The Way We Were – September 6, 2023

25 Years Ago – Sept. 2, 1998

CT scan fundraising tees off at Pine Lodge: On a weather perfect day, the fundraising campaign for a CT scanner for the Pontiac Community Hospital was officially launched at the Pine Lodge Golf Course in Bristol.
Seventy-two golfers, including dignitaries MP Robert Bertrand and Pontiac MRC Warden Robert Ladouceur, teed off at the golf tournament to help raise money for the scanner, considered to be a necessity for the hospital.
Every year, more than 400 patients from the Pontiac are transferred to hospitals in Hull and Ottawa for tests following cerebral vascular accidents, trauma, or diagnosis of cancer.
“When a CT scanner was first considered, the question was ‘Would there be the volume?’” says Pontiac Community Hospital Foundation president Dr. Tom O’Neill. “Once you have a scanner, the recurrent costs will cover the cost of purchasing one. Shipping staff out with the patients is costly. It would be nice to see a reversal in the flow.”
$2,500 for Heart Institute: The name may have changed but the spirit of fundraising in honour of a well-known community man hasn’t.
More than $2,500 was raised for the Ottawa Heart Institute during Saturday’s golf tournament at Norway Bay Golf Course.
Now called the Ottawa Heart Institute Golf Tournament, the tournament was known as the Billy Buehl Memorial Golf Tournament in honour of the Shawville businessman.
The Ottawa Heart Institute benefited immensely from Saturday’s tournament which attracted 108 golfers.
Dr. Ross Davies, medical director of the heart transplant unit at the institute, was one of those golfers.
“I thank the Kuehl family for initiating the tournament and community members for continuing it,” Dr. Davies said in accepting the donation.
Dr. Davies golfed with his patient, Royce Richardson, who is in good health thanks to a heart transplant in April 1996.

50 Years Ago – Sept. 12, 1973

Possible Pontiac syndicate of farmers union: Sixty farmers met at the Shawville Agricultural Hall last week to hear more about the Quebec farmers union called the UPA (Union des Producteurs Agricoles).
This union has been given accreditation by the government of Quebec to represent the farmers of the province on many matters and their record of intervention on behalf of primary producers has been considerable. A recounting of their work was impressive.
During the meeting a lot of information was provided about how the UPA is working for farmers and has made valuable contributions already.
Shawville Tennis Club: The Shawville Tennis Club executive met Thursday evening at the home of Mr. Ted Christie, president of the club.
The following activities were decided upon pending confirmation by the organizers.
A tennis exhibition and clinic to be given by experts from Ottawa; tennis tournament open to all adult members for play in the following categories: men and women singles; men, women and mixed doubles.
There is a general meeting planned to close the season followed by a dance.

75 Years Ago – Sept. 23, 1948

Local News: Changes in dates for the hunting season in Western Quebec was announced today by Inspector J. Eugene Audette of the Quebec Fish and Game Department in Hull. Two weeks ago, the Ottawa Journal stated deer hunting would open on Sept. 25 and close on Nov. 24 in the entire district, including Pontiac, Gatineau, Papineau and Hull counties. These dates will remain in effect in Zone C, which comprises Papineau County and the area east of the Gatineau River. In Pontiac County and the section west of the Gatineau, hunting of deer will be permitted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30. Zone D area takes in all centers located on the west side of the Gatineau, from Hull to Maniwaki inclusive.
The regular monthly meeting of the Women’s Auxiliary of Pontiac Community Hospital was held on Tuesday afternoon with 27 members present.
At this meeting, the cutting-out committee composed of Mrs. C. J. Jacques, Mrs. A.G. Brough and Mrs. C. Schwartz prepared forty-eight articles to be finished by the members at home. There were also thirty-nine articles mended and sixty-nine completed.

100 Years Ago – Sept. 13, 1923

Local News: A good job, long delayed, is that of the construction of a new bridge over Mill Creek, at the southern extremity of the corporation limits. This job not only meant the building of a new structure to span the creek, but the lowering of a pretty steep hill which leads to the bridge on the south side and also the raising of the earth approach on the north side to correspond with the level of the bridge, which is considerably higher than the old structure that did service for many years. The work is now almost completed and when everything is finished up, the hill which oft-times in wet weather was difficult to climb, will be practically obliterated and merely a gradual slope easy of ascent, remain. It is safe to say that people living to the south, who have occasion to use this bridge in their traffic to and from the village, will appreciate the value and convenience of the improved conditions thus brought about.
Following the defeat of Shawville in a 5-inning game at Vinton on Friday evening in which the score stood 4-2, Bryson waltzed home with the Lower League championship on Monday when they defeated Vinton in the tie play-off to the tune of 18-4. The game was played on the Campbell’s Bay diamond and was witnessed by quite a large crowd.
Quyon Agricultural Society was certainly in the best of luck for the holding of its exhibition on Wednesday and Thursday last, so far as weather conditions were concerned. The fair was favoured with a liberal attendance from the surrounding country, our own town contributing a good representation to the gathering, as well as furnishing a good share of the sport on the race track.
Mr. Norval Kilgour, of the 7th line, Shawville, sustained a heavy loss early Saturday morning when his fine, large bank barn, erected only two years ago, was destroyed by fire of unknown origin, but conjectured to be from the ignition of over-heated grain. Practically the whole of this season’s crop was in the barn and was of course, completely wiped out. Mr. Kilgour, who unfortunately had no insurance on the barn, estimates his loss at between $3,000 and $5,000.

125 Years Ago – Sept. 8, 1898

Local News: The Biomotogram is the latest improved moving picture machine and with it the unpleasant flickering which was a feature of all the earlier moving picture machines is done away with. The pictures have all been selected with great care. The Zonophone is the latest talking machine and will reproduce musical selections, etc. between the exhibitions of life-like pictures. Both these machines will be at Hodgins Hall on Monday evening.
A band of gypsies visited town last week and for the time being camped on the lots south of the vacant exhibition grounds. They had the usual complement of horse-flesh along and demonstrated to some people in the neighbourhood that they knew how to make a “trade” according to the most approved methods of the art.
September has ushered in with it about the hottest kind of weather we have had this season; at two o’clock on Thursday the mercury was well up in the nineties.
Reports from the Grand Calumet Mines last week state that about 30 tons of shipping ore were being taken out daily.
Mr. Hiram Johnston of Arnprior has successfully grown pears in his garden this summer.