Clinton News-Record, 1985-6-26, Page 66PAGE FORTY
People
J.K. Cornish -
"mayor,' of Brucefield
J.K. Cornish is a name that everyone
knows in Brucefield. J.K. may not live in the
village now, but the man that was once
known as the "mayor" of Brucefield is still
very much a respected citizen in the area.
J.K. Cornish now of the Bluewater Rest
Home at Zurich is 94 -years -old. As well as
being so well known, he holds the distinction
of being the last living World War I veteran
in the area. In 1976 he was honored by the
Clinton Legion for his 50 years of service to
the organization, since its inception in 1926.
" 1 wouldn't be able to
eat those biscuits."
J.K. ( John Kendall) Cornish was born in
Lester, England on January 22, 1891. He liv-
ed and received his schooling in Lester until
the age of 12, when he, his father and step-
mother, two sisters and four step -brothers
left England and arrived in Canada on May
11, 1903. The family settled in Farquhar, just
north of Exeter, and in 1904 they moved to
Eilmville where J.K. worked for a farmer,
earning $5 a month.
In 1915 duty called and a new adventure
was in store for J.K. Cornish. He enlisted in
the army and went overseas to fight in
World War I on November 12, 1916 with the
161st Huron Battalion. He was stationed in
England and anxiously awaited to see action
in France, but that was not to be.
J.K. remembered, "I passed all the doc-
tors tests before going..Then I got to the den-
tist and he said my teeth were bad and I
wouldn't be able to eat those hard biscuits."
later. J.K. saw battle action. Despite his
"bad teeth," he was sent to France with the
47th Battalion. On August 10, 1918 he was
wounded at the Battle of Amillon and was
sent to a hospital in southern France and
later was in a convalescent camp when the
announcement came that the war had end-
ed.
In May 1919, J.K. returned to Canada and
married Jenny Hill of Brucefield.
J.K. worked as a farm laborer until 1924
when he and Jenny moved to the village. He
started a new job with the Tuckersmith
Telephone System, but shortly afterwards
went into partnership with Harry, Dalrym-
ple.
"We fixed up a chopping mill and went to
work for 32 years," he recalled. In 1966 it
was sold t¢ the Hensall Co-op.
J.K. continued to work with the
Tuckersmith Telephone System as
secretary -treasurer, a position he held for 25
Nears.
He was active in the community, a role
that gained him the nickname, "Mayor of
Brucefield."
Back during WW II days, eight
businessmen in Brucefield proposed to close
their shops on Wednesday afternoons. A
petition was signed by the owners of three
general stores, two blacksmiths, the lumber
business, J.K.'s grist mill and John Snyder's
Harness Shop. It was sent to the local paper
and signed by J.K. Cornish, acting mayor.
Until 1979, four years after his wife died,
J.K. continued to live at Three Maples, his
Brucefield home. Arthritis in his spinal cord
sent J.K. to hospital. Later he moved to the
Bluewater Rest Home in Zurich.
A history of Brucefield wouldn't be com-
plete without mention of J.K. Cornish. For
more than five decades the Mayor of
Brucefield has been important part of the
community spirit of the small hamlet.
In 1976, J.K. Cornish was awarded a 50 -year pin by the Clinton Legion. He is wearing his.
WWI 47th Battalion uniform.
Sr; I lung
LODB'S KUBOTATOWH
wishes our many friends and customers in
TUCKEKSMITH
all the best for a successful sesquicentennial!
We're your full -line Kubota dealer
in Huron County -from the small
ones up to the big ones!
It's our
Pleasure to
serve the area!
HAPPY 150th!
Gerald & June Martene
FARMER'S DELL
and
*VPjMARTENS
aft. ORCHARDS
H. LOBB 8. SONS LTD.
BAYFIELD ROAD=482.3409 ,