Each week, the Gazette looks back on stories from the past. Here is what happened this week, by year…
1938
– Cora Colden, the cemetery manager at Glenwood, was thought to be the only woman in her position in Canada and possibly North America. Colden succeeded her father Robert J. Dorland in 1910 and was credited for her work over 28 years to make Glenwood a beautiful burial area.
– Picton council received petitions from several groups, including the Women’s Christian Temperance Union to require local beverage rooms closed at 10 p.m. nightly. Councillors did not know whether such a request fell within their jurisdiction.
– Picton’s public utilities commission gave council the authority to use water from hydrants to wash streets once or twice weekly with no charge for the use of the water.
1948
– About 400 people gathered at the Picton Legion for a welcoming ceremony for new residents from the Netherlands, totalling about 200. Every new immigrant family in the county was represented at the evening of fellowship, speeches and song.
– Rednersville’s Charles Crow was rescued by co-workers after being partially buried underneath a load of coal at a Belleville warehouse. He was rushed to hospital by ambulance with non-serious injuries.
– Police were investigating the disappearance of a $400 Dalmatian puppy, owned by a 10-year-old Picton resident. The dog was allowed out of the car while waiting for a train on Bay Bridge Road. It was thought another motorist took the dog.
1978
– The Canada Day holiday weekend proved to be tragic in Prince Edward County. A young girl and an elderly woman were trapped on the upper floor of Ameliasburgh’s historic Roblin Homestead as fire spread. Also that weekend, two women were killed in a head-on crash on Hwy 14 three miles south of Belleville.
– Upon securing land at Prince Edward Point for a bird sanctuary, the Canadian Wildlife Service confirmed that it would honour and extend leases for commercial fishermen to continue operating in the area.
– The owner of a 36-foot fishing vessel that sunk off Main Duck Island mysteriously in 1977 salvaged the boat and blamed its engine failure on a faulty water intake line.
1998
– A facilitator reporting to Minister of Transportation Tony Clement advocated for a private Island Transportation Corporation to control all ferries in the region, including at the Glenora crossing.Under the plan, the company could raise money by charging fares, selling ads, and starting concessions.
– Provincial Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty planned to attend a barbecue on Picton’s Main Street to meet prospective voters for the 1999 election. He promised to bring a balanced approach to governance.
– Despite public calls to revisit the County’s animal control contract, Mayor James Taylor said the municipality would honour the deal it made with Apple Valley Animal Shelter through to the end of the year.