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 Some of Midland’s “shut-ins” were entertained at the Salvation Army Citadel Thursday night. Front row; Mrs. F. Wadge, Mrs. M. Drinkle, Mrs. A. Edwards, Miss Mae McCallum, back row; Mrs. Emma Fallis, Mrs. D. Prescott, Mrs. E. Walters, Mrs. C. Woods, Mrs. K. Keller. A program of music and song was provided for the ladies.

 Getting ready for the wedding are these members of the Elmvale School of Ballet, pictured at a dress rehearsal Saturday morning. The bride at center is Mary Corbett and the attendants are Betty Trace left, and Adele Caesar. Mother of the bride is Nan Roberts, instructor at the school for the last four years. 

Elmvale School of Ballet is holding a recital at the Elmvale Community Hall and these two fire flies are in it. Nan Roberts is the instructor for the ten pupil class and mother to Nancy, center, and Carolyn. Piano pupils of Mrs. W. W. Shaw will also be taking part.

 This photo, connected to the previous ones regarding the Elmvale School of Ballet was not used in the newspaper leaving us with no description, but with the power of the internet  we were able to contact a relative from Elmvale who was living in Vancouver and discovered an interesting twist to the story.

Adele Caesar is the girl bending down (far left) and Betty Trace is the girl endpoint on the far right. Dad says he thinks the girl next to Adele is Mary Corbett. ( he’s sending it on to his sister Nancy to check,  I’ll let you know). This is where it gets good. The ‘girl’ in the front row with the tambourine is actually my uncle, Bruce Roberts, and the ‘girl’ standing behind him in the back row with the tambourine, is my dad, Douglas Roberts. Apparently gran (Nan Roberts) used to make them join in when they were short on girls! If the photo is from ’56, then dad was 11 and Bruce was 7 or 8. 

 Constable Ernie Bates who is parked at the town dock demonstrates the new two way radio system as he communicates with police chief Robert Cameron. Radios have a range of 25 to 30 miles. (The actual photo in the paper included a photo of chief Cameron on the phone, one the paper had used the year before showing the chief working in his temporary office on Bay Street, not on the radio with Ernie.)

  Staff from the provincial fish hatchery in Collingwood perform a census of fish stocks in Little Lake. Lorne “Flash” Hutchinson holds a nice two pound bass while John Hunt at left and Fred Chew, Midland’s conservation officer, look on. Mr. Hunt, manager of the Collingwood hatchery, said bass form 90 percent of the lake’s fish population, only intruders found were gar pike. 

 St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Victoria Harbour celebrates its 50th anniversary Sunday. The week-long celebration came to an end Sunday, pictured are local native Rev. J. P. Schissler, guest preacher, soloist Mrs. A. B. MacQuarie of Fergus, wife of former Harbour public school principal MacQuarrie and Miss Bessie Winfield the oldest member of the congregation. Miss Winfield taught Mr. Schissler at Victoria Harbour Public School. 

 They were there fifty years ago when the Victoria Harbour Presbyterian Church was opened. Shown at the special anniversary service Sunday are, Mrs. Wm. Hazelton of Vasey, Miss Kate Brown, Mrs. George Cooper, William Moore, Mrs. J. L. Winfield and Miss Laura Gill.

 John Waldie Jr., son of the late John Waldie who was the  owner of the Victoria Harbour Lumber Company and who donated St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church to the village, is seen with his daughter after the morning service at the church. Behind are elders, Capt. W. A. Stewart and Douglas McNabb. 

Senior pupils of the Christian Island United Church Public School are shown with their teacher F. E. Kempling in front of the YMCA following a tour of the Midland Free Press Friday afternoon. Group also visited a grain elevator, Midland Footwear, Midland Reinforced Plastics,  Canadian Nameplate and played a baseball game with Sixth Street School following a picnic lunch in Little Lake Park.

  Rare blooms for this part of Canada, this rhododendron in the garden of Douglas Grant at 298 Midland Ave.(now 344) is the finest seen north of Windsor, states local florist Mac Perrin. The four year old plant requires heavy protection during the winter months. 

 Two veterans of their communities were pictured at the annual CNIB picnic held at Little Lake Park Wednesday. Mrs. George Wyles, 91, of Barrie and William Archer of Elmvale, a healthy 92 year old. Mr. Archer, whose father was one of the first settlers in North Simcoe, comes from a family known for their longevity.

  Loss of sight hasn’t diminished the spirit of this nonagenarian, one of the guests at the CNIB picnic in Little Lake Park Wednesday afternoon. Mrs. Sophia Hart of Craighurst, who marked her 95th birthday December 11th and who looks quite capable of hitting the century mark. Mrs. Hart is a member of one of the pioneer families of the district. 

Top students at Midland public schools are receiving awards from Ken Ellis public school inspector for the area. Hugh Gunn, Bill Clause, Lynn Johnson, Ellen Barber and Lois Cowan. Marjorie Bolt was absent. 

 Veteran teacher in Midland public schools but now retired, Miss Ethel Wagg presented books on behalf of the Midland branch of the IODE to these two grade eight students from Parkview School at graduation exercises held in the Regent School auditorium Tuesday night. Award is given for the highest marks in social studies and the winners are Gerry Wittig (Mueller) and Wayne Farqhuar.

 The highest marks in social studies at Regent School won awards from the Midland branch of the IODE, Mrs. Thomas Brandon presents books to Karen Blair and Ross Hebner during the graduation exercises held at Regent School. (Karen, and Gerry Wittig from the previous photo, married) 

• Piano pupils present recital – Pupils of Margery Olmstead were heard in recital Thursday night before a capacity audience in the Calvary Baptist School hall. Beginners solos, Barbara Jones, Susan MacFarlane, Judith Rankin, Lorna Lyons, Freddie Hacker, Judith Coughlin, Tamie Morrisson, Brian Clark, Margaret Walker Davis Glazer, Ruth Webster, Susan Schell, Reta Rutherford and Karen Wood. Grade I, II and lll selections were played by Sharon Park, Jerrold Karch, Ardythe Boden, Peggy Krochko, Ruth Blackmere, Allan McElroy, Eden Morrisson, Kenneth Trew, Peggy Robertshaw, John Cranston, Linda Marchand, Mary Louise Parker and Helen Farrow. (I took lessons from Miss Olmsted but she would have agreed that I was better at cutting her lawn.)
• Grand opening of Farmers Snack Bar in Orr Lake
• Bill Hack shoots a 33 on the nine hole Midland Golf & Country Club course.
• Johnstone’s (Music) are advertising beach balls, swim rings, life preservers, swim fins, masks and snorkels. 262 King Street
• Holiday dancing at Mel’s in Honey Harbour
• Popular Waubaushene resident Darwin Raymond dies when the “jigger” he was riding on struck a bolt on the CNR tracks east of Coldwater, vandalism is suspected.
• TEN YEARS AGO JUNE 1946 –  Violence against lake ship operators and non union crews broke out in Midland. Twenty men on the crew of the Altodoc were forcibly removed and their belongings thrown to the dock.  –  Collingwood’s population of 7,027 tops Midland by 147. Barrie has a population of 10, 153.  –  Seven girls and two men were injured when a portion of the dance floor at the Parkside Pavilion collapsed. Forty persons and a telephone booth were catapulted into the basement. Recent basement excavations had weakened the supports.  –  Work had started on the demolition of Dr. Garnet Tanner’s residence on the corner of King and Elizabeth Streets to make way for the new theatre.  –  More than 4,800 pounds of serviceable clothing and bedding was donated by Midland residents for destitute families in Europe.
• Juveniles, aged 10 and 15, steal a case of beer from a Brewers Retail truck in Dollartown.
• Veteran of two world wars, islanders elect Riley Root as Chief of the Christian Island Band.
• Department of Highways releases plans for the new intersection at Firth’s Corner, the scene of many serious accidents. Intersection of Highways 12 and 27, now Hwy 93 and the Balm Beach road. Yonge Street used to go straight through, to the north of Full Line Electronics, Sundowner Road is the remains of it. The curve into Midland from the south on Hwy 27 can still be seen east of the present intersection.
• Mr. & Mrs. Milton Bray celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Effie Eugenie Sherwin lived in the farming district of Port Hope where she met her husband. When they moved to Midland it was to live in the new two story house on Seventh Street that he had built himself and where they are still living. They have five children.
• 1,500 buy tickets to midget wrestling at the Arena Gardens, more than the three previous weeks combined.
• From John Powers column “Outdoor Diary”; Sunday morning Chuck Stelter, Ted Holder and myself arose and shone well before the sun and the chickens – 3:45 a.m. to be exact. With the mist rising off the water of our favourite trout stream we caught trout after trout, keeping 41 fish in all and returning about 50 under eight inches.
• Huronia Museum’s authentic Indian Village, which hosted 20,000 visitors last year re-opens Saturday afternoon for the new season. A highlight of the opening will be a performance of dances by Indians from the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford. The village will be in charge of curator William Barnett, assisted by Ken Cowan, Carol Cowan and Stewart Guthrie.
• Kids Saturday Matinee at the Roxy, Gene Autry in “Last of the Pony Riders” plus Three Stooges and 3 cartoons. “Mister Roberts” is playing at the Pen.
• Midland’s per capita debt is now $150 compared to $390 in Edmonton, $238 in Toronto and $180 in Ottawa.
• Walkers Store celebrates 31st anniversary. Advertising children’s denim jeans for .88 cents.
• Lightning destroys the barn of Henry Pauze a mile south of Perkinsfield on the County Road. Family loses calves, chickens, pigs, milking equipment and a large stock of berry baskets needed to harvest the strawberry crop that is now ripe. Milking herd was sold at a loss Wednesday as they have no equipment left to milk with. Their house was struck last summer, a bolt that removed plaster from the walls and splintered wood work.
• New factory on Highway 12 outside Coldwater is nearly complete and still there is no announcement of what it will produce, latest rumour is metal tubing.
• Bruce Duncan launches his latest home built cabin cruiser the “Torna B III”. Built in his garage in Port McNicoll over the winter the craft is 23 feet long and 8 feet wide, powered by a 30 hp engine and will sleep four.
• Veteran marine instructor and chief engineer for CPR steamships, John Moses dies at 70. Long time friend and fellow instructor at the local Marine School, Capt. Robert Mitchell also died within the last year leaving the school without its two veteran instructors. Mr. Moses was working as a night watchman and engineer for Wagg’s Laundry in Midland and that is where he died, being found by arriving staff.
• Severe electrical storm kills Eli Vaillancourt as he is tying up his boat in Penetang Bay. His son Jack was standing beside him when the lightening bolt struck and threw his father into the water.