Blog

Welcome to the Stratford-Perth Archives Blog!

The Stratford-Perth Archives is celebrating a special anniversary this year! In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Archives, we are showcasing some treasured items from our collection! Stay tuned on social media for a new treasure each week. If you have any questions about the treasures or are interested in learning more about the Archives, please call 519-271-0531 ext. 259 or click here to email the Archives.

On this page:

Click the article titles below to navigate quickly to each post:

• Brooks Steam Car Stock Certificate - Posted December 1, 2022
• Apollo 11 Autographs - Posted November 24, 2022
• Eel Painting - Posted November 17, 2022
• John Davis Barnett Desk - Posted November 10, 2022
• Fenian Raid War Metal - Posted November 3, 2022
• The Gift of a Gavel - Posted October 27, 2022
• Royal Visit Memorabilia - Posted October 20, 2022
• Book Written by R. & K.M. Lizars - Posted October 13, 2022
• Painting of St. Percival Lawrence Tye of Milverton - Posted October 6, 2022
• Mitchell Opera House Poster - Posted September 29, 2022
• Stratford Festival Tent Souvenir - Posted September 22, 2022
• James Anderson's Drawing of the Fryfogel Inn - Posted September 15, 2022
• Kroehler Furniture Company Catalogues - Posted September 8, 2022
• Rostock Times Newspaper Article - Posted September 1, 2022
• William Thompson Diary - Posted August 25, 2022
• Cosy Grill Candy Box - Posted August 18, 2022
• Dickson Farm House Architect's Drawing - Posted August 11, 2022
• Downie Fullarton Assessment Roll - Posted August 4, 2022
• Urquhart Diaries - Posted July 28, 2022
• Albion Hotel, Stratford Photograph - Posted July 21, 2022
• Listowel Club Minute Book- Posted July 14, 2022
• Vera McNichol Collection- Posted July 7, 2022
• Monteith Family's Scrapbook: A Glimpse Into Their Private Life- Posted June 30, 2022
• Fred Ubelacker's Amateur Photographs Created Using Glass Negatives - Posted June 23, 2022
• Thomas Edison's original application to the Old Time Telegraphers - Posted June 16, 2022
• First Minute Book For Perth County Council (1853-1858) - Posted June 9, 2022
• City of Stratford Historical Directories Now Available Online! - Posted September 27, 2021
• Past Blog Posts

Brooks Steam Motors Stock Certificate

Posted December 1, 2022 

The City of Stratford sold Oland J. Brooks a former threshing machine factory located at 500 Ontario St. for 55,000 dollars with the City taking back a mortgage of 50,000 dollars in October 1923. Stratford, an important railway junction with a labour pool used to working with steam powered vehicles, was seen as a logical place to build steam cars. By 1925, despite hopes that the new manufacturer would employ hundreds, the factory only had around ninety employees. Former employees later reported that testing the cars as well as working on the assembly line could be counted towards apprenticeship time at the railroad shops. However, some also spent time driving the cars throughout Canada to promote sales of stock in the company.

This week’s treasure is a 1926 stock certificate from the Brooks Steam Motor Limited Company. It is part of the Archives’ Collection about Brooks Steam Motors, which consists of original documents and research materials accumulated over the years from a number of different sources. This particular item was purchased in 1999.

Brooks steamers were built for just over three years, from 1923 to 1926. Only two to three hundred of the cars, with their fabric body panels and pot boilers wrapped in three to four miles of piano wire to reduce the danger of explosion, were made. One is on display at Stratford Perth Museum. Though other models were proposed, a five passenger sedan, usually black, was actually produced. The price seems to have been higher than comparable models of gasoline powered cars. In a brochure from 1925, the Brooks was listed for $3885.00 all in. The addition of the electric starter, which eliminated the need for risky hand cranks to start gasoline powered cars, also made steam cars less attractive.

A front page article in the September 29, 1927 Stratford Beacon Herald, reported that O.J. Brooks, president of the company had been “practically ousted” as chair of the board. Stockholders and company officials were concerned that Brooks intended to abandon the Canadian operation after he had established an American company in Buffalo, New York in 1926. Unfortunately, in the end the plant in Stratford closed. Stockholders sought to have assets sold in the hope of recovering some of their investment.  A hearing was held on September 9, 1930 in the Supreme Court of Ontario to appoint a liquidator for what was left in the Stratford plant. 

An article appeared in the December 17, 1931 Beacon Herald that described the events of the sale:

Three-Day Sale At Brooks Plant To Conclude Tonight

Remaining Stock and Equipment Will All be Disposed of Today: Good Prices Were Realized This Morning

By Tonight, Auctioneer G. I. Graff hopes to have the remaining stock and equipment of the defunct Brooks Steam Motors Company practically all sold. Two days of auctioning have made big inroads on the mass of tools, parts and equipment which remained after a Toronto company had been conducting a private sale at the plant for several weeks. While the crowd was what might be called “a buying crowd” a great many of those present had come with the intention of bidding on some particular article or articles, and satisfactory prices prevailed.

This afternoon the auctioneer will concentrate his attack upon the remaining parts and tools. A large supply of the bolts, washers, small bearings and like stock remains to be sold, but it is believed that large quantities of this stock will be sold to individual buyers.

The sale this morning got under way to a good start when the first article offered, a car jack, brought $1.50. The night watchman’s portable clock with keys, was the next article offered and the final bid was $5.50. The piecework clock which once did duty in the factory, brought $7.50. A 25-cycle transformer, step-down to 50 volts, brought $1.50 and a large test gauge was sold for $1.50. Two hydraulic meters brought $1.00 and a centigrade meter was sold for 25 cents. Fifty cents was the best bid for a vacuum gauge, and a level scope, 100 gallons capacity, brought $1.25.

All the cars and heavy machinery have been sold. Most of the cars and car bodies have been removed from the plant by their owners. The bus and bus chassis are still in the factory but will not be offered by auction, as they were sold for reserve bid.

The Brooks factory became City property once more and was used for storage until another manufacturer bought it. Over the years it was home to Avalon Fabrics, Werlich Industries and Jones Manufacturing. The building was torn down in 2001. The “Heart of Stratford” murals by Rich Thistle on the Stratford Place Apartments on Ontario St. include a view of the Brooks steamer parked in front of the factory.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Apollo 11 Autographs

Posted November 24, 2022

This year marks the 53^rd anniversary of landing the first human on the moon. Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16th 1969, carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. It is estimated that over 650 million people watched Armstrong's televised image and heard his voice describe the event as he took "...one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind" on July 20^th 1969. The Apollo 11 crew splashed down southwest of Hawaii on July 24^th 1969. Upon their return, the three moon men went on tour visiting various countries. Fans of the TV series, The Crown, may remember the fictional presentation of their stop in England that included a private visit with Prince Phillip.

At 11:30am on December 2^nd 1969, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins, along with their wives, arrived in Ottawa where they were publicly welcomed on Parliament Hill. They then had lunch with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau before joining the front row in the House of Commons. As they entered the Commons, Mr. Trudeau rose to acknowledge their presence in the chamber and there was a thunderous one-minute ovation from both the floor and the packed galleries. Outbursts such as this are strictly forbidden in the galleries but there was no attempt to supress the excitement. After the crowd quieted, Trudeau continued and went on to say “The exploits of our visitors today proved that the age of exploration is not over, and we are glad. They proved too, that there is new meaning in the heavens and we are better for it.” The afternoon continued at a busy pace as the astronauts were rushed from the Commons to a screening of film of their moon landing, followed by a press conference, and finally a dinner given by the Government of Canada.

The dinner was held at the Chateau Laurier Hotel. While the meal was going on, a small crowd lined up outside in hopes of being able to obtain the astronauts’ signatures. Inside the main dining room, a number of Canada’s top scientists, leaders, and business men also had the same idea. The group outside eventually went home when it became apparent that the dinner would not be ending for some time. This did not stop the individuals inside, but they did not fare any better. The astronauts’ table was invaded as dessert was being served and one of the hosts, Treasury Board president C. M. Drury, directed the enthusiastic fans back to their seats. He assured them that if they filled out cards they would not only receive an autograph but a photograph would also be included.

One of these signature cards has made its way to Stratford-Perth Archives and is this week’s treasure. The card came into the Stratford branch of the Archives in 2012 with the dinner menu from the event – both items are part of the Monteith Collection. The small signature card contains all three names of the Apollo 11 astronauts, and the background contains a circle with the image of an eagle on the surface of the moon with, presumably, the earth off to the left in the background. According to a note from, Nancy B. Monteith, “I was able to get these – at Govt. dinner to honour the astronauts.” It is unclear if she obtained them during the dinner or if she filled out a card and they were sent to her at a later date. One assumes the latter is most likely as the men did not seem to be signing autographs at the meal nor would they have had the little cards at the table with them. This signature card is a real treasure as it has a very clear provenance connected with Perth County residents and because it documents the “rock star” status of the Apollo 11 astronauts.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Eel Painting

Posted November 17, 2022 

This week’s treasures from the Archives are a painting of a very famous horse, The Eel, and some of his trophies, seen here in a 1969 photograph, also from the Archives’ collections. Canadian artist John J. Kenyon (1862-1937) worked as a photographer and painter in Blair, Ontario. He liked to create portraits from his photographs of horse race winners and then sell them to the owner. In this painting of The Eel, and his driver, Dan McEwen, Kenyon’s signature appears in the lower left hand corner along with the date, 1911.

The photograph of the treasures appeared in the October 4, 1969 edition of the Stratford Beacon Herald. The caption read: “Sydney Warris, left, holds a silver racing cup won by the famous racehorse The Eel owned by the late Frank W. Entricken of Tavistock. T.W. Orr, president of the Perth County Historical Foundation, holds two more cups won by The Eel in 1909. The cups were inherited from the Entricken family by the late Annie C. Sharpe, the first wife of Mr. Warris, who donated them to the Foundation. He also presented the framed painting of The Eel. The cups were restored through the efforts of James Anderson, Foundation curator, and will be on display Sunday at the Fryfogel Inn. The Eel broke every pacing record there was except that of the great Dan Patch.” The trophies and painting were added to the Perth County Historical Collection and are now preserved at Stratford-Perth Archives.

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, “harness racing, or trotting, is the competition for purse money between horses bred and trained to trot or pace, driven by a driver in coloured silks who is mounted on a 2-wheeled cart called a sulky.” The Eel, born in 1902, was one of the most prominent horses in this sport in the early 20^th century. Frank Entricken owned two brickyards, one near Tavistock and the other in Little Lakes, east of Stratford. He purchased the dapple-grey colt as a yearling at the Michigan harness horse sales for $180. Dan McEwen was a horse trainer from London and Entricken turned his horse over to McEwen for training. This relationship turned out to be in everyone’s best interest as the horse earned a reputation throughout Southwestern Ontario as unbeatable. Originally known as Silver Joe, Entricken changed the horse’s name to The Eel. There was no known rule at that time that said that a horse’s name could not be changed so Entricken paid the required fee, and, at the beginning of the 1908 season it was The Eel who was racing and Silver Joe no longer existed.

The Eel died under mysterious circumstances in Ohio in 1912. It was the day before he was to race against America’s most famous horse, Dan Patch, in Columbus. Some say that he was poisoned, while another story is that after he was done racing in Detroit and on his way to Columbus, he was caught in a rain storm. Upon reaching Columbus the blankets covering him were wet and not replaced with dry ones. The story goes on that this resulted in the horse catching a cold from which he did not recover. It has been 110 years since The Eel’s death in 1912, but his legend still lives on.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

John Davis Barnett Desk

Posted November 10, 2022 

One tends to think of Stratford’s history as a “railway town” as distinct from the city’s current fame as a cultural centre based around the Shakespearean Festival. However, John Davis Barnett (1849-1926) was the Master Mechanic at the Grand Trunk Railway repair shops by day and an ardent book collector with a particular passion for the works of Shakespeare by night.

In her 1980 book, Floodtides of Fortune: The Story of Stratford and the progress of the city through two centuries, Adelaide Leitch  describes Barnett as “a draughtsman and engineer in charge of the construction of the G.T.R. repair shops. He assembled 42,000 books, claiming his house on Douro Street was literally propped up by them. One room alone contained a Shakespearean collection of 1,500 books which became internationally famous; barely was there room in the house for Barnett’s tiny roll top desk that wound up, eventually, in the equally crowded Perth County Archives.”

This week’s treasure is Barnett’s tiny roll top desk – a great example of an important artifact that was once at the Archives and later deaccessioned to a more appropriate repository – the Stratford Perth Museum. Recently, they found a neatly typed note in one of the drawers, likely from James Anderson, first County Archivist, confirming that it had belonged to Barnett. Mrs. J.N. Patterson donated the desk to the Perth County Historical Collection in 1971. The historical collection was a treasure trove of artifacts and documents curated for a future archives and museum over many years before either was formally established.

In the fall of 1918, Barnett’s personal library of upwards of 40,000 books on many different subjects was donated to Western University in London. Barnett’s move to Western was negotiated by historian Fred Landon, then Chief Public Librarian for the city of London. Landon convinced Barnett, apparently over a lunch time stroll, to donate his collection to Western’s fledgling university library which consisted of less than 5,000 books. Barnett, who had, at one point, drafted a will leaving the collection to McGill University or if the university would not accept them to the federal government as a nucleus for a national library, accepted Landon’s offer on the condition that Barnett would still, for all intents and purposes, be in charge of his collection as curator. Barnett stipulated that the collection be available to any earnest researcher, whether in the university or not, and he specifically did not want his collection kept separate from the growing general collection of the university library. Barnett was given a salary and an annual travel grant to allow him to continue to seek out treasures for the library. Mrs. Patterson, who donated Barnett’s desk to the Perth County Historical Collection, was Fred Landon’s daughter, Mary Florence Landon (1916-1979). She spent much of her life in Stratford.

Many thanks to Professor Ian Rae, King’s College, for drawing our attention to the presence of Barnett’s desk. And thanks as well to Stratford Perth Museum for loaning the desk to us for our 50 Treasures exhibit.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Fenian Raid War Metal

Posted November 3, 2022 

This week’s treasure is a war medal from the 1800s. Peter Fryfogel of South Easthope Township was given the Canada General Service medal as a member of the New Hamburg Infantry Company during the Fenian raids of 1866. It was donated to our collection in 1973 by Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Martin. Queen Victoria approved this series of medals in 1899 for all those still living who had, among other types of service, been “employed in repelling the Fenian raids on the Canadian frontier.” The silver medal is about one and a half inches in diameter. One side has a portrait of Queen Victoria. The other side has the red ensign flag of Canada surrounded by a wreathe of maple leaves. There is a red and white striped ribbon with a bar that reads Fenian Raid 1866. On the side of the medal, in tiny letters, you can just make out “Sgt. P. Fryfogel, New Hamburg I. Co.”

Peter Fryfogel was born on November 24, 1819 in Pennsylvania. His parents were Sebastian and Mary Fryfogel. They arrived in South Easthope Township (now part of Perth East) around Christmas 1828 to establish the Fryfogel Inn in a log building. It was near the same site, east of Shakespeare, where its brick replacement has stood since the mid-1840s. Peter married Ellen Allen on February 20, 1849. They had 11 children – Amos, Henry, Thomas, Richard, George, Peter A., Anne Jane, Ellen Mary, Sebastian, Elizabeth and Alice.

Fryfogel would have had to apply to the Canadian government via the British War Office in London to be awarded his medal based on events long past. Shortly before his death Fryfogel also applied for a grant under the Fenian Raid Volunteer Bounty Act. On that application, he wrote that he was a Sergeant with the New Hamburg Infantry Company from March 8 to July 5, 1866. To support his claim, he sent in a Comrade’s Declaration form signed by his Company Captain, Kenneth Goodman. Goodman wrote that Fryfogel was “one of the crack shots of the Company – he was a particularly fine man – owned a farm of 200 acres –…It seems hard that there should be a delay in a case like this – it is not the money – it is the recognition of loyal men’s services – he was on active service, including Thorold Camp fully four months…The New Hamburg Infantry Company was the only Company in the County of Waterloo at the time of the Raid in 1866.” In spite of Goodman’s plea to the Military Council in Ottawa to respond quickly due to Fryfogel’s advanced age, the cheque for $100 did not arrive until after Fryfogel’s death from heart failure on July 8, 1912 and was returned to the Militia Department.

In 1922, other local soldiers who received the same medal as Fryfogel gathered on the steps of Stratford City Hall for a photograph with Mayor W.H. Gregory. With the exception of Sgt.-Maj. McDonald, they had all been members of either the Stratford Rifles or the Stratford Infantry company. The two companies left Stratford by train at noon on March 21, 1866. They were summoned rather abruptly but the City was able to arrange for a barrel of beer to send with them as they travelled. They did duty at Chatham, Sandwich, Windsor and Thorold. The Perth Regiment did not exist when the Fenian raids broke out. However, on September 14, 1866 the 28th Perth Battalion of Infantry was authorized with Robert Scott Service, a Stratford auctioneer and accountant, in command as Lieutenant-Colonel. It was redesignated the 28th Perth Regiment on May 8, 1900 and the Perth Regiment on March 29, 1920.

Those in the 1922 photograph are: 

Top – Mayor W.H. Gregory, Sgt.-Major John McDonald, Major Robert R. Lang, Col. William Lawrence, William J. Morrow.

Second – William Patterson, David B. Burritt, John McIntyre, Capt. F.H. McCallum, S.A. Nelles

Bottom – Thomas B. McCarthy, John Forbes, J.C. Robinson, John Carey, George Merrylees, Major A.B. Maguire

Click here to return to the top of the page.

The Gift of a Gavel

Posted October 27, 2022 

This week’s treasure is a gavel presented to an M.P. and Senator from Perth County.

The gavel (pictured) is on loan from the Montgomery family. It was entrusted to the Mitchell branch of the Archives in 1994 by a descendant of the original owner. According to the plaque on the gavel, it was presented to W.H. Golding M.P. beloved chairman of the Liberal caucus in 1947 by the Prime Minster of Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King, on behalf of friends and colleagues of the Liberal Party. The story goes that Golding had refused remuneration for his role and was instead given the gavel as a token of appreciation.

The gavel itself is special as it is made of wood from the Hudson’s Bay Company’s steamship called “The S.S. Beaver”. The Beaver was built in 1835 in Blackwall, England of British oak, elm, greenheart, and teak and was copper-fastened. She launched at Blackwell Yard and was to be the first steamship to operate on the Pacific Northwest of North America. Beaver served trading posts maintained by the Hudson’s Bay Company and made remote parts of the west coast of Canada accessible for maritime fur trading.

Now that we know about the gavel, who was the man it was given to?

William Henry Golding was born in 1878 to Henry Golding (1841-1933) and Sarah Ann Annis (1838-1935) of Hibbert Township, Perth County. He received his early education in Hibbert Township and apprenticed as a machinist. In 1905, he moved to Seaforth, Ontario where he found employment with The Robert Bell Engine & Thresher Co. Ltd. He worked there until the company was sold in 1949; at that time, he held the position of company director.

William showed a keen interest in public service early in life. He began his career at a community level when he was elected to Seaforth Town Council in 1916. He served on Council from 1916 until 1929; which included an eight-year tenure as Mayor starting in 1921. He also served as chairman of the Seaforth Public Utility Commission until 1935, as well as first chairman of the Scott Memorial Hospital from 1924, when the hospital was opened, until 1945. 

His interest in politics led to activity in the Huron Liberal Association where he served as vice president. In 1932, following the death of Thomas McMillan, M.P., he was elected to the House of Commons in the Huron South riding in 1932 in a by-election, and was re-elected in 1935. After district changes, he was re-elected in the Huron-Perth riding in 1940 and 1945. He was appointed deputy chairman of the Committees of the Whole in 1947 until 1949 when he was called to the Canadian Senate. While a Senator, he was chairman of the Liberal party caucus and active in several Senate committees. He remained a Senator until his death in 1961.

On January 28^th 1913, William married Alena Elizabeth Kenchen of Owen Sound (1884-1959). They had five children; two sons, and three daughters. Not only was William an accomplished politician but he was, according to his obituary in the Huron Expositor, “a kind friend of all who knew him, a good father.” He was very active in his community and was a member of the Seaforth Masonic Lodge as well as the Odd Fellows Lodge. He also was an active member of the Northside United Church for over 55 years and was on the church board up until his death. Reverend J. C. Britton, who officiated Golding’s funeral service, noted that “he was a beloved Christian man…and his chief characteristics were loyalty, honesty, warmth, and a strong devotion to the cause of God. We would do well to be like him.” He is buried in the Staffa Cemetery in West Perth and there is a blue plaque outside the cemetery commemorating his accomplishments.   

William Golding was clearly a well loved and treasured man for both his work and personal life. The Archives is honoured to have his gavel as part of our collection.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Royal Visit Memorabilia

Posted October 20, 2022 

In the Stratford-Perth Archives collection there are several items of memorabilia from royal visits to this area. They include a hand-tinted photograph of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later often referred to as the Queen Mother) at the Stratford train station. The photograph was purchased for the Archives from a local thrift shop a few years ago. A note on the back records the place and date of the visit – Stratford, Ont. June 6, 1939. Another note says Christmas 1940 - implying that this treasure was originally a gift, perhaps to someone who saw the King and Queen that day. Newspaper articles relating to the visit give the reader both the sense of excitement and disappointment surrounding their stop here. It is important when researching historical events to look at multiple perspectives.

In 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Canada. It was the first time that a reigning British monarch set foot in any of the “overseas Dominions.” Their Majesties landed in Quebec on May 17th. Canadian journalist Robert K. Carnegie, who travelled with the Royals throughout their visit, reported that with guns thundering a royal salute, and the crowd of thousands cheering in a volume that nearly drowned out the roar of the artillery, Her Majesty, eyes gleaming, was heard to say to the King: “I think they like us.”

Stratford Mayor, Thomas E. Henry, chaired a Royal Visit committee that spent five months organizing the local programme, supervising decorations, and arranging for the red-carpeted reception platform. The main event was to take place at the Stratford train station where citizens were formally presented to the King and Queen. Residents from the counties of Perth, Huron, and Bruce along with the City of Stratford, the Perth Regiment, and war veterans were to be presented. The headline in the late edition of the newspaper that day summarized the visit: “Royal Pair Wins Hearts of All – Perth, Huron and Bruce Join in Rapturous Welcome.” It was an extremely busy day for the King and Queen. Carnegie wrote that “possibly more people saw Their Majesties this day than any other on the Canadian tour. They passed through the rich farming and industrial communities of Western Ontario – Guelph, Kitchener, Stratford, and Windsor. Back to London late at night. At all these and many intervening stations crowds massed along the tracks.”

Many may still remember this event. There was extensive coverage by local newspapers like the Listowel Banner. That coverage however, for the most part, focused on disappointment. One headline read: “Thousands Wait for Hours to Suffer Disappointment as Royal Train Speeds By.” The Banner went on to say: “An ear-splitting roar of delight suddenly turned to an awed silence of disappointment Tuesday afternoon as the Royal train bearing King George and Queen Elizabeth unexpectedly passed by some 17,000 school children in Stratford. The children stood in the sickening heat for three hours awaiting a chance to take Their Majesties to their hearts. Few of them got more than a fleeting glimpse, as the Royal train rushed by and the Royal couple failed to appear on the rear platform.” “Five special trains passed through Listowel carrying thousands [to the Royal visit] …The train only stopped at a couple stations after leaving Listowel and on arrival in Stratford, another special of five cars was sent back to Milverton to pick up the others. Approximately 1,390 tickets were sold in Listowel.” All this was for what was to be a ten-minute visit by the Royal couple in Stratford with the train moving at a slow pace in front of crowds gathered along the tracks en route to the station. Stratford reported that approximately 75,000 people attended the event.

Carnegie wrote positively about the visit from the view of the Royals, whereas local newspapers wrote about what they saw on the ground. The excitement in the air and then the disappointment as the Royal train rushed by and only a few caught a glimpse, unless they were among the lucky crowd actually at the train station.

Events like the Royal visit are, for some, only a once in a lifetime event and they are reported as such. It is wonderful that the Archives has documents and photos for those who were not there or did not catch a glimpse of the couple. With a visit to the Archives one can still read and learn about the Royal visit and other events from archival records and primary sources.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Book Written by R. & K.M. Lizars

Posted October 13, 2022 

This week’s treasure from Stratford-Perth Archives is a first edition of “Committed to His Charge” by sisters Robina and Kathleen Lizars.

The Lizars family sailed from Scotland on the Robroy to the Huron Tract in 1834. According to a family legend, Daniel Lizars grandfather, after piloting a schooner due to the ship’s captain falling ill, ran it onto a sandbar interrupting a church service atop the bluffs causing the congregation to run down the hill and rescue the stranded family. At the time, Daniel Lizars, father to Robina and Kathleen, was only 11 years old. He became a lawyer in 1853 and practised in Goderich and Stratford. In 1858, Daniel was appointed County attorney and, after a number of high-profile positions, obtained the position of Judge of the High Court of Justice in 1882.

His well-educated daughters also earned notoriety. Together, they wrote three books. The best known of their books is “In the Days of the Canada Company.” In a 1944 article in the London Free Press, it was reported that that Col. W. W. Macvicar had known the Lizars sisters when they were residing in Stratford. According to Mr. Macvicar: “they lived in the Albion Hotel and he often wondered what they were doing all the time, as they seemed busy all day up in their room. He was of the opinion that they were writing a book. …Mr. Macvicar could not fix the date but was (himself) inclined to believe that 1896 (the year in which “In the Days of the Canada Company” was published) would correspond.” This book was very well received, with the Goderich Signal reporting: “If you have not read this book get a copy at once, don’t borrow, buy it, for it is a book which you will always like to have up on your shelf ready to take down and discuss with your friends… Heavy tribute has been laid upon these reminiscences of early settlers, family diaries, portraits, and correspondence, old records, pamphlets and magazines, all of which, collected as they must have been with amazing diligence and zeal, have been deftly woven in the tale that is told.” A first edition of this book is also in the Archives’ collection.

The first English edition of “Committed to His Charge,” at the Archives, is an incredibly special copy. It was the Lizars sisters first and only fictional novel. It is a story, that at its heart, is about love. Published in 1900, it had been reviewed by a number of newspapers, magazines, and journals. The praise was great, with the Toronto Globe stating: “It has abundant humor and fine character studies, while the story element is vivid and forcible.” Most reviews focused on their excellent artistic skill in character development, with one reviewer going as far as to compare them to Jane Austin.

The Stratford Herald, operated by William Dingman, had neglected to review the novel by the famous Stratford sisters. The copy in the Archives collection was given to William Dingman, by the sisters, with a letter glued to the front page. It reads: “May 24, 1901, Dear W. Dingman, As you have not sent us a review of “Committed,” I conclude that you have not received a copy from the Canadian publishers. If you will accept one of the English edition, I hope you will keep the accompanying volume. Enclosed with it are some sheets from reviews sent us from time to time, which you may be interested to see as a record of opinions expressed us your fellow citizens. I am pleased to say that the good class journals have been very nice to us. I should like you to see what the Baltimore Sun says, but I think I must have sent the review back to the publisher. If we find favour in your eyes, send me three or four copies of what you say. If you don’t happen to like us, one copy will be enough – to paste in my book! Yours ever truly, K. M. Lizars.” On the last page of the book, Kathleen had pasted more than a dozen reviews.

Making this book even more special is that William Dingman then speculated as to who, locally, the characters might be based upon. Local prominent citizens names are paired with a character, written in pencil, on the last page. One character, Mrs. Stuart, was thought to be Robina.

If you would like to read free a copy of the book, you can download it from archive.org. (Internet Archive). If you would like to read a free copy of “In the Days of the Canada Company,” you may download a copy from digitalarchive.tpl.ca

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Painting of Dr. Percival Lawrence Tye of Milverton

Posted October 6, 2022

This week’s treasure from Stratford-Perth Archives is a painting of Dr. Percival Lawrence Tye of Milverton, created by Perth County artist Bruce Stapleton.

Born in Stratford in 1910, Stapleton grew up there before going to study at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto in his late teens. He married Isobel Orr in 1938 and moved their family to Vancouver in the 1950’s. He is known and remembered for his World War II public support posters as well as for his portrait paintings. Besides Dr. Tye, he painted portraits of his father-in-law, R. Thomas Orr and the principals from Stratford Collegiate, C.A. Mayberry and W.L. Sprung just to name a few.

Dr. Tye was well-known throughout the County. He died on March 30, 1969 and his death made front page news when it was announced in the April 1, 1969 edition of the Stratford Beacon Herald. Here is that story:

Over 60 years in Milverton

Dedicated practitioner, Dr. P.L. Tye, dies

Milverton – Sixty years and 10 days after he started his medical practice here, Dr. P.L Tye died Monday in Stratford General Hospital. He was 85 years old.

Dedication to his community kept Dr. Tye on the go seven days a week until several years ago when periodic illness took him away from his office.

He was born in Brantford, a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Tye. From Brantford he moved to Niagara Falls, then to Goderich, where he graduated from high school. He entered University of Toronto Medical School in 1903 and graduated in 1907.

Dr. Tye served his internship in hospitals in Ottawa and Buffalo, N.Y., before coming here. He began as an assistant to the late Dr. Fred Parker.

From the first Sunday he started his practice here Dr. Tye delivered a baby every Sunday until the first week in June that year. This was his initiation in the 60 years and almost 6,000 babies that followed.

His first car, a Ford touring model bought in 1913, cost him $800 plus the 15 cents express charge to have the licence plates sent from Toronto.

The car eventually replaced the fine stable of horses Dr. Tye maintained to take him out in every conceivable sort of weather to treat patients. He kept five horses usually so he would always have a fresh team if a series of calls had to be made.

The switch to the car meant problems in getting out on the township roads in the winter when the plows weren’t sent out to clear the snow away. To overcome this, Dr. Tye designed a snow-mobile that took him everywhere duty called.

Instead of lightening as the years went on, Dr. Tye’s duties increased. When he started here there were doctors in Monkton, Millbank and Atwood. When they all left their communities, Dr. Tye was left with the overflow of patients.

He travelled about 30,000 miles each year between his office and the hospitals in Listowel and Stratford where he had patients. His area of service grew to cover about 150 square miles.

Medicine and consultation to patients was only one phase of Dr. Tye’s life. He was the first president of the Milverton Lions Club when it organized. For 11 years he served on the council of the village here – four as a Councillor and seven as Reeve. In 1927 Dr. Tye was elected Warden of Perth County.

He spent more than 30 years as county representative on the Milverton High School Board, 12 of those as chairman of the board. Dr. Tye was chairman of the Old Age Pensions Board for Perth for two years. He was a past district deputy of the Masonic Order.

When he first came to the village he had to run the telephone system established by Dr. Parker. When the Mornington Municipal System took over the business in 1921 there were 275 subscribers.

Surviving besides his wife, the former Edna Beckett of Owen Sound, whom he married on Oct. 12, 1912, are two sons, William, Dundalk; MacDonald, Winnipeg; one sister, Mrs. Robert (Edrie) Carey, Goderich; eight grandchildren; four great grandchildren.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Mitchell Opera House Poster

Posted September, 29, 2022

This week’s treasure from Stratford-Perth Archives is a poster advertising a charity event at the Mitchell Opera House during the great depression of the 1930s. This event, a play titled “Happy Valley,” was staged by the Mitchell Fire Brigade to raise funds for Christmas gifts and essentials to those finding themselves in “unfortunate situations.” 

The story of the Mitchell Opera House has a tragic beginning and end. In 1886, Mr. Henry James purchased the “corner lot on Main Street” from Mr. J. S. Coppin for the sum of $1,700. The article in the Mitchell Advocate in November of 1886, stated that “his intention [was] to erect a brick building upon the site with a large opera house.” The first tragedy occurred when the opera house was almost complete. In the obituary of Mr. James, it says: “It (the Opera House) was nearly completed when in the middle of the night, a wind of cyclonic proportion blew the east end of the three-story building over and it came down on the top of the frame building, which was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. John Green and Miss Snow… Mr. Green and Miss Snow were killed, but on clearing away the wreckage Mrs. Green was found standing alive under a door frame.” Mrs. Noel Green went on to file a lawsuit against Mr. James, suing for amount of $7,000. In April of 1888, the Mitchell Advocate reported the following: “It will be the remembered that the great storm last fall blew down the walls of the James’ block, destroying the building of plaintiff and killing her husband and servant. The defense will be that the accident was purely accidental and impossible to guard against, that the deceased was cautioned in time, but refused to leave the building, and that defendant should therefore not be held responsible.” Mr. James won the lawsuit and Mrs. Green received no compensation for her loss.

Over the next 55 years, the Opera House was home to countless events, including productions by both local and travelling groups, graduations, lectures, political gatherings, movies, and more. It all ended on December 27, 1943, at 3:15 a.m., when a fire broke out in one of the ground floor businesses. According to the Advocate: “The flames laid waste the Opera Block which embraces the Plaza Theatre, O. E. Webb’s Bakery, The Cozy Grill and Dominion store. Loss was placed at between $35,000 and $40,000.” This was its tragic end.

The featured treasure, a poster now 91 years old, gives us a glimpse into the past and the names of young Mitchell residents who performed for charity. On June 4, 1931, an article appeared in the Mitchell Advocate promoting the advertised play: “Happy Valley” for Firemen

     Last Christmas, it will be remembered the Mitchell brigade, assisted by many appreciative citizens of our town, distributed Christmas gifts and other useful articles to children and older people who through no fault of their own, were placed in unfortunate situations through inability to secure work. It was a creditable and commendable effort on the part of the firemen. They purpose, if possible, to do the same thing again this year and in order to start a fund for this undertaking, well known Mitchell young people will present the play “Happy Valley” in the Opera House here on the evening of Friday June 5^th. It is hoped that a nice sum will be realized and that the people of Mitchell will rally to the cause. The play “Happy Valley” is a live one, with lots of comedy mingled with dramatic episodes and no tiresome moments. It is a four-act creation and centres around city and country life.

The review in the next weeks paper stated: “The play “Happy Valley” was one of the best ever staged by the cast of Mitchell young people, and we doubt very much as to whether those taking a part in the play ever entered into the work with a more sincere or full-hearted manner than they did in “Happy Valley” on Friday evening.”  Yet, despite the glowing review, much fewer than hoped for turned out for the production. The firemen were excused for “wearing sober faces.” It did not generate the funds they had hoped for, but their good intentions, their thoughtfulness, and the names of those who gave their time, have fortuitously survived almost a century, in the form of ephemera, meant to be disposed of after the event, but in this case, preserved for future researchers at Stratford-Perth Archives.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Stratford Festival Tent Souvenir

Posted September 22, 2022 

“With one bold stroke that has left our big cities gasping, Stratford, Ont…will this summer claim its birthright with a Shakespearean festival starring Alec Guinness on the banks of the Avon” proclaimed Maclean’s magazine on May 1, 1953.

This week’s treasure from Stratford-Perth Archives includes a piece of the original Shakespearean festival home – an enormous tent. The now famous tent was where Alec Guinness played Richard III in the festival’s first production to great acclaim. The tent served well for the first four seasons. Then a permanent building, the Festival Theatre, was built and pieces of the tent were sent out as mementoes to supporters in appreciation of past and continuing interest in the Canadian Festival Theatre.

The idea for a theatre in Stratford first came to Tom Patterson while he was attending the Stratford Collegiate in the 1930s. While pondering the future of his home town with friends in the Shakespearean Gardens, as the story goes, his idea came to light.

In 1951, Stratford City Council and the Chamber of Commerce began to look for new industries. The CNR’s steam locomotive repair shops were going to be phased out and something new was needed to revitalize or even reinvent Stratford.

In January of 1952, Tom Patterson came forward with his proposal to the City for a new theatre. He made a presentation to Council, and it caught the attention of the local newspaper, the Stratford Beacon Herald. The headline read: Council told of Idea to make Stratford world famous Shakespearean Centre. When Patterson completed his presentation, he asked council for $100 to go to New York to meet Sir Laurence Olivier. Council gave him $125. He went to New York, and though he did not get to meet Olivier, he came back feeling encouraged to keep exploring the idea. Patterson’s commitment to this new endeavor never wavered, and he had the support from not only City Council but also from the citizens.

The thrust stage at the Festival was introduced by artistic director Tyrone Guthrie. A thrust stage lets the audience surround it on three sides, as opposed to a proscenium-style stage, which removes the audience from the action. Guthrie worked in tandem with designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch on the stage design and it was built by Toronto architect Robert Fairfield. The first stage was covered by the tent and the peak of the tent was directly over the stage.

Robert Fairfield also designed the new permanent building, with its thrust stage, for the Festival to resemble the original tent structure. It was 200 feet in diameter and approximately 70 feet in height. Design became reality thanks to the work of local company, Gaffney Construction. It took 150 construction workers to complete the building by June 30, 1957. They had a dedication ceremony that same day and on July 1^st opened their doors to audiences. The new theatre included a balcony above the amphitheatre and there was seating for 2,276 people. In 1958, Fairfield won the Massey Gold Medal for Architecture for his design of the iconic building. Though we still treasure this reminder of the Stratford Festival’s early years under the tent.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

James Anderson's Drawing of the Fryfogel Inn

Posted September 15, 2022

After fifty years of operation, Stratford-Perth Archives houses an ever-growing collection of historical documents that are carefully preserved and made accessible for researchers from Perth County and around the world. We are celebrating the Archives’ golden anniversary by highlighting treasures in our local history articles and blog posts throughout 2022.

This week’s treasure is the late James Anderson’s 1967 drawing of a stage coach arriving at the Fryfogel Inn, which still stands east of Shakespeare on Highway 7/8. In the 1960s photograph that appears in the lower corner, you can see Anderson admiring a nineteenth century mural of Niagara Falls on the wall of the Fryfogel. Describing his drawing as an artistic conception, Anderson said it shows the 1840s building “in its original setting beside Tavern Brook and fronted by corduroy on the Huron Road. The log hotel, which served for 16 years, apparently sat farther back according to Amos Fryfogel in 1967. The Fryfogels later built a farmhouse across the road and tended the hotel when customers showed up. In 1856, the Grand Trunk Railway, running through the fields behind, soon put it out of business. It became a family duplex until 1923 and has since had many uses. It is now publicly-owned and remains the only surviving Canada Company wayside stopping place. In recent times it became known as Fryfogel Inn. There never was a balcony over the front door.” The same year that Anderson created his drawing, a plaque was added to the memorial cairn on the site, proclaiming that “the property on which this cairn stands was donated to the Perth County Historical Foundation in Canada’s Centennial year, 1967, by Amos Fryfogel, great grandson of Sebastian Fryfogel, who established the Inn in 1828.”

The drawing was published in Thelma Coleman’s 1978 book, The Canada Company. Anderson is listed as a co-author and described as “Perth County Archivist and packrat of antiquity. He is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and has a background of teaching, printing and library work. Mr. Anderson lives in an ancient house and says his interest in art, history and architecture comes by way of osmosis as a native and resident of Stratford.” Coleman’s book was the result of a cooperative effort of the County of Perth, the Perth County Historical Board and Cumming Publishers of Stratford to mark the 150^th anniversary of the survey of the Huron Road across the Huron Tract by John McDonald in 1828. Anderson’s drawing also appears in Country Roads: The Story of South Easthope Township, 1827-2000. Country Roads has a detailed history of the Fryfogel Inn along with a quote from Anderson describing it as “the Parthenon of Perth County.” His original drawing of our Parthenon was generously donated to Stratford-Perth Archives by Anderson’s sister, Helen Whaling, in 2014. It occupies a prominent place in our Exhibit Gallery – appropriately named in honour of James Anderson.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Kroehler Furniture Company Catalogues

Posted September 8, 2022

Kindel Bed Co. opened its doors in Stratford in 1917 in what had been the Kemp factory for farm equipment. The head of Kindel was Peter Edward Kroehler. Five years later the company’s name changed to Kroehler Manufacturing and eventually became Kroehler Furniture Co.

Kroehler’s grew quickly and by 1918 construction on a large addition had begun. The building at Romeo Street and Ontario Street eventually grew from 12,000 square feet to 220,000 square feet and the factory went from 30 employees to 460. Sometimes, generations of the same family found employment there. Many worked there their entire lives, leaving with 40 and 50 year service pins. Kroehler Manufacturing was one of the longest surviving manufacturers in Stratford. In 1990, the building at Ontario Street and Romeo Street was demolished and its second location on Douro Street closed in 1992.

One of the company’s longest running advertising campaigns highlighted Kroehler’s “hidden qualities” which is apparent in a large selection of their catalogues. According to their 1926 catalogue, “in upholstered living room furniture, the most important parts of the structure are those parts which cannot been seen.” These ads encompassed a wide variety of “hidden” features such as the spring steel understructure, the tempered steel upholstery springs, hardwood frames, and their filling materials. In the 1926 catalogue titled “Kroehler Davenport Beds and Living Room Furniture” each “hidden quality” is explained at length. They really seem to stress the quality of their pieces and even go on to list their cushions, coverings as part of their “hidden qualities” even though these are clearly apparent when you look at a piece. Later advertising campaigns promoted how versatile some pieces were like the Swingers series that could be easily switched from chairs to lounges to beds  for those who live “now.”

Although the factory is closed, the work that Kroehler’s employees did lives on through the catalogues and furniture pieces that still exist today. The Stratford-Perth Archives has a selection of Kroehler catalogues and flipping through them is an amazing adventure as you might recognize some of the pieces you currently have in your home or some you may remember being in your parents’ or other relatives’ homes. Kroehler had such large an impact on Stratford and its people. The catalogues are a true treasure which attest to the hard work, quality, and longevity of Kroehler Furniture Company, its products, and its employees.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Rostock Times Newspaper Article

Posted September 1, 2022

Earl Frederick Eggert was born on April 3, 1911 and grew up on a farm in Ellice Township. Seen here as a child posing with his great grandfather Jeremiah Kalbfleisch, grandmother Annie Doerr, and mother Eva Eggert, he eventually attended Stratford Business College and worked as a clerk for CN for a time. He operated the egg grading station and feed store in Rostock as of 1937. In 1942 he married Marjorie Leinweber and purchased the general store in Rostock. Eggert’s General Store operated until 1969. Earl was also post master there for 30 years. He was secretary-treasurer of the Rostock Cheese and Butter Company for 41 years. Even after retiring he was a book-keeper for Filsinger Brothers in Sebringville and Earl’s Auto Sales in Stratford. Earl and Marjorie raised two children, travelled extensively and had a wide circle of friends. Marjorie painted and was the founding secretary-treasurer of Stratford Art in the Park.

In 2016, the family made a generous donation of the originals of Earl’s homemade Rostock village newspapers to Stratford-Perth Archives. These newspapers are one of the fifty treasures from the collections at Stratford-Perth Archives being highlighted in celebration of our fiftieth anniversary. The title varied among things like the Rostock Herald and the Rostock Home Review. He “published whenever there [was] news” or, it seems, an opportunity for a chuckle. One weather report, for example, read that “Rostock is this year experiencing one of the winteriest winters that it has wintered in many winters. This morning finds us isolated from the outside world, and we have just phoned the airport to find that the Trans-Ellice Airlines plane is grounded for the day.” The August 14, 1939 edition tells the sad tale of “Skipper Broad of the home fleet [who] had a very close call in the Avon River at Stratford last night when the schooner which he was manipulating capsized and Edward was forced to wade to dry land. Sabotage Blamed.” Poor Skipper is shown sitting astride an overturned canoe in the pencil illustration for the story. In other news, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Debus had just returned home from their honeymoon “up Callendar way.” Local youths from the “shiveree Society” had a wiener roast attended by the newly married couple “whose presence it was our pleasure to experience.” The next issue from August 21 features a poem asking “Will Happy Bill be next?” Clearly picking up the tale of the post-honeymoon wiener roast and wedding shower for the Debuses, the poem reads:

When William was to the wiener roast,
We thought he was too shy
To bring the girl that he loved most,
But we changed our mind, OH MY!!!

When on Thursday night the shower came
William was there on high
With a pretty girl, we’ll not tell her name
Did they ever look sweet, OH MY!!!

He tried to take the Model A,
But couldn’t get her started,
So with Gordon Fisher went away
And Bill’s hair was really parted.

When Bill came back he was all smiles,
For he had got the girl and drove only a few miles.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

William Thompson Diary

Posted August 25, 2022

After fifty years of operation, Stratford-Perth Archives houses an ever-growing collection that is carefully preserved and made accessible for researchers from Perth County and around the world. This treasure is a Perth County farmer’s diary from the 1840s. Its survival, our understanding of its provenance, and its availability on the internet is the result of the efforts of several organizations and individuals over many years.

It was transferred to Stratford-Perth Archives in the 1980s from Western University Library’s Regional Collection. In 1941, their Assistant Librarian, James J. Talman, wrote a letter to the editor of the Stratford Beacon Herald to say that “this library has acquired a document written by an unknown person in Perth County in 1842. All we know of the writer is that he appears to have had children named Christopher, Charles, Isaac and Wilfred…and from his friends’ names appears to have lived in South Easthope. His name began with T and he lived close to Stratford. His wife died on February 13, 1847.” Talman got some very helpful responses to his letter.  Mrs. Donald Anderson of Shakespeare wrote to tell him that her mother-in-law grew up on a farm in South Easthope Township that was next to one owned by the Thompson family and believed it to be the diary of William Thompson. Mrs. Anderson also wrote that “a son of this family, Wilfred Thompson, married a Miss Menzie of North Easthope and farmed near Listowel. He died not many years ago and left a family in that district…a daughter married Prof Barron in Toronto and their son was Judge John A. Barron who used to live in Stratford.” Another reader, Mrs. William Makins of RR1 Stratford, added more details about Thompson’s life, writing: “The time of the Mackenzie Rebellion [ca1837] there was what they called The Little Lakes Company commanded by Captain Thompson…He had a son Wilfred who married my mother’s sister and he lived near Listowel…Robert, a son of Wilfred’s still lives in Listowel.”

The 105-page diary dates back to 1842 and spans the following six years, ending in 1848. The author of the diary was clearly William Thompson (1775-1853?), who emigrated from London, England with his wife and family, and wrote daily accounts of their life on the homestead. These short entries touch on a variety of topics such as the weather, his family, who dropped in to visit, purchases for the farm, what work was done, and the travels of various family members. It appears that the single book at Stratford-Perth Archives was volume 5 in a series of diaries kept by Thompson as early as 1834. According to a 1932 article from the Stratford Beacon Herold, volume 3 of Thompson’s diaries, from November 1837 to December 1839, was in the possession of his great granddaughter, Mrs. G.C. Hacking of Listowel. The 1932 news article indicates that the location of volumes 1 and 2 was unknown. Presumably there was also a volume 4, location also unknown.

The Thompson farm was located in South Easthope Township on Concession 1, Lot 37, which today would be south of Line 34 and Forest Road in Perth East. In his entries, William mentions his wife “Mrs. T” and his eight children: Alex, James, Charles, Isaac, Wilfred, Christian/Christopher, Emily, Ellen, and Martha. Financial entries at the back show that the farm produced wheat, beef and pork, among other products earning the family a considerable income each year. In 1847, William wrote that his wife died and that only Emily, Martha, and Wilfred still remained on the homestead. Based on family history research, William Thompson’s wife was Martha Perkins, born in 1785. By 1848, William’s son Wilfred appears to be running the farm.

Rural diaries like this one give us a glimpse of what everyday life was like here in the mid-1800s. It is important that they are preserved and available so researchers can gain a better understanding of the struggles and successes of early rural life. Volume 5 of William Thompson’s diary is available at Stratford-Perth Archives and online through the University of Guelph’s Rural Diary Archive. You can simply read the diary on their website or assist by transcribing it and making it more accessible to all.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Cosy Grill Candy Box

Posted August 19, 2022

This treasure from Stratford-Perth Archives is a candy box from the beloved Cosy Grill restaurant. Besides delicious meals, owner Christopher Cheoros was also well-known for his sweets- particularly popular at Easter and Christmas. Who could resist the lure of a large chocolate bunny or egg? Just imagine sampling the contents of this gold box when it was new and full of fresh, home-made candies.

On October 30, 1937 an article appeared in the Mitchell Advocate announcing that:

“Cosy Grill” Opens to Public on Saturday

    In opening the Cosy Grill, Mr. Cheoros has overlooked no detail that adds to the comfort and convenience of his patrons. The appearance of the restaurant throughout will be one that attracts. His taste in furnishings brings the Grill on a par with similar institutions in large cities and is a credit to the town in every detail with particular care taken to be of service to the public.

     The kitchen is finished in grey and green. Fresh air at all times is provided by means of an electric fan over the rear entrance of sufficient size to change the air frequently… Entering the restaurant, one first comes to the soda fountain. This is of modern style fronted by stools with low backs. The seats are upholstered in red leather, the backs and bases being in black. Behind the soda fountain is a cabinet for the containing of pastry cakes etc. This is entirely glass enclosed and in it all foods will be kept fresh and free from contamination of flies and insects. On the opposite side from the fountain will be glass show cases containing attractive displays of candies, chocolates. Mr. Cheoros is well known for these products.

     Stalls are arranged on each side of the restaurant. They are finished in oak. The tables are of the same finish with top of Formica, a substance which is heat and cold resisting. They are easily cleaned and present a most appetizing appearance. At the rear of the restaurant will be tables that may be moved to take care of a party of four who wish to be served together. A rest room is provided. A novel feature of this is a small glow light that notifies that it is occupied and the door is self-locking from the inside.

The restaurant was originally located in the Mitchell opera house but that building was destroyed in a fire in 1943. After the fire, Cheoros purchased and remodelled Mike Durkin’s grocery store at 25 Ontario Road, directly across the street from the old restaurant.

Christopher Cheoros was born in Greece on January 7, 1890. When he came to North America, he made his way first to Chicago to be with his father William. When he arrived in Canada, he settled in Stratford before going to Chatham, where he married Verna Grace Padbury on August 16, 1917. In 1921, he came back to the area and opened his first restaurant in Seaforth. After opening the Cosy Grill, he spent the rest of his life in Mitchell. He passed away on June 12, 1953 and his wife Verna on November 14, 1971. Both rest in Woodland Cemetery in Mitchell.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Dickson Farm House Architect's Drawing

Posted August 11, 2022

These drawings are part of the architectural plans for the Dickson house that was built on Concession 7, Lot 17 of Elma Township in Perth County. They are the work of Listowel architect William Edward Binning. According to the accompanying specification, the house was to be completed on October 1, 1900 and to be built with the best evenly coloured white bricks.    

The Dickson family, James (1818-1898) and his wife Mary Grosert (1822-1897) and several children came to Canada from Peebles, Scotland around 1851 and initially settled in York County. According to the Elmanac township history book, James acquired the land in Elma Township in 1856. It was heavily treed with cedar, oak, elm and maples. The property was in the hands of the Dickson family for just over 90 years. After James passed away in 1898, his son John (1852-1925), who presumably had the house built, took over until 1914. In 1914 John’s son, James H., took over the land until 1948 when it was sold to John and Ruth Murphy. The Murphy family owned the farm until the 1990s. Dennis Murphy generously arranged to have the plan donated to Stratford-Perth Archives in 2021.

William Edward Binning, the architect for the Dickson House, was one of the first settlers in Listowel. He was born on June 22, 1851 in Ancaster and arrived in Listowel at the age of 6 months with his parents John and Amy.

William married Mary Jane Cossey in 1871 and had five children: Bertram (1874-1945), Edith (1879-1962), Robert (1882-1934), Augustus (1885-1886), and D. Scott (1888-1944). He served on Listowel Town Council and was Town Treasurer for twenty-three years and the Town Clerk for three years.

Binning witnessed the expansion of the town from log cabins to the construction of some of the finest residences and buildings. Many of the homes built in the area between 1885 and 1915, including his own, were his designs. He designed Listowel’s library as well as libraries in Mitchell, Hanover, Teeswater, Ayr, Preston and Beaverton. The Arlington Hotel, Grand Central Hotel, Imperial Bank and MacDonald Block on early Main St. Listowel were some of his commercial constructions.

According to the Biographical Dictionary of Architects, Binning practiced under his own name for more than thirty years with the exception of a brief period in 1895 when he was in partnership with David G. Baxter. In 1911 Binning moved to Moose Jaw, Sask. to work on several commissions obtained with the assistance of two of his sons who had moved west after 1900, but by 1913 he had returned to Ontario.

On June 22, 1921, it was reported in the Listowel Banner that esteemed residents of Listowel, Mr. and Mrs. William E. Binning celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary with a reception on the lawn of their residence, 395 Barber Ave. N., where their family gathered together for the first time in twenty-two years.  Hundreds of townspeople extended their congratulations and town council presented a silver tea service to the couple. William Binning passed away on June 20, 1928 and his wife Mary Jane in 1922. Both are buried in Fairview Cemetery in Listowel.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Downie Fullarton Assessment Roll

Posted August 4, 2022

This week’s treasure is believed to be the oldest municipal government record in the Stratford-Perth Archives’ collections. It is the combined Tax Assessment Roll for both Downie and Fullarton Townships, for the year 1836, which at the time were still part of the London District. Pre-1850, tax rates were determined by court officials located in the various districts. Since 1850, clerks of all Ontario municipalities have been required to maintain tax records.

The municipalities of Downie, Fullarton, and Blanshard were attached from 1836 to 1843. Fullarton and Blanshard separated once they had enough residents, about 100, to hold their own annual meetings and elections. It is believed that Downie Township held its very first meeting in 1836, electing its Clerk, Pathfinders, Fence Viewers and Pound-keepers. In a document produced by the Canada Company, in 1843, meant to answer any questions prospective settlers might have, other public offices mentioned were the Road Master, Assessor, Collector, and School Commissioner. If you wanted to run for Council, you had to possess a “Freehold Property” worth 300 Pounds. According to the same document, the “Assessments” being levied were “vested in the several District Councils,” who imposed “what Taxes they please, up to a certain limited sum in the Pound, based on the valuation of the property.” In 1836, the total taxes collected in Downie added up to the sum of 630 Pounds, while Fullarton paid 462 Pounds. These taxes had to be invested in the townships and went to pay the salaries of the elected public officers.

The first European settler in Fullarton was Hugh Kennedy Junck, who settled on Lot 20, Concession 1 on September 5, 1832. Mr. Junck was the first district councillor for Fullarton, when it withdrew from Downie and Blanshard. He also built the first sawmill in the township and the third in the county. Interestingly, there is a question in the Canada Company document that reads “Are Wild Beasts troublesome to new Settlers?” The answer was possibly wolves and bears. Hugh’s daughter could attest to the fact that wolves could be “troublesome.” In the book “In the Days of the Canada Company,” by Robina and Kathleen MacFarlane Lizars, there is an account of her terrifying encounter.  “Once, when only a girl of fourteen, she had gone as usual to find her cows, having with her, her constant companion, a big dog. A correspondingly large wolf followed them and began operations by attacking the dog. The girl ran back to the house, got an axe and, coming to her dog’s rescue, killed the wolf. She is described by a person who saw her about this time, as a long-limbed, yellow-haired girl, with an impudent, dainty manner, who played the piano beautifully.”

Tax assessment rolls can provide a great deal of information, depending on how they were kept by each municipality. Very early ones like this week’s treasure provide evidence for genealogists from eras when things like census data and government registrations of births, deaths and marriages can be hard to come by. At the Stratford-Perth Archives, we mainly utilize these often fragile volumes to research house histories for properties in Stratford, up to about 1950. Another, almost complete set was kept for Mitchell. Rural properties can be trickier to sort out using township tax assessment rolls as it is not always clear which building on the assessment roll is the actual house.

Records like this treasure, created for the short term and practical purpose of tracking how much money was owed by property owners each year, have long-term value to help us identify who owned a property, what they did for a living, perhaps, how old they were, how many family members lived in the home, their Lot size, and the land and building values. The very early ones will also tell you how many dogs, horses, or cows they owned. As they were kept annually, one can also determine how long the property was owned by an individual and whether they lived at the residence, or whether they rented it out. If rented, the tenant will be listed. Also recorded were children in the household, not by name, but by age category only.

So, they can be a wealth of information, however, at the Stratford-Perth Archives, some are currently not generally available for public research due to their fragility. Staff routinely access them on behalf of researchers. Once the original owner and approximate date that a house was built are found from a search of the assessment rolls, researchers can then find out more about the history of their house and its owners using other sources like city directories, newspaper obituaries and Canada Census records.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Urquhart Diaries

Posted July 28, 2022 

This is a selection of the Urquhart family diaries, preserved and available for research at Stratford-Perth Archives. The family can trace their roots back to Cromarty, Scotland. In 1820, Robert Urquhart, together with his wife Catherine and their four eldest children, emigrated to Canada on a ship called “Prompt.” They initially settled in Lanark County, in Eastern Ontario, but in 1844, began a move to Fullarton Township in Perth County. The first to settle in Fullarton was Robert and Catherine’s son William, but William died tragically in a hunting accident, and so, Robert bought the deed to his son’s land. Robert’s second youngest child, George, made the trip to Fullarton, in1849, and eventually purchased the land from his father, Lot 16, Concession 11, in 1858. The farm remained in the Urquhart family until 1963.

The diaries begin in 1849, when George made an arduous trek from Lanark, with his friend, Thomas Wilson, to help with the purchase of the property in Fullarton. The Stratford-Perth Archives is fortunate to have this early diary and, for the most part, the entire account of the trek. We’ll take up the journey upon their departure from Hamilton. The spelling is as it reads in the diary:

“… we started away for Stratford about 7 o’clock Thursday 21 of June. We hired a waggon for to take us 28 miles that same day for one half dollar each and were there about 6 o’clock in the eavning at Preston, two miles or the other side of Galt. All a macadamised road and we walked 7 miles that same night to one John Nabuls Taveron, and we stopped there all night and got supper and bed and a glass, each of us a quarter dollar each.

     So, we started away again nixt morning on foot and travelled about 10 miles that morning before we took breckfast, and we arrived at George Hobsons, Maryvale, and had breckfast there, which cost us a quarter of a dollar each, and then were one John Balintine made up to us there, with a waggon, which we got a ride in with him, six miles on the other side of Stratford. … we stopped there that night and we found them a very kin people there. We got our supper and brekfast there and he would not take anything for it at all, but our thanks.

     So, we started away for Fullerton and we went away down by John Thomsons and away through by old Mrs. Mulars and when we got there they would not let us away until we would get dinner…I see’d Mathew Easton aand I paid him three quarters of a dollar for survaying one side of the lot.

     So we arrived at Mrs. Butters about three o’clock in the afternoon and she had a beautifull place there, and just for to take a look up the river and it is just about as nice a sight as ever I saw all my days, the land has such fine lie down to the river edge and then the river, so beautifull, coming winding its way along, so then we started away and came to young John McIntires and there to old John and they were all very glad to see us, so we waited and got tea there and started away to Gilberts about six o’clock, and Angus McIntire went up with us and stopt all night, so we got up to Gilberts about the darkening, and we were made very well home there both with Gilbert & Catherine…”(Catherine, married to Gilbert McIntyre, was George’s sister).

    Monday the 25, 1849, Gilbert and Thomas Wilson and I started away into Stratford to pay and settle about our Land, and I paid the Land and got a recate [receipt], but for the money 11 pounds and a transferred deed of the Land for my Father to sign it before I get the deed in my own name…”

Robert would hold the deed until 1858, when George finally took ownership. Meanwhile, George and Thomas continued their trip. They went on to Sarnia, Port James, Port Huron, “Detroyet,” “Chacago,” “Malwaky,” “Bufflow,” mainly by ship, until they arrived back in Kingston and headed for home about mid-July.

Once George took up residence in Fullarton, he faithfully kept a diary until his death in 1910. His son, George Ross Urquhart and his daughter, Ellen, kept up the diaries. The Stratford-Perth Archives collection ends in 1926, but there are two others by an “Aunt Carrie,” 1938 and 1962. There is a note with the collection which states that some volumes were given to other family members.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Albion Hotel, Stratford Photograph

Posted July 21, 2022

This is a photograph of the Albion Hotel on the northwest corner of Erie and Ontario Streets in Stratford taken in 1864. It was among some of the earliest collections donated to the Stratford-Perth Archives when it opened in 1972.

The Albion was built in the 1850s by brothers James and Peter Woods. It was the first brick hotel in town. The Stratford Beacon newspaper reported on March 2, 1855 that, along with 40 guest rooms, the new hotel had a “large and truly warm and comfortable Bar-Room with large dining room and sitting rooms.” Visitors could also enjoy “the extended view from the roof, which is flat, parapeted round and to which there is ready access by stair.” Over the years, large display windows were added at street level. The parapets and chimney were removed and the red brick exterior was white washed.

As one would expect, the Albion served many travelers. Locals also used it as a meeting place. Stratford Town Council opted to meet there instead of their usual room at the first Perth County Courthouse. Concerns were raised in the local press about Council convening in a tavern and another meeting space was found in a nearby school until Stratford’s first town hall was ready.

The Albion was the site of an infamous political riot. R.T. Orr, who preserved this photo of a more demure gathering in the same spot on another day to mark the 300^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, told the tale in one of his Stories of Stratford -

“One of the most famous election battles in Stratford’s history occurred in 1863. The key figure in the riot was Thomas Mayne Daly, son of Colonel J.C.W. Daly, the founder of Stratford. Daly, the Conservative candidate, had won the preceding elections and was sure he would win again. Perhaps he was overconfident and didn’t try hard enough, for he was defeated by Robert MacFarlane, a young Liberal lawyer…The Liberals in the district were elated by MacFarlane’s victory and plans were made for a huge parade. The Beacon records that it was the longest procession ever witnessed in the county, over 300 horse drawn vehicles crowding around MacFarlane. An unfortunate choice of route led the marchers past the Albion Hotel, the Conservative headquarters…As they passed the Albion, T.M. Daly was standing on the balcony overlooking the street, addressing his disappointed supporters. The taunts of the marchers enraged Daly, who declared he would drive the Grits out of town by brute force. To emphasize his statement, he flung his leg over the balcony overlooking the street, preparing to leap down on the hecklers. Some onlookers claim that he never really intended to jump, that he couldn’t have jumped if he had wanted to, for he was lame. At any rate, his fellow Conservatives took him seriously and began to plunge from the balcony onto the crowd below. The battle was on. The defenders of the Albion began to heave bricks from the roof of the hotel. Men poured from the surrounding buildings and ran to the aid of their friends. Everyone fought. Women put rocks into the toes of their stockings and, swinging the weapons over their heads, joined their fighting husbands. Thomas Daly’s house was near the corner of Erie and Ontario streets and it is said he fortified his supporters by handing out axe handles and whiskey at the back door. Despite the whiskey, the Conservatives appear to have lost the battle for the next day as many of them as could be contacted were summoned to appear in court in Goderich, then the site of the court…When they arrived in Goderich, they seriously embarrassed the local police force by marching around the square shouting loudly “Arrest us, arrest us.” As the Goderich police force consisted of one lone policeman, they were in no danger of being taken seriously and returned to Stratford unpunished.”

Though the Woods family owned the hotel building for about fifty years, the Albion was converted to retail shops by 1875. Some of the earliest tenants were John J. Clark’s grocery, known as the Italian Warehouse; P.J. Woods jewelry store, known as Goldsmith’s Hall and George Klein’s ready-to-wear clothing shop. Later, C.F. Maitland had his home and photography studio on the top floor. Kenner’s Bookstore occupied the space for 10 years before the Thornton and Douglas clothing store opened there in 1904. The building was sold to Northway Ltd in 1927 and they had a store there until 1961 when Frank and Margaret Wade bought it and opened their flower shop. Gadsby’s Clothing Co Inc, has operated from the building since 2014.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Listowel Club Minute Book

Posted July 14, 2022

This week’s treasure from Stratford-Perth Archives is the first minute book of the Listowel Club. The minute book was donated to the Archives in 1991 from the Listowel Banner via editor Marion Duke. Suitably, a newspaper announcement has been pasted onto one of the first pages.It tells us that:

“At an informal meeting of some citizens of Listowel, the question of forming a social club, on an unambitious scale, was discussed and a committee appointed to make an estimate on the expense of equipment etc and of maintenance. The committee, after investigation, are satisfied that the proposal is entirely feasible, and that the Club would meet with sufficient support to make it permanently successful and at a very moderate cost per member. The report of the committee, giving details of the proposal, rules etc. will be submitted to a meeting in the Arlington (up-stairs parlor) at eight o’clock, on Tuesday night next, 21^st inst. You are invited to be present and, if desired, to become a charter member. March 18, 1899.”

By April 6, forty-two prospective members had expressed an interest in forming the club. At a meeting held that day in McDonald’s Music Hall annex, officers were appointed and “it was agreed that the Martin rooms on Main Street be secured at the rental of $50.00 per year for a term of two years.” They later agreed that the Club House would be open from 10 am to midnight Monday through Saturday and from 2 pm to midnight on Sundays.

It’s clear that this was a club for men. “Conduct unbecoming a gentleman” was grounds for losing your membership. The minutes also occasionally note that “the lady friends of the members of the Club” were invited to the Club rooms for a game of whist.

On most days, however, members amused themselves with other friendly games along with reading and smoking. Playing billiards originally cost 25 cents per hour or 15 cents for ½ an hour. Cigars cost 10 cents or 3 for 25 cents unless you were willing to accept the clearly inferior “Choice” brand cigars which were only a nickel apiece. On July 5, 1901 the Club secretary recorded an instruction to purchase “as good a line of cigars as possible…It not being the intention of the management to make any money from the sale of cigars in the Club Rooms.” A by-law dictated that betting and gambling of every kind were strictly prohibited at all times and no games were to be played for money “or its equivalent or for any stake whatever therein; nor shall any games whatever be played in the Club House between the hour of closing on Saturday night and the hour of opening on Monday morning.” Property inventories indicate that over the years there was also a phonograph with records plus pool and ping pong tables. The “reading room” for members had “such periodicals, papers and literary matter as the Committee may deem proper.” Titles mentioned include London Illustrated News, Toronto Sunday World, Canadian Magazine, Strand, Harpers Weekly and the Saturday Evening Post.

The minutes are a great source of information about prominent people. When members and their families arrived in town or moved away, who recommended them for membership, and how they earned their living are all recorded. The minutes also provide an occasional glimpse of the lives of non-members connected with the Club.  The Club’s first annual report from 1899 shows that they intended to pay a Steward $280 to collect fees and keep the rooms in good order. A letter from the Steward, E.M. Alexander, dated May 19^, 1902 is pasted into the minute book. Alexander wrote to thank them for their “kind increase in my salary and assure you that in the future as in the past I will continue to do my best for the Club and hope for a further slight increase.” However, at a special meeting on May 8, 1903, a motion was passed that “in view of the present financial condition of the club and the outlook for the future not appearing satisfactory under the conditions it is being run, the committee recommend that a test be made for the summer months of running the club without a Steward; the necessary work and cleaning to be done during such time by a competent woman.” It was also agreed that this competent woman should be offered $3.50 every two weeks in compensation. Later annual reports often refer to a Stewardess, consistently paid far less than the amount originally budgeted for a Steward.

There were reports in the Listowel Banner in the fall of 1944 that the club was officially re-opened having “been inactive since the soldiers were stationed here and the rooms used as a recreation centre.” At that time it was noted that the “Club has spacious quarters, fine accommodation and reopens with a good membership.”

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Vera McNichol Collection

Posted July 7, 2022

Vera McNichol (1910-1995) was a well-known clairvoyant based in Millbank. The McNichol fonds at Stratford-Perth Archives was acquired by archivist James Anderson at an auction held in June of 1988. When this auction occurred, Vera was living in a nursing home in Brunner. Some of the items that the archives acquired were: a quilt, basket, playing cards, autograph book, correspondence and diaries. Pictured are some of these items from this fonds.

It is estimated that 250,000 people from all over Canada and the United States came to visit Vera in order to get a glimpse of their futures. Vera did not make appointments. Her visitors simply stood in line waiting for a turn. Readings took place in her kitchen and were done using two sets of playing cards from her large collection. One of the decks would show their past and the second was used to predict their future. In 1984, Vera changed locations for her readings to the back room of the Crystal Restaurant and Dining Lounge in Millbank. Appointments were still not permitted but the gave her husband John more privacy at home. According to an article, he could watch TV with the sound on and got a break from playing checkers with the waiting visitors.

Some thought she was a fraud. A Chicago newspaper even threatened to sue her. She proved them wrong when she helped solved a murder case in Mitchell in 1973. Her description of the location of the body led to its discovery by a group of hunters.

Vera was born in Peel Township, Wellington County, on April 30, 1910 and was the daughter of David Ernst (1878-1956) and Mary Donley (1876-1964). She also had two siblings, a brother Emerson (1903-1981) and a sister Audrey (1921-2012). On the seventeenth of June in 1936 Vera married John Charles McNichol of Britton in the Zion Evangelical Church parsonage in Elmira. After they married they settled on a farm near Listowel.

Vera was also a prolific author. Over the course of 20 years she wrote around 20 books and was also named one of the top nine poets in the world. We have a number of her books at Stratford-Perth Archives. In 1975 she was nominated by her fellow citizens as an outstanding woman in Ontario for International Women’s Year. Though she did not win, she treasured a letter from Premier Bill Davis letting her know that she had been nominated for the award.

John passed away in 1988. Vera died in the Brunner Nursing Home on May 10, 1995 at the age of 85. She was buried in Elma Centre Cemetery in North Perth with her husband.

Vera still fascinates people. In 2005 the Millbank Summer Festival Theatre presented a play entitled Millbank’s Mystic and in 2016 some of her belongings were featured in an exhibition at Western University called “Snake in my mouth: items and correspondences from Vera McNicol.”

Click here to return to the top of the page. 

Monteith Family's Scrapbook: A Glimpse Into Their Private Life

Posted June 30, 2022

Although people have kept journals from the time of the Middle Ages, a closer approximation of the modern-day scrapbook began during the Renaissance with the “commonplace” book. The commonplace book, popular with upper-class Europeans, often contained recipes, quotes, letters, poems, prayers, and notes from other texts. With the invention of the printing press, family bibles became a form of keeping family genealogy and was a scrapbook of sorts. With the development of the industrial printing press, and the mass production of printed material, what we now identify as a scrapbook, became a popular way to preserve newspaper articles with mentions of the family, interesting columns, poetry, greeting cards, invitations, postcards, letters, advertising material, and any other printed material that was of interest to the creator.

In the collection of the Stratford-Perth Archives are the Monteith family scrapbooks. The Monteith family can be counted among Perth County’s first European settlers. It all started in 1830, when Samuel Monteith, the oldest son of John Monteith, emigrated to Canada from the County of Tyrone, Ireland. John and the rest of the family followed in 1834 and the Monteiths set up a farm in Downie Township. They became a prominent political family, with nine Monteith family members running for various political offices. Of these nine, three were Mayors of   Stratford, five were MPPs and two have been MPs.

The first to enter the political arena was Andrew Monteith, brother to Samuel. In the 1850s he was on the Downie Township Council, served as Deputy Reeve of Stratford, and was Warden for the County in the 1860s. He then moved onto provincial politics and was the representative for North Perth to the first Ontario Legislature in 1867. In 1874 he served one term in federal parliament. Also, a businessman, he naturally kept ledgers. One of our earliest scrapbooks belonged to Elizabeth Maggie Monteith, 1857-1890, daughter of Andrew and Mary Jane. The ledger dates to 1843 and all but three pages are filled exclusively with poetry clipped from a Stratford paper in 1875. Only 18 years old, Elizabeth naturally saved poetry that spoke to her, and reflects the interests the young woman.

The oldest scrapbook, again created in a repurposed book, was that of Samuel Monteith’s wife, Annie Jane. Printed on the front, in careful script, are the words “Gore of Downie 1871” and on the inside cover “Mrs. Samuel Monteith’s Book.” The clippings are, for the most part, poetry, but also clipped were articles that interested Annie. One such article was titled “Defense of Canada.” It is an interesting snapshot in time of U.S. and Canada relations, written in 1866.

Move forward in time to the early twentieth century and we come to Nelson Monteith (1862-1949). Nelson was the youngest son of Samuel, born in Downie Township. Nelson Monteith was a farmer and politician. In the collection of the Stratford-Perth Archives are his diaries which are a unique record of farming, politics, and daily life. In addition to the diaries, there are several scrapbooks which date from 1905 to 1909. From 1905 to 1908, Nelson was the Minister of Agriculture in the Ontario Legislature. He had previously served as a Downie Township Councillor, Deputy Reeve, Reeve and later, Warden of Perth County in 1897. His scrapbooks consist of political clippings, many about him, telegrams, and articles on agricultural. They are an excellent record of his time in office.

A son of Samuel, Dr. Joseph Dunsmore Monteith, 1865-1934, was Mayor of Stratford for two years and represented North Perth in the Ontario Legislature from 1923 to 1934, during which time he served as Provincial Treasurer and Minister of Labour and Public Works. His scrapbook contains political cartoons from the Toronto Daily Star and The Evening Telegram from 1927 to 1931. They are all labelled in beautiful script and, almost all, are a commentary of Howard Ferguson, Ontario’s ninth Premier.

The largest collection of scrapbooks belonged to the son of Dr. J. D. Monteith, Jay Waldo “Monte” Monteith and his wife, Mary. In 1939 he was elected to Stratford’s City Council. In 1944 and 1945, he was Stratford’s Mayor. He entered federal politics in 1953 when he was elected by residents of Perth County to be our Member of Parliament. During his time in Ottawa, he served as Minister of National Health and Welfare. In addition to a very active life in community organizations, he also played a role in the launching of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, in 1953. In the Monteith’s scrapbooks there is a letter from Sir Alec Guinness thanking Monte for a “delightful evening.” There are physical scrapbooks that cover the 1950s and 60s and banker’s box after banker’s box full of material meant to be scrapbooked from the late 1960’s to the 1990’s. There are treasures untold in these boxes, from the signatures of the first men on the moon, to personal papers that provide a glimpse into the private life of a family that left an indelible mark on our local community, our province, and our country.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Fred Ubelacker's Amateur Photographs Created Using Glass Negatives

Posted June 23, 2022

After fifty years of operation, Stratford-Perth Archives houses an ever-growing collection of material that is carefully preserved and made accessible for researchers from not only Perth County, but around the world. One of the ways that we are celebrating the Archives’ golden anniversary is by highlighting fifty “treasures” from the collection in our weekly local history articles throughout 2022. The treasure for week 3 is the Ubelacker Glass Plate Photo Negative Collection.

Frederick Ublelacker, born in 1869 in Stratford, was an avid photographer and the founder of the Stratford Camera Club in 1900. Fred’s collection of negatives was donated to the Archives by his grandson in 1975 and is a rare early record of candid shots of daily life. The young girl in the image accompanying this article is unidentified, but it may be Fred’s daughter Shirley. She is enjoying some time outside with her doll, cat and bird. The original glass plate is shown with the print. 

In 2006, the Archives in conjunction with Gallery Stratford and photographer Terry Manzo; who printed the black and white photos from the 300-plus original glass plate negatives, showcased the images in an exhibit held at the Gallery entitled The Archives Project: The Photographs of Fred Ubelacker. These photographs depicted a wonderful playful quality of not just the photographer but his subjects. Some of the photos shown were children tobogganing, a small child in a buggy pulled by a dog and the family’s pet monkey and chickens too. Fred liked to do trick or experimental photography. He would expose two or three images of the same person in one photograph.

The Ubelacker family was a well known and respected family that had lived in Stratford since 1855. The family originally came from Saxony in Germany. Christian, a butcher, and his wife Johanna came to Canada c. 1847 with their family. Their three children: Henry (1838), Frederick (1844-1863) and Pauline (1848-1869), were born in Saxony; they also had another son Hermann (1852- ?) born in Canada. When they arrived in Canada, they settled in the surrounding area of Seebach’s Hill. In 1855, Christian moved the family to Stratford and established a meat business with his partner George Larkworthy. This was the beginning of four generations owning this business.

Christian’s son Henry joined his father in business, and when Christian passed away in 1864, Henry took over the business. In 1888, Henry purchased the property at the corner of Market Place and Wellington Street; where Cora Corture is today. It was here that a new building for the meat market was built. If you look today, you can still see the business’s sign on the side of the building.

Henry married Jane Glendinning in 1865 in Streetsville, Ontario, where she was originally from. They had three children, all born in Stratford. A son and two daughters: Ada Marie (1868-1923), Frederick (1869-1943) and Lillian May (1873-1937). Besides being in the meat business, Henry also served as the fire chief of the volunteer fire brigade in the early years of Stratford. He was also a city councilor and a high school board trustee. Henry passed away in 1926.

In 1909, Henry’s son, Fred took over the business, after being a partner for eighteen years. This making him the third generation of Ubelackers in the business. Fred married Mary Alice McBrine in Stratford on September 15, 1891. They had five children: Harry (1892-1979), Gordon (1895-1963), Lorne (1897-?), Eldon (1899-1969) and Shirley (1904-1987). Besides being an avid photographer, he was also a member of Avon Lodge I.O.O.F for 35 years. Fred passed away on September 3, 1943.

Fred’s two sons Gordon and Eldon continued with the business until 1954. At that time, they sold the business name, abattoir and equipment to Gerhard Weidman. This was the first time in 100 years that an Ubelacker was not at the helm of the meat business.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

Thomas Edison's Original Application to the Old Time Telegraphers

Posted June 16, 2022

On his membership application for the Old Timer Telegraphers’ and Historical Association inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931)  tells us that he was a telegraph operator in Stratford while working on the Grand Trunk Rail Road in 1863. In 1940, to mark the premier of the movie Young Thomas Edison, starring Mickey Rooney, a plaque was placed at the Stratford train station commemorating his brief time working here. When celebrations took place for what would have been Edison’s 100^th birthday in 1947, the Mayor of Stratford was presented with the original membership document as a keepsake. Like many other local history treasures it was put into the hands of R. Thomas Orr (1870-1957) for safekeeping. The document arrived at Stratford-Perth Archives in 1972 as part of the Orr family collection. But how did the famous American inventor end up in Canada, and in Stratford of all places?

Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on the 11^th of February 1847, but his parents had Canadian ties and even lived in Ontario for a short time. His father, Samuel Edison Jr., was born in Nova Scotia but his mother was born in New Jersey. After their marriage, they moved from New Jersey, USA to Vienna, Ontario in Elgin County. Samuel joined the Mackenzie Rebellion in Southern Ontario and when it failed he fled back to the United States. Nancy and their children soon followed him and they ended up in Milan, Ohio. The couple had three more children; Thomas being the youngest of the seven.

Around 1854, Thomas and his family moved to Port Huron, Michigan. He had little formal education as he only attended school for a few months. He was taught mostly by his mother, and did some learning on his own. By thirteen, he took a job as a newsboy selling newspapers and candy on the rail line that ran through Port Huron to Detroit. It was reported that he set up a laboratory in the baggage car for his chemistry experiments and even smuggled a printing press onboard. Using the press, he started his own newspaper the Grand Trunk Herald, this was said to be the first newspaper published on a train. An accidental fire in the lab forced him to stop his experiments onboard.

Frequent trips along the Grand Trunk Rail Way allowed Edison to become friendly with station master and telegraph operator James Mackenzie at the Mount Clemens station. In August 1862, Edison was standing outside the Mount Clemens station and saw Mackenzie’s young son Jimmie playing on the tracks. He then noticed a boxcar coming into the station at high speed so he jumped into action and grabbed Jimmie before the car struck either of them. As a thank you, James offered to teach Edison Morse code and how to use the telegraph.

Edison picked both up quickly and by 1863 he began working as a full-time telegraph operator on the railway. His first job as an operator was said to have been with the Grand Trunk Rail Way at the Stratford Station. It was also reported that he worked at the Junction Station in St. Marys, and the Camlachie (in Lambton County) to Stratford Line. While working at the Stratford Station, and according to his membership application, he was a night operator. This job was short lived as his innovation lead to his termination. Edison had reportedly invented a repeater telegraph that automatically sent an all clear signal down the single line of track to St Marys every 20 minutes. He would leave this on and usually doze off. One night in 1864, two trains nearly collided. Thankfully the two engineers saw each other and tragedy was avoided.      

The story goes that, due to his negligent actions, Edison was asked to the office of the general manager of the Grand Trunk Rail Way in Toronto. He expected to be jailed or fired on the spot, so during the meeting he slipped out a side door and caught a train back to Stratford. He quickly packed his things and took off for the United States.  

Jumping forward to 1904, Edison was living in Orange, New Jersey and was working as a full-time inventor. On his membership application for the Old Timer Telegraphers’ and Historical Association, he credits the city of Stratford as the place where he formally started his telegraphing career. Even after fleeing Canada, he continued telegraphing, citing his answer to question nine on his application “Has service been continuous” he wrote, “wandered over the map of the US for 5 year, working for the US [Western Union]”.  It appears that he migrated from city to city taking any available telegraph job before devoting himself as a full time inventor.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

First Minute Book For Perth County Council (1853-1858)

Posted: Thursday, June 9, 2022

Stratford-Perth Archives is celebrating a special anniversary this year! On January 13, 1972 work began on a project to protect the Orr Family Collection of local history books, documents and photographs plus archival material from the Perth County Historical Collection and make them easily available for researchers. Both collections had been growing at Stratford Public Library since the early 1900s. Eventually, similar collections from around the County were added. Local governments transferred records no longer needed for day to day work that have permanent value. After fifty years of operation, Stratford-Perth Archives continues to house an ever-growing collection of documents that are carefully preserved and made accessible to researchers from around the world.

One of the ways that we are celebrating the Archives’ golden anniversary is to highlight fifty “treasures” from these collections in our weekly newspaper articles. Choosing 50 items from among the thousands and thousands in the Archives is not easy!

This week’s treasure dates back to the first year of operation for the newly independent Perth County Council, which included representatives for rural townships and unincorporated villages like Stratford and St. Marys. Prior to 1853, the County had been a part of the Huron District and the United Counties of Huron, Perth and Bruce.

This printed and bound set of minutes from Perth County Council’s first five years was donated to the Archives in 1987 by the family of Samuel Nelson Monteith (1862-1949). Monteith was MPP for the riding of Perth South from 1899 – 1908 and Minister of Agriculture. Before he was elected to the provincial legislature, Monteith had been County Warden. A note inside the cover records that before the book was presented to him in 1907, it had belonged to Thomas(?) Babb from Mitchell. Clearly, it was treasured long before arriving at the Archives 80 years later.

These Council minutes show early, local democracy in action and many of the decisions recorded still affect our lives today. In 1853, Council petitioned the Canada Company for a grant in or near Stratford as a site to build a county grammar school, allowed Mr. Linton to use a room in the new County Buildings for meetings of the managers of the mechanic’s institute (forerunner of a public library), and, created a subcommittee to report on the bridge being constructed over the Thames River in Mitchell. They also agreed “that the proceedings of the Municipal Council of the county of Perth, at its various sittings during the year 1853, be inserted in the Hamburg Beobachter (a German language newspaper) and that one hundred copies of the same be published in pamphlet form.” Monteith’s copy was one of one hundred such pamphlets printed in English in Stratford at the Perth County News Office, which also included announcements about Council’s discussions and decisions.

In a similar kind of treasures exhibit at the New York Public Library, curators considered “What is it that makes a particular object special? Is it its age, or its rarity? Its uniqueness or beauty? Is it of great scholarly importance? Does it provoke strong emotions? Is it a curiosity? Does it demonstrate the potential to enhance the lives of future generations? Is there an extraordinary story it tells about the workings of science or the culture in which we live?” We invite you to consider these questions when reading about our community treasures as we celebrate 50 years of local archives in 2022.

Click here to return to the top of the page.

 Check out our past blog posts below:

Click here to return to the top of the page.