Hants history
Here’s a look at what was making the news 25 and 50 years ago in the Hants Journal.
25 years ago (Oct. 6, 13, and 20, 1993 editions)
• The first Birthplace of Hockey Festival was held and while organizers deemed it a success, they faced several challenges, including several teams backing out of the oldtimers tournament at the last minute. Several NHL legends participated in the event in Windsor, included Henri Richard, Yvon Cournoyer, Yvon Lambert, Eddie Shack, Bob Nevin and Billy Harris.
• The Hants County SPCA may have been a fledgling society but its members were already looking for land on which to build a shelter.
• Donald Black, of Winthrop, New York, broke the world record for giant pumpkins at the weigh off in Windsor. The pumpkin weighed in at 884 pounds.
Second place went to Ben Hebb, of Bridgewater, with a pumpkin weighing 781 pounds. Third place was secured by Newport’s Rod Harvey, with a 641pound specimen.
• Police issued sketches of suspects after a 43-year-old man was held up, at gun point, on the side of the road near Mount Uniacke. The thieves took his wallet and money.
• The Windsor rural RCMP opened a satellite detachment in Walton.
• Liberal leader Jean Chretien made a campaign stop in Falmouth at Avon Valley Greenhouses with local candidate John Murphy. It was noted that he “wouldn’t budge from his non-committal stance on the future of CFB Cornwallis” but said the proposal to turn the base into an international peace keeping training base was “a good proposition.”
• Ken Spearing completed Atlantic Canada’s largest historic mural in Windsor. A public celebration was held on Oct. 13.
• John V. Duncanson, of Falmouth, was named a Planter Scholar by the Planter Studies Committee of Acadia University. Duncanson’s research on the history of local families was well-known and resulted in several other awards over the decades.
• South Rawdon’s Charlene HoweHogg was commended for her quickthinking when the furnace caught fire inside her mobile home. She saved her three-month-old daughter while dousing the furnace with a fire extinguisher. Both escaped serious injury.
• As part of fire prevention week activities, Windsor firefighters visited Windsor Elementary School students to describe the tools of the trade and give them a chance to visit with Sparky and tour the trucks.
• A 22-foot minke whale washed up on the banks along the Kennetcook River in Scotch Village. Samples were taken to determine the cause of death. There were no plans to remove the carcass, as it weighed several tonnes.
• Eight Windsorians who played major roles in hockey history in town were inducted into the Windsor Hockey Heritage Society Hall of Fame and four became honourary members of the society.
The inductees were: Gordon “Doggie” Kuhn – the first player from Windsor to play in the NHL, Ernest ‘Ernie’ Mosher, Carl ‘Chook’ Smith, Harry Hatchard, Gordon Hughes, Leslie “Larry” Loomer, Kay Anslow, and H. Carleton Smith.
50 years ago (Oct. 9, 16 and 23, 1968 editions)
• The P.W. Payzant Limited warehouse in Falmouth was destroyed by fire, with an estimated loss being $150,000. An RCMP officer noticed a prowler inside the building and then discovered a fire and notified the Windsor Fire Department. The police attempted to extinguish the blaze but the fire extinguishers ran out.
• The public was told the Ross Farm (The Nova Scotia Living Farm Museum of Agriculture) in New Ross was going to become a reality. The museum was anticipated to open in 1969 or the spring of 1970.
• A bylaw preventing non-Caucasian people from being buried in the St. Croix cemetery was in the process of being revoked after a couple who were trying to bury their infant were turned away.
• Vandals tore down painted trellises located on Mrs. MacDonald’s King Street property. The vandals also caused much damage to the roses and vines that the general public often stopped to admire.
• Marsden Campbell picked a quart of strawberries in Hants County on Oct. 16, 1968.
• The Slim for Him TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Club announced it completed its fourth successful month in operation. The group, with a total of 26 members, managed to lose 69 pounds in September. They were congratulated on their good work.
• Donald McNeil, of Ellershouse, landed a 36-pound bass at Summerville Beach using a 20-pound test line. It took him 25 minutes to land the fish.
• The Ellershouse Alpines were crowned the Maritime Intermediate A Softball League champions after defeating Moncton in a best of three series. Billie Macumber pitched both wins.
• The Hantsport Navy League Cadets received a plaque for being the most proficient navy league cadet corps in the Mainland Division of Nova Scotia.
• The Province of Nova Scotia was advertising the importance of fire prevention. It was noted that in 1967, there were 33 fire-related deaths and $5,595,602 in property loss in the province.
• The grand opening of Merle Mailman’s Esso Service Station in Avonport took place Oct. 11-13, 1968. It was noted that there would be “balloons for the kiddies” and lucky draw tickets for the adults.
• Effie Smith, of Burlington, won a 1969 Rambler in a contest sponsored by the Windsor Community Hockey Association and the local minor hockey association.
• The Imperial Theatre in Windsor was showing The Family Way, a movie about “a tender, funny, terrible wedding night,” The Sea Chase starring John Wayne and Lana Turner, a triple bill featuring The Devil’s Own, Moro Witch Doctor and Hand of Death, then Terence Young’s wartime Triple Cross and, for “four big days”, the theatre was going to show The Doctor Speaks Out, which was billed as “The Most Important and Informative Film of This Decade.” The movie, intended for those 16 years of age and older, contained sequences involving human birth and various surgical procedures.
In the middle of the month, they were showing Misty, Arizona Bushwhackers, The Game is Over... (La Curee), and Tarzan and the Jungle Boy.
• In the Hants History column from 1943, it was noted that Albert Parsons Jr., of Walton, had Hants County’s top pork producer. ‘Salome’ produced three litters of 22, 21 and 22 piglets.
In other farm news, Hants County’s Ernest Main was named champion plowman. He won in a contest at the farm of Percy Densmore, in East Noel.
A possible apple-picking record was made by James Lockhart, who picked 40 barrels of apples in nine hours at the Falmouth orchard of George Lawrence.
John S. Scott, of Dartmouth, purchased The Register in Berwick.
In wartime news from 1943, Edward “Ted” Kilcup, of Windsor, was killed in action.
In the Hants History column from 1918, it was noted that due to a flu epidemic, all public gatherings were forbidden. Snow fell on Oct. 18, blanketing the county in three inches.
In wartime news from 1918, Private Morley Pineo, of Riverside, was released after 13 months in a German prison camp. Private Vernon O. Cox, of Cheverie, was awarded the Military Medal.
A number of soldiers were listed as wounded or killed in action. Those who were killed overseas or died of their wounds were: N. Miller, of Miller’s Creek; Sgt. Allan Scott, of Windsor; Harold W. Cochrane, of Sweet’s Corner; Pte. John. Wells, Wentworth; Pte. Alde Lyman (112th); John Rolph, Hantsport; Allan Marsters, Hantsport; W. Smith, Wentworth; and Raymond Smith, formerly of Windsor.