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gC a I Ty I A, I Tl ny | "SEE IR uty TDS s THOR 12 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, November 17, 1987 Touching tales from a colourful history Columbus and Area News by Lorna Miller Last week, Mr. William Nesbitt, a descendant of original settlers of Columbus, dropped in for a chat and told me some touching, some amus- ing tales about this area's history. This week he kindly dropped off a pamphlet containing an article com- piled by Mr. William Richardson, one of the pioneer residents of Col- umbus, for the Oshawa Times. This little pamphlet contains the history of Columbus from 1835 to 1931. When first established, this little village was named "English Cor- ners," since the majority of the set- tlers came from England. The name was changed to Columbus in 1850, when a post office was established and a Robert Skirving was our first postmaster. The mail coach, drawn by a four-horse team and drivemby W.H. Thomas, would come thunder- ing into town to the sound of a tin horn blown by the driver to an- nounce his arrival. (They probably got their mail a lot sooner and more regularly than we do today). The years 1850 to 1870 were pro- sperous ones. Northern and Southern Ontario farms produced an abundance of wheat. During the winter this wheat was transported by sleigh from Prince Albert and Manchester to Oshawa and Whitby for processing into flour. Sleigh car- ried from 110 to 120 bushels of wheat per load, and the transporting farmers were paid the princely.sum of 4 cents per bushel. And this is how they earned that 4 cents. Imagine rising when the coming dawn was a mere rosy gleam in the dark eye of the eastern skies. (Anytime between three and five am.) Of course, the lady of the house would have to be up earlier to start the wood stove, cook the oatmeal that had been soaking over- night, whack some slices of bacon off the side of pork curing in the back kitchen, whip up some biscuits and scramble some eggs. (For some strange reason, when history is recorded by men, they only mention the accomplishments and hardships of the male gender. If it weren't for Susannah Moodie and women of her ilk, women's con- tributions to Canada's settlement would never have been mentioned). Now come the men. A quick splash of cold pump water over shivering arms and sleepy faces, bolt down the hardy breakfast from the warm and glowing stove than a trudge to the barn, snow crunching and com- plaining underfoot in the bone- chilling cold of semi-darkness. Inside the barn the horses stomped and chuffed uneasily at this pre-dawn intrusion. As they chomped on a final wisp of hay, they were harnessed. The shadows of men and horses rose and fell against the walls. The men laughed and planned their day while the horses grunted under the tightening cinch and threw their heads up against the bits. They were harnessed to the waiting sleigh and their day had begun. Now the sleigh was empty and slid swiftyl over the snow. On- ly later would come the treacherous trip back. The sleigh would be weighed down with the wheat and that would mean a hard pull up and a dangerous run down all the hills between there and their destination. Thus began, for man and horse, their long, hard day's journey into a Columbus night and a welcome inn. Give 'your community volunteers the recognition they deserve! held in Canada. community as a whole. iC 1 Nonunat¢ who ves al Ahtlete \ | believe this P My nam pe Coach | for ms/her contnbult eves TC cerson deservest ¢ and phone nun pS Government of Canada he XV Olympic Winter Games open in Calgary on February 13, 1988. These will be the first Winter Games to be To share the spirit of our Olympics, communities across Canada are recognizing local citizens for their support of amateur sport and for their contributions to the Recognition will be given in the form of a Government of Canada Celebration 88 Award. A male and female local athlete, coach, sponsor, volunteer and official will each receive a Celebration 88 medal for their contribution to amateur sport. Other active community members will be honoured with Celebration 88 certificates. nity as. (please on lo our commu Sponsor "official cogmuon because ber 18: check one) Community V A Government of Canada representative will present these awards at a special ceremony. For communities located on the route, the ceremony will likely be held in conjunction with the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay, sponsored and organized by Petro-Canada. Also, a number of the awards recipients, selected through a draw, will be flown to the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, courtesy of Air Canada. To make sure the people in your community get the recognition they deserve, please fill out the Nomination Form and send it to your local Celebration 88 Awards Chairperson. ® of mo olunteer CELEBRATION 88 AWARDS CHAIRPERSON IS: © CONAOC 1979 1986 YOUR LOCAL Gouvernement du Canada Scugog, Mr. Cuddie, Box 209, 181 Perry Street, Port Perry, ON LOB 1NO 416-985-7346 If your community 1s not listed tre, please contact your local Member of Parliament or Mayor A Proud Olympic Partner The Honourable Otto Jelinek There were four inns here, and food and water. Some of these magnificent teams, who's sweat and muscle helped tame this wilderness, came from local farms such as the Smith & Richardson farms who had imported and Canadian-bred Clysdales and provided a travelling stud service in the summer months. Much is owed to the incredible strength and endurance of these beautiful colossi of the horse kingdom. Without them woven into Canada's history, it would be a poorer fabric, a common cloth; with them our history is a strong and bold tapestry; an uncommon cloth, woven with hard work and pride. And this area provided a noble strand for the completed work. Marla Halsey has asked me to in- clude her thanks to the members and officials of the Columbus United Church for allowing the playgroup to meet there. "This playgroup has not only been a lot of fun for the children, but a chance to get to know our neighbours and bring this com- munity closer together' she says. "Also the fast pace of society today allows little time to spend with each other, and we appreciate the room the church has given us for this purpose." At this time the playgroup if fill- ed to capacity, but if you call Marla at 655-8908 she will be happy to put your name on the waiting list for a future opening. "Right now we are looking for contributions to our arts and crafts supplies," she continues, 'so, if you have any scraps of material, egg cartons, toys, paper, etc. it would be greatly appreciated. Since this is a non-profit organization, we need any and all contributions that two-to- four-year-olds can use." You can get in touch with Marla, or bring your contributions to the church on Monday and Thursday mornings. We would like to pass along our thanks to the wise persons who gave out the dental kits on Halloween. Because of you, our three-year-old, Jennifer, is brushing enthusiastically. That's all for today. Keep in touch, and see you in the paper. 1 STOVE CO. "A CLASS BY ITSELF" », Za HSN -NAPOLEON Impressive high-efficiency performance and distinctive elegance make Napoleon Stoves the leaders among airtight stoves and fireplace inserts. 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