Trigger warning: there will be not one grain of quinoa, morsel of tofu or shred of kale at the War of 1812 Re-enactment Committee’s Steak Night Fundraiser this coming Friday, March 8th. And from my perspective, that’s one of the key selling points of this mouth-watering event at the Windsor Tavern in Vankleek Hill. The other is that a portion of the proceeds from the evening’s sale of steak dinners will go toward the Glengarry Pioneer Museum’ s Annual War of 1812 weekend. The more steak dinners purchased…the more the museum makes.
Reservations are required for the two sittings — the first at 5:30 PM and the second at 7:30 — so call the Windsor Tavern at 613-678-2122 to make your reservations. I’m told that while ‘historical dress code’ is encouraged, clothing of one type or another is mandatory.
NEW: Dunvegan Jam
The origin of “jam session” is a bit fuzzy. However, it appears to have its roots in America in the 1920s. Professional musicians would gather after hours to improvise and explore musical forms they couldn’t play in the Big Band clubs that were popular back then. Over time, the term has come to mean any informal gathering of musicians who get together to play for the fun of it. Where I’m going with this is that Dunvegan resident Denis Lavigne is holding a jam session at the DRA Hall for this coming Saturday, March 9thstarting at 7:00 PM.
Denis was born and raised in Alexandria. He came to Dunvegan in 1986, after a five-year stint working for a cattle-finishing operation in Alberta. He raised beef on his farm east of Dunvegan until 2004, at which time he retired to the hamlet where he lives to this day. Denis told me he comes from a musical family. Not only did both of his parents set a musical example for him, his grandfather, Albert Vachon, also inspired him by playing the mouth organ and calling square dances. Like so many amateur music makers, Denis gets tired of playing his guitar and harmonica solo. And this was the inspiration for his “Dunvegan Jam” plan… an event that he hopes will attract enough interest to become a regular monthly feature on the DRA calendar.
So, if you are looking for a chance to meet other musicians and play a little County, Blues or Rock & Roll, you’re invited to join Denis on Saturday evening. If you want more information, give him a call at 613-363-8562. There’s no admission and everyone from far and wide is welcome to bring his or her instrument and join in. The DRA Hall is located at 19053 County Road 24.
Road gang fodder?
Early last month, I mentioned that I would be heading to the National Archives in Ottawa to look at the 1871 Canadian Census. In particular, I wanted to examine Schedule 6, the section where census takers recorded data on business activities. It turned out, though, that I didn’t need to make the trek to the Big Smoke. Our very own Glengarry County Archives in Alexandria had a copy of the 1871 census results on microfilm.
Once I had reacquainted myself with the use of a microfilm reader (one uses a hand-turned crank instead of a mouse to move from frame to frame), I soon found the Schedule 6 results for Kenyon. The only problem was that the entries, while replete with a wealth of information about each enterprise, failed to note their geographic location. So there was no easy way of telling where “John Campbell, shoemaker” had set up shop in Kenyon. Could have been Loch Garry, or Apple Hill, or Dunvegan, or anywhere in between.
Luckily for me, I was at the Glengarry County Archives, with archivist Allan MacDonald on duty. He directed me to the Kenyon Assessment Roll for 1870 (the one for 1871 is missing from the collection) and there, lo and behold, was a corresponding entry for a Mr. Campbell, shoemaker, located on part of Lot 24, Concession 9, Kenyon. In other words, smack in the middle of Dunvegan. The assessment roll also indicated that, in 1870, the Dunvegan Chamber of Commerce, if such a body had existed, could have also included: Hector McLean, J.P. Nells and Angus McIntosh, all merchants… Norman McRae, blacksmith… and Alex McRae, innkeeper. As our knowledgeable archivist explained, by combining the names and locations noted in the assessment records with the information in our local land registry office, one could even put together a “business map” of downtown Dunvegan at a specific point in time. And this I hope to do.
However, I must admit a column in the Assessment Roll titled “Statute Labour” sidetracked me. On the pages I looked at, there were notations of two, four, six days and more under this column heading; assessments that seemed to depend on a taxable party’s “Total Value of Real and Personal Property, and Taxable Income.”
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of Statute Labour (as was I), the practice came about because, in pioneer times, roads and bridges received no government funding. In order to build and maintain this vital transportation infrastructure, property owners were expected to do the work for free. In time, the number of days a person was required to contribute was based on the assessed value of his property. In other words, it was a form of indirect taxation.
An interesting anachronism? Perhaps. However, Ontario’s Statute Labour Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.20 still seems to be in effect. Section 3 (1) of the Act states that: Every person assessed upon the assessment roll of a township that has not passed a by-law abolishing statute labour is, if his or her property is assessed at not more than $300, liable to two days statute labour…
The key phrase here is “has not passed a by-law abolishing statute labour.” My hope is that North Glengarry (or the townships that preceded it before amalgamation) abolished the Statute Labour provision. But did they? If not, we might wake up one day to find ourselves press-ganged into cleaning ditches and filling potholes.
Don’t believe me? Talk to Gail Wallbank in Warwickshire, England where they have similar Statute Labour laws on the books to pay for the upkeep of local churches. She and her husband received a bill from the local church council to repair the church chancel, which she refused to pay. She took the matter all the way to the House of Lords and British High Court. However, they upheld the statue and assessed her liability at $200,000, plus potential legal costs of another $500,000.
If the law is still on our books, it’s probably only a matter of time before some bright bureaucrat discovers this potential cash cow and we won’t have a pot to you-know-what in.
Aye, aye Captain
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that, whenDunvegan’s L.O.L. No. 1158closed, members were invited to take one of the Lodge’s captain’s chairs as a memento. Chris McEwen (nee MacLeod) of Ottawa acquired one of the chairs when her father, Duncan Archie MacLeod, died. I imposed upon Chris and her husband Ken to take a photo of her dad’s Orange Lodge chair and send it to me.
Their letter just arrived and it contained two actual photos printed on real Kodak®paper. Refreshingly, it would appear the McEwens still use a camera that relies on actual film, rather than pixels. The captain’s chair captured in the photographic prints is a beaut. It boasts a thick round seat with substantial arms supported on ten elaborately turned spindles. The extensive lathe work is continued on the extended chair back and the legs. If you think you too may have one of the L.O.L. No. 1158 captain’s chairs, I’d love to hear from you.
Below are the photos I’ve received to date. The first shows Chris and Ken McEwen’s captain’s chair. The second is of the chair owned by Carrol McLeod.
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