Looking Back

Huronia Museum – Looking Back 60 Years in North Simcoe – May 16th to 23rd, 1962.

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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.  

 BUDGET HIKE OF $34,000 – INCREASE MILL RATE 7.5
Free Press Herald May 16, 1962. 

A $34,000 jump in the 1962 budget combined with a seven and a half mill increase was authorized by Penetanguishene council Monday night Officials say only the increase of almost $1,800,000 in assessment prevented the mill rate from skyrocketing higher. Based on the new assessment, the increase works out to about 7.5 mills. Figured on the 1961 assessment it would require an additional 13 mills to cover the increased levy. The total amount of tax levy for 1962 stands at $292,944, according to figures presented by Clerk A. Doucette in the budget passed by council Monday night. Last year’s actual collection of taxes was $258,898. The actual tax levy last year was $256,015. Greater portion of the increase is in two school budgets and the deficit of last year. MPDHS requirements are close to $6,000 higher, public school is up by $6,000, and $17,000 is included in the budget to cover the deficit. 

    Official opening of Midland’s new $37,000 small boat docks will take place Friday at 7.15 p.m., Harbormaster Jack Blackburn said yesterday. He said Dr. P. B. Rynard, Simcoe East M.P. in the last Parliament, R. P. Henderson district engineer, federal Department of Public Works and F. K. McKean, district marine agent, federal Department of Transport, would be present for the ceremony. Members of Midland council and other civic organizations will also be in attendance. Following the official opening ceremony, the local and visiting officials, will take a cruise on the Haidee, Mr. Blackburn said. 

    Residents of Penetanguishene are being given the opportunity of filling out questionnaires as part of a survey toward establishing whether a low cost rental housing project would be feasible. Besides the questionnaire, Miss Shirley Allaway, a representative of the Department of Economics and Development, is in town this week talking to industrialists, clergy and welfare agents. In speaking on the project, Miss Allaway said an analysis of the survey findings will be made later. The results will determine whether or not housing will be constructed. Miss Allaway said the project, when carried out, is a partnership between federal and provincial governments and the municipality. Cost is shared 75 per cent by federal, 17.4 per cent by provincial, and the balance by the municipality. The houses will have one bedroom for every two children up to a maximum of six bedrooms. Rents are geared to the family income. Tenants will pay approximately 20 per cent of their gross earnings in rent, regardless of the size of accommodation.

    R. C. Gauthier, Midland-Penetanguishene District High School principal, advised a school board meeting last week that the drop-out situation at the school was improving. The principal told the board that in previous years the percentage of dropouts reached 12 per cent. Last year it had been cut to five per cent, which was low compared to the provincial average, he stated. 

    New boat-marking regulations aimed at reducing accidents resulting from overloading and overpowering of small pleasure boats have been announced by the Department of Transport. Effective July 1, pleasure boats 16 feet or less in length with outboard motors of 10 horsepower or more, will be required to carry special plates. The plates will state the recommended safe maximum engine power and weight capacity limit for individual craft. For two or three years manufacturers have been required to provide plates. This regulation will force home boat builders to acquire them. 

    COLDWATER — Council has instructed Clerk Chester Martin to proceed with preparation of a bylaw which will require installation of septic tanks by local residents. Last year, a motion was passed by council giving property owners two years to install septic tanks and stop the practice of dumping raw sewage into the Coldwater River. Council is of the opinion disposal systems can be installed with the exception of three or four properties on Main Street where lack of land is a problem. 

TEN YEARS AGO TODAY
Monsignor J. M. Castex helped get the ball rolling for Penetanguishene’s new naval and military museum when he presented it with a hand-moulded five-pound cannon ball, a relic of the garrison days of 125 years previous. * * * Two days after Midland taxpayers gave their stamp of approval to a $10,000 fixed assessment for the new Ernst Leitz Canada Ltd., plant, machinery and equipment for the new firm were arriving in Midland. * * * Premier Leslie Frost announced the first major grant towards the construction of Penetanguishene’s new hospital. In addition to the provincial grant of $87,666 other grants included: federal government, $77,000; Simcoe County, $44,000; and St. Ann’s parish, Penetanguishene, $50,000. * * * Marcel Bellehumeur, as membership committee chairman of the Penetanguishene Chamber of Commerce, was heading a drive for funds and increased membership in the chamber. * * * The 664-foot S.S. James Norris, largest Canadian ship sailing the Great Lakes, was commissioned in Midland following her construction in Midland Shipyards. * * *More than 1,500 children and adults participated in the Midland District Choral Concert staged through the combined efforts of the town’s school and music teachers in Midland Arena Gardens. * * *Port McNicoll’s Community Forest got another 7,000 trees when village school children conducted their annual planting. * * * National Theatre Services Ltd., announced that Midland’s Roxy theatre manager, Al Perkins, would manage the re-opened Capitol theatre in Midland and the new drive-in theatre in Tiny Township. * * *Coldwater council set the tax rate at 50 mills, based on the reassessment on the Simcoe County plan which went into effect for the first time that year. The new rate represented an increase of 10 mills over the previous year.  

    Three prominent Midlander’s, including Mayor Charles Parker, were fined $100 each in Midland police court Monday in connection with bingos sponsored by Midland Minor Hockey Association. J. G. Hendrickson, 58, and Crawford Wilcox, 48, long-time MHA officials, pleaded guilty to charges of keeping a common gaming house at Parkside Pavilion during the six months prior to Feb. 28. OPP Const. C. D. Stanley, of the anti-gambling squad,, said the MMHA held weekly bingo games at Parkside. Const. Stanley said he saw Mr. Hendrickson selling cards when he went there the night of Feb. 27. Mr. Wilcox was not present that evening but is the co-signer for all cheques issued by the association, the court was told. Both men were very co-operative, Const. Stanley said. No evidence was offered by either at Monday’s hearing. Mr. McTurk, in asking for a nominal penalty, pointed out that the bingos were held for the benefit of minor hockey. There was no suggestion that these men received funds or personal gain. He also said that at the time four other groups were operating weekly bingos. He pointed out that Mr. Hendrickson and Mr. Wilcox, along with other MMHA officials, put in long hours every week in order to provide hockey for boys in the area.     

    The Silver Cross Women of Canada was founded at Hamilton in 1947 by widows and mothers of soldiers of the Second World War.

Whithall’s Mill located on the Wye River on the 4th concession of Tiny Township near Wyevale.  From the book “The Story of Simcoe County” produced by the Tourist and Industrial Committee of the County Council of Simcoe, author the former premier of Ontario, the Honourable Ernest C. Drury. Printed by Midland Press Limited. The negatives were held in their possession until donated to the Huronia Museum in 2006. Used again May 16, 1962, Free Press Herald front page with this caption; One of the real landmarks of Tiny Township is this old gristmill, just east of Wyebridge. A favourite fishing spot for local anglers, it has been a focal point for district farmers for many generations. 

     Four Midland boys received certificates at a Queen Scout Recognition ceremony at Barrie Central Collegiate, May 12. The certificates were presented by Air Commodore J. B. Harvey AFC, D.C., to Paul Delaney, 1st Midland Troop, and Don Edwards, Arthur Langley, and William Mackie, 3rd Midland Troop. 

 

Gifts of appreciation on behalf of 300 Little NHL hockey players in Penetanguishene were presented Monday night by Andy Morrison, left, to Maple Leaf player Dave Keon and trainer Bob Haggert. Announcement that Keon had been awarded the Lady Byng Memorial trophy was made the following day.

FENCE STALLS RESCUE BID TO SAVE BLIND WOMAN 90
County Herald, May 18, 1962.

While a neighbor stood helplessly by, a 90-year-old nearly blind woman burned to death when flames consumed her four-room frame home on Robert Street Lane, Penetanguishene, Thursday morning. Gus Beauchamp, 86, failed in repeated attempts to scale a fence that separated the two properties in an heroic attempt to lead Mrs. Archie Capistrand to safety. Her charred body was found by firemen just inside her kitchen door.

    A new idea in the way of marinas is taking shape on the shore of Penetanguishene Bay where one of the town’s oldest manufacturing plants stood until last year. Property owned by the Breithaupt Leather Co., whose plant here was dismantled last summer, is being utilized for the new venture which will operate under the name of Baymoorings Cruise Club. Membership in the club is based on an annual fee of $50. There is also an associate membership available at $30 for persons with cruisers ordinarily based outside the area. Docks are being built at the Penetanguishene site. Facilities there will be available to non-members as well as those belonging to the club. The clubhouse itself will be located in the old Breithaupt mansion, which, although dating back to 1887 is in a remarkable state of preservation. A large boathouse used during the operating days of the tannery will be available for winter storage. The boathouse also contains a marine railway capable of lifting any size of pleasure boat out of the water. Louis Breithaupt, Jr., said yesterday, a launching ramp is also under construction in a quiet corner, where small craft may be put into the water or taken back onto trailers. 

    Martyr’s Shrine officially opened for another season Sunday. Many pilgrims and visitors are expected through the nearly five month season which closes Thanksgiving weekend. Numerous groups of school children from all over Ontario will visit the Shrine in the months of May and June, to see the religious and historic aspects of the site. National groups, some dressed in their native costumes, who have made pilgrimages to the Shrine in the past, will again, walk up the hill in procession to attend mass at the hallowed location. Some of the groups expected are the Polish. Germans, Slovaks, Slovenes, and Czechs, said Rev. J. F. McCaffrey director of the Shrine. Several groups from the United States are also expected.  

    Supporters of the vote “no’’ campaign were the victors in Wednesday’s two-question liquor plebiscite in Midland. Approximately 56.7 per cent of the 4,752 eligible voters cast ballots. The dining lounge question failed by 2.169 per cent of the 60 per cent required to pass. Licensing or cocktail bars fell 5.303 per cent short of the mark. 

    The Midland – Penetanguishene area today moved into the fifth day of a scorching heat wave which has broken several May records. And there is no sign yet of any break in the over 90 degree temperatures, as the holiday weekend draws nearer. Yesterday the thermometer soared to a sweltering 95, breaking by 15 degrees the previous high for May of 80 set in 1951.  

    Her later adventures are told in a story by Ken Lefolil entitled “The Slapstick Saga of the S.S. Tropic Sea” in the May issue of MacLean’s magazine. “The SS Tropic Sea, 507 tons wringing wet and unsteady as she goes, is the greatest freestyle floating rumor mill since the Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast.” says Lefolil in his introduction. Mutiny, starvation, gunplay and “banana republic revolution” were heard frequently in her connection, it was rumored. Documents on file in Canada that early in 1961 four Toronto men made a down payment on the 42 year old former Georgian Bay buoy tender St. Heliers, which had recently changed hands for $5,311. The new owners changed her name to Tropic Sea and registry to the Republic of Panama. She cleared Halifax June 13, 1961, bound for the Caribbean.  Lefolil flew to Jamaica last March to try and dig up the true story of the Tropic Sea. He found her moored in a rundown dockyard at Kingston. Her captain at this time was Carl S. Stewart, a naturalized Canadian who was one of a number of war orphans brought here in 1947. In the Letolil story, Stewart is described as a 30-year-old man with a well-earned ulcer. A modern cloak and dagger man. Stewart has risked his life in Honduras and Cuba. In Honduras, an assassin came at him with a machete and was later shot to death for his trouble. In Cuba, Stewart engaged in the tricky pastime of running guns for Castro and supplying information to the U.S. Coast Guard all at the same time. He has seen the inside of a Cuban jail but escaped with his life. Another of Stewart’s jobs was for the security branch of the Bahamas. He helped break up a gun and narcotics smuggling ring by posing as a gunrunner. The story of the Tropic Sea from June 6, 1961, when it picked up 250 tons of flour at Humberstone, until a bailiff placed her under admiralty arrest in Kingston, Jamaica, is too long to re-publish here. But it makes strange, and good reading and can be obtained for 15 cents at any news stand. 

    A Kingston Ontario magistrate’s decision to jail a resident of that city for operating a boat while impaired, and to suspend the accused’s right to operate a power boat for one year, should have a sobering effect on negligent boating enthusiasts. 

 

Huronia Museum – Looking Back 60 Years Ago in North Simcoe – June 1st to 7th, 1957

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Click on Photos to Enlarge 

Photo with Dr. B. P. Rynard, Progressive Conservative candidate for Simcoe East includes Judith Ruth Laity (Mrs. Ken Kiefer), her mother Mrs. G. B. “Bud” (Ilene) Laity and Mrs. Rynard. The event was a tea at the Midland YMCA on Thursday given by the Midland District Women’s Progressive Conservative Association. (Congratulations to Judy on her recent retirement from the Midland Public Library) (The lady to the right of Mrs. Rynard in the background I believe is Mrs. Don (Vida) Bridges.) 

At the closing dinner of Midland’s Little Hockey League at the Georgian Hotel Thursday night the captains of the three winning teams were presented trophies by Harold Butson. Ernie Boast (died Nov 6, 2014, Ottawa ON), left, with the Junior OHA trophy, Ernie Charlesbois the NHL trophy and Barry McIlvarey the AHL, all of the “B” section. 

 Midland has had its share of national political figures during the federal election campaign that is drawing to a close. Friday at the Midland YMCA the ladies committee supporting the Liberal Party held an event attended by Lester B. Pearson, Minister of External Affairs. Mrs. G. E. Tanner, Mrs. Fred H. Bell, Mrs. Charles Onley and Mrs. Frank Hartman (Jean nee Haig). 

 

Golden wedding anniversaries seem to be all the rage in North Simcoe this year, with much more than the usual quota of citizens having achieved a half-century of wedded life. The couple above, Mr. and Mrs. Freeman French, who live on a farm just west of Waverley, marked their anniversary at the home of his sister, Mrs. W. McConnell, in Elmvale May 29. The original wedding service was also held in Elmvale. 

Low water levels of Georgian Bay and the Muskokas is causing considerable financial and operational issues for resort and marina operators. The owner of Duck Bay Camp at Waubaushene, Sid Langley watches as a crane and bucket try to deepen the boat channel into his property, at $16.00 per hour. 

Ski enthusiasts will no longer have to crowd into the tiny shack which served as a chalet at Midland Ski Resorts when next season rolls around. There’ll be plenty of room for everybody in this 90-foot building which used to serve as the community hall at Little Lake Park. Cut in three sections, it was moved to its new site early last week. Plans are also underway to have the building serviced with hydro and water. 

There wasn’t much room for any other traffic as this section of the old community hall from Little Lake tourist camp rolled out Highway 27 early last week. 

Pete Pettersen, Jutta Keylwerth and Keith Bertrand manager of Midland Ski Resorts Ltd. admire a model of the ski jump as it will look this summer during the ski meet on the August holiday weekend. The model was built by Melvin W. Smile of Hamilton. 

Dr. Swan tries on his son John’s new jacket that he and his teammates received Thursday night at dinner in the Georgian Hotel. The team won the junior OHA Ontario Little League final and also received wrist watches. Other players in jackets are Dennis Abbott, Wayne Holden and Bob Weckman. 

Huronia Museum is open again for a new season and one of the first visitors is an avid local historian and Coldwater banker Ken Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton is also the treasurer of the Huronia Historic Sites and Tourist Association. Vic Grigg, a museum staffer, shows Ken an exhibit. 

 No doubt that June was the month for weddings. 

  • Midland Free Press headline June 5th, 1957; Bold Robber Enters Mill Rifles Till at Noon Hour. A daring thief entered Midland Planing Mill yesterday and rifled the cash register while the office staff was home for lunch at noon hour. Planing Mill Manager Frank Bray, who discovered the theft on his return, said the culprit apparently gained entry through a basement door. The front door to the office was locked.
  • County Herald headline June 7th, 1957; 28,446 Eligible To Vote in Simcoe East Riding. A total of 28,446 people are eligible to vote in the four-way contest for Simcoe East Monday. In the 1953 federal election, 72 percent of the 27,479 eligible to vote at that time went to the polls. In 1949, the riding mustered 78 percent of its voters.
  • Four anglers, fishing at the mouth of the Sturgeon River last week, caught four large pickerel. The fish were taken on a variety of plugs, flatfish, pikey-minnow and Canadian wiggler. Lucky anglers were Phil Mahz, Depew, N.Y., Bill Kepnser, Hamburg, N.Y., F. Keenan and son Frank of Sturgeon Bay. The fish weighed 11, 10, 9, and 7 pounds, respectively. (Sports fishing was a major tourist attraction in North Simcoe years ago, with hotels being booked far in advance of season openings. Many of the anglers were Americans. In the opening day photo below many of the cars parked near a popular local stream have New York state licence plates.)
  • Reviewing his firm’s operations in Midland during the past five years, Guenther Leitz, president of Ernst Leitz (Canada) Limited, told his listeners Wednesday night one factor he found disappointing was the inability to induce more Canadians to join the staff. Addressing the fifth anniversary banquet at Parkside Pavilion, Mr. Leitz said the Canadian company had fallen far short of its original intention of employing six Canadians to one German to train them to become tradesmen.
  • A sum of money, estimated to be between $900 and $1,100, said to be Saturday night’s receipts missing from the safe of Penetang’s Hotel Brule, has posed a problem for Penetang Police. A similar amount, receipts from Friday night’s business, still remain in the safe. Loss of the money was discovered by Bernard McDonald, a hotel employee, Sunday afternoon after he had been called at his home by manager Phil Robitaille to investigate the reason no one was on duty at the hotel desk. Police are also searching for Oliver Dyer, 75-year-old desk clerk who was supposed to be on duty at the time.
  • Injured about the face and head when a hydro pole on which he was working broke at Little Lake Park, Midland, Monday morning, Kenneth Walker, 23, was transferred to a Toronto hospital for further examination by a specialist yesterday. Allan Walker, a brother, said Ken had been removing wires from a pole, located in the tent area of the park. Several of the old poles are replaced yearly as a safety measure, Allan said. Many of them, while otherwise sound, are worn thin around the base.
  • Want Ad – For Sale – $18,500 OR OFFER — Owner’s new split-level home with wide picture window overlooking the lake and treed gardens; 29 ft. living room, work-easy kitchen, 3 bedrooms, finished recreation room with fireplace, large insulated attic, heated attached garage, patio, landscaped, air-conditioned, oil heating. 286 Fourth St., phone L A . 6-5840, Midland.
  • Obituaries; A resident of Midland for forty years Mrs. Joseph Cripps died in St. Andrew’s Hospital May 23 following a coronary thrombosis, she was 73. Funeral service was held at A. Barrie and Sons funeral home Monday, May 26, with interment in Lakeview Cemetery, Midland. Rev. W. R. Auld officiated. Pallbearers were Alex Ingram, George Ingram, Marlowe Atkinson, Harold Humphries, Gerald McAvoy and Larry McAvoy. Cripps, the former Margaret Emma McAvoy, was born on the Second Concession, Flos Township Nov 12, 1884, and received her education in Flos and Hillsdale schools. In 1906 she was married to Joseph Cripps in Barrie. After spending several years in Hillsdale she moved to Midland where she continued to reside until her death. On Oct. 3. 1956, Mr. and Mrs. Cripps celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. In a fall three years ago, Mrs. Cripps broke her leg but was able to get around in a wheelchair. Her hobbies consisted of knitting and quilting. She is survived by her husband, four sons, Dalton, Newmarket; Allen, Iron City; Albert, Midland and William, Willowdale; one daughter, Mrs. Lorne Faragher (Goldie), Midland; one sister, Mrs. Robert Humphries of Midland and 11 grandchildren. **** A resident of Midland for more than half a century, Harriet Ellen Bissette died May 10 at St. Andrews Hospital following a short illness. She was 82. The funeral was held May 14 from her residence at 292 Princess Street to St. Margaret’s Church, where Rev. F. Voorwerk celebrated mass, Pallbearers were John Bissette, Paul Bissette, Bernard Goneau, Murray Kearns, Gerald McNamara and Ernie Nicholson. Interment was at St. Margaret’s Cemetery. Born in England in 1875, she came to Haliburton as an infant and there received her education. She and Fred Bissette were married at Lindsay in 1889 and settled in Midland. Mr. Bissette died in 1948. A member of the Roman Catholic Church, Mrs. Bissette was active in church work. As early as 1924 she was a promoter of the Canadian Messenger and was interested in the St. Vincent de Paul Society when it was active here. Mrs. Bissette was the only woman on the Cemetery Board when it was first established. For at least 12 years she was president of the Catholic Women’s League. During the war years she convened for St. Margaret’s on the Red Cross, sewing in the church basement, reported deaths of servicemen to St. Michael’s Cathedral, assisted in blood clinics and at the soldiers’ banquet at the close of the war. *** Funeral service was held Friday, May 31, for Wilfred Martin who died unexpectedly at his Penetang home after suffering a heart seizure. The funeral was held from the Beausoleil funeral home to St. Ann’s Memorial Church where Father J. Kelly, assisted by Father J. Marchand and Father L. McGough, officiated. Pall bearers were Ed. Desrochers, Walter Spearn, Ken Tannahill, Gerard Bourgeois, Bob Stewart and Jos. Desrochers. Interment was in St. Ann’s Cemetery. Born in Penetang, July 17, 1892, Mr. Martin was a bachelor and had spent his entire life here. A butcher by trade, he was well known in town. A Roman Catholic, he was a 3rd degree member of the Knights of Columbus, and a member of the Holy Name Society. Surviving are one brother, James of Montreal; and five sisters. Miss Helen Martin and Miss Loretta Martin, Penetang; Mrs. Ada Bakewell and Mrs. Mary Marshall, Toronto; Mrs. Rose Russell, in North Bay.
  • 25 YEARS AGO –  Masons, Odd Fellows, Orangemen and citizens paid tribute to Arthur Bugg, former mayor of Midland, at funeral services held at his residence. Midland Citizens’ Band headed the funeral cortege to Lakeview Cemetery. * * * Ontario Premier Henry had been served notice to appear as a witness in a Hydro probe which was being conducted by Mr. Justice Orde in Osgoode Hall. * * * Hannah Kennedy, one of the earliest residents of Penetang, died at her home. * * * Miss Hilda McDonald was appointed the superintendent of the Penetang hospital. Her duties were to commence June 1. Mrs. Mac Donnelly, the superintendent of the nursing school, remained in charge until Miss McDonald took over her duties. * * * Captain Robert Dollar, closely identified with Midland’s early days, died at his home in San Rafael, Cal. He was 88. * * * Midland’s lacrosse team was holding down top spot in the district league, after handing Stayner an 11-6 defeat in Stayner.  * * * Midland council had hit a snag in its public works program. Council held a special session to determine how it would finance the work planned for 1932. The problem was left in the hands of a special committee. *** Bessie Lovering of Coldwater, Elizabeth Ruth Carr Topping, Doris A. Trill and Mable Beatrice Baker, all of Midland, formed the graduating class of St. Andrews Hospital School of Nursing. Graduation exercises were held in the YMCA. * * * In a Georgian Bay League fixture, a ball team from  Penetanguishene defeated a Midland YMCA aggregation 17 to 11.
  • Last week at a dinner attended by 325 persons, the management and 150 employees of Ernst Leitz Canada celebrated their fifth birthday in Midland. It was a happy occasion and an important one. In the past five years, Leitz Canada has not only made a major contribution to the up-building of the economy of North Simcoe but has become a by-word all across this nation and throughout the United States for top quality precision optical instruments. The reputation which was once enjoyed exclusively by the parent plant at Wetzlar has now been acquired in no small part by the Midland factory.
  • Preparations for what Pete Pettersen is sure will be the biggest summer ski meet in the world are swinging into high gear. The three-day civic holiday event, which will feature top jumpers from Canada, the United States and Europe could draw as many as 50,000 people to Midland from August 3 to 5, Pete said Monday.
  • Penetang tennis enthusiasts will concentrate on junior membership during this season, says Ted Light, newly named president of the Tennis Club. Miss Helen Dubeau is secretary-treasurer.

Huronia Museum – Looking Back 60 Years Ago in North Simcoe – April 16th to 23rd 1957

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Click on Photos to EnlargeAlmut Bezner of Midland is feeding a sardine h’odoeuvre to Lieut. George Wakeford of Owen Sound at a dance held at the Midland Armoury by the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Saturday night. Public relations officer for the regiment Lieut. Wakeford and other officers from Owen Sound are growing beards for a centenary to be held in that city. 

 Mayors of Midland and Penetang were among the guests of the Grey and Simcoe Foresters at a regimental dinner and dance at the Midland Armory Saturday night. Mayor A. B. Thompson, Penetang; Major and Mrs. D. W. Syer, Owen Sound; Col. And Mrs. D. B. McKee, Owen Sound; Mayor Charles Parker, Midland. In the rear, Capt. J. S. Corcoran, Midland and Major Jack Symons, Penetang. 

 In Midland over the weekend for their annual conference, officers of the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Regiment are seen in this group picture taken beside the armory. Some of the “top brass” are seen seated in the front row; Lieut. George A. Wakeford, Owen Sound; Capt. Dave Witiw, Dundas; Capt. J. S. Corcoran, Midland; Lieut-Col. D. Fearman, Dundas; Col. G. A. Henderson, 17 Militia Group Commander, Hamilton; Lieut. Col. W. A. Prast, officer commanding Grey and Simcoe’s, Owen Sound; Liet.-Col. J. Westhead, Toronto; Major, A. Caldwell, Oakville; Major Jack Symons, Penetang; Major J. Crutcher, Orillia. Regiment has units in Orillia, Meaford, Owen Sound, Durham, Collingwood, Barrie, Parry Sound and Midland. 

 Captain Edwin Jardine is the first Midland skipper to win the top hat in his home port in many years. He gladly surrendered the top hat for a certificate for a modern top piece after docking the Ashcroft at the Tiffin elevator Monday afternoon. R. J. Moffatt, secretary – manager of the Midland Chamber of Commerce, J. G. Hendrickson, CSL manager in Midland, Capt. and Mrs. Jardine and mayor Charles Parker. 

 Future citizens in training. First Midland (St. Mark’s Anglican Church) Cub Pack with Cub Master Ray Worrell in the back. South Georgian Bay Boy Scouts Association has asked local municipal councils for financial support. (No names are given for this photo) (Our scarves “neckers” were red and blue) 

This Red Tamworth sow gave birth to a litter of twenty piglets on the farm of Jack Toole, R.R. 2 Midland, a couple of weeks ago. All but five survived, one with the help of a baby bottle. Farm officials say the national average is eight pigs in a litter and anything over a dozen is unusual. Her last effort was fourteen. 

Baseball is in the air in Midland again, first organizational meeting held at the YMCA Thursday. Larry Greene, Buzz Deschamp, Joe Faragher, Jack Hendrickson, Murray Yorke, John Power and Harold Jackson. 

 Members of the agricultural science class at MPDHS show off the last of the chicks reared in their incubator. Joanne VanderVoort, Carol VanLuven and Priscilla Quesnelle have observed over 1,000 eggs through the various stages of development. 

  • Due to Good Friday on the 19th the County Herald was not published this week.
  • Free Press Headline, Wednesday, April 14th; “Quartet on Spring Hunt 14 Year Old Youth Shot” A 14-year-old Victoria Harbour lad narrowly missed being instantly killed in the first hunting accident of the 1957 season, Monday afternoon. In St. Andrew’s Hospital, Midland, is Robert LaChappelle son of Mr. and Mrs. Fabian LaChappelle, Victoria Harbour. Robert was hit in the face by a bullet accidentally discharged from a .22 calibre rifle. The bullet struck the lad in the right cheek, finally lodging near his ear.
  • “Ask Six Municipalities To Share In Hospital Obligation, Town Shoulders Major Load” Midland taxpayers and private contributors underwrote nearly 90 percent of the $455,000 which had to be raised outside of government grants to build the new St. Andrews Hospital. “This is at least one-third in excess of our community share,” board chairman R. J. Pinchin told the annual meeting at the YMCA Monday night. “Accordingly, steps are being taken to establish the financial obligations of the municipalities whose citizens are enjoying the benefits of the facilities at St. Andrews.”
  • Boys and girls committee of Midland Y’s Men’s Club is busy completing plans for this year’s monster Easter egg hunt in Midland’s Little Lake Park. The hunt is to get under way Saturday morning at 10.30 a.m. A new twist is to be added to the hunt this year. “Treasure” disks are to be dropped by a Georgian Bay Airways plane. In previous years they were hidden by club members.
  • New Penetang hospital is too small? Dr. R. Lauzon, president of the medical staff, said the doctors required a second “gas” machine for use in the minor operating room. He explained it was impossible under the present set-up to carry on two operations at the same time unless ether was used as an anaesthetic. When he had submitted the request, the superintendent, Sister Mary Camelia, asked where they would put the patients if operations were being performed simultaneously. She intimated the staff was being hard-pressed at the moment to find sufficient beds, and that a point had been reached where, on occasion, it had been found necessary to delay operations until beds were available.
  • Nearly 500 Midland and district citizens accepted an invitation to stroll through the greenhouses and main store of Perrin’s Flower Shop Sunday afternoon. The event was sponsored by Midland ‘Y’ Auxiliary. Most of those present were making their first visit inside the five large sections of greenhouses located behind the store. Visitors entered through the King Street doors where they were greeted by an array of cut flowers in tall standards. Live ducklings added to the effectiveness of the display.
  • TEN YEARS AGO THIS WEEK; Midland took its first step toward the establishment of a local museum when council accepted as a gift the Edgehill residence and surrounding parkland, from the estate of the late Mrs. James Playfair. Among the suggested names for the museum were Midland Museum, Playfair Museum and Huronia House. (Huronia House was selected)* * * Dry forces won out in a Coldwater vote for beer stores, for the second time. The first vote was in 1912. One woman, Mrs. R. Sheppard, travelled all the way from Chicago to cast her ballot. * * * An early morning fire destroyed the Stewart Taxi Co. on Hugel Avenue. Nearly 500 citizens were awakened about 5 a.m. to ringing telephones. Fusing of a telephone cable in front of the burning frame building was the cause. * * * Midland’s unpaid taxes of $180,000 dating from the time the town went bankrupt in 1934, had been reduced to $35,098.60 by the end of 1946. * * * Ships had left Midland and Port McNicoll harbors and were slowly making progress toward Giant’s Tomb and open water. * * * Scholarship winners, at the 1947 Midland Y’s Men’s Music Festival were Ronald Atkinson and Donald Stevens, Midland, George Renton, Waubaushene; Georgina White, Big Chute; Jean Prentice,  Victoria Harbour; and Greta Pearson, Midland. The youngest competitor in the festival was 4-year-old Lois Cowan. She placed second in the six years and under piano solo class, although she had been playing only three months.
  • Province applies a .20 cent per gallon tax on diesel fuel used in transportation as of April 1st. This does not apply to heating oil.
  • The first ship to reach bay ports this season was the CSL steamship T. R. McLagan, which docked at the CPR elevator in Port McNicoll at 11.10 a.m. Monday after what her skipper termed “the worst spring trip I’ve ever seen in my 51 years”. Capt. Alex Wilson of Sarnia, commodore of the CSL fleet, predicted two more weeks will hardly make an impression on the heavy ice the McLagan battled from Port Arthur. His ship left the lakehead April 11 and with the help of no less than four icebreakers made Sault Ste. Marie Sunday. It is expected to take only 15 hours to unload the 650,000 bushels of wheat.
  • Midland’s population now stands at 8,250 and shows an increase of more than 1,000 since 1951 according to the 1956 census. Penetang gained 471 new citizens, bringing its present total to 5,420. Barrie easily retained its lead over Orillia as the largest town in the county, with a population of 16,851. New figures for other North Simcoe municipalities, with the 1951 figure in brackets, are Victoria Harbour 1,012 (953); Port McNicoll 932 (884); Elmvale 897 (808); Coldwater 693 (583). Tiny Township proved to be the most heavily populated North Simcoe township, although its 4,011 figure represents an increase of only 101 from the last census. Figures for other district townships are Tay, 3,105 (2,793); Medonte, 2,388 (2,201); Matchedash, 365 (397); Flos, 2,315 (2,020). Simcoe County’s population rose from 106,482 in 1951 to a present high, of 127,016. There are 1,146 more males than females in the county.
  • S. S. South American will call at Midland on an excursion run June 19, Midland Harbourmaster Dave Hewis told this newspaper. Mr. Hewis said the big cruise ship would arrive on an excursion run sponsored by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. She is scheduled to arrive at Midland 8 a.m. June 19 and leave at 11.30 a.m.
  • Want Ads –  BARBARA ANN Beauty Salon, 248 King St., above Jory’s Drug Store; specializing in all lines of beauty culture. Barbara Bell, proprietor. For appointments phone LA. 6-5591.      * * *  MAJOR HAIRDRESSING! Gertrude Major, Prop., 215 King St., phone L A . 6-6242, Midland.  * * * BRICK AND BLOCK Work. Chimneys built and repaired. Phone LA. 6-2464, Earl Black, 286 Queen St., Midland. * * * FOR DECORATING, painting, or paper hanging, samples and estimates free. Earl Asselin, phone 21J, Victoria Harbour 6 to 7 p.m.