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.  

Again we have no original negatives for this week and we will make do with copy and paste.

Bernie being Bernie Willette.

On these lads will rest much of the success of Midland – Penetang District High School Cadet Corps’ annual inspection, May 3. The corps’ senior officers, include, left to right, front row — Cadet Major R. Gauthier, 2-I/C; Cadet Lieut. Col. Don Belfry; Cadet Adjt Marvin Moreau; back row — Cadet Major Paul Bellehumeur; Cadet Major Gordon Waples; Cadet Major Tom Kearns; and Cadet Major Peter Gignac. 

BUSINESS FIRMS VICTIMS OF ROBBERY ATTACKS

The April 26^th, 1961 Free Press headline.
Two local businesses, one in Midland and the other in Penetang, were the victims of robbery, and police are still investigating the incidents. Theft from the Midland Photographic Supplies occurred early Monday morning and an armed bandit is reported to have held up the IGA Supermarket in Penetang, Friday evening. J. J. Robillard’s IGA Super- market, the scene of several robberies in recent months saw a change of pace Friday night when an armed bandit held up the proprietor and one of his staff and made off with a bag of change, containing an undisclosed amount of money. The incident occurred as Mr. Robillard and Henry Dorion were preparing to close the store following close off Friday night’s business. According to police, a man appeared pointing a nickel-plated revolver and demanded the money from the safe. He had first taken the precaution to make the phone useless by tearing out the wire, police said. After being handed the bag he forced the pair to the rear of the store and left in a car parked outside with a waiting driver at the wheel, Mr. Robillard stated. Mr. Robillard gave chase in his own car while his assistant went to a nearby garage to phone police.

BOARD SEEKS $251,096 FROM 7 MUNICIPALITIES 

County Herald headline of April 28, 1961.
T. M. McCullough, chairman of the Midland-Penetang District High School Board, revealed yesterday that the seven municipalities which support the high school will be called on to pay a total of $251,096.92 of the school’s total 1961 budget of $534,712.30. Last year, the seven municipalities were requested to raise $210,795.13 in taxes for secondary school purposes. This year’s figure represents an increase of $40,301 over the 1960 MPDHS tax levy.

     “There is an unbelievably high standard of work here. The talent is here and is being developed in the right way.” These were the comments of Boris Berlin during adjudicating of the piano classes at the Midland Music Festival, at the YMCA this week. The fifteenth festival of its kind held in Midland, there are, this year, staggering programs of piano, vocal, and instrumental numbers, which require the use of the upstairs dining room at the same time as there are classes heard in the auditorium. This sometimes involves a scurry of a competitor from a piano section upstairs to the downstairs where perhaps his school class is entered in the chorus work. All in all, this system has hit no serious snag, although the Tuesday morning upstairs vocal groups were off schedule by well over an hour and singing competitions went on right through the noon hour. 

    At a meeting, at Bourgeois Lakeshore dining room, Thursday, the Midland Junior Chamber of Commerce decided to hold their annual fireworks display May 22. The meeting elected it officers for the coming year. They are: Mile Blackhurst, past president; John Bourgeois, president; Art Ambeau, first vice-president; Bob Bates, second vice-president; Gerry Lalonde, secretary; Jim Osborne, treasurer. Directors elected were Ken Mackie, John Nicholson, Ward Barrie, Ron Parker, Jim Wright and Ross Willette. 

    Home Economics students at Midland – Penetang District High School are holding a fashion show in the school’s gymnasium tonight (Wednesday) at 8 p.m. Clothes that have been made by the students will be modelled and tea and cookies made by the pupils will be served. The event, entitled “Evening in Paris,” is sponsored by the school’s Home Economics Club • whose president and secretary are Sharon McElroy and Robin Benson, respectively. Mrs. G. Yearsley will be the staff member in charge.   

Ten Years Ago
Midland council set its tax rate for public school supporters at 59 mills which was an increase of 9.5 mills more than the previous year. * * * Eighteen members of the Midland Shrine Club, including Wm. Orr and W. H. Keller attended the Kawartha Shrine Club bonspiel in Peterborough. * * * Midland’s lone representative in professional baseball ranks, Jack Beauchamp, was making a strong bid for a place on the pitching staff of the Lenoir, N.C. Giants. * * * Possibility of more employment for Victoria Harbour residents was announced by Lachlan McKellar, manager of Custom Canners. The firm had acquired land adjacent to their existing building and were planning an addition. * * * Matchedash Township council was informed by its clerk, Miss Doris Porch, that no applications had been received for the assessor’s position. * * * A three-act comedy, “Here Comes the Prince” was presented by St. Mark’s AYPA on three successive evenings and the players were directed by Miss Grace McMullen. * * * Midland council gave third reading to a bylaw authorizing the sale of the Yonge Street W. property to the Department of National Defence, as the proposed site for the armories. Sale price of the land was $5,324. * * * Bell telephone representative Harry J. Smith told Penetang High School students that the number of long distance telephone calls handled by the company had risen from 67,000 to more than 240,000 per day during the previous 10 years. 

    Blood donors are urgently needed — 137 of them. This was the word from Frank Spence, yesterday, when he noted that 113 of the required 250 blood donor volunteers had registered by Tuesday morning. Mr. Spence is heading the Midland Lions Club appeal for donors for the Red Cross Blood Donor Clinic to be held in the Midland Municipal building Thursday April 27. 

    Penetang children are playing ball in Midland because the town’s only diamond in Lion’s Park is in very poor condition. This statement was made at Monday night’s meeting of Penetang council by Fred Scott. Mr. Scott told council that three towns had refused to bring teams to play in Penetang because of the conditions. “We have tried to fix it up with some volunteer help but we can’t do the entire job without some official assistance.” He said. 

Wyevale News
WYEVALE — Mr. and Mrs. Jack Stott and family of St. Catharines spent the weekend at Victor Stott’s. Mrs. Petch, Emma and Mary of Barrie visited the E. Nerpins this week. Miss Marilyn Withall is taking a Canadian Nursing Assistants Course at Toronto. Mr. and Mrs. Morley Marshall and baby of Barrie spent the weekend at George Marshall’s. Mrs. L. Roebuck is spending some time with relatives in Toronto. Sid McDermot of Winnipeg visited Mr. and Mrs. Howard Grier. 

    Excerpts from the annual hospital report; Four sets of twins were born in St. Andrews Hospital during February and March, according to a report presented by Mrs. Jean Sutton, superintendent of nursing. Three pairs of twins were among the 31 babies born at St Andrews in March, and the 38 births in February included one set. Total number of patient days in February, the report showed, was 2,801, or an average of 100 daily. Patient days in March averaged out to 98 on a 3,052 total. Number of outpatients was 58 in February and 55 in March. A total of 173 operations were performed in March, an increase of 24 over the previous month. The number of anesthetics administered varied accordingly, 158 in March and 130 in February. February saw the most plaster of Paris casts applied, 25, to 23 in March, but the latter month led in X-rays, 377 to 324.  

    Kriss Watson, six-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Budd Watson, Yonge Street West, Midland, was taken to St. Andrew’s Hospital yesterday afternoon suffering from bruises and internal injuries received in an accident, Midland police said. The boy “darted out” in front of a car driven by Mrs. Leah Fitzgerald, Hanna Street, Midland, at Sixth and Yonge Streets at 1.15 p.m.

 A look back 80 years, the Free Press front page from the last week of April 1941, the war years.