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^ Qrono Weekly Times - Wednesday, August 21,2002 Places I've Done Time by Clifford Francis k ' ■? f f The Missing Safe Sometimes when you doubt things the most, they turn out to be true. Such is the case with this story. Unbeknownst to me until just last week, an old safe was found near the north end of the Sidney B. Rutherford trail. It was almost completely buried under piles of rubble. Judy Campbell of the Medessa Tea and Coffee House in Orono found it. When I saw it, the thing that sparked my interest was the fact that the door was missing. You see, years ago my father told stories of his great uncle robbing the freight station in Pontypool and stealing stealing the safe. The door was found, but never the safe. Sometime around the year 1910, my great-great uncle Cyrus, also known by his nick-name "Sonny," and a friend of his left Bowmanville one morning driving a horse and buggy. Sonny and his friend Jimmy "Slippery" White headed north on the road that is now Liberty Street. They made their way up to Tyrone and east to Leskard. they made several stops along the way and visit ed people they knew. In Leskard, they stopped and bought a bottle of apple cider or some kind of alcohol from a bootlegger and drove north until they reached Drum School then headed east into Pontypool. No one knows whether they intended to rob the station or whether it was done on a whim. Anyway, it was dark and the light was still on (or the lantern was burning) burning) and they went in. Neither man wore a mask or carried a gun. They asked for the time and when old Ern Hibbard took out his pocket watch they jumped him. They tied old Em up with a bandanna or a large handkerchief and dragged the safe out the door. It was quite heavy but eventually they loaded it up into the buck board buggy and and were ready to go. By this time, Em had gotten gotten loose and appeared at the door with a shot gun. He aimed and fired and shot Slippery in the guts killing him instantly. He took a shot at Sonny and the gun misfired * and Sonny furiously drove off. Frightened and badly shaken, SPOR TS DARLINGTON MENS SELECT SOCCER LEAGUE 2002 This week saw the final games of the league season. Two teams, Bowmanville and Maple Grove, were vying for honours as the League Champions. If Bowmanville lost its final game and Maple Grove had won, then both teams would have been tied in points. Bowmanville did lose its final game but Maple Grove lost its final game as well. Bowmanville retains the "Werry" Championship Bowl. At the start of this season, season, Bowmanville also won the Clarington Shield, so it will be interesting to see if they can pull off the triple by winning the Campbell League Cup. The final is set for September 2, 2002 at the Hydro fields at a time still to be set. Results for week of August 14 Solina 3, Courtice 2 Orono 3, Tyrone 0 Maple Grove 1, Malvern 3 Newcastle 5, Bowmanville 4 Salem 2, Burketon 1 STANDINGS p w T L GF GA PTS Bowmanville 18 14 1 3 82 31 43 Maple Grove 18 13 1 4 56 26 40 Orono 18 ir 3 4 51 23 36, Malvern 18 11 3 4 59 17 33 Courtice 18 10 1 7 46 41 31 Solina 18 7 4 7 32 45 25 Salem 18 6. 1 11 22 42 19 Newcastle 18 6 0 12 36 47 18 Burketon 18 3 0 15 32 95 9 Tyrone 18 2 2 14 21 65 8 Sonny didn't stop until he reached the south of Enterprise Hill. There, he took out his 44-40 rifle and shot through the comer of the safe blowing open the door. Sonny grabbed the money and climbed back up on the seat leaving the safe door lying on the road when he heard someone coming. From there he drove up a laneway where he dumped the safe over a bank where the Sidney B. Rutherford Trail ends. Everyone knew who robbed the office and Sonny was picked up in Port Hope two days later. Sonny swore that the amount of money he took from the safe was around forty dollars but he only had less than twenty of it on his person when they caught him. Em swore he had put three thousand thousand dollars worth of gold coin in the safe for safe keeping keeping after selling some livestock livestock earlier that morning. Sonny sat in jail in Cobourg for three months until the fall assizes. He stood trial for robbery and was sentenced sentenced to ten years in the Kingston Penitentiary then released after serving six years. Whatever happened to the gold coins in the safe? Were they still in the safe when Sonny dumped it in the deep underbrush? Who knows! In the last few weeks I have looked high and low for the gold. No luck for me. I never found it. You ask, whatever happened happened to Uncle Sonny? Well, several years after his release Happy Hollow Gardens 5147 Patterson Road Orono, Ontario LOB 1M0 }) Tel. (905) 983-8246 m 100 Varieties of Hostas & Perennials Taunton Rd Orono s? Bowmanville Cone Rd 6 \ I; ' Cone 5 f Cone. Rd 4- Conc. Rd 3- Newcastle -Hwy2- ■ 401 > / Brigitte | Brown * * * Gift Available' I Pedicures/Manicures Waxing Nail Extensions EyehshfmLg ESTHETIC STUDIO Certificates I Electronic Muscle Stimulate (EMS) Paraffin Wax Ear Candling I 15% DISCOUNT with coupon | 171 Mill Street, Orono, ON 'LOB 1M0 • 905-983-8169 ^ ROAD WATCHy AGGRESSIVE DRIVING rail QnU7Q.1R9n 1RR7 from prison, he had a fatal accident falling from his horse drunk, breaking his neck, while on his way home from a dance in Blackstock. If you want to have a look at the safe, it's at the Medessa Tea Room on Main Street in Orono.lt holds the cash regis ter complete with missing door and the hole in the side where Sonny blew it open. The girls that have the tea room, Donna Robertson and Judy Campbell, will be glad to see you. Have a look, have a cup and stay a while. FOR SALE $259,000 ORONO MEDICAL CENTRE hv -h> 'ttf; :> £t: 1 it § v 4 I II 11 I ! | II III 'I II l| Il 111 I |l * i'i I 1 |l I I | 1 l||l 1 1 I I - Suited to medical, dental, residential, and certain community service uses - Approximately 2,700 sq. ft. - Plus full basement, part finished - .8 acres, wheelchair access - immediate possession, MLS contact david burns associate broker 1 -800-567-4546 eastern realty inc. www.davidburns.ca ft