Looking back at Yarmouth County history

From 1968

A federal transport committee had placed Yarmouth and Digby back on the list of places it was planning to visit. Word that the two towns had been removed from the committee’s itinerary had produced a “storm of protest,” according to a headline in the Vanguard from February 1968. Business and municipal leaders had responded with a flurry of telegrams to Ottawa. “Never before had western Nova Scotia acted so swiftly in such a united manner ... on a matter of common interest,” the Vanguard said. Even before this latest issue, there reportedly had been a growing consensus among the western counties that they had to work together in order to ensure the region had the transportation infrastructure and services it needed.

*** “Firemen fight dangerous fire in extreme cold.” That was the headline over a story about a blaze in Yarmouth that destroyed a building on Hawthorn Street. The owner/occupant of the building – who operated a second-hand store on the building’s ground floor – was not at home at the time of the early-morning fire, which was well underway when firefighters arrived. It was very cold and windy at the time. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the Hawthorn Street property.

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The Roman Catholic diocese of Yarmouth was getting a new bishop. Rev. Austin E. Burke, 46, a native of Sluice Point, Yarmouth County, had been named by Pope Paul VI to succeed the late Albert Lemenager – who had died the previous summer – as Yarmouth’s bishop. A date for his formal installation had yet to be announced.

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The Municipality of Yarmouth had adopted a five-year sanitation plan and Port Maitland was expected to be the first village to benefit from the initiative. The Municipality of Yarmouth was believed to be the first municipal unit in the tri-counties to have a plan for the development of a modern system of sewers and sewage treatment.

From 1978

Preliminary steps were being taken to close the dump near the Yarmouth airport. The site had long been a source of concern due to the number of seagulls it attracted and the danger this posed for aircraft using the airport. The three municipal units in the Yarmouth area – with funding from the province’s environment department – had hired an engineering firm to conduct a solid waste study that would look at closing the dump near the airport and finding a suitable alternative site. The federal transport department had been approached about financial help in shutting down the dump. There was word that the process of closing the site would start in the spring.

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Also in the news in 1978, Yarmouth’s drug dependency committee was pushing for a detox centre to be established in the local area. The committee was hoping to meet soon with Maynard MacAskill, Nova Scotia’s health minister at the time, to discuss the matter. Over 7,000 people had signed a petition supporting the effort. As it was, the closest facility for someone from the Yarmouth seeking treatment for an alcohol or drug problem was in Halifax.

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In sports, the Yarmouth rink skipped by Jim McRae were Nova Scotia legion curling champions after winning the legion’s provincial bonspiel in Lunenburg. Aside from McRae, the Yarmouth team included John McBrearty, Frank Moores and Dick Crocker. With their provincial title, they qualified for the national legion championships to be held in Regina at the end of March.

From 1988

The Maritime Fishermen’s Union was calling for Tom Siddon to resign as federal fisheries minister and to take four recently issued offshore lobster-fishing licences with him. Inshore fishermen were concerned about the impact the offshore licences could have on inshore stocks. Upset with Siddon’s handling of the issue, fishermen wanted the minister to step down.

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Jost Architects of Annapolis Royal had been hired to work on plans for an addition at the elementary school in West Pubnico. The $1.5-million project included a new gym and a couple of new classrooms.