Post by Rick (Admin) on Aug 17, 2012 11:40:22 GMT -5
TIMMINS - A few noteworthy items from the pages of the Porcupine Advance in 1918…
Something you won’t see in today’s papers: ads for the C&B Steamer Line, detailing daily trips between Buffalo, New York and Cleveland, Ohio. The ads let you know that you could catch a steamer at 9:00pm in Buffalo and reach Cleveland at 7:00am the next day. The cost of the trip was four dollars and three cents; touring car service was offered at seven dollars for a round trip. You could rent a cabin on the ship as well and enjoy a good night’s sleep before arriving at your destination. The company had three steamers in operation on the Great Lakes: the “City of Erie”, the “City of Buffalo” and the “Seeandbee”, with a capacity of 1500 passengers. Rail tickets between the two cities were honoured on the ships. You could purchase a ticket through a local travel agent or an American Express teller.
Running a boarding house was no picnic. Owners were expected to be licensed; failure to secure the proper papers meant a one hundred dollar fine and an afternoon in court. One gentleman was also charged under the Food Board regulations for serving “an undue amount of meat at a Saturday evening supper”. In what sounds suspiciously like a case of sour grapes (to put it politely), complaints were made about “foreign-owned” boarding houses that served hearty meals, stealing trade from local restaurants and hotels (are we to assume by this little tirade that “local restaurants” served slop? And were the “foreign-owned” restaurants, not also “local restaurants”?Just asking…). The fine was paid, but it did not end the bickering between both parties.
A tragic love story came to a horrible end at the Goldfields Hotel, where a young couple were found shot to death in an upstairs sitting room. Notes left to their respective families explained their actions; the young couple knew that they could not marry as he was of Italian descent and she was English. Both believed that neither would be accepted into the other’s family, and that they could not go on living apart. The murder-suicide was discovered moments after it had happened by guests and management of hotel. The young woman was employed at the local post office and was well known by everyone in town; the young man lived in Connaught and had just returned from Toronto where he had successfully obtained a diploma in telegraphy. The event cast a dark shadow over the community and affected many people; a young woman, distraught over the sad tale, tried to commit suicide in her room. She was arrested for attempted suicide and brought before Magistrate Atkinson. She had been incarcerated for a week and then released on bail, with good advice and warnings from the Magistrate.
There was no limit to what some women would do to protect their sons. In 1918, all men over the age of sixteen had to register with the Dominion, and be prepared to be called to military service (women were also required to register, but were not called to serve in the forces). Two officers of the Dominion heard that two young men living near the Mattagami River had failed to register. The constables made their way to the home, and were confronted by the mother of the two men; she was holding a shotgun and was in no mood to talk things over. The officers, unwilling to use “rough methods” on the woman left the property. They returned the next day with an additional provincial officer, and all three confronted the mother again. This time she didn’t mince words and fired a few shots over the heads of the three men who beat a hasty retreat. In the meantime, her sons were able to successfully escape on the river, without fear of pursuit. The lady was not charged.
Finally, a few odd notices in the want ad sections of the paper – “Notice to Parents or Guardians who have children attending a Public School and are not supporting same please take notice that after Easter Holidays, accommodation can no longer be provided for them.” “Home wanted for infant boy, healthy and with good history, apply to Nurse Bellerby.” “ The Council for the Township of Tisdale invites applications for the position of Police Constable/Fire Chief/Sanitary Inspector for Schumacher. Salary: $100 per month. Preference given to returning soldier.”
www.timminspress.com/2012/08/17/a-glimpse-into-the-past
Something you won’t see in today’s papers: ads for the C&B Steamer Line, detailing daily trips between Buffalo, New York and Cleveland, Ohio. The ads let you know that you could catch a steamer at 9:00pm in Buffalo and reach Cleveland at 7:00am the next day. The cost of the trip was four dollars and three cents; touring car service was offered at seven dollars for a round trip. You could rent a cabin on the ship as well and enjoy a good night’s sleep before arriving at your destination. The company had three steamers in operation on the Great Lakes: the “City of Erie”, the “City of Buffalo” and the “Seeandbee”, with a capacity of 1500 passengers. Rail tickets between the two cities were honoured on the ships. You could purchase a ticket through a local travel agent or an American Express teller.
Running a boarding house was no picnic. Owners were expected to be licensed; failure to secure the proper papers meant a one hundred dollar fine and an afternoon in court. One gentleman was also charged under the Food Board regulations for serving “an undue amount of meat at a Saturday evening supper”. In what sounds suspiciously like a case of sour grapes (to put it politely), complaints were made about “foreign-owned” boarding houses that served hearty meals, stealing trade from local restaurants and hotels (are we to assume by this little tirade that “local restaurants” served slop? And were the “foreign-owned” restaurants, not also “local restaurants”?Just asking…). The fine was paid, but it did not end the bickering between both parties.
A tragic love story came to a horrible end at the Goldfields Hotel, where a young couple were found shot to death in an upstairs sitting room. Notes left to their respective families explained their actions; the young couple knew that they could not marry as he was of Italian descent and she was English. Both believed that neither would be accepted into the other’s family, and that they could not go on living apart. The murder-suicide was discovered moments after it had happened by guests and management of hotel. The young woman was employed at the local post office and was well known by everyone in town; the young man lived in Connaught and had just returned from Toronto where he had successfully obtained a diploma in telegraphy. The event cast a dark shadow over the community and affected many people; a young woman, distraught over the sad tale, tried to commit suicide in her room. She was arrested for attempted suicide and brought before Magistrate Atkinson. She had been incarcerated for a week and then released on bail, with good advice and warnings from the Magistrate.
There was no limit to what some women would do to protect their sons. In 1918, all men over the age of sixteen had to register with the Dominion, and be prepared to be called to military service (women were also required to register, but were not called to serve in the forces). Two officers of the Dominion heard that two young men living near the Mattagami River had failed to register. The constables made their way to the home, and were confronted by the mother of the two men; she was holding a shotgun and was in no mood to talk things over. The officers, unwilling to use “rough methods” on the woman left the property. They returned the next day with an additional provincial officer, and all three confronted the mother again. This time she didn’t mince words and fired a few shots over the heads of the three men who beat a hasty retreat. In the meantime, her sons were able to successfully escape on the river, without fear of pursuit. The lady was not charged.
Finally, a few odd notices in the want ad sections of the paper – “Notice to Parents or Guardians who have children attending a Public School and are not supporting same please take notice that after Easter Holidays, accommodation can no longer be provided for them.” “Home wanted for infant boy, healthy and with good history, apply to Nurse Bellerby.” “ The Council for the Township of Tisdale invites applications for the position of Police Constable/Fire Chief/Sanitary Inspector for Schumacher. Salary: $100 per month. Preference given to returning soldier.”
www.timminspress.com/2012/08/17/a-glimpse-into-the-past