YESTERDAY'S MEWS TODAY

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ZION SCHOOLHOUSE BURNS

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MARMORA HERALD JULY 28, 1971

Zion schoolhouse, a Marmora Township landmark since it was built In 1913 (ed. 1903?)  and now the summer home of Mr. and MS. Grenville Lunau of Toronto, was struck by  lightning during a violent electrical storm about 3:00 o'clock Monday afternoon, and completely destroyed by the ensuing fire.

The smoke was first noticed by Jim Young, Doug Carman, and Don Tompkins who were working on the new home of Mr.  and Mrs. Dalton Vilneff, a quarter of a mile away. Mr. Young went to investigate then hurriedly returned for the other two men and they removed the oil tank. They also rescued the family's dog which had been shut in while Mr.  and Mrs. Lunau and their two sons were in Belleville for the day. With the help of Morris VainVoikenburg, who was driving by with his wife, the men managed to save some furniture.

 Mrs. Dalton Vilneflf tried to phone for  the Fire Department from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Hedley but their phone was out of order due  to the storm and  Mrs. Vilneif was forced to drive a mile to the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Snider.

Marmora's Voluntary Fire Department responded to the call at 4:05 and fought the blaze until their water supply ran out They were able to refill the tank at a nearby stream but the fire was too well advanced and finally they concentrated on keeping the oil tank from exploding.. The flames and smoke rose to a great height and the heat could be felt across the road.

Mr. and Mrs. Lunau purchased  the old schoolhouse five years ago and had made extensive renovations to the interior, intending to retire there in future. In the meantime,  the family spent holidays and. weekends there and were enjoying a week's vacation when the fire took place..

The house and contents were only partially covered by insurance and represent a: great loss to Mr. and Mrs. Lunau  who collect and restore antiques for sale. They also lost clothing and a minibike belonging to one of their sons.

For the complete details on our schools,  click here.

zION SCHOOL 1903  Ella Faulkner -teacher - Clayton Curtis, J. Wright, W.Sharp, Mabel Bailey,  Hazel McMullen,  Clifford Chard, Myrtle Sharp, Elda Janson, Evelyn Eggleton, Flossie Bailey, Martha Pounder, Percy MacMullen, Iva Maybee, Claude Scott,  Selbourne Sharp, Edith Curtis,  Ella Cummings, Vera Sharp,  Meryl Cummings, Liza Sharp, Myrtle MacMullen, Twins Ida and Ila Sharp, Melville and Melbourne Sharpe,  Percy Lawrence, L. Rupert, Serge Johnson, Roy Scott,   B. Sharp, Clifford Maybee,  Floyd Garrison,  Ernst Curtis, Clarence Maybee

1956 Male Beauty Pageant?

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Not exactly,  but all these men  do have something in common.  They were all professional wrestlers who performed  in  the Marmora arena in 1956,  sponsored by the Marmora-Deloro Kiwanis Club!  

Abe_Zvonkin    NYC and Hamilton

Bill Stack The Pride of Bowmanville

Don Curtis  & Mark Lewin Jacksonville Fl.

Don Curtis  & Mark Lewin Jacksonville Fl.

Karl von Schober  of Minnesota

PatOConnor, New Zealand

PatOConnor, New Zealand

 

                                  For more on Marmora Sports,  click here.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO........

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On Jan. 18,  1917,  the Marmora Herald wrote a two liner  regarding the great opportunity of obtaining  cheap  grain for feed,  almost as if embarrassed of the circumstances that lay behind the true story.

"A number of the farmers in the vicinity are taking advantage of the opportunity to get a number of carloads of cheap grain from the Quaker Oats Plant at Peterborough,  which was destroyed by fire some time ago.  Some of the grain makes excellent feed."

The "fire" referred to was a devastating explosion and the worst in Peterborough's history,  only five weeks  previous on Dec. 11, 2016.

"A massive explosion and resulting fire levels the Quaker Oats plant in Peterborough, Ontario. In the wake of the disaster, 22 workers are dead—two more would later die as a result of their injuries—with the total damage set at a then unfathomable $2,250,000, not including an estimated $225,000 damage to neighbouring structures. "  

According to Gordon  Young, who wrote the book, 'A Dark Day In Peterborough: A Time To Remember December 11, 1916,     the blaze was "monumental" in the city's history. It put about 500 people out of work who had been busy on three eight-hour shifts daily making food to feed the First World War effort overseas, thanks to a variety of contracts the company held.

The fire is believed to have broken out in Building 11 before spreading to the boiler room, causing an explosion so massive blocks from the structure were thrown across the river. It burned for four days and when it was put out, most of the factory was in ruins.

For an excellent video visit    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpfqLqELbnw

PS    If you see a resemblance in the architectural styling for these buildings to those of the General Electric Factory , you would be correct. The early 20th century architect for both factory complexes was George Martel Miller, a prolific architectural craftsman. Miller was born in Port Hope in 1855, started working as an architect in 1880 in Toronto, and before he died in 1933 had numerous high profile residential, ecclesiastical, industrial, institutional, and commercial works under his belt, including the Lillian Massey Building,  Toronto's Gladstone Hotel,  Wycliffe College, and the iconic Massey Music Hall in Toronto.  Closer to home,  his work including the Hastings County House of Refuge,  the Tweed Methodist Church,  and some mansions in Belleville. 

 

 

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE - CRIME IN 1916

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When reading old newspapers,  you might find the language to be over-flowery and the fashion ads may seem amusing,  but one thing that does not change is the reference to crime.  Fraud,  assault,  embezzelment,  break and enter,  theft,   and even murder are a common thread throughout the  decades of the  old crumbling publications.

The 1914 Herald mentions the crime of three young ladies "corrupting our youths"  in a house of ill-repute  they kept together.  1915 saw offenders of the "forbidden list" making reference to alcohol.

During WW1,  in 1916, a very unpatriotic crime of fraud was committed by a young lady at the Marmora Fair (see right),   while 1917 saw drug related charges and even a charge of family desertion.

Fraudulent cheques, arson,  shoot ups, a grave robbery  and even a tar and feathering.    Marmora has seen it all.

But perhaps one of the most colourful characters of wayward activity was Isaac Sellyeh,  known and appreciated for his skill of escape,  not just from the hands of the law in Marmora,  but from the Peterborough jail and that of Kingston.

Read more about Isaac's shenanigans.  CLICK HERE and  scroll down to the lower half of the page.

                           You'll also find more on crime if you CLICK HERE

SANDFORD LAWRENCE BAGS FIVE WOLVES FEB. 19, 1925

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While Sandford Lawrence was reputed to be the best woodsman & trapper around,  he was also well respected as a fishing guide well worth the money.  But he was not alone in this endeavour. Also much appreciated by tourists in the area, especially the regular Americans that frequented Crowe Lake were Willie Revoy,  Alphonse Shannon,  Percy Gray Sr., and Percy Cooper.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THESE SUCCESSFUL MARMORA OUTDOORSMEN.

For memories of Sandford Lawrence at Marble Point Lodge,  by Ralph Neal,  just click here.

100 YEARS AGO IN DELORO

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DELORO 1916 FROM THE EAST BANK OF RIVER. NOTE 1882 ARSENIC WORKS CENTRE STILL IN USE. ARSENIC BAG HOUSE ON RIGHT; COBALT OXIDES PLANT ON LEFT

While  documents  indicating mining activity in Deloro can be traced back to 1868 with the Severn Mine (Pearce Mine),  it seems life in Deloro 100 years ago was  an action packed going concern.

1916 saw a change in the name of the company from Deloro Mining and Reduction Company to Deloro Smelting and Refining Company.  By the following year,   the company, supporting the war effort with stellite,   employed 400 men in a series of plants destined to irretrievably pollute the stretch of the Moira River they sat along,  while manufacturing refined silver,  refined arsenic,  Cobalt oxide,  metallic cobalt,  nickel oxide and stellite.

The company was turning into a company town with company houses,  a new school,  an orchestra,  a company bus,  a  company  trading store and even a company thief!

"Extensive building operations are now under way by the Deloro Mining & Reduction Co.   Curran and Clement have a contract for the erection of six double houses,  a store and a new school.  The buildings will be constructed of cement blocks.  The company is also installing a sprinkling system for fire protection." 

Marmora Herald,  June 15, 1916

           FOREIGNER ARRESTED
"A foreigner, who went by the names of Hill and also Lappe, came up before Judge Deroche on Wednesday of last week for stealing a quantity of silver from Deloro Mining & Reduction Company. He was sentenced to the Provincial Reformatory for two years less a day."    February 3, 1916

On February 18, 1916,  the Marmora Herald reported:  

" On Tuesday night the general store at Delora, operated by P.J. Gillen & Son was totally destroyed by fire. The origin of the fire is unknown.

1926 - THE BEGINNING OF FAST FOOD CONTAINERS!

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It was 1926 when Mr. James Marrin proudly advertised his disposable containers for ice cream,  purchased from the "Individual Sanitary Service" Company and sold out of his drug store at 4 Forsyth Street.

The birth of the Dixie Cup!

Individual Sanitary Service, Inc. (I.S.S.), the company from which Individual Food Service developed, was created in 1926 by Morris Supowitz as a specialty janitorial and paper products supplier to doctors’ offices throughout downtown Los Angeles. Several years after its inception, I.S.S. began to carry and distribute a new, revolutionary, disposable product, which later came to be known as the “Dixie cup.” I.S.S.’s forward-thinking came at the cusp of the emergence of a brand new market‚ food service to-go. With the help of his sons, Perrin and David, Morris Supowitz took advantage of this rising new market and began putting all of the company’s efforts into this new endeavor. Supowitz predicted that the company would profit far greater in the food service industry than as a product supplier to doctors and dentists‚ he was correct!

Well,  he got that right!

For more on Mr. Marrin,  and all the history of 4 Forsyth Street, 

 JUST CLICK HERE

THAT'LL TEACH 'EM!

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Marmora Herald - August 19, 1937

Two incidents have occurred during the past week, which have been featured in some of the daily newspapers.

One was the killing of a skunk by Mr. Albert Burridge, while holding a lantern in one hand and a gun in the other. The animal visited his chicken coop about 2 a.m. last Wednesday morning and devoured one spring chicken and was busy on a second when the commotion awakened Mr. Burridge. He hurriedly lighted a lantern and seized his gun and with two shots both of which hit the target, killed the skunk.
Mr. Burridge left the task of disposing of the carcass to his son, who took a labor-saving and effective method of getting rid of it. He poked the dead skunk down a woodchuck's hole and filled the opening with earth. Just what happened to the woodchuck or groundhog is not known, but unless it proved a second victim it likely vacated the premises.

     The other unique event had to do with the fate of a mouse. Mrs. John Gifford, who lives on the Deloro Road, was bothered with mice and set a trap in the pantry. The mouse was caught in the trap, but when Mrs. Gifford heard a disturbance in the pantry and went to investigate, she found a large spotted adder had also got in in some way and seized the mouse by the head and was trying to draw it out of the trap. With the horror of a snake, natural to most women, Mrs. Gifford called her neighbor, Mr. James Murphy, to her assistance. When they entered the pantry the snake was coiled around the trap with the mouse's head still in its mouth.  Mr. Murphy secured a pail of water and succeeded in tumbling snake, trap and mouse into the water. The adder released its hold and was killed by Mr. Murphy. It was found to measure 43 inches in length.

(Added note:  The "adder" referred to was probably the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake, often mistakenly referred to as a Cobra or a Puff Adder, though neither of these venomous species occur in Canada.   The hog-nosed snake is harmless to humans.)

THE MARMORA-CHINA CONNECTION

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"When a butterfly flaps its wings in Japan,  the wind is felt in Marmora"

That's a slight variation on an old proverb,  but for Lem Lung and Lem Jong in Marmora,  and many other Chinese immigrants to this country,  it was more than just a cute expression.   The Japanese invasion of China was a life changing event,  both for those in China and those who chose to emigrate around the world.

Excerpt from Arlene Chan's book

In her book,  "The Chinese in Toronto from 1878:  From Outside to inside the Circle",  Toronto writer, Arlene Chan,  describes the Chinese retreat after the 1937 invasion by the  Japanese.

By this time,  two Chinese restaurateurs,  Lem Lung and his cousin & cook, Lem Jong,  were well established as the "Glossy Cafe"  in the St. James Hotel on the main business section of Marmora.

But according to the Marmora Herald in April of 1938,  the wind of this far-eastern war was felt in Marmora. 

"Four Chinese from Belleville paid a visit to the Glossy Cafe on Sunday.  They are raising funds to provide raincoats and rubber boots for Chinese soldiers in theEast." 

It seems however,  the Glossy Cafe was not so "glossy" after all.  Having moved to Marmora in 1929,  Lem Lung suffered many losses.  In 1936,  he learned his wife,  whom he had left behind in China,  had died before he saw her again.

In 1939 he was a victim of a terrible assault in his own restaurant that left him almost dead.  In 1946,  a gas explosion in his kitchen obliterated his business and George Aunger's Meat market next door,  and damage was reported to the apartments upstairs and other businesses in the building.

That year   Lem had had enough,  had sold his business to another relative, Lem Sam,  and returned to China.  Luckily for Lem Sam,  he moved his business (which we believe included a laundry business)  to a building behind the library,  for in 1952,  the St. James hotel sufferedits third terrible fire,  at which time it lost its peak roof.

(Photo - Lem Lung and Lem Sam with William Cottrell and Casha Boyd)

 

 

REEVE SHANNON HAD VISIONS OF SWANS.

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Knowing the Marmoraton Mine would close one day,  Reeve Shannon,  in 1972,  saw tourism as the economic hope of the village.  His council purchased the land that would become the Memorial Park,  and dreamed of a beautiful tourist destination.  While he had such a progressive idea,  he never saw the final result.  It was the Lions Club,  years later,  that made the beautiful park we have today..........and the swans arrived naturally.

1972

Feb 9, 2010                   Voice:  The late Bob Gapes

BILLY BONTER A HERO

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Pulls 4 From Lake in Dark - Two Just About Done

Toronto Star,  June 6, 1950
Four Toronto men saved from possible drowning in Crowe Lake May 24, today regard 17 year old Bill Bonter as Ontario's unsung hero of 1950.

There has been no recognition of young Bonter's heroism, they say. The youth, in a 16 foot, round bottom skiff, located the four in the darkness as they clung, exhausted,  in their over- turnedpunt, and he hauled each one of safety. The four are Bud Eldridge, 28, and his brother, Cameron, 18, Norman North, 19, and Stan Carneigle, 23.

Late on the holiday afternoon the four men rented a punt and an outboard motor from Bill Bonter's father. They headed out into the lake to fish. About nine p.m. Bonter returned from a trip up the lake and tied his skiff at his father's summer resort wharf.
"When I heard them hollering and yelling out there on the lake" Bonter recalled. "I couldn't distinguish words but they were certainly hollering. They had dad's motor and 1 didn't
want to lose it."

"The water was cold," he said, and they were nearly exhausted. They were clinging to the overturned punt and it kept turning over and over as they tired and put more of their weight on it. Even when it was right side up it was about 99 percent submerged.

One of them couldn't swim, or not swim very well, and none of them felt he could swim well enough to reach shore more than a mile away. All they could do was rest their hands on the
punt. Only the buoyancy of the wood in it kept it up. If they put any weight on it, it would go down.

Bill Bonter said if the lake had not been calm he never would have been able to get the men into his long, narrow skiff. Two were just about done for, he related. They had been trying to swim the boat toward the shore, but it kept flipping over and over.  They were in the water about an hour and a quarter, although they said they had been in for longer than two hours.

"One by one I hoisted them into the skiff. Two of them were pretty heavy fellows. But I got them in. They just sat there in the boat and shivered. They all had their clothes on."
 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT BOATING IN THE OLD DAYS ON CROWE LAKE
 

1930'S BONTER BOAT

MINERS TRAPPED IN CORDOVA MINES

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March 15, 1917 - Another chapter in the checkered history of Cordova Mines was brought to a close when the big mills, No. 1 shaft house and the black- smith shop was totally destroyed by fire last Monday night.
The origin of the fire was a mystery but it started in the' shaft house. The buildings were all of wood and burned with surprising rapidity.
During the past year the old compressed air system had been done away with and a modern electric power system installed. The mine had been in operation only a few weeks and a number of men were at work below ground where the fire started. All but three escaped through another shaft but the three who were cut off were not rescued until noon on Tuesday. The trapped men succeeded in reaching the third level where there was a storehouse for powder and other supplies and were little worse for their experience when rescued.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON MINING IN CORDOVA MINES

Ontario Department of Highways celebrates 100 years.

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May 1917 Marmora Herald

"Mr. Hulin has purchased an auto which will take the place of the horse-drawn stage for carrying mail and passengers between Stirling and Marmora. Those who have occasion to travel between the two places will find the auto a big improvement over the old stage."

The paper also reported that C.N.R. Agent, Ernest Bell and Dr. Crawford were the very first ones in the Marmora area to have motorized cars.)

It was July 1, 1927 when the driver's license was introduced in Ontario.  The Marmora Herald reported on June 2, 1927  

"Every person driving a motor car in Ontario will be required to carry a driver's license after July 1st.  The fee will be $1.00 and the license will be valid until the end of 1928."  

But Ontario was not the first to come up with the idea.  On August 1, 1910, after an increase in motor vehicle accidents,   North America's first licensing law went into effect in the US state of New York. In July 1913, the state of New Jersey became the first to require all drivers to pass a mandatory examination before receiving a license.

In 2017, the Ontario Ministry of Transport,  which started with a staff of 35 in 1916,  was 100 years old.   

"Village councilor Gordon Bennet pushes the button which started the operation of the new traffic lights at the main intersection in Marmora.  Looking on is Les McKeown.  The arrival of the lights was well received by village drivers."

After the #7 Highway was established in 1934,  the building,  which became the TD bank,  was a gas station.  Note the pump and Imperial Oil sign on the right.

Elsie Tandy Logan 1950-52 Shannick, sent to us by Dennis Logan

John Callaghan, son of Thomas Callaghan, married Jean Morgan 1920. (Sent by Lynda Szmyr

Evelyn shaw davidson age 3 sent by Katelyn Marie Whybrew

Mabel Derry and Clare Campion, 1929

Jean Callaghan, wife of Jonh Callaghan sent to us by LYnda Szmyr

samuel davidson, sent by Katelyn Marie Whybrew

samuel wm narrie and daughter-in-law, Naomi Lowery

RON BARRONS WROTE: This is the second car that I can recall my father as owning. It's a 1937 Chev which my father had bought from Chuck Chard. It was of extra length and had two fold down seats attached to the back of the front seats. Chuck used it previously to bus high school students to Havelock.. interesting in this photograph is the hydro pole in the background. That electrical service came to the Vansickle Road in 1949, the year of the photograph. The wires to our farm had not yet been installed. They were installed later that year.

GRUMPY WRITER HAS A FEW WORDS!

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November 21, 1946

One of the most disgraceful displays of inexcusable ignorance among children that it is possible to imagine took place in the Town Hall on Tuesday evening. A free motion picture was presented by the Ontario Department of Education similar to the one presented for the school children in the afternoon and had it not been for the noise and confusion caused by the children it would have been a very enjoyable feature. One film particularly was a travelogue of the St. Lawrence River and was in technicolor showing some very beautiful and interesting scenes along that mighty river. The pictures were clear and the sound was superior to most of the portable machines we have had here but it was impossible to hear any of it for the noise.

Fortunately there were only a few adults in the audience as they would have been as disgusted and as disappointed as the writer. There were about one hundred children, mostly of school age, and they seemed to feel that it was the duty of each one of them to create all the disturbance they could in as many ways as possible, among which were walking around the hall, kicking or shoving the seats, throwing hats or caps or anything else they could get hold of, yelling, whistling and cracking gum.

It is about time the parents of Marmora woke up to the fact that the children are only a reflection of their parents and the home training they are given. If children were taught to be decent and orderly by their parents they would not go to such extremes when they get out in public.

This is not the first time that this condition has prevailed at local entertainments. On the contrary, on different occasions lately it has been necessary to send for the police to keep order in the Hall. Unless something can be done to get away from this nuisance the Hall might as well be shut up as far as entertainments are concerned for no adult will want to go to listen to the uproar that the children of Marmora make at a public entertainment.
"One Who Was There "
 

MARMORA'S RODENT INVASION

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Marmora Herald,  October 1972


Like most of us, the good people of Marmora Village must have got used to the threat of a nuclear holocaust, some Kind of a disaster caused by germ warfare, the melting of Arctic
ice or the invasion by little green men with antennae on their foreheads.

 

But whoever figured on rats?


Well, as we have reported,  Marmora Village was invaded by rats who lost their natural habitat and food supply when the old garbage dump on Deloro Road was closed on September 7.

 

The hungry hordes of rats have not only invaded neighboring fields and backyards and resorted to trying their luck on ordinary garbage cans, but a dangerously large number of them have gone straight to town. Residents have reported seeing rats in their backyards, garages, all around some houses, out on the roads and fields and our reporter met a few of the bolder ones on their (the rats') way to town.


Rats were killed in the yard of Marmora Senior School and at least one resident had a field day shooting them with a .22 rifle.  All this may sound like an interesting break in the everyday monotony, and the children probably love the rat hunt, but it should not be dismissed as just one of those things.

Rats are numerous and if they get hungrier they will get bolder, which means that more and more of them will invade the town. Rats can, and sometimes do, bite, especially if they are hungry or threatened, and who knows when children will start to have a bit of fun chasing them?       

Rats can also carry a lot of sickness. If not taken seriously enough or not cleaned out soon enough, they can cause serious health problems. They can also cause property damage. They should be taken seriously.
 

1921 Robbery causes "Sensation"

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Marmora Herald - Aug. 4, 1921

Photo of Ike Wright guarding the cows at the bridge over the Crowe Riverin 1908

Quite a sensation was caused in Marmora last Tuesday morning when it became known a burglary had occurred in town.  Mr. Donald Wright,  who watches cows over the river,  and had been paid on Monday, had about $45.00 taken from his pocket.  A couple of local boys are missing but so far no trace has been found of either boys!"

For more stories about our bridges,  click here.

WWI brings changes to dinner plates.

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                                                                                                              Marmora Herald- April 11, 1918

"In order to help overcome the meat shortage,  the Government is selling beaver meat from Algonquin Park.  It retails to the consumer at 17 cents a pound.  The supply does not nearly meet the demand but it helps save other meats."

But according to David Wencer,  a Toronto journalist,  beavers weren't the only souls to be added to our food chain. 

"In December of 1918, after the armistice but before the official end of the war, the Toronto Star reported on the arrival of 70,000 pounds of whale meat in Toronto. Whereas previous shipments to Toronto are implied to have been fresh, this shipment arrived in cans. Previous reports focused on the city’s elite eating choice cuts of meat, but this shipment of canned whale meat was intended for the general customer, with a reported retail value of a competitive 20 cents per pound."

AVRO ANSON BOMBER IN MARMORA

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CORRECTION: Chris Charland adds: I would like to bring to your attention to the fact that the aircraft that crashed was actually a Cesnna Crane Mk. IA s/n 8842. It was assigned to the Central Flying School at R.C.A.F. Station Trenton at the time of accident. Schofield was the Second Pilot during the night cross-country flight. LAC Dunphy was an Electrician by trade in the Air Force. The Royal Air Force pilot's full name is Richard Geoffrey Long.

MARMORA HERALD      April 27, 1944 Crash date - Feb. 17, 1944

Missing from Trenton  base since early February, an Avro Anson bomber was discovered Thursday after- noon in the bush land, 11 miles northwest of. Marmora. Finding of the wrecked plane, which had been the object of an extensive aerial and ground search since its disappearance during a training flight more than two months ago, occurred as the result. of chance.   According to the story from Marmora, the plane was found in the district between Twin Lakes and Beaver Creek. Thursday afternoon a number of airmen visited the scene of the wreck and removed the three bodies. A guard was set over the wrecked plane until a wrecking crew could start work to bring it out.

Ken Broad wrote to Brock adding , “As I remember the night of the crash,  someone from Cooper phoned Trenton airbase that they had seen fire north of Cooper.  My dad was contacted at the Madoc Armouries and was asked to meet the pilot of a Norseman ski equipped aircraft and fly with him to search the area.  They spent about a week searching to no avail.  I vividly remember as the Norseman made a low pass over Cedar public school each day.” 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Canadian Air Force and numerous other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War. Developed from the Avro 652 airliner, the Anson, named after British Admiral George Anson, was developed for maritime reconnaissance, but found to be obsolete in this role. It was then found to be suitable as a multi-engined aircrew trainer, becoming the mainstay of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. By the end of production in 1952, a total of 8,138 had been built by Avro in nine variants, with a further 2,882 built by Federal Aircraft Ltd in Canada from 1941.

Avro- Anson trainer, taken from another similar aircraft. These were air planes from the 31 General Reconnaissance School at Charlottetown, PEI. These trainers had dual flight controls, so the instructor could gain control, if necessary. The Avro was mobilised as an aerial scarecrow, a deterrent to German submarines. Likely, this photo was taken illegally, at the time.

Twyla-Mae Harris Silk added: AVRO is where my parents met and fell in love while my dad was putting the wings on the Arrow and Mom was working in the cafeteria! Hail Hail to AVRO!!!!!

Wayne Van Volkenburg wrote: During WW2, my father-in-law was posted at the base on PEI. He trained pilots to fly the Anson aircraft. These attained skills were then used to fly their bombers. After reading the book "Behind The Glory" by Ted Barris, I became aware of the commonwealth-wide training scheme based in Canada that supplied the Allied air war with nearly one quarter million qualified airmen. Many lives were lost in this training process that contributed greatly to the war effort.

Flt-Lt Thomas Schofield

Flight Lieutenant Thomas Schofield

RECIPIENTS OF RELIEF MUST PLANT GARDENS

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MARMORA HERALD - May 23,  1940


The Provincial Government has decreed that all municipalities having relief rolls, must sponsor the "garden plot" movement among the recipients. Every able-bodied person who has been receiving relief must cultivate a garden at least twenty-five by one hundred feet. The municipality will be obliged to make a report on all cases and if costs are to be shared by the Province and Dominion, approval must be secured. This new program is part of the general relief administration and no municipality wherein relief claims have been made within six months is exempt. Those apt to be seeking relief next winter will be obligated to plant a garden.


About the only able-bodied man in the Village of Marmora,  who has received relief during the past year,  although still without regular employment, has refused to cultivate a garden as required by the Government. That means that no matter what his circumstances may be next winter the Municipality will not be able to put his name on a relief roll.
 

TWO RATTLESNAKE SIGHTINGS

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                    SNAKE BELIEVED RATTLER

May 16, 1941
What is believed to have been a rattlesnake was killed about 11 a.m. on Thursday by Joseph Patrick Brawley, eighteen-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Brawley of the Township of Marrnora. The barking of "Chum", their dog, attracted the attention of Mrs. Brawley who went to open the back door but suddenly decided it were more discreet to pass out by the front door to investigate. Going to the rear of the house, she saw the reptile coiled up on the back steps in defiant attitude.
Mrs. Brawley called to her son who was at the home of a neighbor Barney Callery. Getting a stout stick "Pat" stunned the reptile and then ended its existence.

(NOTE:  Once common throughout southern and central Ontario, the threatened species is now found on the eastern side of Georgian Bay, the Bruce Peninsula, and in small pockets near Windsor and Wainfleet, Ont. in the Niagara area.)

SECOND SIGHTING -  September 10, 1942   Marmora Herald

Forrest Dennis

A year ago The Herald received considerable notoriety as a result of a snake story. The article was copied in papers all over the Province and broadcast over the radio. We still believe the facts were as stated as to the length of the snake, but many people doubted the story.
This time we give The Belleville Ontario Intelligencer credit for the following:

  Graeme MacKechnie


"Forrest Dennis of Crowe Lake and Doctor Graeme Mackechnie of Timmins, had a novel experience this week while fishing on Beaver Creek, about twenty miles north of here. They had landed from their canoe at what is commonly known as "The Bear Camp" to spend the night. The doctor was unlocking the door while his companion came behind him carrying the equipment when they heard the ominous rattle of a rattlesnake. The doctor threw himself through the opened door just in time as not more than two and one half feet from him was a four foot rattler, coiled and ready to strike, while Mr. Dennis was not more than five feet in the distance. Before they were able to kill the reptile, it disappeared underneath the cabin. As the men had been wading the creek, their trousers were rolled to the knees, thus making a good target for the snake. The fishermen claim they had a good sleep after first making sure the door fit tightly and it was safely closed."


The "Bear Camp" is the hunting camp used by W.A. Sanderson and other members of his hunting party each fall and owned by them. It is really on Otter Creek near its junction with Beaver Creek.

(Forrest Dennis was a well known fishing guide in Marmora and Dr. Graeme MacKechnie was son of Dr. Wm MacKechnie of Marmora -see http://www.marmorahistory.ca/doctors )