The Huron Expositor, 1979-10-11, Page 10•
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ettuaosi EXPOSITOR ocipegit 114,1979
•
•Sen.n 4.4pity. .
by #.iiceajbb, • •
Reting a place that bolas special memories for yettis
tdwitys A treat - a treat I experienced this weekend wheal
> Went back to the Deefield General Store .or more correctly
the Old Generat, _.Stere Of Denfield.
The store, a beautiful reminder of tum -of -the -century
lie and I had, put first introduction in 1977, when the
fernier owner, *Mae named Frank Rosser, took me On a
tower his pride and joy in preparation for an article 1 w
writing. That was the year the 'Village of Denfield, which is
• just west of Pi/infield, about a mile off Hwy, #7, was
celebrating there Centennial, Well, te he mote truthful,
since the villagers weren't really sure about the official
fetinding date of the hamlet, they Were •celebrating the
100th, birthday of the Rosser store.
. Now what made the general store, which had been
closed for several years by the, so unique, was that the
owner had proudly preserved both the store and its
centents. You could see the original clock, with Denfield
Geeeral Store, inscribed on the glass+ a beautiful priginal
• hanging, lamp, the scale used to weigh produce and old
medicine bottles, tools and. even .the post office counter
where the day's mail was once sorted into eubbyholes.
Unlike many people left with a treasure trove on their
hands, Mr. Rosser hadn't succumbed to antique dealers, or
the lure 9f easy money - instead he had carefully preserved
• part of his own and the village's past.
NEW OWNER . •
This weekend Willard Green of Lendon,. who also has a
respect for the past, re -opened the Old General Store -
he's fixed the store's rather' alarming tilt, and redone the
pine interior, and added some additional wood -burning
stoves that he hopes will catch the eye of other people who
admire the past.
Although it was bardl to. catch sight of everything With
the crowd of visitors on hand for the store's official
opening, I did see many of the same mementoes Mr.
Rosser showed me two years ago and I was relieved to
see they bore stickers that said quite definitely, "Not for -
Sale."
Denfield, like many other country hamlets, isn't any
bigger today than it was over 100 years ago. The fact it
exists at all today can be credited to an, ambitious
Welshman named John Matthews who wanted a better life
for his family.
• WELSH PIONEERS -
Matthews the son of a coal miner, managed to escape
• the fate of hisigher and relatives studying:Au:44_04
advancing rapidly up the ranks of the 'BritiSh civil Service.
However, while working for the British ambassador in
France during the days of the Revolution, he aired his own
'polticial sympathies a little too openly. The resultwas that
Mr. Matthews quickly re -settled in Anierica.
Ironically, his strong pp -British sympathies didn"t
make him popular in that country either, and following the
War of 1812, the ferMer civil servant decided it might be
advantageous to move himself and his family to Upper •
Canada. • •:
Upper Canada met Mr: Matthew's expectations, so he
decided to rescue more of his family from their subsistence
existence in Wales. He reterned to Wales in 1821, and
• brought back brother 'Philip, his wife and seven children,
his sister Maragaret Rosser, her husband and ten children
iyeS, ancestors of Frank Rosser), another sister Sarah
• Morgan, her husbann anti eignt children and three
children of a widowed sister wh.o chose to stay behind in
• The Atlantic crossing took six weeks and five days and
then the men in the family came ahead to their new home
to start building rough cabins and clearing some of the
1,800 acres of land granted to John Matthews.
Year later Mr. Matthews would write to one of his
Denfield relatives, "I had in - view by bringing you to
Canada namely to enable your children to go through life
In A Creditable manner by dint ef honest iridtistrY,,"
The new settlers, all Welsh speaking except jOhO 404
Philip, named their new settlement Brecon after the Welsh
countryside they left behind,
Now Brecon never did experience the population boom
Of some of it's neighbours like Ilderton and Ailsa Craig,
and by the 1870's about 100 people lived in the town.
By 1853, Brecon could claim David Erazil'S sawmill, the
tollkeeper's house at the corner of the 164t. concession
And a leg seboglitettSe, Hardly a booming centre of trade!
JPOST OFFICE
Then, in 10,5, autherities decided Brecon merited a post
office, and a building was opened beside Benjamin,:
RosseeS home concession 14, Since the post off.e
ra
SI
JligtteLwilich survived until the 19 -Alts. Then in 1877, the
Rosser •Ooneral Store was built,
The train, pulled by a wood -114414g engine, reached a
444 speed, pf a to 15 m.p.h, bt the .fr$ few years of
operation and: its passengers Were mai* farmers and
their wives travelling to London: to sell produce at the
Covent Garden Market,
In, honor of this fact, the train Was.:00nieknemed the
"Better and Egg Special."
Unfertenately, by the 1940's, {the railroad was in
financial difficulties and in 1956, the last passengers rode
the train; between Clinton and London,
Today, Penfield is a mixture of the Old and the new.
There's One other combination store andi gas. station
•
• • .
A HISTORIC STOREFRONT — The front of the
Old General Stpre, Denfield, has been
• preserved almost exactly as it was when built in
already had another town with the name of Brecon on its
list, the settlement had to be given another title if it
wanted to receive rnail. •
• The post office .was named Penfillid after the Rosser •
home in Wales, but the English translation was Denfield
and within the next few years, the small settlement came
to be commonly known as the village of Denfield,
The closest Denfield ever came to prosperity was in 1875
• when the Huron-13ruce Railroad, whieh ran front Wingham
to London.. officially opened.
THE RAILROAD ARRIVES •
On December 11, the train left Wingham on its maiden
run, picking up passengers •and local dignitaries in the
• small towns along the way, until it reached 'London vv-nere
the event was celebrated with an elaborate banquet at
Tecumseh House. •. •
• With the opening of the railioad, Denfield could add two
new attractions to its business section - Orr House a hotel
• which closed at, the turn of the century. and Bowman
The A -tie -able. Hayfield
Conservation Authority
• Welcomes everyone to the
Annual
Autumn Outing
SIJNDAY,
OCT. 14
• at the
Bannockburn Wildlife Area , • ;
• 1 mile east of Varna, on Hurn County Road 3)
Private tours from 24 Hot' drinks-terved. Bring the
family [and your boota], For further InfOrMation call
•.Atisable Hayfield Conservation Authority 235-2610. '
1877, reminding visitors of theimportant part.
many general stores played in the life of smaller
• communities. .
surviving; as well as the brick Baptist Church. in the town's
business section, • •
But Monday, wandering through the old store, which
sells a combination 6f natural foods, homemade jams 'and
jellies, fresh produce and antiques, you could almost
imagine what it was like 100 years ago, when the old men
visited around the stove, the Women's gowns swished'
across the pine .floor and everyone waited to hear the
familiar whistle of the London -Huron -Bruce train on its
• daily, run.
COMMERCIAL
HOTEL
SF AF ()RTH
This week and Sat. Matinee
Richard Russell
• Next week 8 Sat. Matinee
Ron McLeod
FINE II)
I; I Nt I. HUI 1 I \ 'VI
Seaforth Minor Hockey
OPENING '• 'AY
Saturday, October 13
8
• • • • • • 4 + • • II * •
. •
BANTAM
9.▪ 30.10.▪ 30. r. I, I. 0/ • e * • • • piEEwEE
•
•
.1 30111 120, •
V 4` • * , 0 CE
. •
12:30
130 •
• • • ir•4 4, • 4 4 * •
•
MITES
ALL players Who intend or have registered for the
abOve categorise will come out at the indicated time.
H Ayr R,-; rvitisT Rf RE GIST[ RED TO GO ON THF ICE
•
• A GOOD SUPPER —
A number of Seaforth
-people, including Rev.
James Broadfoot,
centre above enjoyed
the St. Thomas An-
glican Church turkey
supper last week.
(Expositor Photo)
The IrW‘
Tree Trunk
..1%.4ain Street (formerly Crich's)
gy NES AND USED FURNITURE
. • ANTIQUES
collectable bottles
AND COLLECTABLES
. • deepfreeze- .
• [(nearly new), .
• _•9 -piece
dining room set
•
antique bedroom suite -6 pieces
refinished itntiques
and much more!
Tom and Dawn
Popple
527-0514 - Store 527-0940 - Home
• Good clean consignments tvekome!
PREMIERING THIS FALL
For Three Days Only Of‘l WAS Til
See and Listen to Personalities from
MITCHELL DUBLIN
(October 15) (October 16)
6 p.m.—Mr. C. Moses
7 p.m. --Louise Levy & Myra Stoneman
• 8 p.m.—Mr. Ken McKellar
• 9 p.m.—Mr. C.H. Harris
10 p.m. --Mrs. Reuben Aikens
Mr. A. Christi3
Mr. T. Scott & Mr John Nagie ,
• Mr. Joe Looby
• Mr. Joe Shea
Mrs. A. Klinkhammer
SEAFORTH
(October 18)
Mr. Joe Hugill
Mr. Frank Sills
Mr. Edmund Daly
Mr. Ned Boswell
Isabele Campbell
Times are approximate as some tapes are not 1 hour
DON'T MISS THIS STUDIO 12 SPECIAL
on Cable 12 of
Cable is only 27
Where else can you get this much value
for the price of a cup of coffee per day?
•
Vied. October 17
4:30 P.M.: "I WAS THERE"
• 6:00 P.M.: "TV NEWS"
Host: John McCarroll
7:00 P.M.: TV BINGO
resents
R
E
That's Right! Until October 15, 1979
You can have your cable installed fr
this is a $30.00 valu
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