Looking back at Digby County history
Fire had levelled the boat and furniture plant of Weymouth Industries Ltd., leaving 100 men out of work. The fire had started around 5 p.m. in the furniture finishing room, according to a story in the Courier. Firefighters from Weymouth, Digby, Meteghan and Cornwallis battled the blaze, “but the plant was in ruins an hour later,” the paper said. The cause of the fire was unknown. The plant’s president/general manager was in Florida at the time of the fire. The local manager said, “Every effort will be made to have the plant rebuilt and in operation as soon as possible.” The facility had been Weymouth’s largest employer.
A weekend snowstorm had made travel very difficult.
The snow had started falling on late Saturday evening and by Sunday morning the roads were a mess – about a foot of snow being blown around by strong winds – resulting in a number of churches cancelling their services. One local church minister reportedly had left his home in Rossway before 7 a.m. and was headed to his church in Digby but ended up leaving his car on the road and returning home on foot. Clearing the area’s backroads was made more difficult because a recent spell of mild weather had left the roads soft, creating more of a challenge for snowplow operators, the Courier said.
Fire had destroyed a home in Hillgrove. The blaze broke out at 9 a.m. and the Digby Fire Department responded, “but lack of water hampered their efforts and soon the house and outbuildings were a mass of flames,” the paper said. There were no reports of injuries, but the homeowner lost just about everything. Among the items salvaged was a box containing some private papers etc. Thanks to the direction of the wind, a large barn nearby was saved.
The Canadian Pacific Railway – owners of the Digby Pines among other properties – previously had announced it was planning to sell three hotels in Nova Scotia (the Pines, Lakeside Inn in Yarmouth and Cornwallis Inn in Kentville), but, according to a more recent announcement, CPR would operate the hotels for the 1958 season. Gordon Turnbull, mayor of Digby at the time, welcomed the announcement, saying it was good news for the Digby area.
A Digby County resident recently had marked his 105th birthday. Charles Doucet of St. Bernard received birthday cards and visits from friends and relatives, along with greetings from Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and from Buckingham Palace. After getting his picture taken for a story that would appear in the Courier, Doucet joked, “You take that to my son Willie in Digby. Don’t tell him but see if he knows who it is.”
Another federal election was coming up soon and while George Nowlan, the incumbent MP in DigbyAnnapolis-Kings, would run again for the Progressive Conservatives, his Liberal challenger had yet to be chosen. The Liberals were scheduled to choose their candidate Feb. 18 in Middleton.
Improved housing was urgently needed for low-income families in the Municipality of Digby, an official with the social services department said in a brief to Digby municipal council. Social services staff had been “appalled by the living conditions of many families,” the report to council said. The problem would only get worse and costlier unless steps were taken soon to address the issue, the municipality was told.
The Digby Kiwanis Club was planning to build a swimming pool, with construction expected to start in May 1974. Digby town council had decided to lease town property at the rear of Digby Regional High School to the club for the project, which was expected to cost $30,000. The Kiwanis Club reportedly had a $15,000 grant to help cover the cost of the developing the pool.
The Digby municipal school board’s annual budget for 1974 totalled $1.843 million, an increase of $226,000 from the previous year. Teacher salaries in the municipality at the time ranged from $6,600 to $20,000, according to the results of a survey presented to municipal council.
On the local sports scene, Randy Oliver had a big weekend for the Digby Bantam Flyers, scoring seven goals in two games against Liverpool, starting with a three-goal performance in a 5-5 tie, then a four-goal outing in an 8-3 win.