This week in…

1923: “Bloomfield has new library: Everybody is asked to come and inspect the Bloomfield Library, Wednesday afternoon, and incidentally to patronize the tea and sale of home cooking given in its interest. You know from experience there will be wholesome and delicious bread, rolls, cakes, pastry, candies and tempting eats to suit every taste.”

–“Mr. Everett Scott’s motor bus is now ornamented with a fresh coat of white paint, giving it a very striking appearance. ‘Scotty’ is always in the forefront with the latest in auto bus styles and his patrons will now have no difficulty in locating the ‘White’ Picton-Belleville bus.”

–“A new fountain has this week been erected at Monument Park.”

1943: News Editor Phillip Dodds writes an editorial commemorating the County’s lost soldiers: “In this County of Prince Edward we are as one great family. Though perhaps not knowing each other personally, we are bound by common ties which make us kin. Through the medium of the Press we have become familiar with family names; interested in their progress and welfare; rejoicing on occasion, sorrowing on others. It is this spirit of neigborliness that has made us proud to be called a Prince Edwarder. Today, sadness has come to many homes. And because of the spirit which binds us, we too mourn.” To read the complete column, Click here.

1983: Ron Mackenzie of Kingston spent a harrowing night tacking his 30-foot sailboat between Point Traverse and Timber Island before waves finally pounded him ashore and lodged his mast in a tree near the entrance to the harbor in the early morning hours last Friday. There were eight boats caught in the storm. Four were guided into the harbor at Point Traverse, where local residents set up lights at the entrance and guided the sailors in by radio. Mackenzie attempted to ride out the storm: “the wind was over 40 knots. The boat was taking on water and getting sluggish. My gas tanks had overturned. I was just waiting for daylight.”

2003: –“The largest blackout in North American history may have caused havoc in large cities but here in Prince Edward County the event was more of an inconvenience than an emergency. Residents lost power at roughly 4:10 p.m. with the lights coming back on just before 9:30 p.m. While both Belleville and Quinte West fire officials had to respond to people being trapped in elevators, there were no such incidents here in the County. In fact, as Fire Chief George Pettingill said, there was nothing what-so-ever here.”

–Local accommodation businesses report a 40 per cent decrease in tourism this year. Likely causes are the US war on Iraq, the low Euro, and SARS.