Huronia Museum

The photos found in this blog post are the property of Huronia Museum, Midland, Ontario. Any reproduction for commercial use without permission is prohibited. Any other distribution must credit Huronia Museum. Please contact the museum with any questions you may have.

Click on photos to enlarge“They’re off” rang for the first time at Elmvale’s new race track at the fair September 21st. This is the start of the 2.30 trot or pace, won by Princess Song, (No. 6). Her time of 2.24 set the track record briefly, it being the first heat ever run on the new north, south oval.

Pictured is a cross-section of the large crowd which gathered in the grandstand to watch the races. Some of the spectators look hopeful, some bored, some nonchalant and some glum. The horse racing event highlighted the program at the more than century old fair at Elmvale.

Once a feature of every fair, large or small, the roadster class seems to be getting harder to fill every year. Only three teams turned up for the show at Elmvale last Wednesday afternoon. Winning team, in the foreground, came from Brooklin Ont. William Fallis from Midland placed second with his entry.

Hundreds of North Simcoe children took part in the parade and youth services held in Knox Church and St. Margaret’s Church, Midland, Sunday afternoon. Members of the color party, comprised of Guides, Cubs and Scouts, form up at Town Park, ready to march off to music provided by the Midland Citizens’ Band and St. Theresa’s High School Band.

Hundreds of North Simcoe children took part in the parade and youth services held in Knox Church and St. Margaret’s Church, Midland, Sunday afternoon. Groups of CGIT girls, Guides and Brownies chat as they wait for the procession to form up.

One of the added attractions, at the industrial development conference at Honey Harbour last week, sponsored by the Georgian Bay Development Association, was the HEPC’s model of its Douglas Point atomic power development near Kincardine. R. M. Pile, right, of the HEPC’s Barrie office; explained the fine points of the new plant to, left to right, Lloyd Letherby, MPP, Coldwater, Alderman Percy Crawford and Ernie Hurl, Midland, and Reeve Fred Kinnear, Tay Township.

There were plenty of activities for the women while their hubbies attended the industrial development conference of Georgian Bay Development Association at the Delawana Inn last week. One was a talk on collecting antique glass by Mrs. R. G. Gillies of Midland. Admiring some ol the exhibit are left to right, Mrs. Neville Keefe (Nancy Keefe) Mrs. Gillies, Mrs. Norman Shill and Mrs. W. A. Child.

Canadian Legion club rooms on Bay Street West, Midland, were gutted by fire early Thursday morning. Here shrouded by early morning fog off the bay and smoke from the burning building, four Midland firemen perch precariously on a section of the roof as they attempt to subdue the flames.

MPDHS will be looking to the young athletes to pile up points in the Thompson and Tudhope track and field meets at Barrie North Collegiate tomorrow. Winners in their own meet at MPDHS last week were, left to right, Ellen Barber, Lynn McAllen and Lynda Duggan.

There is a typo in the above caption, it should read “800 persons”.

“R.O. Estimates 27,870 Can Vote in Bye-Election” (Bye is correct but not often used.)
Free Press Herald headline of September 28, 1960

Returning officer Robert Brown told this newspaper yesterday that approximately 27,870 persons will be eligible to vote in the crucial Simcoe Centre bye-election Thursday, one of two being held in Ontario that day. Mr. Brown said 26,470 were eligible to vote in the riding in the provincial election last year. He estimated there had been an increase of about 1,500 persons on the list this year. The bye-election in Simcoe Centre was called following the death of George C. Johnston of Minesing, MPP, earlier this year. He had held the seat since 1943.

“Evan’s Has 508-Vote Lead PC’s Hold Simcoe Center”
County Herald headline of September 30, 1960.

Ex-county Warden Arthur Evans of Bradford romped home to victory for the Progressive Conservative party in the Simcoe Centre bye-election yesterday with a comfortable lead of 508 votes over his closest opponent Jerry Coughlin, Liberal candidate. The P-C candidate racked up a total of 9,231 votes to Coughlin’s 8,642 and CF candidate Wm. Gearing’s 1,589.

“We hope it will meet a need in the whole district which we serve.” This was the comment yesterday of Principal R. C. Gauthier of Midland-Penetang District High School when the proposed night classes at the high school were announced. The general courses will permit individuals to complete a subject towards a high school diploma and the special courses will enable people to gain new skills or improve old ones, many of which are used in their vocations, Mr. Gauthier suggested. “In other centres employers are most interested in night schools and in some cases have assisted their employees to take a course, but whether or not that will be the case here, we will just have to see,” added Mr. Gauthier.

Ten Years Ago This Week
Tiny Township council started discussions preliminary to the forming of the restrictive building bylaws for the beach areas and the appointment of building inspector. • • • Agreement between the town of Midland and the township of Tay to provide water to lots west of Midland on Yonge Street West was given final approval by Tay council. • • • Midland Public Schools Board formed a special committee to study the question of further participation by Midland public schools in the Midland Music Festival. • • • Penetang’s Hotel Brule was formally opened under new management when it was taken over by Winda Taverns, a Toronto organization. • • • Federal government officials began the erection of new public lavatories at Midland’s town dock. • • • To keep pace with the rapidly increasing demand for telephones in Penetang the Bell Telephone Company of Canada started an extensive construction program designed to provide service to some 80 waiting applicants. • • General manager of Midland Shipyard, Herbert J. Whitmell announced that a federal government contract for the construction of a $925,000 minesweeper had been received by his firm. • • • Speaking of the good relations between Protestants and Catholics in the Midland Penetang area, Father Daniel A. Lord, S. J. proposed that a Passion Play be presented at the Martyrs Shrine in an effort to make it the Oberammergau of North America.

Concerned over the appearance and condition of maple and elm trees in the municipality, Midland council Monday night agreed to meet Oct. 3, with timber supervisor S. R. Hamilton of the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests. Clerk-treasurer Wm. A. Hack told council he had been speaking with the representative of a firm of tree experts. He advised that there was little hope for elm trees due to a Dutch elm disease.

No estimate was available yesterday afternoon of the loss involved when fire swept through the Canadian Legion building on Midland’s Bay Street in the early morning hours, Thursday. Actually firemen were called to the Legion Hall twice, the first time at 1.35 a.m. when smoke was noticed coming from the basement. Fire Chief Arnold Tippin said very little damage resulted from this fire, believed to have started in the electric wiring in a storage room. Firemen left the hall at 3.02 a.m. but were called back again at 4.50 a.m., this time to fight a much more serious fire which broke out on the second floor. Before it bad been extinguished, the main portion of the building had been badly gutted. Chief Tippin said yesterday he could find no relationship between the two fires and was unable to say what was the cause of the second outbreak. The loss will be largely covered by insurance, the fire chief said. The building at one time was operated by Miss E. Breithaupt as a restaurant and tourist home.

Midland became a part of the SIU strike yesterday when 22 crew members of the SS Soodoc, a Paterson Line vessel, left their ship at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Late yesterday afternoon only two of the striking seamen remained as “watchmen” on the ship, docked at Century Coal Dock, where it had just unload a cargo of coal. The Soodoc is the only vessel of the several lines affected by the SIU strike docked in the Bayport’s at the moment. Officers and engineers remained aboard the vessel.

More than 400 parents attended the first fall meetings of the Home and School Associations in the school auditoriums Monday night. “Get Acquainted Night” at Regent started with a prayer and a message from Lieut. Wm. Johnston of the Salvation Army. More than 200 attended the Regent meeting. Following the introduction of the teachers to the parents by Principal M. O. Lewis a panel discussion was presented on the topic “The Home and School in Action”. Panel moderator was Miss J. Carson with the following panel members: Mrs. A. E. Davidson, Mrs. M. Shushan, Mrs. B. Simpson, Mrs. W. Bauer, Mrs. M. Wilcox, W. Brinkman, Jim Ridyard and Ken Trew.

A former provincial of the Jesuit Order, Rev. J. M. Fillion of Montreal was among the thousands of pilgrims who celebrated the annual Feast of the Canadian Martyrs at Martyrs’ Shrine on the weekend. The white stone church on the top of the hill on the banks of the Wye River was built in 1926 under Father Fillion’s supervision. Other Pilgrims present, including a large group from Peterborough, had celebrated open air mass at the site before the present church was built. Oldest active priest in the Archdiocese who attended the services, was Rt. Rev. J. M. Castex of Penetanguishene. Most Rev. Francis A. Marrocco, auxiliary bishop of Toronto, celebrated the feast day mass.

Hi-Sterics
“Our school is overcrowded. There is no doubt about it.” These ore familiar words at MPDHS. We have 926 students presently enrolled. As there is mass confusion in the halls between classes, mostly caused by pupils who don’t know where they are going, traffic signs are to be used throughout the school.
Miss Emes, one of our new teachers, can usually be found in one of the annexes. She was born near Gananoque but made her home in Parry Sound, where she graduated from high school. She attended Victoria College, University of Toronto. After graduating, she taught at Orillia and Blenheim. She is interested in badminton, golf, art and music. At the present Miss Emes is busy finishing furniture for her new apartment.
Again this fall, under the Curtis PIan, students will be selling magazine subscriptions for all the leading publications. Anyone having a subscription coming due is asked to renew it through our canvassers to help our project. A further explanation concerning this plan will be published at a later date.
Jerry Witting, Ron Sauve, and Peggy Jones have been elected President, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer respectively, for the ’60-61’ season of the Camera Club. Approximately 30 students attended the first meeting and groups were organized for darkroom work.
Saturday at Barrie North District Collegiate the 40th annual Tudhope-Thompson Track and Field Meet will be held. Top athletes from Barrie Collingwood and Midland will again compete: the boys for the Tudhope Cup, the girls for the Thompson Cup. With the number of records set at our own school meet exceeding twenty, we feel our chances are very good this year However win or lose a wonderful day will be had by competitor and spectator alike. So come to Barrie Saturday and support your local team.