In a June 1933 campaign to rid rural parts of Cornwall Township of unlicensed dogsrunning-at-large, township council gave the shoot-to-kill order. Literally.
Reeve Fred Lefebvre said the township office had been flooded with complaints from farmers about dogs killing and maiming farm animals. In May alone, 20 young cattle and one horse had been killed by roaming dogs. Dozens of other farm animals had been maimed.
The reeve estimated that there were 500 dogs in the township but only 20 licences had been issued by the bylaw office.
Along with giving farmers the green light to kill dogs harming their livestock, a posse was delegated by the township to carry out a round-up. In the first two weeks of the campaign, 40 unlicensed dogs were captured and destroyed. Older dogs were shot, while smaller dogs were gassed.
ALSO IN JUNE 1933: With the Great Depression taking hold, the local public school board followed the call from the Ontario government to reduce its biggest expenditure: teachers’ salaries. Teachers at Cornwall Collegiate and Cornwall Public School (Central) were told that renewed contracts for the new school year would include a 10% pay cut. New salary schedules for Collegiate teachers would range from $1,350 to $2,500 a year, while the salary for the principal would be $3,000. Annual salaries for public school teachers would range from $1,012 to $1,400, while the principal would be paid $2,100. The caretaker would be paid $1,200, the secretary $375 and the truant officer $90. The department of education said budgets had risen 275% over 10 years. … Two men – one from Massena the other from Mille Roches – were charged with bootlegging illegal booze. The two were nabbed by Mounties staking out the St. Lawrence River shoreline near Mille Roches. The men were transferring 50 gallons of U.S. alcohol in tin containers from a boat to a wagon when the Mounties made the take-down. … City council approved giving Cumberland Street from Second to Fourth streets its first coat of pavement. Bedford from First to Second streets was also receiving permanent pavement. … City and district residents were sweating out record June high temperatures. In a seven-day period,the day-time temperature reached a high of 97F and never fell below 92F during the week. … A new provincial law made riding two on a bicycle a Highway Traffic Act offence.
City resident Moe Lemieux passed along a copy of the 1933-34 Cornwall Directory. It’s an interesting read.
The town and East Cornwall had 40 butchers, 33 barbers, 10 blacksmiths, 17 taxi drivers, six dairies (all home delivery), 46 carpenters, 25 electricians, 15 plumbers/tinsmiths, seven funeral homes, 17 shoe repair shops, six coal dealers, 12 wood (fuel) dealers and seven ice dealers to service ice boxes (refrigerators).
The professional ranks included 12 lawyers, 18 physicians, nine druggists, seven dentists, two opticians and four veterinarians.
There was an abundance of grocery stores, most of them mom-and-pop corner stores operations. Of the 75 grocers, the only chain operations were Dominion, Loblaws and the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A & P).
The city police department had five officers, including the chief, to cover one square mile.The directory listed their home addresses and phone numbers.
Spiritual needs were served by two Roman Catholic Churches, two Church of England parishes, two United Church of Canada congregations, one Presbyterian congregation, a Salvation Army Citadel, Wesleyan Methodist and Baptist churches.
There were three Roman Catholic convents.
LIVES LIVED: One would have to look long and hard to find a more dedicated police officer who loved his job than Ray Jodoin who died last week at age 85.
Jodoin, who served 30-plus years with Cornwall Police Service, practised community policing before there was community policing. He was the quintessential community cop. He genuinely cared about people, good or bad.
Jodoin wore the uniform with pride and gave back to the community he served.
He helped establish the Big Brothers organization and was a founding father of the Children’s Treatment Centre. His DNA was on Mount Carmel House in St. Raphaels.
The often irascible major league player/manager Leo “The Lip” Durocher liked to hypothesize that “Good guys finish last.”
Pity Leo never met Ray.
Mike “Crusher” Conway was living proof that stats don’t tell the whole story.
Conway, who died last week at age 68 after a long, hard fought battle against alzheimer’sdisease, spent three season with his hometown Royals.
A defenceman who showed up for every game, who didn’t back down when physically challenged by bigger opponents, Conway’s regular season career 15 goals and 86 assists weren’t overwhelming, but goals and assists don’t measure heart and soul which Conway had in adundance. He was the consummate team leader who never put himself first.
He served two seasons as an assistant captain and was given the “C” in his final season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
He went on to captain McMaster and Queen’s varsity teams and was a two-time Ontario University Athletic Association (OUAA) all-star. He was inducted into the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
His uncle, Kevin, an outstanding defenceman with the 1955 world champion Penticton Vees, also was called “Crusher”.
TRIVIA ANSWER: St. Lawrence Breweries was built at Water and Augustus streets in 1907. It was capable of brewing 8,000 gallons of suds daily. Its brand was called Cornwall Ale and was sold coast-to-coast. Unfortunately, the brewery experienced financial headwinds and closed in 1920. In 1939 the empty building was transformed into as a cheese storage facility. Years later it became home of Gordon’s Refrigeration which sold blocks of ice.
TRIVIA: Ryan Gosling calls Cornwall his hometown but he was born in this Ontario city:1) St. Thomas, 2) Windsor, 3) London, 4) Niagara Falls, 5) Fort Erie.
QUOTED: If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else. – Yogi Berra
ONE LAST THING: Don’t be surprised if the upcoming Biden-Trump debate, which has the potential to be a rowdy affair, draws more viewers than the Super Bowl.
