The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who passed away on Feb. 23, 2015.
Some text has been updated to reflect changes since the original publication and any images used may not be the same as those that accompanied the original publication.
June 1929 96 years ago
The cold rainy weather that had frustrated farmers in late May ended in early June.
Farmers struggled to get their planting finished during the first week of June. Hard, compacted soil made cultivation difficult. Some decided to cut back on their crops, planting buckwheat as a summer cover crop.
On June 8, several carloads of worshippers motored from the Moorefield area to Guelph to hear Rev. Charles Gordon of Winnipeg preach. Today he is better known by the pen name Ralph Connor he used for his novels.
In Hollen, a new blacksmith named Cole moved from Stratford to take over Bill Smith’s shop.
Drayton council met on June 10 to consider bids for the paving of Main Street. There were 11 bids using concrete. Brennan Paving of Hamilton submitted the low quote of $43,300. The others ranged up to $72,000. Four firms offered bids using asphalt, ranging from $81,000 to $89,000. The province would pay 50% of the cost, with the balance shared between the village and county. At the last minute, councillors decided that they would like the portion of Wellington Street to the Canadian National Station to be paved as well. Reeve McColgan took the matter to county council’s June session. After a noisy and contentious debate, the county agreed to share in the cost.
Work on the other big paving project in the area, Highway 9 from Harriston to Teviotdale, got underway in late June.
Drayton’s Hydro Electric commission had good news for customers in June. The rates would be falling to 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 50kwh and 1.5 cents for the remainder. The minimum bill would be $1.11 per month. As well, due to a large surplus, customers would receive a 20% refund of the payments for their 1928 consumption.
The garden party season began in late June and continued into July, a couple of weeks later than would be the case a generation later. First in the area was the one at Hollen on June 21. Featured entertainers were the Melody Boys, a popular radio act from Hamilton.
Moorefield’s United Church Ladies Aid held their party on June 27, with the Listowel Concert Company providing music. The Drayton United Church held the largest that season, on the grounds of the agricultural society, on July 4. The Drayton Orchestra, with several guest vocalists, provided the entertainment. The Glen Allan Strawberry Festival ended the season on July 10, with music by the Grimes Radio Quartette from Kitchener.
Bridge projects occupied the attention of township councillors in 1929. On June 10, Peel approved contracts for abutment and approach work on three bridges. They also purchased two large steel culverts from Canada Ingot Iron (Armco) in Guelph for $152.
Maryborough councillors met June 17 to deal with-two large projects. John Tilker snared the contracts for new bridges at Stirton ($6,800) and Hollen ($4,000). As well, there was a pile of bills related to repairs and maintenance on the township’s gravel crusher, which was proving to be a more expensive investment than councillors had predicted.
The big event of the month was an appearance at the Palmerston arena by R.B. Bennett, leader of the Conservative Party, on June 20.
Mackenzie King’s government still had almost two years in its mandate, but election fever was already growing. The day turned out to be a hot one, and Bennett arrived somewhat wilted after an afternoon appearance in Wingham. Evening breezes did little to cool the packed arena. Wellington North MP Dune Sinclair opened the evening and Mrs. Howard Fallis of Peterborough followed him, arguing for a protective tariff to aid Canadian agriculture. Sinclair’s daughter spoke next, urging Canadian women to take a larger place in politics. She urged women in the audience to “read Canadian newspapers and magazines, discarding American trash.” The main speech by R.B. Bennett, a skilled orator when he put his mind to it, dwelt on the tariff. He proposed higher tariffs to defend Canadian manufacturing and agriculture. He believed the Dominion should try to be as self-sufficient as possible: “economic dependence means slavery,” he told the crowd. Bennett won the election, but it did not come for another year.
An old Drayton boy achieved distinction: R.A. Sticker, a salesman for International Business Machines, was named the top salesman in Canada by his employer.
Drayton Public School closed for the summer on June 14, but most of the rural schools continued classes for another month before releasing the pupils for their vacation. At Alma, the school year ended with an assembly and a program put together by the junior class. The highlight was a presentation to Lottie Ballard, teacher in the senior room, who was leaving Alma after four years. Her students gave her a fountain pen and box of fancy stationery.
June 1954 71 years ago
Peel council met June 1, 1954 with reeve W.A. Walker in the chair. The chief item of business was a set of bylaws to redefine several school sections. Councillors decided to take no action on a petition from some residents of S.S. 5, who wanted a new school section to be created. The clerk submitted the bylaws to the Department of Education for final approval.
The first fire in more than a year struck Drayton on June 2, Roy Lambert’s Garage was the victim, along with Doug Schieck’s machine shop, which had only been in business two days. Palmerston’s firefighters assisted the local crew in dousing the building with water pumped from the nearby river, but they failed to save the building. Oil and fuel caused several small explosions, and flaming embers threatened other buildings in downtown Drayton for a time. The structure had once been the electrical plant for Drayton, and later was the home of Bill Richard’s Garage and Ford Dealership.
Ed Siegman reported that he had tuned in to a television broadcast from Amarillo, Texas. The first owner of a television in Drayton in 1951, he made a hobby of seeking out distant stations when the reception conditions were agreeable. About a dozen people in Drayton owned television receivers in June 1954. Most preferred the new stations in Hamilton and Kitchener that had commenced broadcasting earlier in the year.
Clarence Adam, billed as “Canada’s Leading Fiddler,” appeared at Rothsay’s Community Hall for a concert and dance on June 10. With him were the Rhythm Rangers, Vera the Little Sweetheart, and Stan the Balladeer. Admission was a mere 50 cents.
Drayton United Church scheduled its annual anniversary services for June 13. Rev. Wray Mather of Palmerston came down to preach the sermons, and a guest tenor and contralto augmented the choir for the services at 11am and 7:30pm.
The strawberry festival and garden party season began mid-June, with an event somewhere in the area almost every night. First on the schedule was the Glen Allan United Church strawberry festival, with a supper of ham, salads and of course, strawberries and cake. Vince Mountford, the Brampton-based broadcaster and entertainer, put together a variety show for the occasion. The following evening, a sudden rainstorm drove the Moorefield United Church garden party indoors. It was originally scheduled for the lawn at Moorefield Park. The event featured a full dinner, with entertainment by the church choir.
Lebanon United Church followed with its garden party on June 23, featuring music by the Struthers Family. On June 25 it was Rothsay’s turn, with a garden party staged by St. James United Church.
The biggest of them all, the Alma Garden Party, staged by the United Church Young People, fell on June 29. Vince Mountford returned to the area, with his troupe from Brampton, the Flowertown Entertainers, providing a variety show. Mountford was well known in the area through his radio broadcasts, and his role as master of ceremonies at the Shelburne Old Time Fiddlers Contest.
Percy Trussler, the Allis-Chalmers dealer at Drayton, sponsored a meeting to discuss the latest haymaking techniques, using new models of A-C balers and forage harvesters. About 60 farmers attended.
Maryborough council continued to be unhappy about the new dam to be built on the Conestogo River. Reeve Phil Rowland received some sympathy at county council when his colleagues agreed to look at the fate of county roads that would be severed by the reservoir, and to find alternate routes for the roads.
John Sullivan, who had served as teacher at the Parker school for seven years, accepted a new position at the Alma public school. At a farewell ceremony, his students presented him with several gifts, including a lighter and his favourite brand of cigarettes.
*This column was originally published in the Drayton Community News on June 11 and 25, 2004.
