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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1967-06-29, Page 12111.1.1011.11 J. G. Stewart, the second man not known, Harold Buchanan and James Cloakey about 1908 in front of Mr. Stewart's hardware store. There have been a few changes made to the present Cana- dian Imperial Bank of Commerce since this picture was taken of the Bank of Hamilton, The two ladies in the fore- ground are Mrs, Art Ferguson (Carrie Stewart) of Water- loo and Mrs, Lewis Beecroft (Mary Thornton) now living in Edmonton. A section of main street looking north towards the post office. What at first glance looks like an old,faShionecl gasoline pump is the sign of a watchmaker or a clock. phrey Snell of Londesboto for $50.00. "Bob Currie has gone crazy," they said, but in a couple of years they were beg- ging to use him. Then at the Western Fair in London, to which he drove in a buggy, he bought from the same Humph- rey Snell, a Shorthorn calf for $125.00 and there was more head shaking. Transatlantic Telegraph "We understand that the at- tempt to lay the submarine telegraph from Cape Breton to Newfoundland is by no means abandoned. The gentlemen en- gaged in the enterprise are san- guinine of success, and only await the return of another warm season to repeat the en- deavours, as the months ofJune and July are the only ones when the wire can be lain with safe- ty." -- from an 1855 Publica- tion. THIS PICTURE taken about 1861 shows a number of frame farm buildings which were constructed without founda- tions. The Bluevale farm was purchased by Frank Stamp- er in 1902. He bought it from William R, Yea, whose father, Robert Yeo, who had the farm before him. It is not known who owned the property before that. DO YOU REMEMBER? The old Model T was popular, fact is there's still some around. And FORD still makes cars and we're proud to be selling them both here in Wingham and in Brussels. ON BEHALF OF FORD, AND BRIDGE MOTORS HAPPY BIRTHDA CANADA BRIDGE MOTORS DEAL 3574460 PHONE I49• WINGHAM BRUSSELS WHO JOIN IN CELEBRATING CANADA'S CENTENNIAr mf 1861 1964 1,..t t4ii 0*N 040401 p1)11 gm ofd des00.11°. "THE MAN ON THE STREET" The woodcut illustration shown was used first in The Wingham Advance about 1880. It rep- resented the paper's keen interest in local items, an interest which has continued through the years. A glance at the old files shows a great improvement over the years but we want to improve even more. YOU can help! SEND OR PHONE YOUR NEWS ITEMS TO THE ADVANCE-TIMES 357-2320 .41111111111111%iiiiiiims no 01, 4‘ CONGRATULATIONS CANADA 1867-1967 BENNETT S 54 TO $1.00. . STORE PH 357w-3500 WING ItOttig trititiO5Lit- SHOPPING CENTRE The pioneers of Morrisbank At Balmaclellen, Kirkend- briekshire, Scotland, Thomas Currie and his wife Margaret McCartney Currie raised seven boys, William, Thomas, George, John, David, Robert and James and two daughters, Menzie (pronounced Mingice) and Jessie William and Thomas emi- grated to Australia and all con- tact with them was lost. Thom- as Sr. died and George took ov- er the farm at Balmaclellen, The mother, two daughters and four sons, crossed the ocean to Canada in the year 1847 when Robert was 18 years old. Ro- bert had two years official schooling but sister Mingice ing older, gave him additional instruction. Before leaving Scotland he had qualified as 4th class engineer and worked in Glasgow, firing a boiler. Coming to Canada, the fam- ily acquired a farm' in Pilking- ton Twp, in Wellington Co., near Elora. Jessie married John aosomworth, a neighbour, and raised a family on a farm in that township. Needing more land and the Queen's Bush opening up for settlement, Robert was sent to Goderich (the land office lo- cation) in 1852. He selected Lots 40 and 41 on the 14 Con- cession of Wawanosh and paid the $2.00 per acre required. When appraised of the location of his selection, another settler told him he was going too far from the other settlements, say- ing he would be too far from civilization. Robert answered, "There is a town plot surveyed across the line with water power. In the future there will be a town there and you will be coming past my place to get there. Come in and have your dinner." And they did. Presumably 400 acres was to afford 100 acres to each of them. That winter Robert and James took work chopping on the Elora-Saugeen road, a gov- ernment project. James took sick and died. In 1854 Robert set out with a team of horses, wagon, tools, food and a cow tied behind, to take possession. In Stratford he bought another cow. He, his horses and cows spent their last night on the trail at James Bridges' on the 3rd line of Morris. There was no road from there so he had to chop some trees to get his wag- on to the site of his holdings. Later that year, brothers John and David joined him, having disposed Of their farm and surplus holdings in Pilkinga ton. Mother and Mingice stay- ed in Elora. John and David split lot 41 the long way, David took El` and John WI: of 41, Robert as, sumed James' share, or all of Lot 40. Subsequently Robert traded the South of 40 to John Deacon for the North x of 39, (a shrewd deal). The township was filling up rapidly so that the Currie boys soon married neighbours in 1856; David a Cornyn, John and Robert the l.inklater girls, Marg- aret and Anne. The LinkIaters lived on Lot 41, Can. 13 and the Cornyns in what now is Wingham. Her father built a hotel where the Queens Hotel is now. Robert, having more educa- tion and being fairly vocal was recognized as a leader im- mediately and was elected to the newly-formed township council, and was then reeve. During his first term as reeve he walked to Goderich, 30 miles, to attend county council. At that time Huron and Bruce were combined with Goderich as county town for both. Next Robert was appointed a police magistrate by the pro- vincial government and was then the only law in the district for some years, He served the council intermittently until Wa- wanosh was divided into two, East and West in 1866, In the election for 1867, the first for East Wawanosh, Robert Currie won and served as its first reeve. Retiring from active muni- cipal life he devoted his extra energies to the improvement of the life of the community. He took an active part in the or- ganization and was director of the Farmer's Grange, a sort of co-operative and self-help so- ciety for farmers. He was ac- tive in agricultural societies and showed his livestock. He had a team showing in the Don- nybrook Fair of world renown, the day of the famous fight. Robert Currie was a staunch supporter of George Brown and the Liberal Party (the grits). He helped to form the Peoples Salt Co. in Kincardine. He had stock in it, the Machinery Com• pany which went broke and many other projects to promote progress. One scheme that made the neighbours "Oh and ah!" was the purchase of a pure bred Leiscester ram from Hum- There were no doctors or nurses in those days. In these parts Mrs. Richard Miller walk- ed through the bush to render help in childbirth and other emergencies, and is credited with assisting in bringing many a child into this world. There were no bridges over the rivers and creeks. She had to be car- ried over them. Once when answering a call of distress from the first line of Morris she set out on foot and by the aid of a lantern crossed the Maitland River on a log. The next day when she returned, her courage failed her when she came to the river. She could not re- trace her steps in the daylight, where she had gone the night before in the darkness. Her duties were many and varied, besides housekeeping, cooking etc., she would wash and mend the sox and shirts of the new settlers arriving at the Miller place who stayed over- night. John. Miller had been ac- quainted in the Old Country with Margaret Brown Moffatt who had come to Canada. in 1834. They became engaged aand walked 2-1- miles through bush to' the manse on Conces- sion 1 of Turnberry Township to be married by Rev. Young, July 8th, 1859. The amusements in those days were attending house par- ties. An incident that took place at one of the parties was that some mischievous lads ex- changed the outer clothing of the babies who had been put to sleep, making it very difficult for the andthers to distinguish their own babies when the time came to go home. Morrisbank in the earlier days was located a mile and a quarter west from the one now on Highway 86 at the gravel road. The first post office was located on the premises now occupied by William Robertson and the first postmaster was Christopher Hamilton, assisted by his daughter Agnes. As time went by the post of- fice was moved to the corner now known as Morrisbank. The postamster there at that time was a Mr. Wright. He must have been a good natured man, to put up with all the Hallowe'- John .Snell bad the same place, now occupied by Om, SOO of johni James Wright, ld gan and his wife's mother, lyirs. Bagmen,. 414 Jame4:3iMpson, To go back to Mr, John ma, ler, he was active In military„ religions, public and business affairs, He was captain in the militia, for SO years, elder in the W.roxeter Presbyterian Church for 30 years, a magisf. trate for 10 years, liquor wt.. ence inspector fOr bast Boron County, inspector of the b.uild, ing of the gravel road from Sea- forth to Paisley, 24 years presi- dent et of the Bluevale CheeSe 11/ „., Factory,. active in the Howick Mutual fire Insurance from its inception and became its presi- dent, a position he held until his death in 1916 at the age of 84, 4•10Pag. a. Or, .....,_ 4, Page 4 Wingharn Advance-Times, Thursday line 29, 1907 Robert Currie recognized as leader in East Wawanosh Continued from Page Three tached with the horses hitched to the arms and kept going around in circles provided a much greater power, For a long time there was no means of transportation except on foot. Mr. Miller Sr., often carried a bag of wheat to Sea- forth, a distance of twenty miles, to have it ground into flour, returning the next day. The cost of building the roads was financed by toll gates along the roads, where the toll was collected. The early wagons were hand- made, consisting of blocks of wood cut from logs, a hole boated in the centre for the axle to pass through. OLD DICTIONARY Armand McBurney has ache- tionary dated MD CCCL I (1851), published in Scotland. An example of its contents is "Car -- A small carriage of burden; a charriot of war." en pranks the young men play- ed on him. They would blow smoke through the keyhole of the door, and cause him to won- der where the smoke was com- ing from. He never told any tales on the young fellows. The post office later was moved to Jamestown and remained there till the advent of rural mail de- livery. To go back again to the former Morrisbank, it can boast of a missionary, in the person of Dr. Robert George Moffatt. He and his wife went to Africa. They had two children, one was called Chisambo after the. native chief but Margaret to her parents. She, at the age of six, was chief advisor to the natives. When Dr. Moffatt was home on furlough and visiting among his relatives, Miss Tena Snell, later Mrs. Bert Watson had the honor of singing with the missionary in a duet at a Sunday night church service in Victoria Hall, Jamestown. Other early settlers in Mor- risbank were McBriens, Scotts, McDougalls, Snells and the Hyslops, Alex west on the boundary and James on the.east. Lytle Jacklin had fifty acres along the' grael. 'The barn WA burned. There WAS a good or" chard on the place and one of the old maple trees is still. standing near where the barn was, The house was torn dewn. There is a store where it was, kept by Mr, Pitcher, On the place where the post office was. there lived a man by the name of. Mike Supple. It is now own*. ed by John Snell, The log houses. have been replaced by other homes. To the north of Morrisbank corner were Mr, Wm, Wright, Frank Wright, then at the Doug- las School 4 miles away was Mr, Robert Douglas, That was the school where the Miller children attended, They hadto follow a trail through the bush. The other pioneers to the south were Samuel Snell, an uncle to the second Samuel: A day at the beach rcm ,x17 One of the pleasant memories of the old days is the excursion to the Lakeshore. Remember the fashions in the past years, they seem a little strange today — Fashion is always changing and changing with it is cDonalds LADIES' AND CHILDREN'S WEAR