Each week, the Gazette looks back on stories from the past. Here is what happened this week, by year…
1928
– After visiting Macaulay Park in Picton, Arthur Richardson of the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests promised to furnish trees for planting at the park and the town’s waterworks property free of charge. He also offered suggestions to improve care of the park for local residents.
– Prince Edward County publicity committee chair L.B. Calnan was asking for any home owners offering accommodation for summer visitors to alert him so there would be an inventory of beds to offer tourists inquiring about visiting.
– Rednersville youth George Roblin won a large silver cup for writing the best essay in eastern Ontario on the value of using fertilizer in a school garden.
1948
– Famous orchestra leader Guy Lombardo told the Gazette he planned to race his Gold Cup-winning speedboat Tempo VI at the Prince Edward Yacht Club’s annual regatta in August.
– Colin Carter, the head of the local Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, dismissed the upcoming provincial election as “totally unnecessary” and “a waste of the taxpayers’ money and time.” He said the provincial government had plenty of time to act on implementing costly items in the governing Progressive Conservatives’ platform, such as hydro growth.
– Charles Lowry, of Woodrous, placed an advertisement to sell his bee colonies and equipment after 70 years of beekeeping.
1978
-Proctor-Silex laid off 34 staff members from its Picton plant for the purposes of “adjusting inventory,” manager Roy Kerr confirmed. Kerr said as stock became depleted the company would increase its production and rehire staff.
– Bell Canada reported that Picton was growing so quickly, it was having difficulty keeping up with demand for telephone services. The company was spending over $2 million over a six-year period to upgrade lines within the county.
– Environment Canada warned consumers that rainbow smelt from Lake Ontario contained higher-than-acceptable mirex levels. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children were advised to not eat the fish.
1998
– The new Giant Tiger store at the corner of Main and Elizabeth streets in Picton was designated in memory of longtime local businessman Sam Gentile. Store owner Calvin Thomas said he’d never met anyone with anything bad to say about Gentile.
– County council declared the first week of May Regent Theatre Week as a way to show the public just how much progress the Regent Theatre Foundation had made to refurbish the 80-year-old Main Street landmark. A touring production of The Velveteen Rabbit was a highlight.
– Prince Edward Memorial Hospital was granted a one-hour audience with the province’s Health Services Restructuring Commission to discuss governance issues.