Over the years I have outlined the lives and careers of Wellington County natives who moved…
Valuing Our History
Coroner’s inquest investigated deaths in 1949 Mount Forest fire
Last week’s column described the fires in the house of George White of Mount Forest on Jan.…
Salem man concocted tale of kidnap and robbery
After Sem Wissler, James Gladstone ranks as the second most significant businessman in…
Guelph accountant shot three members of his family
Last week’s column described the background of William H. Harvey, an…
Conestogo Dam was ready to handle 1958 spring thaw
Last week’s column carried the story of the construction of the Conestogo Dam up to the end…
Four new churches were dedicated in early 1864
The period from roughly 1860 to 1875 marked a flurry of church construction in Wellington,…
Maltreatment of immigrant child caused sensation in 1876
From the 1870s until well into the 20th century, several organizations sent orphaned and destitute…
Two week encampment for 30th was training, relaxation
A major institution in the period between 1860 and World War I in Ontario was the volunteer…
Bootleggers faced heavy fines and jail in early 20th century
Illegal sales of beer and distilled liquor in Wellington are as old as the first settlements…
Harriston and Mount Forest post offices opened in 1912
This week’s column concludes the series on four Wellington County post offices built in…
Tornado cut a 60-mile swath through Wellington in 1908
Most people do not regard Wellington as a tornado-prone zone, but this county has experienced…
Planning for new Fergus Beatty plant began 100 years ago
The Beatty Brothers firm of Fergus was, by a large margin, the largest 20th century…
Canadas Emergency Measures Organization
One of the products of the Cold War of the 1950s was the creation of Canada’s Emergency…
Two-ring circus appeared in Mount Forest in 1887
Circuses were occasional visitors, but by no means frequent ones, to Wellington County in the…
Beatty Bros. company installed fire fighting system in 1935
No business in Wellington County dominated a town to the extent that the Beatty Bros. Company…