Click on photos to enlargeWell known to many district residents as well as summer cottagers, the Ardmore Beach store owned by Phil Lefaive and commonly known as “Lefaive’s Store,” suffered considerable damage when the weight of snow caved in the roof Sunday night. Walls were bulged out of line as shown in the picture. (Tiny Concession 11) 

Freak stresses caused by snow on the roof, popped the end wall of this cottage owned by Albert Hamelin of Tiny Township, right off the building, where it now leans against a row of trees. Not one pane of glass was broken. The cottage was only one year old. 

While documenting the destruction caused by the snow in the photos above the photographer (likely Ken Somers) could not resist this humorous road sign at the beaches. (I think they have miscalculated their North Pole distance.)  

These unoccupied quarters in Midland’s new municipal building, slated for the North Simcoe Branch of The Simcoe County Children’s Aid Society, still remain empty. The branch is presently located in the old civic building on King Street, where its lease expires in July. CAS managing director Dorthea Jackson says the branch had been promised “similar accommodation” in the new building, while the present quarters’ have three private consultation rooms the new quarters are open. 

Midland’s own “Mr. Hockey”, George Dudley, is seen with two top Little NHL stars, Ed Zablotny, left, and Fred Burgie, a cousin of the great Rocket Richard. The two noted hockey figures were guest speakers at Knox Church Men’s Club father and son banquet Wednesday night in Midland. 

Eyes closed, famed coach “Hap” Emms may be dreaming of the day some of these Midland youngsters may restore his Barrie Flyers to the top of the junior “A” heap. With “Hap” in the photo, are left to right, John Swan, Kennedy Self, Bill Howard, Bill Young, John Cranston and Marvin Howard. Two noted hockey figures were guest speakers at Knox Church Men’s Club father and son banquet Wednesday night in Midland. 

Bedlam will reign supreme at Arena Gardens Friday night as hundreds of youngsters cheer their favourites in the Midland Public Schools hockey finals. In the top picture above, referee Jim Wilcox gets play underway in a recent game between East and West Side teams. Below, teacher-coach T. A. Robertson talks things over with some of his East Side players. 

Still spry and active, Mrs. John Ruston marked her 85th birthday Friday. John Ruston and Lilly Kelf were married June 3, 1895, and already had four children when they came to Canada, as Mrs. Ruston says “to make our fortune,” in 1906. The Rustons brought only three of the children with them at the time, one remaining in England. Mr. Ruston already had a sister, Mrs. John Belsey, living in Midland, and the new immigrants came directly to Midland. At that time the Belsey s lived on land now occupied by the Midland Golf and Country Club. The Rustons stayed there for a short time, finally getting a home of their own on Fourth Street. An interior decorator in England, Mr. Ruston worked at the old smelter and at the coal dock for a number of years before resuming his old trade. 

This year’s skating carnival at Midland Arena Gardens will have a marine motif, as witness sisters Joyce (left) and Margaret Walker in the above picture. Joyce, complete with aqua-lung, is a pearl diver. Margaret is a member of the seashell ballet. 

Skating cowgirl — One of the featured performers in Midland Figure Skating Club’s annual carnival; cowgirl Dawn Annand is ready to tie up any stray mavericks during early rehearsals for the show. 

These are busy days for members and officials of the Midland figure skating club sponsored by Midland Lions. Getting in a few practice licks for the carnival March 28 and 29 are left to right, Bev Hagedorn, as a pirate, Joan Child, a jellyfish, and Sharon Biggar who is just the right size for a goldfish. 

Two of the more experienced skaters who will take part in Midland Figure Skating Club’s carnival at Arena Gardens are Linda Stewart, left, and Elizabeth Boldt. The girls are members of the “Southern Belles” group. 

Edwards Store ran a full-page advertisement highlighting their boys and girls department for Easter.  You will probably recognize many of the models pictured below. L-R, Susan Perkins, and Joan ChildJane Campbell and Nancy Jones Valerie HarmsworthJimmy Swales and Kathy Henderson Susan Rodger and Dan Keefe. Giant pinwheel, that is what the fishing derby at Penetang’s recent Winterama looked like from the air. The arrangement of the holes and the anglers gives an appearance of a giant pinwheel. The photo was taken by Free Press photographer Vern Farrow from a Georgian Bay Airways plane.

 Some things never change!!

• The headline from March 19, 1958, Free Press Herald; Back Seven-Point Plan for Harbour Improvement.  A seven-point program to improve harbour facilities for visiting and local watercraft was set up by Midland’s newly organized harbour committee at a meeting in the municipal auditorium.  The committee’s recommendations, which included better dock supervision and policing, reserving of space for visiting watercraft, improved washroom and toilet facilities, water and power sources, garbage pick-up, centralized telephone service and possible provision of docking space for local boats, will be forwarded to Midland council. The program was formed following a brief address by Medonte author Ken Wells, who explained some of the problems he encountered at Midland and at other ports of call along the Georgian Bay shore during his boat tour of Georgian Bay ports last summer.
• The headline from March 21, 1958, County Herald; Say Job Outlook Bright in Industry in Penetang. Members of Zone 3, Georgian Bay Development Association, meeting in Penetang Wednesday appeared to be impressed with what they saw in a tour of the James Stewart Manufacturing plant. The group saw new styles of oil-fired furnaces under construction, from flat sheets of steel to the finished product. Sold as packaged units, the furnaces are of modern design and resemble a piece of furniture. The visitors were shown new built-in domestic cooking units being assembled on the production lines. They also saw baking ovens designed to be built into a wall. As well as cooking units to be installed in kitchen countertops. The ovens are turned out in a variety of decorator shades, some of which are exclusive to the Penetang company.
• That Penetang is becoming widely known as the winter carnival center of Ontario is graphically illustrated by a letter received by Marcel Bellehumeur, Winterama chairman. Written in Montreal, March 14, the letter arrived March 15, despite the fact that there was no proper Post Office address. The address read: “Manager, Winter Carnival, Georgian Bay; Ont.”, and there was apparently no hesitation on the part of postal clerks in forwarding it to Penetang.
• Midland-Penetang young people’s group of Alcoholics Anonymous marked the first anniversary of its inception with a well-attended convention in Penetang Sunday afternoon. More than 150 persons were present for the meeting with approximately 90 of the number coming from points outside the district. One of the main purposes of the meeting was to acquaint clergy and doctors of the area with the values of the AA organization. Several clergymen from Penetang and Midland were present as well as some municipal officials.
• Under present conditions, navigation in Midland and Port McNicoll will not open much before the end of this month. J. G. Hendrickson, CSL manager in Midland, said yesterday that Capt. R. Belcher had made a survey of ice conditions as far as Hope Island last week. Using a scoot, Capt. Belcher found the ice averaged around 17 inches thick all up the main channel. Nearing open water off Hope Island, the windrows were 39 inches thick, Capt. Belcher reported.
• Three masters of Great Lakes ships who attended the meeting of Midland Harbour Committee last week maintained that from a commercial shipping standpoint Midland harbour could not be topped. They said it was the best harbour on this continent.
• Obituaries; Funeral service was held from Nicholls’ Funeral Home March 17 for John W. Penhale who died March 13 at his residence 312 Queen Street, Midland. Rev. J. L. Self conducted the service which was under the auspices of the Caledonian Masonic Lodge, Midland. Pallbearers were Charles Flowers, J. J. Robins, James Mackie, Alex Heron, Clifford Laughlin, and Sam Bell. John Penhale was born July 9, 1909, at Collingwood where he was educated. Moving to Midland 24 years ago, he had resided here since and worked as a projectionist at the Roxy Theatre. * * *  A resident of Tay Township most of his life, Frederick Melbourne Brown died March 7 at his Quebec Street home Midland, following a long illness. Temporary entombment was in Lakeview Cemetery vault and burial will be in Vasey Cemetery, later. Pallbearers were Walter Lumsden, Bert Ball, Bruce Cooke, Gordon Bell, M. Buckland and H. McAuley. Mr. Brown was born April 6, 1890, in Oro Township and was educated in Tay Township. On July 3, 1912, he married Gertrude Tinney at Hillsdale. Farming near Victoria Harbour for 40 years, Mr. Brown had retired and moved to Midland six years ago because of ill health.  
• COLDWATER — Hon. James Allan, Minister of Highways, has informed Lloyd Letherby, MPP for Simcoe East, that tenders are being called for grading the extension to Highway 400 from Grown Hill to Craighurst. This is the first section of the new highway to be constructed across Medonte-Township, joining Highway 12 at the southern entrance to Coldwater. Construction plans call for a cloverleaf at Highway 12, bypassing Coldwater across properties at the southwest corner of the village, linking up again with Highway 12 near Fesserton, according to Mr. Letherby.
• Ten Years Ago This Week – A bill was introduced in the Ontario legislature which permitted the Ontario Hydro Electric Power Commission to implement its frequency standardization program. Southern Ontario areas were to be changed over from 25 to 60-cycle power. * * *  Bausch and Lomb Optical Company officials announced that, as soon as weather permitted, the ground would be broken for the firm’s new plant in Midland’s east end. * * * Special spring tune-up classes for novice and veteran golfers were being held in Midland YMCA. Gordon Maxwell, professional at the Midland Golf and Country Club, was the instructor.  * * * George Grise of Honey Harbour and Pete Lepage of Penetang were the winners of scoot races at Penetang’s winter carnival.  * * * Dr. P. A. Scott of Picton was named the director of the Simcoe County Health Unit. Health unit operations were to get underway July 1. Dr. Scott had served five years with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, retiring with the rank of Lieut. Colonel.  * * *  Melville Wilkie and Henry Leo Cada, two escapees from the Ontario Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Penetang, were captured at gunpoint in a sugar bush, two miles northwest of Lafontaine. They had been missing two and one-half days. A young Lafontaine area farmer, Lionel Marion, discovered the pair hiding in the hay in his father’s barn. The two fled from the barn. *  *  *  One of the worst spring floods to hit Coldwater in years, forced back-street residents to their upstairs floors, washed out a section of Highway 12″ at the west end of the village and undermined sections of the Canadian National Railway tracks.  * * * Hospitals in Midland and  Penetang were to receive $8,500 from the Ontario government through increased grants approved by the provincial legislature.

Going further back to March 1927, the year we are currently working on. 

 

On Wednesday, March 21, 2018 the Huronia Museum Film Series will be celebrating a landmark achievement at a special screening of the Canadian feature film “Porcupine Lake”.   The event will mark the 20 year anniversary of this important part of Midland’s cultural life.

The Film Series selected Porcupine Lake as their anniversary film because of its great relevance to our local area.  Set in Ontario cottage country, Slovakian-Canadian director Ingrid Veninger’s assured, affecting sixth feature follows two preteens dealing with their volatile desires and the chaotic emotional lives of their parents and older siblings.  Porcupine Lake uses Georgian Bay as a varied environmental stage for the halting summer transformation of Bea, a shy Toronto export spending some time in cottage country as her parents figure out what to do with their strained marriage and the family diner.  Audiences will recognize the settings of Port Severn and the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie and perhaps see some familiar local faces in the background characters.

To add to the excitement of the special occasion, the screening of Porcupine Lake will have a special guest.  Christopher Bolton, who plays the father Scotty in the film, will be in attendance at the screening.  He will take the audience behind the scenes in the making of the film and be available for a question and answer session at the conclusion of the movie.  Bolton has had an extensive career in movies and television.  He earned a Gemini nomination for his guest-starring role as “Joey Williams” on the award-winning series Cold Squad.

The two newspapers this week featured photos from the recent Penetanguishene Winterama and we are fortunate to have some of the original negatives of the event. 

Click on photos to enlarge Winning float in the Penetang Winterama parade was this flower be-decked entry by the Penetang Bottling Co. Catharine Dubeau is holding the rose bowl trophy presented following Saturday’s parade. Thousands lined the streets to view the parade. 

Huronia Motors hunting camp scene, complete with dog and washing hung out to dry was judged second best in a tie and will receive a trophy donated by a Toronto newspaper through Ralph Cowan, one of the parade judges.

All set for a journey into space, the P. Payette Co. entry in the Penetang Winterama parade took the judges fancy and was awarded a second-place, tie.

Most of the prizes at the Penetang Winterama went to out of town entrants, and the “mutt race” was no exception. Stephen Alexander from Toronto is shown here with his boxer who pulled him over the course to win the trophy. 

Don Mortimer of Mortimer’s Point, Lake Muskoka, is shown here with the scoot race championship trophy presented Saturday afternoon. Don had just completed building his scoot the previous night and brought it to Penetang on a trailer. (Need names for the gentlemen on the right) 

R. Livingston, Collingwood, holds the eight-inch perch that won him this boat and outboard motor, first prize in the Penetang Winterama ice fishing derby Saturday afternoon. Karen Robinson, Winterama Queen, presented the prize and holds the fishing stick while he displays the fish. 

The rod and reel, second prize in the Penetang Winterama junior ice fishing derby, was much longer than the six-inch perch which won it for Claude McMahon, Penetang. 

Ingo Schaus, Midland, shows the perch which brought him the first prize bicycle in the junior fishing derby Sunday afternoon at the Penetang Winterama. Rene Lesperance, Penetang Jaycee member, made the presentation.

Square dancing by pupils of Grades 2 and 3 was one of the features of Regent Public School’s open house in Midland Tuesday, March 4. Other youngsters gave a demonstration of “P.T.” work as part of the evening’s entertainment. 

This foursome from Elmvale won the CSL bonspiel Wednesday night at the Midland Curling Club. Tim Bate, Win Ellis, skip Fred Ritchie and Harry Rowley. They won all three of their games and had the highest point total of the 36 rinks entered.

Mrs. J. Bonner, right, was one of those attending open house at Sixth Street School. She discussed the progress of her son Billy with Grade 3 teacher, Mrs. G. Scott. 

 Thieves escaped with $1,100.00 after knocking this hole in the side of a vault at Walkers Store Ltd, Midland, early Sunday morning. The same gang is believed to have tried a similar theft at the Walkers store in Peterborough the previous night. 

Presiding at the tea table during ‘open house’ at Sixth Street School last week were these members of Midland Home and School Association: from left to right, Mrs. A. Herron, Mrs. A. Brooks, Mrs. L. Reynolds, Mrs. A. Bligh, and Mrs. E. Jardine. 

• The headline from the Free Press Herald, March 12, 1958; Say Work for Over 500 on Gas Pipeline Projects.  Consumers Gas Company officials announced today construction of transmission lines and distribution systems to provide natural gas to municipalities in the Georgian Bay area will get underway early this summer. Officials said the projects will provide employment for more than 500 men in the communities concerned.  Communities to receive natural gas this year include Midland, Penetanguishene, Victoria Harbour, Barrie, Stayner, Collingwood, Thornbury, Meaford and Owen Sound.
• The headline from the County Herald, March 14, 1958; Rap Intersection Design, Groups Consider Protest.   Two North Simcoe municipalities and the Midland Chamber of Commerce may make a joint protest to Queen’s Park over what has been termed ‘‘alleged faulty design of the new intersection” at Firth’s Corners, a chamber announcement stated today. The newly-constructed intersection is at the junction of Highways 12 and 27, about one mile west of Midland.
• Effective September, every teacher at Midland-Penetang District High School will be receiving at least $600 more per year, following the salary settlement approved by the MPDHS board Wednesday night. The raises result from across-the-board salary increases, plus the $300 annual increment received by the teachers.
• Thieves who tried to break into the municipal building at Port McNicoll recently got nothing but exercise for their trouble. OPP Constables H. R. Banting and William Mohan, who conducted the initial investigation, said the thieves cut a hole in the roof over the main office of the building but did not enter. Slight damage was caused to the roof.
• An unexpectedly cold March wind chilled the ardor of thousands of visitors to Penetang Winterama Saturday afternoon. With an estimated 5,000 visitors in town, there was less than half of that number on the ice watching festivities at any one time. The small spectator crowd was evident in the fishing derby area where, in other years, there were at least two people watching for every person fishing.
• Mr. and Mrs. Robert Merkley Jr., announce the birth of their son, Timothy Peter, (9 lbs. 5 oz.), in St. Andrews Hospital, Midland, on Sunday, March 9, 1950, first grandchild of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Merkley, Sr.
• Auction sale of valuable farm stock and implements for Luther Van Camp and Son, at Lot 4. Con. 3 Tay, 1 mile N., 2 miles E. of Waverley, on Friday, March 20. Sale to include 49 Red and Roan Cattle and an exceptionally good line of implements. Terms Cash. Sale at 12.30 noon. M. A. Trace, Auctioneer. Phone Elmvale 174.
• 25 Years Ago This Week 1933 the depression years – A Sixth Street man reported seeing a robin perched in a tree outside his home. The robin arrived on the heels of one of the worst snow storms to sweep the district in years. * * * Sir Henry Thornton, former president of the Canadian National Railways, died in New York after pneumonia set in following major abdominal surgery. *  *  * Midland Board of Education was considering a further wave of economy. At its monthly meeting, the board discussed the possibility of closing one of the town’s public schools and of making further reductions in teachers’ salaries. * * * A public meeting was called in All Saints parish hall, Penetang, to organize a horticultural society in the town. Three of those present at the meeting agreed to canvass the town for memberships. It was expected this work would be completed by early April. *  * *  The federal government budget called for an increase in personal income taxes and a reduction in exemptions; a two-cent per pound tax on sugar; five percent special excise tax on car tires and tubes; special excise tax of 10 percent on toilet articles and preparations. * * * Coldwater citizens had organized a ratepayers association. Officers of the organization were C. G. Millard, president; C. H. Eplett, vice-president; Mord Millard, secretary; J. A. Locking and James Kitchen, executive. *  *  *  The Ontario government announced it was anticipating a deficit of about $6,000,000 for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31.
• H. A. Kilroy, Bell Telephone manager for Midland said that 200 telephones were added during 1957 bringing the total in service here at the end of the year to 3,293.
• Probably nowhere in Midland Wednesday was there an employee or employer happier to see closing time roll around than Alex Macintosh. As the issuer of motor vehicle licenses and drivers permits, Alex apparently had lots of company throughout the province, as tardy motorists sought to get in under the deadline. On several occasions Monday Mr. Macintosh had to close his doors temporarily because his office was already jammed to capacity. Many of the last-minute “shoppers” came from out-of-town points, where the line-ups were even bigger and longer than they were in Midland, Alex was told.
• According to advice received by the Midland Chamber of Commerce recently, the Department of Transport intends to move its wireless station from Midland to Wiarton. A letter from F. G. Nixon, director of the telecommunications branch of the department, said it was found that communications with vessels could be very greatly improved by a move to Wiarton, hence a decision has been taken to effect this change in location.
• Outstanding performers in the Midland Music Festival are to present a “Stars of the Festival” concert in Midland-Penetang District High School auditorium tonight. The twelfth annual festival, which concluded its activities Wednesday night, set a new high in entries and caliber of contestants, festival officials said.
• Hans Albrecht of Penetang Road was employed Monday night as Midland’s new dog control officer. Mr. Albrecht lives on the old Girard turkey farm in Tay Township. He explained that he has room to impound dogs, and for destroying animals he would use potassium cyanide. He is to be paid out of funds collected through the sale of dog tags and licenses.
• A request from the Manson J. Bradley Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, for permission to hold its annual penny sale on Easy Street on the evening of July 25 was approved by Midland council Monday night.
• From Dec. 1, 1956, to Dec. 1, 1957, Canada’s population increased by 552,000 to a total of 16,860,000; growth in the period was at the record high rate of 3.4 percent.

We are working on the 1938 editions of the Midland Free Press, 80 years ago, and wanted to include a couple of items. 

This ad shows that Wagg’s have been in business for 116 years in our area. The list of businesses that old is short, I can think of H. S. Stamant & Sons, Penetang, and Sanderson Monuments of Orillia.