WINDSOR, N.S. — Here's a look at what was making the news 25 and 50 years ago in the Hants Journal.
25 years ago (April 13 and 20, 1994 editions)
• Seventeen-year-old boys Kevin MacDonald, of Three Mile Plains, and Jamie Chandler, of Vaughans, spent an unexpected Saturday night in the woods near Vaughans. The boys had gone fishing in the Armstrong Lake area that day but became lost. Search and rescue volunteers were deployed and they were located walking along a road near the lake Sunday evening. Upwards of 100 people took part in the search effort.
• The RCMP were investigating a series of cottage break and enters at Piggot Lake in Mount Uniacke.
• Patrick Swinamer, of Falmouth, lost his 10-year compensation battle with the provincial government when the Supreme Court of Canada quashed his final appeal. Swinamer was left partially paralyzed in November 1983 after a 70-foot diseased elm tree fell on the truck he was driving while on the Falmouth Back Road.
• Multiple court stories appeared in the Journal detailing some of the crimes local residents had been convicted of committing, including a 74-year-old West Hants man who was jailed for 45 months for sex-related charges occurring between 1975 and 1986. His name could not be published due to a publication ban.
• A Union Corner couple were found not guilty of arson after fire gutted their home in 1992.
• A ‘sickening’ smell was plaguing Dr. Arthur Hines School in Summerville. The school closed for a day after students began complaining of rashes, headaches and nausea.
The smell was reported to be linked to a particular wall in the building. Investigators removed a portion of the wall and found an unknown amount of animal droppings. It was thought to be bat feces. Tests were being conducted to determine if there was a health hazard.
• Two women were vying for the Princess Hantsport crown. They were 19-year-old Karrie Ritchie and 21-year-old Theresa McGinn.
• Nine women were hoping to be crowned Princess Windsor. They were: Janet Lynn Fraser (19), Shelley Marlene Patterson (20), Tina Anne Louise McLellan (19), Jan Marie Hunter (20), Angela Joan Sanford (21), Janifer Lee Pemberton (19), Elizabeth Patricia Maxner (19), Natasha Alison Benedict (20), and Angela Tracy Quinn (19).
• Windsor Regional High School teacher R. Jamie Garland received an award for his contributions in the field of education. He was instrumental in founding the school’s computer lab, where he taught in his spare time.
• West Hants received the provincial 1994 Model Volunteer Community designation.
• As of May 1, 1994, the Cogmagun landfill site would no longer be accepting corrugated cardboard.
The Journal noted that cardboard was one of the easiest items to remove from the waste stream and be recycled.
• Hantsport’s Janet Pope was commissioned to design and make a wall-hanging for the Victoria General Hospital’s chapel. The quilt was titled Celebration: Air, Earth, Fire, Water.
• West Hants council adopted a policy to allow councillors and their spouses to attend provincial and national annual meetings of municipalities.
• A New Mothers Resource Group was formed at the Hants Community Hospital. It’s purpose was to help both men and women expecting a new child, or parents who have a child under three years of age.
• A full-page feature on the Nova Scotia Community College’s Windsor campus appeared in the paper.
• A Stars on Ice show was held in Halifax, with several local residents making their way to the event to rub shoulders with celebrities. Among the stars were Canadian women’s skating champion Josee Chouinard, Brian Orser, Kurt Browning, Katerina Witt, Kristi Yamagouchi and Toller Cranston. Famous Canadian pairs champions Lloyd Isler and Isabelle Brasseau were also there.
50 years ago (April 9 and 16, 1969 editions)
• When fire broke out at their home in West Gore, the Wilson family managed to escape unscathed. Walter Wilson, who had one arm, then climbed a ladder to the second floor to awaken William Bruce, who was 82 years old, and helped him onto the roof and down the ladder.
Although the home was destroyed by the blaze, members of the Brooklyn Fire Department and Department of Lands and Forests were able to save the garage, workshop, barn and woodpile.
• Capt. W. Alexander Morrison, of the First Battalion, The Black Watch (RHR) of Canada, was selected to attend a one-year course in Ontario. Morrison, originally from North Sydney, was married to the former Janice Woodman, of Windsor.
• The new provincial Hospital Service Tax Act went into effect April 3, 1969, adding a seven per cent instead of five per cent. Items such as electricity, telephone service, motor vehicle sales, batteries, tires and all vehicle parts and accessories, which were previously exempt from the tax, were now taxable.
• Muriel Sweet, of Windsor, was recognized by the Canadian Red Cross Society for 15 years of service to the association. She was presented with the Red Cross Award for her work at the Windsor Elementary School.
• The Windsor Royals were crowned the Western Nova Scotia Junior B champions. The team consisted of captain Mike Hughes, Mike Paris, Roddy MacPherson, Tim Swinamer, Hal Hunter, Tom Cochrane, Jim Greeno, Jerry Turner, John Graham, Gary Dill, Graham Lake, Bob Fowler, Grant Veinot, Bryan Mitchell, Brian Mosher and Frank Phillips.
• Dominion Stores was holding a golden anniversary sale featuring English dinnerware that was decorated in 22 kt gold. Customers could receive a four-piece place setting (featuring a dinner plate, bread and butter plate, plus a cup and saucer) for $1.69 with every $5 purchase. There were 14 different pieces that were available for purchase.
• Simpsons-Sears was celebrating Value Days with a sale on outdoorsy items, like a 12-foot aluminum boat for $229.98, and a boys’ 26-inch wheel bike for $51.88.
• The Imperial Theatre in Windsor had a stellar line up for movie goers in early April. They were showing Coogan’s Bluff, starring Clint Eastwood; The Daydreamer, a new magical musical from Hans Christian Anderson; Prudence and the Pill, starring Deborah Kerr and David Niven; Hombre, starring Paul Newman, and the Mark of Zorro, starring Guy Williams. They had a special 9 p.m. Sunday showing of Joy in the Morning, starring Richard Chamberlain and Yvette Mimieux.
• In the Hants History column dating back to 1944, it was noted that the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Chicago Black Hawks in four games to win the Stanley Cup. In more local news, Clarence McCann, of Windsor, qualified as a locomotive engineer on the Dominion Atlantic Railway, and the home of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Mason, of Centre Rawdon, was destroyed by fire.
Also, Windsor resident Haldane Reynolds was elected president of the Students’ Union at Acadia University.
In wartime news from 1944, warrant officer Thomas V. S. Wiggans, wrote a letter home while being held as a prisoner of war in Germany.
In the Hants History column from 1919, it was reported that Alex Gay, of Meander, saw much property destroyed by fire. The items listed included a horse barn, hay barn, carriage house, ice house, plus a large building containing lumber.
Chaska, an American four-masted schooner, burned at sea. She was commanded by Capt. Burbidge, of Windsor, who brought his wife with him for their honeymoon. The crew managed to escape in lifeboats and landed on the island of Trinidad.
