Author Archives: writingbythelake

Injuries sustained and inquest into Smiths Falls death: Hot off the 1912 press!

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Front page of The Perth Courier, Friday, Aug. 2, 1912

An auto caused the team of horses owned by John Drummond of Toledo to run away on Monday, while he was returning from Smiths Falls with a load of grist. Mr. Drummond was thrown out and rendered unconscious for a time. The auto did not stop.

Thomas Cairns, carter, Smiths Falls, broke one of his legs on Monday. He was putting a load of freight on his wagon at the CPR shed when his horse gave a sudden start and threw him off the wagon. A bundle of lumber fell on him and when it was all over it was found that his left leg was broken at the ankle.

John Telford fell through a trap door in a hay loft and dislocated his shoulder. John Dittrick, in stepping off a street car in Montreal, was thrown to the ground and broke his shoulder bone.

Col. Balderson was acting crown attorney at an inquest in Smiths Falls this morning. The inquest was held to enquire (sic) into the cause of the death of a Hungarian who was killed in Smiths Falls on the 9th of August of last year. The deceased man was jumping off a moving freight train when he fell under the wheels, and both legs were cut off. No inquest was held at the time and recently friends of deceased were making enquiries (sic) and sought the services of the Austrian consul at Montreal, who took the matter up with Attorney General Foy, who ordered the inquest. The body was exhumed and the jury found deceased came to his death through his own negligence.

First marine law fines handed down: Hot off the 1912 press!

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From the June 22, 1912 edition of The Gananoque Reporter

First fines handed down for not having life preservers
Sidney Marsh, in charge of a gasoline launch owned by E.G. Wyckoff, who has a summer home on Carleton Island, was fined $100 by Inspector Day because the craft was not properly equipped with life preservers. This is the first fine that has been imposed by government officers for a violation of the marine law.

Body found
The body of Rupert Tidman, aged 17 years, was found at Kingston Mills on Saturday afternoon by a diver who went into the water to search for the boy who had been missing and was last seen bathing.

Canada Day spectacular
Monday, July 1 is being advertised as Gananoque’s Big Day, with a professional marathon, amateur marathon, horse show and races, baseball match, soccer match, tug of war and jumping contests. One of the leading features of the big celebration at Gananoque will be the 10-mile professional race, when a half a dozen of the best known runners of Canada and the U.S. will face the starter. It will be held on the half-mile track at the Driving Park and be one of the best events of its kind ever witnessed in this part of Canada.

Hooking a hive of bees: Hot off the 1912 press

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The Perth Courier, front page, June 14, 1912

Lanark County Court
“The June sitting of the Lanark County Court and quarter sessions opened here on Tuesday afternoon…Pennett vs. Peter Carr: Action brought by Patrick J. Pennett against Peter Carr (both farmers of Bathurst Township) for damages for alleged slander, the date of the offence being 29th June, 1911, when defendant is claimed to have falsely and maliciously made statements to the effect that the plaintiff had “hooked a hive of bees” and two hens. This case drew quite an audience, and was watched with keen interest. It developed a lot of mystery as to an old hive-stealing story that seems to be well-known in the neighbourhood in which the parties live, but which was not permitted to be told in court.

After five witnesses for plaintiff had been examined, counsel for defendant argued that the case should be dismissed as too frivolous to be brought into court. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that his client was entitled to at least “exemplary damages” as a vindication of his character. After taking the matter into consideration over night, His Honour, with great reluctance, as he said, gave judgement in favour of the plaintiff for $100.00 damages, with costs.”

Chaffey’s Lock CNR explosion of 1912: Hot off the press!

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Top headlines from The Gananoque Reporter June 8, 1912

Nine Killed: Awful toll of premature explosion on CNR construction
“Nine men killed, five injured and one missing is the present awful toll of an accident which occurred on the Canadian Northern construction line at a point five miles from Chaffey’s Lock at 4:45 o’clock on Saturday afternoon. The men were working on a rock cut, and met death as the result of a premature explosion of black powder used to blast the rock.”

1911 taxes: Town council to adopt drastic measures to collect balances
“…The evening was largely taken up with a discussion of the statement presented by Mr. Eames, Collector of Taxes. The amount of 1911 taxes still outstanding is $314. Of this, $47 is for street watering and $15 for boathouse frontage. (Councillors said) if the parties refuse to pay, distraint upon the chattels should be made. On the other hand, the Collector stated he gave the Council to understand when he was appointed, that he would not act as a bailiff.”

In other news…A letter from Mr. A.A. Walsh of the Gananoque Inn, requested that a cement walk be constructed from the east end of the swing bridge to Stone Street, with an iron railing to protect pedestrians.

Front page news from 100 years ago…

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Top stories of the June 7, 1912 edition of The Perth Courier 

Perth gets big new thriving industry
“Perth will have another new industry. For some time, negotiations have been in progress between Henry K. Wampole & Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio to take care of the Canadian business for the Jergens company. The Jergens company is the second largest manufacturer in the United States of high class toilet soaps.. the two companies are coming together to handle the soap, perfume and toilet business in Canada. A new company, with headquarters as Perth, is being incorporated to be known as the Andrew Jergens Co. Limited.”

Tap water is impure on account of swollen condition of river
“Dr. Dwyre, Medical Health Officer, has has a report from Dr. Connell of Kingston, on samples of tap water sent away last Friday. Dr. Connell reported the water to be impure and full of bacteria. This state of affairs has risen through the unprecedented steady and heavy rains, causing the river to rise. Until conditions become normal again, the advice is to boil the water for drinking purposes.”

You could buy… C.A. Farmer & Son was selling cream, fresh each morning. Half pint and pint bottle, 10 cents and 30 cents each. John Hart at The Perth Book Store was selling Colorite, an “entirely new preparation for restoring old straw hats to any colour,” 25 cents per bottle and brush.

Hot off the 1912 presses!

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Certainly, community newspapers, and the way they report the news, have changed by volumes in the past few years. Gone are the days when each town had its own independently-owned broadsheet paper, employing at least three staff members in the newsroom alone, not to mention countless others to design or typeset the beast and run in-house presses.

What hasn’t changed, however, is that residents in these towns are still hungry for local news. I’m talking hyper-local news at its core – why the police cars whizzed by their homes at 2 a.m.; who won that award from the service club; what is happening this weekend in the park, and how the latest bylaws passed at town council will affect them. No matter how urban the ownership of the newspapers will get, people will always want (and demand!) to know what is happening in their own backyards. This is especially important in rural settings, where the local paper is sometimes the only medium to report on the news of the town.

That being said, I have always found it incredibly interesting to dig back into old, crumbling issues of the papers where I’ve worked. What made the news of the day back then may seem trivial to us now, but it’s intriguing. So, a few times a week I am posting tidbits front page news from several of the area’s most established weekly papers – as it appeared 100 years ago in 1912. Enjoy and prepare to be enthralled (and to giggle every now and then).