Each week, the Gazette looks back on stories from the past. Here is what happened this week, by year…

1937

-Some 200 men worked on the installation of a new power line from Trenton to Picton. The men had put up 28 miles of lines in two Sundays and expected to complete the $25,000 project that week. The heavy-duty lines were expected to supply the county’s needs for generations.

– Picton council scheduled a private meeting with its two regular police constables and two special constables to discuss policing the town. The special constables were hired at a rate of $3 per night in hopes they’d deter robberies.

– Councillors instructed police to turn the lights on the town clock off during the day time, a move that was expected to save Picton taxpayers over $36 a year.

1957

– Clarence A. Jones pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of his wife. The Crown pursued murder charges, but Judge Wells told the jury evidence pointed to Jones being drunk at the time and the Crown was unable to prove intent. The jury accepted the manslaughter plea and Wells sentenced Jones to 11 years in prison.

– Following an inspection of County buildings, a grand jury found 16 outdated heating units in the County Gaol posed a fire hazard. Another recommendation called for identification plates to be installed on Shire Hall office doors.

– No Santa Claus parade was scheduled in Picton, but it was hoped the jolly elf could visit children at the Armouries.

1977

– Toronto author Hugh Cochrane was researching the mysterious Marysburgh Triangle where almost two-thirds of ships lost on Lake Ontario sank or vanished. Strange occurrences also happened to airplanes flying over the area. Cochrane was also interested in documenting local UFO sightings.

– Two fatal accidents took place within a week on roads near Picton. Peter Zaban, 18, was killed instantly when his motorcycle collided with a half-ton truck. Robert Beek, 52, lost control of his car and hit a signpost on County Rd. 10 and was thrown from the vehicle.
– Some 324 graduates would be recognized at PECI’s annual commencement ceremony, 71 graduated from Grade 13.

1997

– The Ontario Hospital Association released a study showing there was little benefit, financially or in services gained, to restructure the province’s 89 small, rural hospitals noting many had already made necessary changes to run in the black.

– Farmers involved with the South Prince Edward Food Grains Project watched as 10 acres of corn were harvested in South Marysburgh to support the Canada Foodgrains Bank. It was the second year for the project, which raised $17,000 in Year 1.

-Justice James MacPherson denied the government’s call for an injunction to force teachers back to work after one week of strike action over the proposed Bill 160. The two sides were to meet that Monday.