Remember when…
Here's a look at what was making the news 15 and 50 years ago in the Hants Journal.
15 YEARS AGO (Early 2009 editions)
• The Nova Scotia government granted Elmworth Energy Corporation, the Canadian operating subsidiary of Triangle Petroleum Corporation, approval in principle for a 10-year shale gas production lease in the Windsor Block of Hants County. Test drilling was centred around Kennetcook.
• Members of Friends of the Avon River (FAR) requested Windsor, Hantsport and West Hants councils support their demand for a comprehensive environmental study of the Avon River causeway before highway twinning could occur. They also wanted free tidal flow. At a joint council session, mayors spoke against giving the federal and provincial governments any reason to delay twinning the bottleneck stretch of roadway, with West Hants' warden noting people were already dying in crashes on Highway 101.
• Renovations to the W.B. Stephens Building, where Windsor's municipal office was located, were nearing completion. The cost had climbed to $650,000 from $595,000, largely due to finding and mitigating asbestos during renovations.
• After more than six decades in the auto sales industry, the owner of Stephens and Yeaton abruptly closed the business. The community was left wondering if it was a temporary closure or permanent.
• Edward Wedler, the owner of The Inside Story, a popular bookstore located at the Fort Edward Mall, closed up shop after a decade. He noted the mall was “dying all around us” and he couldn't continue the store due to a lack of shoppers.
• Hart Stores announced it was opening in the former SAAN location in the Fort Edward Mall, providing an anchor to the mall come the spring.
• Brison Developments celebrated the start of 2009 by holding a grand opening of The Crossing, a retirement community billed as Windsor's “premier land lease development.”
• Luna Rossa and Club Ice, an Italian restaurant with a sports bar nightclub, had hoped to open in time for the new year but permit issues prevented that from happening. The new business was located at the former Black Bear Tavern on Water Street in Windsor. The general manager was Glenda Landry and the chef was David Alexander.
• West Hants council was considering approving the creation of Falls Lake Resort Inc., a 132-unit recreation and retirement community in Vaughan. It was noted the project would cost about $30 million, providing jobs for the next 10 years. However, there was much vocal opposition to the development.
• Hants County was reported to be one of a handful of communities that saw tourism growth in the province in 2008. It was reported that Nova Scotia didn't see any tourism growth in a five-year period but Hants County saw a 20 per cent increase. The region was looking for ways to capitalize on the newfound interest.
• The Hockey Heritage Museum in Windsor drew more than 3,200 visitors in 2008, from places as far away as Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Slovakia.
• The push was on again to see if there was governmental funding for Hantsport to have a designated truck route that would link Schurman Road to Prince Street – detouring large commercial vehicles from downtown to the businesses that rely on them the most, like CKF Inc.
50 YEARS AGO (Early 1974 editions)
• Police were looking for an arsonist after an early morning fire destroyed the recently renovated clubhouse at the Avon Valley Golf and Country Club in Falmouth. It was reported other out buildings had been broken into and items stolen, but were not set on fire.
• Falmouth's Darrell Chambers was recuperating in hospital after the vehicle he was driving was struck by a train near Shubenacadie. It was noted the vehicle was dragged 300 yards down the tracks.
• The Newport Station home of Brian Goucher was razed by fire in January. The mobile home fire was thought to have started due to using a torch to thaw frozen pipes.
• Nelson Hennigar, of Noel, was recuperating in hospital after receiving burns in a flash fire. It was thought gasoline fumes ignited, causing the destruction of his workshop and woodshed.
• The Newport United Baptist Church in Scotch Village was preparing to celebrate its 175th anniversary. The original church burned down but the current church was 99 years old.
• The Centre Falmouth Community Hall received $9,200 to help modernize the facility.
• Big Daddies' Pizza and Delicatessen Take-Out was holding its grand opening on Water Street in Windsor on Feb. 11. The new restaurant featured pizza and “a complete line of Schneider's delicatessen meats, cheeses, picked eggs, coleslaw, rye and french breads, and pepperoni.”
• A “lovely older home overlooking the Minas Basin” that was situated on four acres of land in Cheverie and featured seven rooms plus a bath and laundry room was selling for $22,900.
• Save-Easy was providing helpful hints for grocery shoppers to maximize the usefulness of the items purchased. Among the deals listed included: a 15-ounce tin of cat or dog food for 15 cents; two packages of Kleenex facial tissue for 35 cents; a 24-ounce jar of Old Homestead strawberry jam for 59 cents; and pork roast for 69 cents per pound.
• Showing at the Imperial Theatre in Windsor was such films as Shamus, starring Burt Reynolds and Dyan Cannon; Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee; The Shakiest Gun in the West, starring Don Knotts; as well as West World; The Deer Slayer;
The Daring Dobermans; The Unholy Rollers; I escaped From Devil's Island; Carry On Loving; The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County and
The Deadly Trackers. There were also 50 cent live action children matinees for Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White, and an 8 p.m. double feature of 1,000 Convicts and a Woman, and Boxcar Bertha.
• In the Hants Journal from 1949, it was reported that the Windsor Baptist Church's spire and roof was damaged by fire.
• In the Hants Journal from 1924, it was reported that a new post office opened in Curry's Corner. The first postmaster was Maynard Miller.
Also in 1924, the community was mourning the death of 18-year-old Edwin Hoffen, of Dakeyne Farm. He died while skating on the town pond in Falmouth.
In business news from 1924, the Avon River hydro plant officially started its service line to Windsor, and in sporting news, C.B. Boulden, of Windsor, and Blaine Sexton, of Falmouth, competed for the British Olympic hockey team.
Editor’s Note:
The 25 years ago section is temporarily unavailable. If you have a collection of newspapers from 1999, please contact carole.morrisunderhill@saltwire.com.
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