Each week, the Gazette looks back on stories from the past. Here is what happened this week, by year…
1938
– Police chief Burt Biddle noticed a car being driven erratically westward from Picton at about 1 a.m. Fearing the driver was inebriated, he gave chase. The car overturned and was wrecked, yet the driver got away. It was later discovered the car was stolen. It belonged to a Bloomfield man who had left it parked in Picton.
– Cherry Valley men Carmen Weldon and Lloyd Bulpitt reached shore safely after a harrowing two-hour swim after their rowboat was overturned on a rough East Lake. Winds carried them to the eastern shore.
– Members of the public were clamouring for improved service at the Glenora ferry crossing. Often on weekends, more than 20 cars were seen waiting for the six-car ferry.
1948
– Rev. Peter B. Reid oversaw a ceremony to lay the cornerstone at a new St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, replacing the old one destroyed by fire in 1947. Reid expected the new $30,000 building would be complete in time for Christmas celebration.
– The Calvary Baptist Church was also building a house of worship on the corner of King Street and Downes Avenue. The basement was completed and the walls were to go up shortly after that.
– Four Belleville men were arrested after attempting to steal gasoline from Bloomfield’s White Rose service station. One of the men fled the scene and did not stop even as a police officer fired four bullets into the air to try to scare him.
1978
– Picton’s Glen H olm played the hero while fishing on the banks of the Trenton River as he pulled a four-year-old girl out of the water. The 13-year-old jumped into the river fully clothed and guided her away from the strong current back to the shore.
– Prince Edward County was searching for a new museum director after 25-year-old Arlene Alyea informed the municipality she wished to continue her studies in the fall. Alyea, a Hillier native, had accepted the position in April 1977
– Ameliasburgh Township deputy reeve Paul Boyd announced his plans to seek the reeveship in the December municipal election, then run to be Prince Edward County warden during his first year in office.
1998
– The Picton OPP seized more than 280 marijuana plants from an undisclosed location. Const. Greg Richardson said police were continuing their investigation into who was growing the plants, which had an estimated street value of $150,000.
– A 39-year-old man of no fixed address was charged with uttering threats and damaging property after police were called to his estranged wife’s home in Hallowell. The man was said to have entered the home and located a compound bow and arrow. Later, he brought an axe into the home. He was arrested without incident.
– Bloomfield’s Janet Wright, a PECI graduate, was appointed as the Dean of Science at Brandon University in Manitoba.