The rest of the story - Glimpses of the Past with Karen Webster

Have you ever read something in a newspaper and wondered what the rest of the story could have been? A little research sometimes can clear up the story.

 

Let’s look back at newspapers from over a century ago and dig a little deeper into the facts. 

 

Scenario 1: In the little village of Port Albert in 1898 a reporter observed that “Adam Schaefer of Milverton is at present in the village looking well and wearing a very bright smile. So would I, Adam, under the state of affairs.” 

 

And now, for the rest of the story. What does a statement like that reveal to the outsider? Going back a ways, it can be found that Adam, originally from Heidelberg, was a painter by trade and was living in Wisconsin with his wife and three small children. One day he came home to find that his wife had died still holding one-month-old George in her arms. 

 

He relocated to Milverton to have his family help with the children. One of his sisters was Elizabeth Schoenals, wife of the grain miller at Port Albert. It was while visiting her there that he met Matilda Jane Quaid and the reason for the smile on his face was his upcoming marriage a few days hence. 

 

Adam and Matilda “Tillie” lived first in Wingham, then in Kitchener and added three more children to the family. And that little boy called George! He went on to be a very successful clothing store operator in Goderich.

 

Scenario 2: From the Sept. 6, 1895 pages of The Brussels Post comes the terse item that “Dudley Holmes, barrister, Goderich, formerly of Brussels, is now a solemn-faced parent. Congratulations.” 

 

And now, for the rest of the story. Such was the custom of announcing a birth in those days. Mention was made of  neither the mother, nor of the child born, only recognition of the person whose involvement in the birth occurred a few months before. In this instance, the child was Dudley Elwood Holmes, who was born on Aug. 26, 1895 to Dudley and Helen (MacLean) Holmes. When Dudley Jr. grew up, he attended Osgoode Hall in Toronto and became a lawyer. He was a World War I veteran, achieving the rank of Lt. in the 161st Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and a Captain in the Royal Flying Corps. He was Huron County’s Crown Attorney for a number of years before becoming a magistrate.

 

Scenario 3: In 1905, The Blyth Standard Editor A. E. Bradwin suggested that some people would like to know what the correct population of the village of Blyth was. He suggested that the council order a special census to be taken on Oct. 7-8. 

 

And now for the rest of the story. “The great Blyth fair has come and gone. It was held on Tuesday and Wednesday last week (the dates of the fair which were picked by editor Bradwin for the mock census) and was one of the most successful ever held by the Morris Branch Agricultural Society. The weather was beautiful and the attendance was very large. It is estimated that between 6,000 and 7,000 people passed through the gates on the second day. The total gate receipts were nearly $900.”

 

Scenario 4: From over in Seaforth in 1898 came the information that the wheat boom of the past few days had caused considerable activity. Among the largest shippers of wheat are John Saunders, Andrew Bell and Robert Thompson, all of Kippen.
And now, for the rest of the story. When there was rapid settlement of the Canadian Prairies in the late 1890s and early 1900s, there was an economic boost to the economy called the Wheat Boom. Vast shipments of wheat from Canada were bound for Europe. This caused significant improvements in living standards and new, permanent house construction. Profits from wheat and a shift towards specialized livestock/dairy farming allowed Ontario farmers to replace the early log cabins with structures made of brick, stone and frame. Thus many of the beautiful brick farmhouses around the county constructed in that era were a result of profits from the wheat crops.

 

Scenario 5: Up Wingham way, an item in the June 26, 1896 edition of The Wingham Times advised that “the Junior lacrosse and football teams intended to go to Lucknow on Dominion Day for the purposes of bringing home first prizes in their respective classes.” Well, did they?

 

The rest of the story was revealed in the July 3 issue of the same paper. Unfortunately, the lacrosse team was ruled ineligible, as they were not a junior team. The footballers had to play one man short and lost out to the host team. But athletic pursuits weren’t the only thing going on July 1 that year. 

 

Dominion Day was celebrated as a result of Canada becoming a nation only 29 short years before those sporting events. It seems that almost all of Wingham was celebrating in one way or another. 

 

The Methodists had a “pic-nic” in Tamlyn’s grove, the Congregationalists had one at Zetland and the Baptists were holidaying in Peacock’s grove. So many folks were visiting neighbouring towns that the horses and rigs from the liveries were at a premium. Five wheelmen (bicyclers) took off for Goderich and some others were off to Port Elgin, the band went to Belmore and the firemen travelled to Forest to participate in a friendly competition. 

 

They returned on the eight o’clock train having won first place in both the hose and hook and ladder races. It seemed that most folks were engaged in some kind of activity to celebrate July 1.

 

No matter how much information is given in a newspaper item, it seems that there still could be some interesting facts behind the story.  Happy reading!