Today Victoria Day to most people means a Monday holiday and a display of fireworks. A century ago…
Valuing Our History
Young Toronto flax harvesters ran afoul of the law
Last week’s column described the revival of flax growing in the Arthur area in 1918, when…
Thieves went on a break-in spree in Elora in 1920
ELORA – Hallowe’en night was long established as a time for mischief and petty crime in…
Young West Garafraxa man died in gravel pit accident in 1924
Today the gravel pit industry is highly regulated, and new pits are licensed only after lengthy…
American Civil War veteran abandoned his first family
John F. Skyring was an early resident of Wellington County, and one of a handful of men from this…
Canadian National Railway suffered a wreck near Palmerston in 1936
Train wrecks have been a popular feature in this column over the years. The largest number were in…
Lewis Ernst of Mount Forest killed in aviation crash in 1929
The first decades of aviation produced a handful of aficionados with something of a daredevil…
Fergus did not emerge as largest centre in Wellington until 1920s
An interesting exercise for those interested in both local history and business history is to…
Ag rep suggested a campaign against jack rabbits in 1931
R.H. Clemens, the first agricultural representative appointed by the province for Wellington…
Lack of railway siding frustrated Fergus’ James Gow
The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who…
Old Elora picture resurfaces
Every historian has suffered the experience of not noticing or overlooking an important document.…
1908 blizzards shut down roads and local rail lines
Ask oldtimers about severe winters in Wellington County, and most will immediately recall the…
Man died after hit in 1868 Mount Forest bar brawl
During the second half of the 1860s, Mount Forest passed through a significant boom phase. In 1865,…
Elora woman left town after two-day charivari
The charivari, or shivaree, as it is usually spelled in southern Ontario, is a social ritual…
Moorefield minister fined for assault on black woman
Two weeks ago this column carried the sad tale of Henry White, a black resident of Peel, who was…