The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
THE ARCHIVES
100 years ago
Mr David Nicoll Cant was recently reported in the American newspapers to have become heir to about £200,000. Mr Cant is a Dundee man and was working as a farm-hand in the United States. According to the US press, he refused to quit his employment because of the fact that the haying season was on. The true story is that Cant’s father, James Scott Cant, wine and spirit merchant, of Logie Street, died in 1913, leaving an estate of about £9,000 from which David Cant will benefit to the extent of about £1,200.
50 years ago
A Volkswagen car drove into the rain-swollen water of the River Tay at Perth last night – and sailed upstream. The car, driven by Mr Ian Crighton, himself an expert swimmer, reached a speed of six knots on the river before returning to dry land after the most unusual trip of its 90,000-mile life. Supplied by Cameron Motors Ltd, Scone, the car had been equipped with a three-blade propeller and had had its doors sealed for the journey. The original plan was to sail it from Perth harbour up the river to the North Inch.
25 years ago
Some of the crowd wept openly at a moving morning of remembrance in Dundee yesterday to mark the 50th anniversary of VJ Day. Ceremonies began with a parade from Dundee High School to City Square where the salute was taken by Councillor Norman McGowan and other dignitaries. The parade continued to Dundee Parish Church (St Mary’s) for a service conducted by its minister the Rev Keith Hall, the Rt Rev L.Edward Luscombe, retired Bishop of Brechin and the Rt Rev Vincent Logan, Bishop of Dunkeld. Matters Local
One year ago
Action is urgently needed to halt the decline of Fife’s town centres, it has been claimed. A major report by the Federation of Small Businesses showed the kingdom has the fourth highest rate of vacant shops in Scotland. At around 14%, Fife is one of only seven areas in Scotland with an above-average rate of empty and unlet shop properties. The report points to the upcoming closure of Kirkcaldy’s Debenhams and a raft of bank and shop closures since the start of 2016.