The Wingham Advance-Times, 1967-06-29, Page 13k4eeits.e, „Zioiiaea#4,...#0, 4, r
.?4"' pe,W1,44*-4,41w4. ie,174/
pe.0e4,1 ,ter
&at-al-4440-g
,044-4444,e1,41-01",r".41)-7-14#4r4-14,,/
1/0,a4Weed69/04.e.400,0e4 #4d,
4414'4440 ,O4Ve:e,e40 •44ri4ifee44000091,10,4,4f;T
4----e4,4441L4
.64.4elob 44,
"14,,4r4e,eareaVe&zzooe-44,174e/e-4"ore reedeordu 4k,-
,4eart4 ai/aryeemeint`,...04Xien
e4. 3
,
„At
,44
forat,e4r-vea
40
-440771.
1*-,eutletAcsealasr.,,,,„„ r
04.1.4,40 laoreaaka logata4aaaaat.#<,14.4'
day.-
ONE HUNDRED YEARS ago last September
Lots 19, 20, 21, Con, 1, Turnberry (B
Line) were taken up by Joseph Walker and
the farm has remained in the Walker fem..
ily since that time. This was the original
frame house.
LATER THE FRONT of the main part of
the frame house was bricked and the waits
made higher, a verandah added and a large
addition built to the right. Mrs. Joseph
Walker is seen seated on the right. Thomas
Walker became the owner after his father'
died and the farm is now owned by
Thomas' son, Joe A. Walker. Fifty acres
of the original farm now belongs to Bert
Maxwell.
THE ABOVE document was the agreement between the
trustees of S. S. No. 3, Wellesley, and Robert Graham,
teacher, signed in January 1863, The contract for one year
was at a salary of $300 per year, to be paid at the end of
the year, In 1872 Mr. Graham became publisher of The
Wingham Times and equipped the first printing plant in
Wingham.
3It WM 'Amore
THAT WE JOIN IN
WINGHAM'S
CENTENNIAL
SALUTE
1867 - 1967
Mt
MO
a
S
UI
la
• •
Iliminimiiinsummminturnisewimmsimie
Al•••1111.0
619.1?It Ford Engineers selected it because of its proved ability
forForticeni to give perfect service under the severest road conditions hie* 75e —roetnoir.eriber this when replacing the plugs in your Ford
Motor.
Dealers everywhere Sell guaranteed Champion plugs
for Fords and all other makes of cars.
Look for "Champion" on the porcelain.
The Champkin guarantee —"Complete matiafaction to the user
—.Free repair—itepletement or Money Hack."
Champion Spark Plug Co. of Canada, Limited
Windsor. Ontario
volom
ILL
.......... nig i„
rrr ^tlq pr
c*,) Hatt ion
4;;ii,a0,140 1 e do •
Dependable Spark Plugs are
Standard Ford Equipment
Since 1011—Champion " X" has been the exclusive
Spark Plug equipment on every car turned out of the
enormous Ford factory.
re—IN 1.4 k
Iv .ra4
.11 ''11111.nnr01r':".:::".1V.,:::::,:31%;
11'4111111 10B
11
1
1
1
11
1
R
11
1
1
rw S S
UI
MO
UI
I
at
IW
This advertisement appeared in Maclean's Magazine in 1911. Seems Champion
were well thought Of Way back, and they still are. We sell them, we know.
EADMAN TEXACO
so PHONE 357-3380
VICTORIA STREET looking west from Josephine: Griffin's
Hotel on the left and Sextus Kent's store on the right be-
fore the Kent Block was built. Note stumps in fore-
ground where Readman's Service Station and Red Front
parking lot are today.
THIS HOUSE AND BARN stood on Victoria Street until
1961 when Harry Merkley purchased the property from
Alex Hackett, had the buildings demolished acid erected the
mOdern grocery store that stands on the site today,
"Yup, we're one of the old-timers"
THE OLDEST ESTABLISHED HARDWARE STORE IN TOWN, OUR BUSINESS
WAS STARTED BACK IN THE 1810s BY THE LATE J. W. GREER.
For almost 100 years the store has, through successive ownerships, been
the HARDWARE HEADQUARTERS IN WINGHAM.
WE'RE PROUD TO JOIN IN CONGRATULATING CANADA
1867 Progress anal Prosperity ---- 1967
ALEXANDER'S
Gift Shop- and Hardware,
Wingham vance*T lrrle.s. Tliu
6
We left Wingham, Ontario,
my young bride and I, in
Mara 1905, on a special ex=
cursion train for the west, The
journey took four days, There
were several young couples and
this kept things pretty lively.
It was really quite a thrill to
ride along behind the big iron
horse as it puffed its way around
the rocky cliffs of Northern On-
tario, leaving a long wreath of
black smoke behind, then on
past the beauty spots of Lake
Superior. It was a most unique
and colorful experience for us.
When we reached the city of
Winnipeg we were glad to stop
off for a few days' rest. We
registered at a hotel on Portage
Avenue. That was the first,
and I think the only time, lev-
er encountered bedbugs and
they sure were in that hotel,
They kept us awake at night.
The next day we proceeded
on to Arcola, Sask., the end of
our rail journey. Then we had
a 20-mile trek ahead of us.
Across the prairies we went --
no fences, just open country
everywhere. It was a fine
place to get lost, which did
happen occasionally.
We finally got to our hold-
ings in the Wilkes District
where we were to make our
home. It was pretty wild look-
ing but after we got our house
built and got settled it didn't
look so bad, although it was no
Garden of Eden after coming
from Ontario. There were oth-
er settlers within three miles
and we soon got the run of
things.
The settlers didn't have any
money to build a church but a
Mr. McGuiness, one of the old-
est settlers, lived in a large sod
house so the missionary minis-
ter held services there. Every-
body went, regardless of what
church he belonged to and the
old sod kitchen was packed
every Sunday. Later a frame
school was built and church
services were held there.
I wonder how many of my
readers have ever driven oxen.
In my second year in Saskat-
chewan I purchased a team of
partly broken steers to do some
plowing. Can you imagine a
green Ontario youth behind a
plow hauled by a team of stupid
oxen?
I had occasion to go to the
nearest village for a stove. I
hitched the oxen to the wagon.
My wife decided to go along to
do some shopping and of course,
had to take the baby with her.
On the way home we had to go
down a hill. The oxen started
to run and crashed through a
wire fence, the only such fence
in the entire district, I be-
lieve. Well, there we were.
If you know anything about ox-
en you will agree that when an
ox -stops he usually stays put un-
til the spirit moves him. We
finally got home, and some
time after I drove that same
team through the mighty Saskat-
chewan River, not far from
where the Outlook Power Pam
is now,
Have you ever been lost in
desert country? I-have. Anoth-
er chap and I were on a P-
mile trip across country, in an
open buggy, when night over-
took us, Rain came on and it
WAS very, very dark and we
were hopelessly lost. The other
chap was older and wiser than I.
and he said the only thing to do
was lie down until morning, We
did just that. When Jacob of
old went out of Beersheba he
took a stone for his pillow, but
we didn't even have that.
A notable character in our
district was a Swedish fellow by
the name of Critrix. He car-
ried the weekly mail from Ar-
Hamlets of
Morris Twp.
A number of small Hamlets
came into being in the early
days, Bodmin on the 4th Con-
cession, Sunshine on the 5th
Concession, Bushfield on the
`7th Concession, and Belgrave
on the west boundary. Belgrave
is the only survivor of the pass-
ing of time.
Of the four hamlets that
came into being during those
early days, Sunshine seemed to
make the most progress, having
a sawmill erected by Paddy
Brown, and later sold to Isaac
Rogerson, who operated it in
conjunction with a chair fac-
tory, and having the lumber
teamed to the railroads at Brus-
sels and Belgrave by Tom Haw-
thorn, Mossie Clark and Morris
McCasey. Sunshine also had a
blacksmith shop, a combined
general store and post office,
together with a number of pri-
vate dwellings. Mail was re-
ceived from Belgrave twice
weekly, continuing until the
inauguration of rural mail de-
livery in 1923. Milton Watson
was the last'postm aster at Sun-
shine.
Bodmin, now entirely ex-
tinct, was located on Conces-
sion 4, Lot 9, and was quite a
lively settlement, having the
first grist and sawmill, erect-
ed by William Harris, in the
winter of 1853-1854. A lime
kiln operated by Archie Nichol-
son and Sons, furnished a great
deal of the lime for building
purposes in those days. The
land being surveyed into town
lots, a number of private dwell-
ings were erected, including
the Methodist manse, its first
occupant being the Rev. Atkins.
Bushfield was located on
Concession 7, Lot 11, and con-
sisted of a hotel, operated by
Thomas Hollands, a combined
general store and post office
operated by James Newcombe.
Robert Newcombe carried the
mail on foot from Belgrave to
Sunshine, thence to Bushfield,
a distance of six miles. Bush-
field is now entirely extinct,
the cemetery being the only
landmark. -- From History of
Morris Township and Stories Re-
lating to Pioneer Days 1856-
1956.
cola to Weer Hill P.O. John
Was a short Man. with stubby
whiskers and a turned-up nose.
To see him going along with his
fur cap and mitts was enough to
make one believe in evolution.
I recall one very cold evening
when old John called at my
door, His whisky bottle was
frozen and he couldn't get the
cork out. After thawing out the
Whisky at the stove and pouring
him a good drink he was off
again to complete his journey
to the post office where many
homesteaders were awaiting his
arrival, anxious to receive a
letter from home.
The settlers, although com-
paratively poor and living under
primitive conditions, were for
the most part very friendly and
sociable. During the fall and
winter months we had many
get-togethers and dances. Driv-
ing home in the cold morning
wasn't so pleasant but we would
be off again for the next social
evening.
Community sports day was
quite an affair. This was held
in a field just outside of Arcola.
There was quite an assortment
of conveyances such as oxen
and wagon, horses and demo-
crat, and many people on foot.
Most of the ladies turned out
with frills and rills, garden hats
and long skirts.
When the threshing machine
made its rounds in the fall it
was of great interest to all of
us. With it came the old cook
car and sleeping caboose which
meant so much to the workers.
Many, many stories could be
told of the homesteaders in the
west and the privations they
endured. They were a fine lot
of settlers. Many have gone to
their reward but they surely
paved the way for the next gen-
eration.
A letter to
Joseph Stubbs
The following letter was re-
ceived by Joseph Stubbs, from
his mother in England. This
letter, dated 1850, is perhaps
the oldest letter in Morris Towo-
ship.
George Procter, mentioned in the letter, was Charles Proc-
ter's father, who came to Mor-
ris Township about the same
time.
Joseph Stubbs and Charles
Procter settled on adjoining lots
7 and 8, north half of conces-
sion 5, and were grandparents
of the present owners.
Weeton,
Dec. 5, 1850.
My Dear Son,
I take up my pen to write to
you, though I feel a sort of fear
that my letter may never reach
you. I have been very uneasy
about you ever since you went
off, and your sisters and broth-
ers have felt the same as my-
self, anxious to hear how you
had landed on a foreign shore,
but I heard that a person living
at Hirkby, named George Proc-
ter, had received a letter from
his son in America, so I went
there to enquire if he knew any-
thing of you, and it gave great
relief to my mind to hear that
you were so comfortably settl-
ed among your own country-
men. I feel grateful to God Al-
mighty that he has guided you
with his great providence to
find out your own countrymen,
instead of strangers to associate
with and live among. I have
had Jabez at home this Mart-
mas. He is stopping again. We
had two letters from your sis-
ters, Sarah is still at Gool and
talks of coming to America.
Mary is living at a place call-
ed "Rich Ball or Rice Park",
near Hull. She is not very well,
nor does not like her place
much. Old Wm. Rawling is
dead, they are going to build
a church at Weeton. I think I
have nothing new to tell you. I
earnestly beg that you will not
omit writing to us and let us
know from yourself how you are
getting on, and every particu-
lar. While we are in the land
of the living, let us communi-
cate together by letter, if we
can not meet face to face. I
pray that God Almighty may
prosper your undertaking and
crown your efforts with success.
Your sisters and myself are wait-
ing anxiously and Jabez like-
wise to receive a letter from
you. We are all very well in
health, and hope this will find
you the same with repeated
prayers for your health and wel-
fare. I remain your most af-
fectionate mother,
Frances Stubbs.
--From History of Morris Town-
ship and Stories Relating to
Pioneer Days, 1859-1956.
Marriage licenses issued by
Frank Paterson, No. 23, Vic-
toria Street. No witnesses need-
ed. -- Wingham Times, 1893.
Messrs. Vanstone Bros. of
Kincardine have bought the
Marble Business of Mr. T. T.
Watson, formerly carried on by
W. Smyth. Mr. Watson, who
has been running the business
for the past year will represent
us on the road. -- Wingham
Times, 1893.
Reminscing on early days of
homesteading in Saskatchewan