Each week, the Gazette looks back on stories from the past. Here is what happened this week, by year…

1911

Hillier – “Tomatoes will be a 75 per cent crop; corn 50 per cent,” that is the opinion of a canning factory expert. The failure of the crop to come up to the exceeding high prospects of six weeks ago is entirely due the continued, hot, dry weather. The corn has fairly baked itself out.
Master Oscar Pierce, a lad of 12 years, and son of Mr. Frank Pierce, Carrying Place Road, was kicked by a horse last Thursday. Mrs. Pierce and Oscar were in the yard where two horses were loose and the horses feeling good kicked suddenly hitting the boy in the face.
Monday was a memorable day for Methodism. Seven hundred people gathered at the historic Methodist chapel, on Hay Bay, to mark the formal talking over of the building, by the new trustee board, who will see to its preservation for the future — a cradle of Methodism.

1951

With more than sixty boats entered, keen competition is expected at Prince Edward Yacht Club regatta next Monday afternoon. Races start at one p.m., with mile trials for world record attempts scheduled for early that morning and early possibly Tuesday Morning. Six work records and two Canadian records were established here last year.
Hillier United Church Sunday school picnic was held Thursday. Despite the busy time a good turnout of adults and children made the picnic a success. During the afternoon races were held. The children then went swimming coming back to a well set table with an abundance of picnic food.
District farmers are warned to be on the lookout for a transient clip artist, who offers to paint barns with his spray-equipment. According to complaints received from farmers of the district, a painter did a “job” for a district farmer. The barn was painted and the painter received his pay, $150.

1971

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur R. MacDermaid spent several days in Port Colborne attending the opening of a new branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia. Their son Mr. Robert C. MacDermaid has been transferred from the banks branch at Yonge and Dundas to Port Colborne where he has been appointed manager.
Leonard G. Allan, Manager The Bank of Nova Scotia here for the past 12 years will be retiring on August 31st. 1971. During the 12 years Mr. Allan has been in Picton he has been very active in community affairs; he has been associated with the Kiwanis Club, Masonic Lodge, Prince Edward Yacht Club, Picton United Church, Canadian National Institute of the Blind, ect.
The Quinte Island Theatre is halfway through their summer season and from all appearances, the theatre has been a great success thus far. The local theatre group travelled to Bon Echo Park on July 31, where they played to an audience of approximately 1,000 people.

1981

When Gladys Beaumont boarded a buss in 1977 to visit her son she didn’t realize it would be the beginning of a friendship that would last until this very day. Possibly this in itself is not strange, since the bus trip from Toronto to Sudbury is a long one and provides ample chance to get acquainted. What makes Mrs. Beaumont’s story interesting is that she speaks English while her friend speaks only Finnish.
Legal action now seems certain to be the next chapter in the ongoing battle between Picton businessman Joseph Lightfoot and town council. At a meeting of the town’s planning and development committee, Mr. Lightfoot was denied permission to erect a sign advertising his television and antenna business at 8 Main St. because of the area’s R residential zoning.
“The English as a Second Language Summer Project ’82” is now over for the summer. This was a new summer project sponsored by the provincial government through the Experience ’81 program and operated by the Prince Edward County Board of Education.The liaison official for the project was Don Miller, superintendent of education.