LOOKING BACK – Hillsburgh soldier wounded

From the Advocate – 100 years ago (1918)

Hillsburg soldier wounded

In the list of wounded in Wednesday’s papers we note the name of W. Hornett, No. 451015, of Hillsburg. In other war news, the Advocate reports that 15 British vessels were recently sunk by German U-Boats. The following is a list of articles, packed and sent to Red Cross Supplies, Toronto, from the Erin Ladies’ Patriotic Association during the past week: 14 trench caps $7.00, 7 trench shirts $17.50, 22 handkerchiefs $2.20, 2 and a half doz. comfort bags $7.50, 35 pairs socks $52.50, 17 pyjama suits $27.00, 22 wash cloths $2.20. Total $115.90.

From the Advocate – 35 years ago (1983)

11-year-old saves sister

Lisa Bint, 7, of Mill Street in Hillsburgh is a very lucky girl to have a cool-headed brother named Leigh. Lisa decided to go skating on Sunday on the creek behind the Medical Centre in Hillsburgh, and fell through the ice. Luckily, her brother Leigh, 11, and his friend Ryan Kent, 7, also of Hillsburgh were playing nearby and pulled the shivering child to safety before the cold could take its toll. Sunday was cold, but not cold enough to produce the ice necessary to skate. Before venturing out onto ponds or rivers, make sure it’s safe.

Water rates to rise in village

Erin Village council has announced that there will be an increase averaging five per cent on local water bills. Users who are metered will now be charged 33 cents per 100 gallons for the first 6,000 gallons. For those not metered the minimum payment will be $5.25 per month. For those with taps only, the cost will go to $4.50, with a 10 per cent discount for paying on time

From the Advocate – 25 years ago (1993)

Erin may get larger calling area

The isolation that many Erin-Hillsburgh Bell Telephone subscribers have felt for years may end this fall. Bell has a proposal to allow local subscribers to call as far as Burlington, Bowmanville and Bradford without long distance charges. That means Brampton, Milton, Acton, Georgetown and Caledon East would be local calls. Guelph and Orangeville, however, would remain long-distance calls. The proposed monthly cost of basic telephone service for a Hillsburgh area home would go up from $6.40 to $21.95. Jack Dyce, President of the Shamrock Seniors Club, plans to start a petition to have Orangeville included.

Nodwell a Lieut.-Colonel

A column called “Recycling the Advocate” looked back at the Advocate issue of February 18, 1943. Capt. R.J. Nodwell, son of Mr. and Mrs. R.D. Nodwell of Hillsburgh, had been promoted to the rank of Lieut.Colonel, commanding the 27th Canadian Field Ambulance. Nodwell enlisted at the outbreak of the war, served overseas for some time and returned to Canada the previous summer. The Advocate joined with R.J.’s many friends in extending congratulations on his promotion.

From the Advocate – 20 years ago (1998)

Doctorate at 22

Brenda Allen, formerly of Ballinafad, who graduated from Erin District High School in 1989 at the ripe old age of 13, is now “Dr. Allen”. Brenda has been attending Oxford University and recently completed her D.Phil. thesis in numerical analysis and computer modeling. She also joined the Oxford cycling club and became the women’s time trial champion, winning gold at all four distances – 10, 25, 50 and 100 miles. This achievement, plus several gold and silver performances in other student events, earned her a “Half-blue” award, never before awarded to a woman cyclist at the university. Shortly before her 22nd birthday, just after passing her final exams, she started working for the British government in the Ministry of Defence.

LOOKING BACK – Returning war veteran hosts concert

From the Advocate – 100 years ago (1918)

Returning war veteran hosts concert

A Grand Concert is to be held at Hillsburg Town Hall, on Friday evening, Feb. 15th. Sgt. J.R. McNally, recently returned from the Firing Line, will preside as Chairman. Proceeds are for the Red Cross of Hillsburg.

The Belfountain and Rockside Red Cross Society have shipped to headquarters for the month of January 42 pair of socks, 18 suits of pyjamas, 12 day shirts and 36 towels.

From the Advocate – 35 years ago (1983)

Will Conservatives back a leader?

An editorial by Advocate Editor Bob Kincaid asked: Did Joe Clark do the right thing when he called for a Progressive Conservative leadership convention after receiving over 66 per cent of his party’s support? He is allowing 33 per cent to run the party. Mr. Clark should realize that 66 per cent is not that bad.

The Conservatives have made it a habit to shoot themselves in the foot, just when they have the opportunity to win an election and take over the government. Former party president Dalton Camp said it is “preposterous” that a mere 33 per cent should be allowed to set policy. On the other hand, Toronto MP Otto Jelinek says new convention is badly needed.

Potential new leaders – “phantoms”, as Clark calls them – should be coming out of the woodwork in the next two to three weeks. If Clark wins this time, will the party stand behind their leader and become solid? I doubt it. They haven’t for the past 40 years. Why should they now?

From the Advocate – 25 years ago (1993)

Editor Bill Doole remembered

Career journalist, teacher and former owner and editor of The Advocate Bill Doole died last week after an 11-year-long battle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Doole, 76, was well-known and liked in the newspaper business and the communities where he worked. He and his wife Nora, who died in 1990, owned the Erin Advocate for six and a half years in the 1970s, buying it from Charles W. Hull in July 1972. He would sometimes write a column called Typewriter Dust, and after retiring wrote a column called Sweet and Sour.

Doole was the son of an Irish immigrant building contractor who had fought at the Battle of Batoche during the Riel Rebellion. He started as a copy boy and became a crime reporter at the Toronto Star. He served with the Canadian army in Ottawa during the war. He later worked for the Vancouver Sun and was editor and publisher of the Brampton Conservator. Before buying The Advocate, he taught journalism for two years at Sheridan College.

From the Advocate – 20 years ago (1998)

Anonymous $25,000 for trailway

A $25,000 anonymous donation for development of the Elora Cataract Trailway was presented to the trailway association last week by long-time trail advocates Peel Regional Councillor Ian Sinclair, Caledon Ward 1 Councillor Richard Paterak and Erin Mayor Barb Tocher. The donation will be used to develop the trail from Mississauga Road in Caledon to the Sixth Line of Erin. The Erin section could be done by September. The fundraising target is $238,000, with $114,723 raised so far. It is being used for trail surfacing, interpretive rest areas and parkland in Erin village and Hillsburgh.

Refugee group launched to sponsor a Syrian family

As published in The Erin Advocate

The Erin Refugee Action group was launched on March 3, with the goal of bringing a Syrian family of four to live in the community.

A fundraising target of $40,000 has been set, to provide for various needs during the family’s first year in Canada. That’s more than the minimum of $27,000, since the group wants to have a contingency fund for unexpected costs.

“We’ve raised $9,500 so far, and have an anonymous donor matching funds – we’re almost halfway there,” said Chair Barbara Harrison. “We have heard that many of the Syrian refugees are from rural areas. We hope to be matched with one of those families.”

The timing is still uncertain. The family could arrive within three months of a match being made, or it could take up to a year, said Harrison.

Support for the project has been provided by Transition Erin and local churches. The application for the sponsorship is being done through the Anglican Diocese of Niagara with local charitable donations processed by All Saints Church in Erin.

The money raised so far is in addition to about $10,000 raised in December with an event at Erin United Church, mainly to support the First Line for Syria sponsorship in Mono. That group has now welcomed a Syrian family of three. Khaleel Huseyin Alos, his wife Sabah Abdulkadir, and their seventeen-year-old daughter Helin had to move from their home city of Damascus to a refugee camp in Turkey. Now they have moved into an apartment in Shelburne.

Erin Refugee Action has set up a steering committee and has a broader group of volunteers. Drivers will be needed to help a family get to shopping, employment, appointments and English language classes.

“We'd love to get the service groups involved as well as other churches, local businesses and any community groups,” said Harrison. “One of our goals is to create community connections. We are hoping that other groups will take on some of the fundraising.”

The plan is to start off with temporary housing in Erin, then arrange longer-term accommodation either in the Town or within a practical distance, depending on the needs and preferences of the family.

Anyone who wants to volunteer, or find out what is happening, is welcome at the next meeting on April 6, from 7 to 9 pm (or come at 6 pm to be part of the fundraising team meeting). The location is All Saints Anglican Church Hall, on Main Street, Erin. Two immigrants from Syria will be leading a discussion on Syrian culture and resettlement.

Donation cheques should be made out to All Saints Anglican Church (with Erin Refugees in the memo line). Tax receipts will be issued for donations $10 and over. Donations can be mailed to Erin Refugee Action, PO Box 308, Erin, N0B 1T0. On-line giving options are being arranged, and donations of furniture, clothes and food will eventually be needed.

“We'll keep fundraising even after reaching our $40,000 goal,” said Harrison. “We may end up being matched with a family larger than 4 members (and therefore need more money) or might even consider sponsoring a second family, perhaps related to the first.”

More information is available on the Erin Refugee Action Facebook page. Email contact can be made at erinrefugeeaction@gmail.com.

In addition to the 25,000 Syrians the Canadian government had committed to resettling, it has announced a plan to increase the number of privately sponsored refugees this year. The number had previously been about 6,000 per year, but now they are setting aside up to 18,000 spaces for them.

Immigration officials have told private sponsorship groups that Syrian refugees who arrive after March 1 will have to pay back the costs of their airfares and medical exams — about $1,000 for each plane ticket and several hundred dollars per person for health screening. Sponsorship groups would not be obligated to cover that cost, but they could end up doing so.

However, Syrians being sponsored through the government-assisted “Blended Visa Office Referred” program – the joint sponsorship that the Erin group hopes to be part of – will continue to have those expenses paid by the government.

Overall, Canada plans to admit between 280,000 and 305,000 new permanent residents this year, the highest projected level in decades. There will be a priority on reuniting families. Those coming primarily to seek work in Canada will make up the largest block of the 2016 immigrants, estimated at 162,400 people.

Helping Syrian refugees as they arrive in Greece

As published in The Erin Advocate

Barbara Harrison wanted to do more than just help Syrian refugees as they arrive in Canada. After seeing some of these victims of war while travelling in Greece last fall, she looked for a way to make a practical and personal contribution to the relief effort.

“It makes you feel like there’s nothing you can do – it’s such a big problem,” she said. “But there is so much we can do.”

The Erin resident has now travelled to the Greek island of Lesvos, where many Syrians land after a perilous sea voyage, to work as a volunteer with local agencies. She will be there with her friend Denise Bates from Tennessee until January 17.

“I’m sure it will be a profound experience,” she said.

Harrison is part of the Transition Erin group and her trip was highlighted at their recent fundraising event, An Evening of Dickens. About $10,000 was raised, with most going towards a sponsorship in Mono. But more than $1,000 will go to Harrison’s project, for medical supplies, food, clothing, blankets and direct aid to “boots on the ground” agencies in Greece.

“We want to support the Greek economy and spend the money there,” said Harrison. She and Bates have raised about $2,000 through online crowdsourcing (Act4Lesvos2016 on generosity.com). They are paying their own travel, accommodation and other expenses.

The situation on Lesvos can be chaotic, as officials struggle to provide food and shelter in makeshift refugee camps. The island is the shortest crossing point from Turkey on the trip to northern Europe, and refugees are expected to stay only a few months.

Local aid groups are operating without central coordination and without strong backing from international agencies. The island has only 86,000 residents and they have been overwhelmed in 2015 – sometimes with more than 1,000 refugees per day.

“While I've worked with refugees for 20 years, I personally have never seen such a human crisis as intense as this one,” said Bates, on their fundraising site. “We are a global community. We should have each other's backs.”

Harrison expects to be doing manual work – washing clothes, moving supplies in warehouses, delivering meals, looking after children and providing transportation. She does not speak Greek, Arabic or Farsi, but does not expect to have any trouble finding English speakers to help with translation.

Apart from the assistance they can deliver, the travellers have a professional interest in the refugee crisis. The experience will serve as research for an academic paper on grassroots assistance for refugees.

Bates’ background is in Public Health, and Harrison taught previously at the University of Guelph. She has been involved in promoting the idea of learning through service and community engagement, and has offered a course on the Canadian Refugee Sponsorship Program.

After Harrison returns, Transition Erin will host an evening for her to share stories about the trip. It will be held on Monday, January 25, from 7 pm to 9 pm, in the lower hall at All Saints Church, 81 Main Street in Erin. It will also be an opportunity for local groups to explore ways of working together to offer more support to Syrian refugees.

Harrison is hopeful that the Erin community will be able to organize enough support to sponsor a refugee family.

Legion plaque pays tribute to artist Robert Lougheed

The young soldier looks both innocent and determined, lit by slanting sunlight against a turbulent sea and sky. It’s a painting that has greeted visitors to the Royal Canadian Legion in Erin for many years, but it was only recently that a plaque was posted with information about the artist.

The unsigned painting is by Robert Lougheed, who lived from 1910 to 1982. He grew up on a farm in Grand Valley and went on to a successful career as an illustrator in New York and an artist in the American West.

Erin became his Canadian homestead, since it was the home of his brother Cliff, who moved here from Grand Valley in 1940. Cliff and Eleanor Lougheed bought a house on Main Street four years later, and Robert gave them the painting of the soldier at about that time. Later they donated it to the Legion.

Cliff passed away 11 years ago, but Eleanor continues to live in the same house. Her neighbour Joanne Gardner was aware of the painting and felt there should be some recognition of the artist and the donation. She worked with the Legion to create a plaque, including two photos of Robert Lougheed, which was mounted with the painting in September this year.

Robert learned to draw as a child, earning his first commission at the age of 11 for a chicken feed advertisement. In 1929 he moved to Toronto, working as an illustrator for mail order catalogues and the Toronto Star while studying at the Ontario College of Art.

In 1935 he moved to New York to continue his studies and his freelance illustration career. As a fine artist he became known for his paintings of horses, but his most famous horse was the red flying Pegasus that he created for the Mobile Oil logo.

In a 30-year career, he illustrated children’s books and worked for National Geographic, Reader’s Digest, Saturday Evening Post and Colliers magazines. In 1970, the US Post Office commissioned him to design a six-cent buffalo stamp for their Wildlife Conservation Series.

In 1941 he enlisted with the Canadian Army and was stationed in Montreal, where he continued his studies at the École des beaux-arts. He did drawings and paintings of soldiers, and of Quebec homes, barns and horses.

Later he lived in Connecticut, and toured not only the American West, but also Canada, Alaska and Europe for his painting. He and his wife Cordelia eventually moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

He joined the Cowboy Artists of America and helped found the National Academy of Western Art, both of which honoured him with major awards. He produced about 5,000 paintings in his lifetime, with a representative selection displayed in the Lougheed Studio, at the Claggett/Rey Gallery in Vail, Colorado.

First World War soldier will be added to Erin cenotaph

As published in The Erin Advocate

The name of Private Alexander Cochrane will be added Great War plaque on the Erin cenotaph, after it was recently discovered that he died while on overseas service.

Cochrane had emigrated from Ireland and was working on a farm in Hillsburg (as it was spelled then). With no prior military experience, he enlisted in Erin on October 13, 1915. His wife Annie and his parents, James Beattie and Mary, still lived in Dechomet, Ballyward, Banbridge, County Down, in what is now Northern Ireland.

Erin Legion Service Officer Doug Kirkwood said Cochrane’s name would be added to the cenotaph with a small plaque. The Legion had a record of Cochrane enlisting, but not of his death.

Maple leaves are engraved on most of the tombstones at the Caix British Cemetery in Northern France,
marking the final resting places of 219 Canadian soldiers from the First World War.   

Chaplain Irene Walback highlighted Cochrane in her address at the Legion’s Ecumenical Service on November 8. Echoing author Ted Barris, she said, “For every war statistic, there’s a story to be told.”

Cemetery records list Cochrane’s age of death at 44, but the Attestation Form he signed when enlisting shows he was born on October 31, 1880, in County Down, making him 37 years old when he died on August 8, 1918.

That was the date on which the Canadian Corps won a battle for the village of Caix, located about 28 km south-east of Amiens in Northern France. Caix had been occupied by Commonwealth troops in March 1917, lost during the German advance of March 1918, and recaptured on August 8, 1918, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Cochrane served with the Central Ontario Regiment of the 4th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. He is buried in Caix British Cemetery. It was created after the Armistice when graves (mainly from March and August 1918) were brought in from the battlefields and from small cemeteries in the neighbourhood. It has the remains of 219 Canadian, 133 British and 13 Australian soldiers.

Cochrane’s Attestation shows that he was Presbyterian. He was 5 feet, 4 inches tall, with a dark complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. He had images of a star and a woman’s face tattooed on his right wrist. Unfortunately, I have not located a photo of him.

Cochrane’s name, rank and battalion number appear in the First World War Book of Remembrance. The Canadian Virtual War Memorial produced by Veterans Affairs Canada (www.veterans.gc.ca) has information on him, as does the database at www.canadiangreatwarproject.com.

It’s not certain what year he came to Canada, but there had been a surge of migration from Ireland to Canada, with 5,980 people moving in the years 1911 to 1913. Ireland was in the midst of severe political turmoil at the time. Emigration had been most intense during periods of famine during the mid-1800s, but it was still running at a high rate. Between 1850 and 1913, more than 4.5 million men and women left Ireland, leaving its population reduced by about one third.

Recently, I was doing some research for the Great War Open House that was held October 29 at the Town office. It was hosted by the Heritage Committee, with about 45 people attending, and it included several tables filled with war memorabilia.

I made a presentation about what it was like to live in Erin during the First World War, based on old issues of The Advocate, which I reference every week in the Looking Back column.

It was while looking through the Erin soldiers on the Canadian Great War Project database that I noticed Cochrane, and the fact that he had died overseas. I am very glad to have made people aware of his sacrifice.

The Great War Open House

On Thursday, October 29, 2015, I made a presentation at the Great War Open House hosted by the Town of Erin Heritage Committee, held in the Council Chambers. It attempts to show what life was like in Erin in 1914 and 1915, and the role that the Erin Advocate newspaper played at that time.

CLICK HERE to download the images from that presentation as a single PDF file (33 MB).

My thanks to

- Chair Jamie Cheyne and members of the Heritage Committee.

- Councillor Jeff Duncan, who provided enthusiasm and research help.

- Doug Kirkwood, Service Officer for the Erin Legion, who shared some of his extensive research on local people involved in the war.

Cenotaph

- Looking Back at the past is fascinating, not only because we see how different things were. When we get a glimpse of the lives of real people, we can imagine ourselves living at that time.

- The No. 7 Company of the 30th Battalion of the Wellington Rifles was based in Erin. They were formed in 1866 after the scare of the Fenian raids and eventually became part of 153rd Wellington County Battalion during World War One.

- Erin’s soldiers came from all walks of life, and enlisted in many different places. A cenotaph to help us remember our fallen was not dedicated until 1956.

Arthur Berry

- The first name on the list is Arthur Berry, a farmer from Orton, the son of George and Annie Berry of Orton, a member of the Disciples of Christ. The Canadian Great War Project is an on-line database. It says he enlisted at age 18, served with the 153rd Wellington Battalion and was killed in action at age 20. His body was not recovered.

Arthur Berry Vimy Memorial

- His name appears on the Vimy Memorial

Arthur Berry plaque

- And on a plaque at Orton United Church, formerly the Methodist Church

Population Chart

- In 1914, Erin Village had about 500 people. Erin Township including Hillsburgh and the other hamlets had a total of 3,000 – less than they had 50 years earlier. The combined Erin population would dip as low as 3,100 in World War Two. It would not pick up until 1961, after our water works were installed, and it soared to 11,000 by 2001.

- We’d had the railroad for 35 years – great for shipping out potatoes and bringing in tourists to Stanley Park. There were two trains a day to Toronto and two returning, plus regular bus service to Guelph.

Going West this Spring?

- At World War One, Erin Township had been settled for almost a hundred years, but there was no fire department, the roads were dirt or gravel, and there were no sewers.

- Life expectancy was mid-50s, many women still died giving birth and over 10 per cent of babies didn’t live until their first birthday.

- Erin was already past its peak as an industrial centre. Our water-powered mills were still operating, but steam turbines at big town factories were driving the economy.

- Rural areas like Erin were being depopulated as farming became more mechanized. People were moving to the cities and to the fertile farmland of the Canadian Prairies. Canada’s population was growing, but the immigration from Europe was being directed to the West.

- The Canadian Pacific Railway was urging people to go West, and many Erin residents did. Though many returned during the prairie drought of the 1930s.

Archduke’s assassin

- Community newspapers in those days were often the only source of news – international, national, provincial, local events and social gossip.

- The Advocate reported that Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip appeared before a magistrate in Sarajevo, expressing no guilt for assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on June 28, 1914. It was treated as far-away political upheaval.

- And even once the war was on, many people expected it would be over by Christmas of 1914. Canadians realized only gradually that they would have to change their way of life.

King George

- King George in his uniform, ready to fight.

- Canada’s identity, outside Quebec, was embedded in the British Empire. Once England was at war, Canada was at war – no questions asked.

Mother Britain poem

- Every week, there was a poem on Page 1 – like this one, warning the bally Huns, that those who strike at Britain, must reckon with her sons.

Uniforms at Salisbury

- The Canadians looked quite spiffy in their uniforms, while training in England.

Ford car

- A few people could afford the new automobiles, but horses and buggies were still the norm. And the cars weren’t much use in the winter, so cutters or sleighs were a necessity.

Magic Baking Powder

- Here are some other examples of ads in the Advocate. Magic Baking Powder, made by the Gillett Company.

Corn Flakes

- No comment needed

The Darkest Hour novel

- Every issue of the paper had the next chapter of a serialized novel – usually a mix of romance and melodrama.

Fashion news

- And even with a world war raging, the Advocate carried the latest fashion news from Paris. This hat, with rabbit ear bows of black velvet, was considered one of the smartest creations of the season.

W.A.R. Store

- Merchants were not above using the war for commercial promotion – like this ad from W.A. Ramesbottom.

Columbia Records at Bell’s store

- Robert Bell’s store carried the latest music from the relatively new recording industry. The 3rd last song on the list: Cows may come, Cows may go, but the Bull goes on forever.

Fruit-a-tives

- The newspaper was packed with ads for dubious medicines, and testimonial articles claiming miracle cures. Perhaps a pre-cursor of today’s info-mercial.

Castoria

- Castoria promises to contain no opium or morphine – which tells you something about other medicines on the market.

Advocate prints butter paper

- The war drove up the price of butter wrapper paper – but the Advocate was selling it at the old price. We would print almost anything.

Wellington Hull

- The publisher of the paper was Wellington Hull, a master of multiple revenue streams. Before buying the paper in 1894, he had been a farmer, a butcher, a village councillor and the reeve. He owned land in Erin village, just west of what is still known as Hull’s Dam.

- He was a Wellington County Constable, and later a Magistrate and Justice of the Peace.

- He was the official starter at local horse races

- He was a car salesman.

Advocate – Union Bank building

- Hull built a solid building and leased the ground floor to the Union Bank, later the Royal Bank.

- Wellington Hull passed the paper on to his son Roy, who passed it on to his son Charles. The family operated The Advocate for 78 years. The great thing about owning a newspaper, is that you can run free ads for yourself every week.

Farms for sale

- If you couldn’t get a loan downstairs, you could always try upstairs at the Advocate office.

Real estate agent

- He was a real estate agent and farm equipment dealer.

Auctioneer

- An auctioneer

Marriage licenses

- And the issuer of marriage licenses. Note the cost of an annual subscription – $1 per year, which is probably why he needed other sources of income.

Bombs on Dunkirk

- The paper normally had two full pages of war news, like this story of a dirigible air raid. It was a constant narrative of heroism, foul deeds by the enemy, glorious victories and human slaughter.

War news – Nerve pills

- For those who were depressed by the war news, there were Milburn’s Heart and Nerve Pills, designed to build up the unstrung nervous system.

Pleasant pellets

- It appears some women were having crying spells. They were starting to feel old and look old – due to some weakness or derangement. Fortunately, Dr. Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets could be ordered by mail to restore youthful vigour.

German guns seized in Toronto

- There were frequent stories of German spies. Canadian transport ships had been the target of mines and submarine attacks in the Atlantic, and it was widely believed that spies had fed critical information to the enemy.

- The United States was not in the war at this stage, and there were millions of Germans living there. Canada feared those Germans might invade Canada, so as a precaution, police confiscated all firearms belonging to Germans in Toronto.

Wellington raises half-regiment

- In 1914, Wellington County was planning to raise half a regiment of 500 men. It would cost $90 to outfit each soldier, for a large expenditure of $45,000.

Acton Tanning Co. busy

- In Acton, they were working day and night to supply leather for war horses.

Cavalry horses painted blue

- The French had a novel idea – they would paint their horses blue so they would blend in with the horizon and not be noticed by the enemy.

Four horses in a shell hole

- George Arnett of Erin was a member of the Royal Horse Artillery. He said the artillery shells would make a hole large enough to put four horses in. A later letter said six horses.

Canada makes shells

- The British War Office had placed orders for $154 million worth of shells – and every machine shop or factory capable of making shells was busy. Canada was shipping out 10,000 shells per day, and hoped to push the average to 40,000 shells per day.

Drawing of barn being shelled

- There was very little action photography, but survivors would describe battles, and artists would create drawings for the newspapers – like this barn being hit by a shell.

Drawing of air battle

- Air battles caught the public’s imagination, with the exploits of flying aces like Canada’s Billy Bishop and Germany’s Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron).

Sgt. Frank Belway

- Frank Belway didn’t move to Erin until later, but he was well known as the manager of Stanley Park, owner of a grocery store and the third President of the Legion.

Distinguished Flying Cross

- In World War One he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for flying low over enemy lines under heavy machine gun fire, to get exact information on the positioning of their troops.

German albatross forced down by Belway

- He also had the rare distinction of forcing an enemy pilot to land behind the Allied lines.

Carmichael ad – Shot to Pieces

- The Carmichaels were a prominent Hillsburgh family with a prosperous store. The website carmichaelfamilyonline is an excellent source of information on Hillsburgh history.

John and Grace Carmichael

- Portraits of John and Grace Carmichael.

Marjorie visits

- The Advocate social notices reported a visit by their daughter Marjorie, who was about to leave for France.

Nursing Sister Marjorie Carmichael

- At the age of 29, working in Toronto as a nurse, Marjorie had enlisted as a nursing sister.

Open Letter to Women

- The Advocate carried an open letter from the most powerful women in Canada – the National Committee for Patriotic Service:

- The President was Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Connaught. That was Louise Margaret, a German princess who was married to the third son of Queen Victoria, Prince Arthur – who was Canada’s Governor General. Her daughter was Princess Patricia, who had her own Light Infantry Regiment in the Canadian army. Then you had the wife of Prime Minister Robert Borden, the wife of Opposition Leader Wilfred Laurier, and a long list of upper class ladies.

- The message was simple: Canadian women must “ungrudgingly” give up their sons and husbands for this struggle.

- A side note about the Duchess – she died of influenza during the war, at a time when there was no vaccine for the flu, and doctors didn’t even know it was caused by a virus. The flu pandemic in 1918 would infect 500 million people and kill at least 50 million – 3 per cent of the world’s population. That was far more than the 11 million soldiers and 7 million civilians who died in the war.

Patriotic Concert by Brisbane students

- Student concerts and many social events were raising funds for aid to the Belgians, who were being allowed to starve to death after their country was invaded.

- Erin Township Council voted to start a Patriotic Fund to assist in the war effort. Councillors were assigned areas and would canvass every resident.

- There was also a Patriotic Association that helped out the families of soldiers. Many children did extra work in the farm fields while their fathers were away. Farmers who had not enlisted were under extreme pressure to increase food production.

W.C.T.U. knits socks

- The Women’s Christian Temperance Union in Erin was busy knitting socks for soldiers, and collecting material for bandages.

Teachers donate ambulance

- Wellington teachers decided to donate one per cent of their salaries to buy a motor ambulance for the front.

Red Cross fundraising

- The cost of treating the wounded was very high, so the Red Cross launched a major fundraising campaign.

Machine gun drawings

- It cost $1,000 for each machine gun, and the federal government appealed for public donations. In 1915, communities across Canada gave over $1 million for machine guns.

War Tax Stamp

- The federal government brought in new taxes to help pay for the war effort, including an extra one cent for every telegraph message, a one-cent war stamp on every letter (regular postage was two cents), two cents for every bank cheque, five to ten cents on train tickets, five cents on every pint of regular wine, and 25 cents on each bottle of champagne.

Surcharge on property taxes

- The provincial government brought down a special surcharge on property taxes that would raise $1.8 million.

Pensions for wounded

Severely wounded survivors were entitled to a monthly pension that ranged from $264 for privates, up to $2,100 for brigadier-generals.

Parliamentary propaganda

- News or propaganda: “Canada’s loyalty to the great struggle of the Motherland for the cause of right was again manifested in the vote of another $100,000 for the war fund by the absolutely unanimous voice of the members of the House of Commons.”

Soldiers’ fountain pens

- Soldiers were urged to buy good quality pens that would last for years after the war.

Hugh McMillan photo

- This is Hugh McMillan. When the war broke out, Prime Minister Borden promised Britain 20,000 troops. Within a month, 30,000 had enlisted at an army camp in Valcartier, Quebec.

- Travelling to Valcartier to enlist were Erin boys: Hugh McMillan, Albert McBride, Elmer Green, Horace McArthur, Alan and Ernie Royce, Howard Cox, Gordon McRae and Laurence Tarzwell.

- When Hugh McMillan signed up, he listed his occupation as “Chauffeur”, and that’s what he was assigned to do. He was a truck driver supplying the trenches, an ambulance driver, and a chauffer for senior officers.

Hugh McMillan pennant, and Marjorie

- McMillan was a prolific letter writer, and quite proud of his home. He raised the Hillsburg Pennant not far from the front lines in France.

- He also mentions Marjorie Carmichael from Hillsburg, working in a nearby hospital, keeping in touch with the local boys.

Hillsburg pennant

- Image from the Wellington Museum and Archives

- The “H” at the end of Hillsburgh did not come into common use until the Second World War

McMillan – shell didn’t burst

- McMillan was very casual about the dangers, saying his house had been hit by a shell, but it didn’t burst.

McMillan – respirators issued

- Or that he’d been issued a respirator for poison gas

- “The Germans will pay for this.”

News from Ypres

- Ypres was Canada’s first major battle. Chlorine gas was used for the first time by the Germans.

- Listen to the news language used about Canadian soldiers: “Though reduced in the lines, and with dispositions made hurriedly under the stimulus of critical danger, they fought through the day and though the night, and then through another day and night; fought under their officers until, as happened to so many, these perished gloriously, and then fought from the impulsion of sheer valor, because they came from fighting stock.”

McMillan – under fire at Ypres

- Ypres was the battle during which Doctor John McCrae of Guelph wrote his famous poem In Flanders Fields.

- From the same battle Hugh McMillan wrote of rescuing a comrade whose truck had stalled, with shells falling all around. There was a German aviator overhead sending signals to the artillery. The road was filled with women and children running from the shells. “You have no idea what it was like, and I couldn’t explain it in writing”. In fact, he was having trouble writing because the guns were making the ground shake. “Bye, bye dear mother. Write soon, and oftener.”

McMillan – souvenirs

- McMillan lost a batch of letters during the Battle of Ypres, but another soldier found them and forwarded them to his parents. He sent some souvenirs, including a piece of the Yres cathedral, and a “Housewife” – a string shopping bag he picked up from a German soldier.

McMillan – if my turn comes

- “If my turn comes, it will be no worse than hundreds of other poor fellows who have fallen. The only way to do out here is to do your best and trust to God to bring you through safely.”

- “I’ve only been off duty half a day since coming to France, and that day I had a headache.

McArthur gets Advocate, congratulates hockey team

- Horace McArthur was very glad to receive copies of the Advocate at the front. He congratulated the Erin Hockey Team and wished them a successful season.

- His job was to dig trenches on the night shift, ducking out of sight when the German flares went up.

McArthur has close calls

- He too was very casual about danger, reporting that a shell had fallen four feet away from him, but that the explosion had only covered him with mud. After a bullet went through his hat, he said, “That was close enough for me”.

McArthur believed dead

- It was rumoured that Horace had been killed, and The Advocate wrote to his father, a minister, for information. Rev. McArthur reported that Horace’s letters had suddenly stopped after the Battle of Ypres. He was with the 48th Highlanders, 15th Battalion, three fourths of whom were lost.

McArthur in prison camp

- Finally a letter arrived from Horace. He had been captured, sent to a German hospital, treated for gas poisoning and appendicitis, and sent to a prison camp where he was allowed to receive mail, as long as it had no reference to the war.

- Horace later escaped from that prison camp.

F.W. Wood funeral director

- Typically, the local furniture maker would be the casket builder as well, in this case F.W. Wood.

High school debate

- His son Arthur was a senior high school student, and was involved in a Literary Society debate, arguing that the United States was morally obligated to join the war on the Allied side.

New recruiting drive

- At that time there was a new recruiting drive, and Arthur Wood was one of two high school students who signed up.

Jolly good fellows recruited

- Principal Tomlinson held a big party at his house, and the boys were each presented with a gold ring. They were also rewarded with a rendition of the song, “For They Are Jolly Good Fellows”.

Twenty volunteers

- The goal was 25 recruits and they got 20.

- Notice the wording from the editor at the end – “Keeper up the good work boys. You Country needs you now.”

35,000 more men needed – now up to 150,000

- Stories in the newsapaper could seem like a country talking to itself, reassuring itself that it was doing the right thing: “Canada is surely measuring up to her duty in her contribution of men to the war.”

- Today, it would be controversial front-page news. In 1915, it was one paragraph on an inside page – 35,000 more men needed for the firing line in France. That would bring the total so far to 150,000, but even then, we were just getting started.

- Canada had a population of 8 million in 1915. Eventually, she would have 650,000 men and women enlisted, 8.3% of the population. The casualties would total over 65,000 dead and 172,000 wounded.

- Erin Township and Village had a combined population of 3,500. From that we had 228 volunteers and 97 draftees, for a total of 325. That’s 9.3% of the local population. Of those, at least 28 died.

- As we promise every November, they have not been forgotten.
Erin is still proud that we did our bit for King and Country.

- And that’s the story so far.

Sitting down for a chat with the Dutch Queen

As published in The Erin Advocate

Freda Leenders of Erin had the thrill of a lifetime when she had the opportunity to meet the King and Queen of the Netherlands during their recent visit to Canada.

During a reception at the Art Gallery of Ontario on May 29, Freda was among 400 people chosen to shake hands with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. TV coverage of the event happened to show her greeting the couple – which was seen by acquaintances in Europe.

She was also one of 40 people selected to sit down for a chat, with four groups of five people meeting the king, and four groups meeting the queen, each with different preselected topics. She and four other seniors talked to the queen about what it was like to leave Holland and make a new life in Canada.
“It was very special and exciting – a great experience,” said Freda. “We were so nervous, but as soon as they came, it was relaxed.”

The event was organized by the Dutch consulate, which included an application process. Participants were not allowed to give any gifts, but Freda was able to slip the queen a copy of a poem she had had written about the experience of immigrating to Canada.

It was something she had written previously as part of a project for the Coningsby Women’s Institute, of which she is the president. The opening of the poem reads:

“A long, long time ago

My parents said we must go

To a far away land

Where our liberators are at hand

The winds of war brushed across our favourite land

But Canadian soldiers knew where to stand

They served by land, sea and air

Wherever the urgent need they were there

The very least that is their due

Is to be remembered by me and you.”

Freda’s family came by ship in the spring of 1951 when she was 15, initially to New York and then by train to Oakville where they had a sponsor. They learned English and returned to farming, which had helped them survive the war.

Joe and Freda Leenders operated a farm in Erin for many years and have been very active in the Dutch community, organizing events and hosting visitors at their home.

“When we were in Holland in May for the 70th anniversary of the liberation, we really felt their connection and friendship with Canada,” she said.

King Willem-Alexander assumed the throne of the Netherlands in 2013 after his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated the position. The state visit included a meeting with Prime Minister Harper, and several Dutch cabinet ministers came to discuss foreign policy, trade and education issues with the “Dutch Caucus” of Canadian Members of Parliament.

When the Dutch royal family fled the German invasion of the Netherlands to England at the start of World War II, Queen Wilhelmina sent Willem-Alexander's mother and grandmother, Beatrix and Juliana, to live in Ottawa. Willem-Alexander's Aunt Margriet was born there.

The First Canadian Army was responsible for defeating the Nazis in Holland in May of 1945. About 8,000 Canadian soldiers died in the campaign, which allowed relief supplies to reach millions of starving people in the north of the country.

After the war, Princess Juliana sent Canada 100,000 tulip bulbs as a gesture of thanks, a tradition that has continued and is celebrated with the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa.

Hillsburgh urges Erin to do its war duty

From the Advocate – 100 years ago (1914)
After the people of Hillsburgh raised $800 for Belgian war relief, a correspondent identified only as Uncle Dan issued a challenge in The Advocate: “Come, Erin, come, get in the race, you have no need to hide your face; you’re just as loyal as the rest, it’s up to you to do your best. Come, Erin’s Reeve, pull up your sleeve, and then throw off your sweater; you lead a town that’s sane and sound, come on and lead one better. You’ve citizens of worth and wealth, who all enjoy the best of health; they’ll do their duty, bet your pants, if you will only give the chance. Don’t let the little Hillsburg street, your patriotic spirit beat; your ladies have been good and true, come Erin’s men, now do your do.”

From the Advocate – 45 years ago (1969)
4H Achievement Day was held at Erin District High School recently. Receiving Provincial Honours were Susan Burt, Donna Ismond, Elizabeth Jackson, Barbara Smith and Marilyn Winters. County Honours went to Jeannie Simpson, Elaine Winters, Nancy Millson, Karen Sutton, Lillian Hindley, Carolyn Slote, Phyllis Bayne, Diane Beatty, Teresa Morrison and Lois Marshall.

The long-awaited time clock in the Erin arena has become a reality, to the delight of players and fans. Donated by the Erin Lions Club, the clock is painted in their colours and displays the time, score and penalties.

From the Advocate – 35 years ago (1979)
The Down Memory Lane column recalled the Christmas of 1954, when the residents of Erin village got a new water system as a “present”. Reeve Stanley Leitch made the announcement with Councillors P.J. Sinclair, Cecil Carney, Fred Steen and James Robertson. Leitch said he hoped the system would serve as many as 150 customers by the end of 1955.

Erin Township Council will urge the Wellington County Board of Education to reconsider its decision to cancel bus service for students in the new Hillsburgh subdivision. They do not qualify for transportation under the board’s policy. Council will also ask the province for sidewalks when it resurfaces Highway 25, but Reeve Bert Wheeler said he wants to bus service to continue, regardless of whether sidewalks are built.

From the Advocate – 25 years ago (1989)
Bill Dalley, a former publisher of the Erin Advocate and the Orangeville Banner, died Tuesday night of a heart attack at the age of 67. He came from England in 1954 and worked about 12 years for the Thompson newspaper chain before taking over the Banner in 1962. After five years there, he operated a dress shop in Orangeville for several years. In 1976 he joined The Advocate as publisher and sales manager. He retired in 1987, but continued to do occasional work for the paper until last spring, along with running a photography and framing studio in Orangeville. Friends described him as a happy-go-lucky guy who was dedicated to helping the Big Brothers organization.

The EWAG Toy Lending Library may be asked to vacate the space it now uses at the Township Public Library. Library Board CEO Anne Higginbottom told council that while they appreciate having the toy library in the village of Hillsburgh, the regular library has cramped quarters that limit the services they can offer to the public. Currently, they cannot open the library to the public while Storyhour is in progress. They could also use the space for an Audio Visual Centre, and a Reading and Study Area.

Soldiers well-fed at training camp

From the Advocate – 100 years ago (1914)
The Government has set aside Sunday, January 3 as a special day of prayer for a speedy end to the war.

Members of the second contingent in camp at the Exhibition Grounds, Toronto, number about 4,000 men. In the matter of food they are well provided for. Nine tons of food are disposed of every day. Each man receives daily 1 lb of meat, 1.25 lb of bread, 1 lb of potatoes, 6 ozs of fresh vegetables, 2.5 ozs of bacon, beans, butter, sugar and jam, 1.5 oz of cheese and split peas, 1.25 oz of tea, and 1.125 oz of coffee, salt and pepper. An increase of bacon and sugar and an allowance of one pint of milk per man will be made in a day or two as soon as authority is sent in from Ottawa.

From the Advocate – 45 years ago (1969)
Charles Hull, Publisher and Editor of The Advocate, along with staff members Corey Herrington, Freda Hull, George Ware and Jeff Barry, wish everyone in the community the peace and happiness of Christmas. Greetings also from the correspondents: Dorothy McKinnon in Hillsburgh, Mrs. R. McCreary in Cedar Valley, Mrs. Robert Sloan in North Erin, Mrs. D.C. Kirkwood in Erin, Mrs. John Trimble in Belfountain, Mrs. D.G. Robertson in Ospringe, Mrs. K. Raeburn in Caledon, Mrs. F. MacArthur in Churchill, Mrs. H. Thompson in Marsville and Judi Petherick in Alton.

A proposal by Peel County Council to straighten and widen Winston Churchill Boulevard north of Terra Cotta to promote safety in the area has been temporarily stopped after objections from the Credit Valley Conservation Authority. Chairman R.K. McMillan said CVC must be notified of any future plans for the road.

From the Advocate – 35 years ago (1979)
Al Johnson’s 22-month-old bull terrier Gus won two competitions at the Credit Valley Dog Show held at the Canadian National Exhibition site. The Erin dog was the best male, and the best of both males and females in his class.

Many Erin residents were surprised on Sunday morning to discover they had been without power for up to four hours. Erin Hydro spokesman Weir Winter said workers had to shut off power to repair wires near the Greening Donald plant that were damaged in a wind storm last Tuesday.

Erin Village Fire Chief Wib Scott told council recently that the department needs a new $35,000 pumper to meet its obligations to fight fires in sections of Erin Township. The Township currently pays $11,000 a year for the service, but it is being renegotiated and the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office is investigating the situation. Scott says two reliable pumpers are needed so the village is not left unprotected while fighting a fire in the Township. If the Village gets out of the rural service, the Township could be forced to set up a substation, possibly in Ballinafad.

From the Advocate – 25 years ago (1989)
About 40 residents of Cedar Valley expressed their displeasure with a development proposal that would double the size of their hamlet. Sue Orr of R.J. Burnside and Associates, representing developer Don Kilgour, said 41 lots are proposed for the 75-acre site. A letter from Triton Engineering said limited development could be done with private wells, plus a possible fire-fighting storage reservoir, but that if there is to be even more development there in the future, the new homes should be on a communal water system. Residents were concerned about changes to the rural character of the area, the loss of farmland, the strain on already overcrowded schools and increased traffic flow. The land is currently agricultural. Council will decide on rezoning in about eight weeks.