Category: Ask Alice History

Written By Alice Gibb One tradesman once found in most rural Ontario communities hamlets was the harnessmaker. But even in the late 1930s, Edward Innes, 77, of Thorndale, was one…

Written By Alice Gibb In 1939, farmers in Caradoc Township and area welcomed news of a lucrative new cash crop. That moneymaking crop was tobacco. In the late 1930s, about…

Written By Alice Gibb In 1933, octogenarian Jane Farley, of a pioneering West Nissouri family, happily recalled Halloween pranks of the 1850s.“Halloween was looked forward to more as a night…

Written By Alice Gibb In 1936, Martha Fraleigh (1867-1948) of Richmond Street North in London Township graciously entertained a visiting reporter with tales of her family’s pioneer roots. Fraleigh was…

Written By Alice Gibb When Western Fair opened on Monday September 11, 1922, children from the Protestant Orphans Home were among the first visitors to rush through the gates –…

Written By Alice Gibb Like many early families in Middlesex County, the McLachlan family, of McLachlan Sugar Bush fame, emigrated to Upper Canada from Scotland, owing to the changing land…

Written By Alice Gibb In the pre-World War 1 period, there were often two community meeting places in rural communities – the local post office and the railway station. The…

Written By Alice Gibb Falconry, a sport that was introduced as early as 2000 B.C., is the hunting of wild quarry by means of a trained bird of prey. Those…

Written By Alice Gibb In 1874, Nelson Peterson (1849-1940), a native of Sweden, decided he wanted an adventure. After a six-week Atlantic crossing, he re-united with his brother, Hans, who…