Well Known and Popular Citizen Passes Away If good citizens make a city rich, then Stratford met with a serious loss Tuesday afternoon in the death of John A. Davidson at the family resi dence, 208 Church street. The death of Mr. Davidson removes one of Stratford's most prominent and finest citizens. Prominent in poth its professional and business life. Maybe no man's advice and counsel was more often sought than was his. From every walk of life people consulted him about their busi- ness and personal problems. When- ever his opinion was asked for on any question it was only after deliber- ating and weighing it intelligently that his answer was given. He was always very considerate of others, living a most unselfish life and carrying a kindly feeling to every- one. Indeed he was a splendid type of man and held im the very highest regard by all who knew him. He was a son of the late county clerk and ex-mayor William Davidson and was born in Fullarton township in 1859. He obtained his earlier educa- tion in Collingwood. and Stratford high schools, following that with a course in Toronto University from which he was graduated in 1884 with the degree of with Woods and McPherson and in 1887 entered into partnership with G. G. McPherson, K.C., now crown at- _ torney, In August of 1914 Mr. Davidson severed his legal partnership to ac- cept the managership of the British 'Mortgage Loan Company, now the British Mortgage and Trust Com- pany, having received the appoint- ment in June of that year upon the retirement of the late William Buck- ingham. As one of the solicitors of the Loan Company for a_ period of 27 years, Mr. Davidson had gained an B.A. He studied law Easter Easter time and Easter holidays! Children ecstatic about chocolate bun- nies and eggs! College students and young business people catching crowd- ed trains for week-end at home! It's a lovely EHasterish feeling that per- vades the whole city. Then comes Easter Sunday itself! Quite, quite different from every oth- er Sunday in the year! You don't just waken and cock an eye at the clock, and roll over with a contented grunt. And doze in the midst of your sleepy bling at the hour, you remember-- "Oh, Haster Sunday!" And there's a quickening sense of something NEW and beautiful. Even the day itself seems differ- ent. It has a different color, and a different sound. Usually Sundays, give you a sense of soft half tones. Gentle grey or lavender, or even pale yellow. But Easter Sunday is all the 'colors and no color--pure white dip- ped in clear, sweet sunshine, with its edggs shading into the pink of wild roses, the blue of periwinkle, the green of the first apple leaves, the yellow of daffodils, the purple of pansies and violets and sweet peas. It's a day, too, of the lovely sound of bells. Bells that sound happier-- probably ARE happier. In fact, Easter is quite the nicest extensive knowledge of the affairs of the company which enabled him to obtain a quick grasp of the business and eminently fitted him for the posi- tion which he held for a period of a little more than ten years. Owing to failing health Mr. David- son retired from the management of the British Mortgage Loan in Decem- ber, 1924, and was succeeded by his son-in-law, W. H. Gregory. Since that time he has been in poor health (Continued on page 4) Sunday in the whole year. You've known that, ever since you were very, very young, and went to sleep in church on Sunday mornings. Easter Sunday it was a specially lovely sleep to the sound of beautiful music and the tragrance of Easter lillies--and the thought of a chocolate Easter egg for a good child after church. Or perhaps you didn't sleep at all be- cause your hat or frock or suit or shiny, squeaky boots were too new to let you forget 'them for a slumberous moment, Another nice thing about Haster-- it brings Spring right into our laps. They may say that Spring begins on some certain silly date, but you and I know it really begims with Easter. Don't you know the feeling, as you come down your front steps on Easter morning And you think: "Well, it really IS Spring now-" You hadn't quite believed it before. And as you continue on your Easter morning way, all over the city the church bells are. ringing. Deep-toned bells and sweet-toned bells and loud clanging bells. Some close to you, others merely a vibration on the air, but all ringing, ringing. Away down in the business streets, So oddly quiet on a Sunday morning, comes the chim- ing of bells from the steeple of an old Cathedral. High overhead the song of the Easter bells rings out. Wherever there are chimes church _ bells, through the through the country, across the whole world, they are singing and ringing. And the heart of the world is singing and ringing with the bells. Oh, yes! Easter Sunday is differ- ent from every other Sunday. Not only in new clothes, and chocolate eggs, and beautiful flowers, and glor- ious music,--but in the Easter feel- ing that you can't escape. and city-- Pertinent Patter One of the interesting events of the week was the metamorphosis of the Chamber of Commerce into the Board of Trade. It was very nearly a foregone conclusion that the name would be change but it had been thought that some other name, such as the Stratford Citizens' Club or similar label would have been affixed to the new organization. The Board of Trade is however a dignified title and after all it is not the name but the organization that counts. The change in name may however work a disadvantage in on eway as the Chamber of Commerce is a recognized British institution and has been for many hundreds of years. By reason of the change in name the local or- ganization may be cut off from cer- tain important sources of informa~- tion that were available to the Cham- ber of Commerce. There may, how- ever, be a way in which this can 'be_ avoided and it is of course a matter for the new executive to arrange. The decision of the members to have the City Council appoint three mem- bers of the executive will meet with general satisfaction, also the decis- ion to elect the directors by ballot from the whole membership. The membership now is over the 350 mark and still climbing slowly. * * It has been suggested that the new Board of Trade set some definite ob- ject as an incentive to get the or- ganization going, a new industry if possible. This is an excellent idea and while industries do not grow on bushes just at present still siomle- thing might be done if an aggressive policy were adopted. Preparations to deal with any possible industries should certainly be made by the new board and probably will. It is a mis- take, however, to expect too much of this organization as in all prob- ae (Continued on page 5 es vi