The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-07-24, Page 39•
The Kincardine News'Ripley Reunion '85' Page 19
Ripley and Huron Township.
Gladys Arnold recalls her 8Qyearsas a
- EDITOR'S NOTE: Gladys Arnold has lived
most of her 80 years hi Huron Township and
recallshere some of the many changes
witnessed there. "I feel what,I have written
about my family and myself is typical of the
average family in Huron through the
years," she said.
By GLADYS ARNOLD
Huron Township is. printing the history of
our farms in 1985 of. the story of the people
who have lived in this area. Since I have
spent most of my 80 years in the township or
nearby, I felt it might be of interest to
younger readers if I told something of its
general history.
The one big word that comes to mind is
CHANGE. Changes in our environment, our
mode of living, transportation, education,
population,. recreation.
There were only a few people here living
along the Lake Huron shore until. 'surveys
were completed and the bush lands were
opened for settlement. Some like my great-
grandfather, Alexander McCosh, came
directly here from .Scotland, ,and other
British Isles or Germany. Some had settled
in the Province of Quebec or Cape Breton or
Eastern Ontario and later came to Huron,
usually leaving some members of the family
in the first settlement.
The promise of being able to own- land wa
the great inducement: It was something tha
was not possible in the Old Land. The hopd)
of bettering themselves lured them on.
Alexander McCosh was typical. He had a
good position as magistrate of•Ochiltree but.
he had five sons and they were working in a
coal mine with little future.• Lord Matheson
owned the Isle of Lewis and could see not
future for its people and paid their way to.
emigrate here. -
- The early settlers found solid bush. Most •
of them were not farmers in their homeland
and faced a great challenge. Sharing work
and helping each other was typical of those
early years. Still happens when there is a
misfortune but not so common now.
Alexander McCosh chose about 300 acres
of land. The buildings were placed near two
branches of the . Pine River. Water was so
important. Some farmers lived at the back
of their property because a river was near-
by. The water in the rivers stayed about the
same level all `year' round at. first. Then
when the bush was cleared, there were spr-
ing g floods and nearly dry rivers in summer.
Farmers left trees forshade for cattle and
along fences. Thisprovideda place for birds
to nest and acted as windbreaks. Now we
see no fences or trees in large areas and our
soil is drifting badly and the dark top soil
looks grey.
Went seven miles for the doctor
When.I was born in 1905, Dad had to travel
seven miles to Kincardine for a doctor. He
had taken over the homestead when his
parents retired. There were no paved roads
and horses provided all the Means of travel
and the power to work the land. •
Before I started to school I was sent
sometimes to Pine River for the mail. I
knew the way because Dad had taken me
there to the blacksmith shop. ' •
I loved to see the blacksmith use the
bellows,to make the fire red-hot and see him
take-out the horseshoe and fit it on the horse.
There was usually a row standing waiting.
The farmer whose horses did not behave
well there was cdnsidered a poor horseman.
Then for a year about 1913,we got mail
from a box on the'Saugeen Road (Highway
21) near the Sixth corner. Finally the three
farmers on the Base Line between Con: 6
resident here
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'It is but fitting that Huron, the name of the .noble' lake, • the shore
of which. forma 'the western boundary of the county of Bruce, should be
conferred upon one of its townships.
and 8 got: delivery at their .gates. Folks felt
rural delivery a great advance.
Around the. same years; the telephone
entered the homes. This ended rural. Isola-
tion. True, there were party lines and some
people listened in to other people's conver-
sations but if was kindly interest usually and.
a certain ring would summon neighbors in
an emergency.
Doctors made house calls. Few people
went to hospital even after it was available
if it could be avoided. My father lived to be
over 90 and he knew when he went to
hospital for the first time in 1962, it would be
the end of life because no one went there for
anything else.
Now we have. Medical Clinics and well-
equipped hospitals and even hospital in-
surance. Seniors get many drugs free.
Nowadays we 'seem to take a lot of drugs
and, long ago, people depended on home
remedies usually. Surgery is common and
successful. Epidemics of diptheria and
small pox, which took the lives of many
children, are no longer with us.
When I went to school, we expected to get:
measles, whooping cough, chicken pox and
what was called scarletina but vaccination.
has pretty well changed this.
Many of the early settlers had little educa-
tion. There are many X's on the Crown
deeds. They worked hard to have their
children get a good education. Children
walked to school.I walked three miles when
I started and my Dad and his brothers and.
sisters had done the same. These one -room.
schools provided a good education for their
,'day. We became good readers, got a good
basic training in mathematics, good stress
on being • good in penmanship, learned about
our County and province and Something of
other. lands and the history of our country
and the Motherland. • ,
We were left to work on our own but were
constantly checked to see what progress we
were making. We never lacked for good
recreation and it was seldom' supervised. • By
1920, most - young people got some High
School training. There were not too many
professions open in those days. Few parents
could afford to send children to university.
Roomed in town for high. school
When I .finished Grade 12 in Ripley Con.-
tinuation School, I was not old enough (18) to
go to Normal, so I went to Kincardine to get
Grade 13. Some from Ripley went to
Wingham for the same purpose. We travell
ed by train.'Going to High School meant be-
ing away from home all week and
sometimes longer if roads were poor. We
country folks '`roomed." We brought our
own fled and kept our bedrooms tidy. We
cooked breakfast and supper and put out
what we wanted cooked for noon. Usually
one home had two or four roomers. 1• think
we paid about $4 or so a month'. Dad drove
tne to Ripley on Sunday afternoon and came
for me on Friday afternoon to Ripley.
When my daughter started to Ripley High
•
School • in 1946,• students followed the same
pattern but then came the days of the school
bus. Students were now home each night but
in stormy weather, they missed some
classes. School buses meant that roads had
to be kept open if possible. Both public
school students and secondary studentsnow
ride busses since all one room schools were
closed in the 1960's. All township public
school students attend schools in Ripley.
The High School is no longer in .existence
since 1983.'
First cars in the 1920's
I mentioned transportation in connection
with schools. With the coming of -the motor
car in late 1915 and becoming common in
1920's, -gravel roads had to be improved.
Concession roads had been cared for by
Statute Labor. One farmer oversaw the
work of drawing gravel and putting , it on
roads each year in a specific area. Farmers
did the work and were paid by the township
council. It was a good means of getting the
work done. ' •
,r,Laterr •when_ -n ore machinery became
available,and horses we`re no longer in com-
mon use, the township hired a foreman and
• road grader. Now, ourconcessions are near-
ly all paved. Only sideroads are gravel. This
make for smoother travel and less dust.
Keeping roads open in winter provides a
challenge in our climate but now if you can't
go with the car, you stay home.
Turn to page 21
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