, 'who taught me some- thing, Dr. Shaw, John Bamford, Dan Macpherson, Torr Ranee, etc., etc. Although we cannot be present we can say like Hiram Walker, "Our spirits will be with you still." Yours sincerely, —JOHN HARTLEY" 388 Clarence St., London, Ont.; July 18, 1925. Mr. S. B. Stothers, Dear Sir: Your very kind invita- tion duly to'hand. Many thanks for• the same and the writer hopes to spend five very happy days in the old town of -Clinton. I would like to know how many of the Old Boys and Girls that will visit Clinton on this occasion were pupils on ' the first day of the opening of the Brick School house, Public School on the. -corner opposite Ontario street church, first taught by D .W. Malloch.' The"writ- er, was one. Wishing you every 'ouc Cess. Yours truly, GEO. P. BRICKENDEN. ST. PAUL'S ANGLICAN CHURCH This is not the original church, one was pulled down and. the one mediately preceding this was burned down. A list, however, with names of .the subscribers to a building fund, with the amount promise each case set forth, dated. 1854, now hangs in the vestry. The first ch was built by the Canada Company. , :r.fiill.�hl■i .. WESLEY CHURCH. formerly Methodist, as its name would imply, now iii the -United Chu/ of Canada, This church was built in 1902 but the congregation was tablished in 1854. The former edifice, the one which will be remenube by many home comers, was on Rattenbury street and was called "Batt bury street Methodist Church." ONTARIO STREET - CHURCH was until its entry into The United Church of Canada, a Methodis church. This was formerly a Bible Christian church, uniting with the. Methodist churches' in 1885. The exa et date of the founding of the con- gregation could- not be ascertained but the date was an early one. WILLIS CHURCH ' THE CL1NTO1V BAPTIST CHURCH {• .. resent n re alar >as' Was Willis Presb terian Church until :t _entered the ZTnited. Church .of This church was erected in 1$HJ. There is at pr o g 1 Y ation during the sum- Canada on June 10th. . This,congreg anon was founded in 1859 and during ,tor•, but -a NicMastei student, Mr. Boynter, . is :n charge du 8 sum - that time has only had six siiniste rs. mer mouths. 'The Clinton and Auburn churches sre joined in one charge: