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. 

RATEPAYERS WANT ACTION ON TOWN DUMP PROBLEM 

Free Press Herald headline of May 10, 1961.
A deputation from William, Hanley, Donalda, Ruby and Scott Streets appeared before Midland council Monday night, asking council to take action on the town dump situation. A written petition concerning the same subject and signed by 46 ratepayers complained of partially burned papers, smoke, smell and flies coming from the dump. Robert McLaughlin, spokesman for the deputation, said it was realized that it was a tough problem and added “but rats are coming up on the streets. We know council and particularly Alderman Walter Woods are doing their best but we would like to see council do a bit more. Mr. Woods advised that council was doing its best to find a new dump site and understood the clerk had written seeking information  concerning the cost of an incinerator. 

   A runaway car caused considerable damage in Midland Saturday afternoon, but no one was injured in the mishap. Police said Roy Edwin Perrault, 16, of Midland was getting a push along Manley Street, around 5:55 p.m. and was outside the vehicle when it started to roll back down a steep hill. Unable to get into the vehicle, the young driver attempted to lean through the window and steer the car, which gained speed rapidly. Perrault was forced to leave the car when it neared the entrance to the old shipyard. It then plunged through two sections of steel fence around Midland Foundry and Machine Co. property, and knocked down a telegraph pole before coming to a stop. Total damage to fence, car and pole was estimated at around $400. No charges were laid by Const. Ross Willett, who investigated.   

   Huronia Association for Retarded Children was praised Monday night for “having accomplished in a few months what has taken other associations  many years”. Handing out the bouquets at a meeting in Midland YMCA was M. R. Finlayson, chairman of Region 7, Ontario Association for Retarded Children and a former president of the Barrie Association. Accomplishments of the local association, Mr. Finlayson said, were the result of “a great deal of hard work and constructive thinking on the part of a few people. Your community owes much to them”. 

    A change in control through acquisition of shares of Beatty Bros, stock is not expected to have any serious effect on operations of the James Stewart Manufacturing Co. plant at Penetang, according to officials. James Stewart is a subsidiary of Beatty Bros. Clayton Israel, manager of the Penetang plant said, “As far as we know it is their intention to continue operating here. There is no doubt they may have some new ideas, but at the present time we are not expecting any appreciable or immediate changes. The change in control marks the first time in the 87-year history of the Beatty Bros, firm that a person from outside the Beatty family has occupied the president’s chair. Ralph Barford, 31-year-old Torontonian, assumed that position last week. 

       COLDWATER — With the opening of the racing season, Waples Brothers of Coldwater have already transferred a large number of horses from their stable here. Keith Waples is in charge of a string of 30 horses at Montreal, including numerous horses from other owners. Murray Waples, in charge of 14 horses still stabled at Coldwater, stated that most of the remainder will be moved out in the next few days but a few horses will be kept here until about July 1. The brothers plan to have at least 15 horses at Old Woodbine track in Toronto for current races. 

 FOOTWEAR OFFICIALS, UNION, HIT SNAG ON DUES ISSUE 

County Herald headline of Friday May 12, 1961.
North Simcoe’s largest single industry — shoe manufacturing is having labor union troubles. More than 300 men and women are affected. Fern Shoe at Penetang and Midland Footwear, whose employees for the first half of the fifties were represented by the CIO Packing House Workers Union, were organized last year by the Textile Workers Union of America which also represents employees at Bay Mills and Midland Plastics.  Direct negotiations between the union and management representatives settled most of the points in a union contract and a conciliation board, under the chairmanship of Judge Walter Little of Parry Sound, was called in to bring about agreement on the remaining differences. Findings of the conciliation board,  which met during April in both Toronto and Parry Sound, have just been released. It reports that the two companies and the union reached tentative agreement on all points in a new contract except for the issue of whether or not employees should be compelled to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Spokesmen for the board, the company, and the union confirm in the report that this is the stumbling block to signing a contract. 

    Dave Finch, proprietor of the Canadian Tire Associate Store, Midland, announced this week that Webster-Smallwood of Midland had been awarded the contract for drafting plans and specifications for expansion of his store building. Mr. Finch said the addition to the existing building would include a 53 by 30-foot four-car service center, an additional 250 square feet of warehouse space, and the conversion of the present service department into warehouse area. The display area is to be enlarged from its present 1,200 square feet to 2,700 square feet, he said. An additional display window will be installed in front of the new warehouse.  Mr. Finch estimated the cost of the building expansion would amount to between $30,000 and $35,000. 

    Any hope that the citizens or officials of Penetang might have had that the tannery might re-open has been dashed in the last few days. Already workmen have demolished some smaller buildings and yesterday had removed most of the roof and top storey of the largest building. Consulting several people who had been connected the tannery in one way or another, it was learned that the plant was located here about 75 years ago. One of the reasons for choosing this area was the availability of tanbark used at that time in the tanning of leather.      

      The Canadian National Express office, presently located on King Street, will transfer its operations to the freight shed at the CN station, it is announced by George S. Ross, the company’s superintendent. The move will take effect Monday, May 15. One of the advantages of moving to the new location is the increased parking space for customers. 

TUG “MENODORA” Dear Editor: The single-screw wooden tug “Menodora”, official No. 111917 was built in 1901, by William Carson at Midland for the Midland Towing and Wrecking Co., James Playfair, President, registered at Toronto. The Midland registry was not established until 1906. In 1906 she was sold to the Canadian Dredge and Construction Co. of Midland, and her registry was transferred to Midland. The name was changed to Canadian Dredging Co., Ltd. Her registry was closed March, 1930. She was dismantled and abandoned at Port Colborne, Ontario. W. R. Williams 

     Competing in the Orillia Music Festival Wednesday evening, the choir of St. Paul’s United Church, Midland, won the competition for church choirs (open class). The chancel choir now has 42 voices, but only about 30 went to the competition. They won the Fowler and Lang shield. Adjudicator John McKnight of Toronto awarded the choir 89 points for its presentation of “Father of Heaven Whose Love Profound,” and 90 marks for the test anthem “Morning and Evening”. Mr. McKnight is organist of Walmer Road Baptist Church and a faculty member of the Royal Conservatory. In his comments he said the group had ‘ideal balance’ and was an excellent aggregation. He particularly mentioned the large number of male voices.

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. 

More than 1,000 persons Wednesday saw the ”new look” in mental care during open house at Ontario Hospital, Penetang. Dr. C. K. McKnight surveys a stack of iron bars removed recently from the windows of the main building and cottages at Ontario Hospital, part of the new concept in treatment of mental illness.

 SEEKS FIFTY YEAR-OLD-SON – DAD POSTS $100 REWARD 

Free Press headline of May 3^rd, 1961.
Eli Contois of R.R. 3, Penetang, yesterday offered a $100 reward for information about his 50-year-old son, Baptiste Contois of Thunder Beach, who has been missing for nearly two weeks. Mr. Contois, Sr., is offering the reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the whereabouts of Baptiste, dead or alive. Provincial police said this week they hold little hope that Baptiste Contois is alive. They believe he drowned when he tried to make the 10-mile trip from Cognashene Point to Honey Harbour, nearly two weeks ago.

    Word was received this week that Midland has been awarded a special citation for completing I960 without a fatal traffic accident. Midland was one of 17 towns, with population between 5,000 and 10,000 receiving the citation made by the 7th conference of the Canadian Highway Safety Council. Mayor Charles Parker, who is expected to accept the citation later this month, said it was gratifying to know that the work of those interested in safety is paying off in Midland and he expressed the hope that the interest would continue.

    A car stolen in Toronto last week was found almost completely submerged in Six-Mile Lake, north of Port Severn, Thursday. The car was found by the superintendent of Six Mile Lake Provincial Park, who reported it to the OPP detachment at Victoria Harbour. Police learned the vehicle had been stolen in Toronto the previous day. A stone was lodged on the gas pedal and the ignition was in the “on” position. 

    Several hundred Northern Ontario citizens will be feasting shortly on maple syrup originating in the Penetang area, according to Bill Stevens, manager of the Dominion Store at Penetang. Mr. Stevens said he had purchased 156 gallons of syrup from local farmers during the last few days. On Monday his staff packed the syrup and shipped it to Timmins, Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake and Cochrane. Total weight ran to slightly over one ton, with the delicacy packaged in half-gallon and quart sizes. 

    Rabbits have been pulled out of hats, but few have been found under the hood of a car. This happened in Midland yesterday. Miles Blackhurst told this paper. Sunday, Mr. Blackhurst of Midland discovered his windshield wipers were not operating. Yesterday he took his into Bourgeois Motors to have this, and the oil checked. When Lionel Bourgeois and Jack Colquhoun opened up the hood of the engine, there was a white rabbit staring them in the face. It was perched on the battery. Mr. Blackhurst said, The rabbit, whose fur was grease spattered, apparently had nibbled the rubber hose which provides the vacuum to operate the wipers. 

25 YEARS AGO (1936)
Plans were being made for Midland’s first combined motor and fashion show to be held in the curling rink. * * * Midland’s six-month bread war came to an end when bakers an store managers agreed on an eight-cent loaf. * * * An increase in the relief allowance was refused by Hon. D. A. Croll, Minister of Public Welfare, when a delegation comprised of representatives of council and the Midland Workers Association visited the minister. * * * Midland’s Queens hotel was taken over on a lease from the CPR by Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Kinnie. (The CPR had purchased all the buildings along the south side of the CNR tracks to gain access to their new station in Midland and the Simcoe Elevator. An agreement was eventually reached with the CNR to share the existing track.) * * * Miss Grace McMullen a vice-president of the Midland Hobby Show, was one of the Judges in the literary and oratorical competitions. * * * The plant of the Midland Wood Products was being dismantled and Milton J. Bray and Norman K. Playfair purchased a part of the equipment and planned to operate a small general planing mill and builders’ supply company. (The beginning of the Midland Planing Mill / Buildall) * * * The first ship to enter Midland harbor was the CSL freighter Gleneagles, May 5, with 10,000 tons of coal. * * * A letter to the editor of this newspaper from Joseph Charlebois, of Bowser, Vancouver Island, stated. “I helped to put up the first electric light in Canada and that was in Midland in 1881, the first light showing May 1. The electric light plant came from Scotland for the British Canadian Lumber Company. 

Editorial “Wise and Otherwise”
Producers of a new ultra-violet ray machine, soon to be available in Canada, claim their mechanism will provide an even tan to those who use it.  It seems you stand on a turntable that revolves once a minute in front of a sun lamp. No mention was made in the report as to whether the machine had controls for “rare,” “medium rare,” or “well done.” 

    A man and woman from Northern Ontario, who admitted helping themselves to three and a half bottles of Sacramental wine from the Presbyterian Church in Elmvale, were remanded in custody one week for sentence when they appeared before Magistrate K. A. Cameron in Penetang police court Thursday. 

 

5.2 MILL TAX HIKE IF OMB APPROVES SCHOOL 

County Herald headline of May 3, 1961.
Residential ratepayers who support Penetang Public School will be paying an additional 5.2 mills on their taxes in 1961, according to a budget bylaw passed by council at a special session Monday evening. The bylaw is subject to revision if permission to sell debenture for a new public schools building is refused by provincial authorities. Rate set for public school supporters entitled to benefit of the unconditional grant is 94.7691 mills. This compares with 89.54 mills last year and 89.883 in 1959. Separate school supporters entitled to benefit of the grant will pay on a rate of 92.4552 mills. Their 1960 rate was 86.92 and was 89.276 in 1959. As recent as yesterday no word had been received from the Ontario Municipal Board approving the debenture issue, for the proposed new public school. It Is understood the board’s levy will be considerably higher if the debenture issue is not approved. 

    Suspension of Wednesday afternoon closing of Midland retail stores during July and August is to be considered. This was decided by the merchants’ committee of the Midland Chamber of Commerce at a meeting Tuesday night, following a special meeting of the chamber’s general membership. The committee decided to have prepared a petition which would be circulated to the retail merchants, requesting their views on the suspension of the half-day Wednesday closing during July and August. 

    Poor aim. Would-be thieves failed in an attempt early Thursday morning, to make off with small appliances displayed in a show window of Webster’s on Robert Street, Penetang. According to Ted Light, who is employed in the store and lives in an apartment above, the incident took place at approximately 12.30 am. He heard a thud on the glass, followed by a second thud. By the time he had contacted police a third bang on the window was accompanied by the sound of broken glass. Ted said the police arrived on the scene quickly, but he believes the culprits had seen the police signal light glowing at the main comer. This light is used to inform police they have a phone call waiting. He said there were two men and they disappeared into a driveway beside the store, a few minutes before the cruiser arrived. The hole broken in the window was too high for anyone to reach in to pick anything up. 

   Twenty six scholarships and two special prizes were awarded to top contestants in Midland Music Festival, at the 15^th annual festival concert in Midland – Penetanguishene District High School last Friday night. Winners of the two special awards, hymn books donated by the music teachers’ association and presented by R. C. Ireland, were Louise Parker and Anne Webster. 

      Only a small docket awaited Magistrate K. A. Cameron when he held court in the Canadian Legion Hall at Waubaushene for the first time, Wednesday morning. The extra court is designed to shorten regular courts in Midland and Penetang by taking care of the large volume of OPP traffic cases which usually occur during the summer months. Other OPP cases besides traffic will also be tried at the Waubaushene court, however, Magistrate Cameron said. Traffic cases, almost exclusively formed the docket at the first court in Waubaushene. 

   COLDWATER — While workmen were excavating behind Coldwater Municipal Telephone building on Main Street Wednesday afternoon, a 35 foot by 12 foot section of brick wall on the adjoining Coldwater IGA store (now Coldwater Home Hardware) collapsed into the excavation. Fortunately the contractor for the excavation work, Andrew Evans of Victoria Harbour, had detected earth crumbling at the base of building’s foundation and had ordered two workmen from the 40 by 22 foot section excavated to a six-foot depth. The men who escaped being buried under bricks and mortar were the 34 – year – old pastor of Midland Pentecostal Church, William Stephens of Wyebridge and Gerald Dwinell,  40, of Fesserton.    

  Construction of a $400,000 camp for the blind started recently on Lake Joseph in the Muskoka district. The camp, which will open early this summer, is being built for the Ontario division of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. First of its kind in Canada, the summer centre is slated to be a pilot project for other provinces.

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.