Guelph police and the jail officials took no chances when they had Frenchie Bedard back in their custody.
Thorning Revisited
Guelph jail break in 1921 a bad idea for three men
Back in the summer of 1921 three young men got to know one another as inmates at the Ontario Reformatory on the east end of Guelph.
Crime, violence common in Elora during 1860s
Over the years I have been in the habit of making notes on criminal activity in Elora that I come across while researching other subjects.
Mount Forest’s War Memorial unveiled in 1928
During the 1920s, Wellington County’s communities varied in their approach to the concept of a war memorial. Some charged full speed ahead with the project.
Mimosa was important hamlet in Erin Township
Mimosa is one of the 40 or 50 old hamlets in Wellington County that, were it not for signs on the road and dots on old maps, would exist only in the memories of a few oldtimers and local historians.
Hugh Templin versus Wellington County council
Celebratory events are already in the schedule for 2004 to mark Wellington County’s 150th anniversary.
Old-time Halloween nights were sometimes rowdy
The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who…
Buddhist missionary came to Guelph in 1896
The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who passed away on Feb. 23, 2015.
News from the Mapleton Township area from 1877, 1933
The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who…
Jackrabbits plagued Wellington County in 1930s
During the 20th century, naturalists learned that it is a foolish and dangerous idea to introduce species of plants and animals to areas where they are not native.
Diary shows childhood illness was common in 1890s
The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who…
Elora boy’s diary describes 1895 trip to Chicago
The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who passed away on Feb. 23, 2015.
Boy’s diary from 1890s provides portrait of small-town life
A couple of weeks ago, Elysia DeLaurentis at the Wellington County Museum and Archives showed me a recent donation to the collection. It is a diary kept by a schoolboy in Elora during the 1890s.
Kenilworth enjoyed bustling economy starting in 1890s
Last week’s column dealt with some of the early history of Kenilworth, and the failure of Elora speculators to turn a profit on their projected townsite.
Slick Elora operators lost shirts in attempt to sell Kenilworth
While researching the branch banking boom in Wellington County, I began to wonder whether those branches operating in the smaller hamlets had much real impact on their communities.