One hopes that the church in Dunvegan will never experience problems with their stained glass windows, but if it does, I’d suggest they consult the experts at Northern Art Glass in Ottawa. Terry and I were visiting friends in Ottawa on Saturday and offered to transport them and their empty window frames to a stained glass restoration shop they had found. As they live in the Glebe, Mike and Barb don’t need a car. However, they weren’t looking forward to lugging four heavy oak frames on the bus. So we offered to help. And I’m delighted we did.
Not only did we earn brownie points to get into heaven, the restoration shop was fascinating. The company has been selected to help with the restoration of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill. The structure, which was built between 1916 and 1927, is arguably Canada’s most important symbol. It will be closed for a full decade while experts embark on Canada’s largest-ever heritage restoration project.
While our friends were completing their order, Terry and I had the opportunity to get a mini-tour of the workshop where no fewer that three of the Centre Block stained glass windows were in various stages of repair. We learned that the very first step is to make a rubbing of the window, which is set aside until the time comes to reassemble the window. Then glass is ever so gently cleaned. The next step is to disassemble the window by removing the “came.” Came are the grooved lead rods used to hold together pieces of glass in leaded-glass and stained-glass windows. After the came has been removed, the individual pieces are cleaned once again and any damaged areas retouched by their in-house glass painter. Finally, the refurbished pieces are reassembled using the rubbing as guide. It was a privilege — on the eve of our nation’s 43rd election — to witness a small part of how this majestic icon of our nation’s history is being preserved for generations to come.
Muskrat love
Way back in July, I found an actual letter in my mailbox, complete with a hand-written address, a postage stamp and return address sticker. Letters being scarcer than hens’ teeth in this Internet age, it filled me with delight. The missive was from Ken McEwen who, as regular readers will recall, has generously shared his memories of growing up in this area during the 1930s and 40s. Ken — who signed his letter “late of the Scotch River (East Branch)” — was born and raised on lot 35 in the 7th Concession of Kenyon. And his wife, Chris, comes from Skye, north of Dunvegan. Ken left the family farm in 1952 to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the retired couple now resides in Gloucester, Ontario.
A reference to Frank Schnell in my column of July 17th on the building of the Orange Hall in Dunvegan was the catalyst for his writing to me. Mr. Schnell was the master bricklayer who built the two-story structure in 1919 using cement blocks. While Ken had heard tell of his masonry skills, he was most familiar with Frank’s prowess as a trapper. Frank hunted muskrats on the east branch of the Scotch River where it passed through the McEwen farm. In an un-written gentleman’s agreement, Schnell set his traps on the east bank of the river, while Ken McEwen stuck to the west bank.
Ken used to visit Frank in a rented house on a Maxville back street. There he listened and learned from Frank’s countless trapping stories and explored his mentor’s collection of old firearms. “He had a pin-fire shotgun,” wrote Ken, “the only one I ever saw.” According to Ken, muskrat (his specialty) were trapped in the spring, while weasel and mink were trapped in the fall. Ken mailed his pelts, wrapped in heavy brown paper, to a firm in Winnipeg that, in turn, sold them on to the Hudson’s Bay Company. “A muskrat skin would bring between $2.50 to $3.50, depending on its quality and how well it was skinned and prepared,” Ken wrote. That’s the equivalent of $30 to $40 in today’s dollars. Not bad pocket money for a young farm lad back then. “For comparison a hot dog was ten cents, a hamburger fifteen and a chocolate bar five,” Ken recalled, “but went up to seven toward the end of the war, and ultimately ten and fifteen. A travesty.”
Ken went on to explain how prevalent trapping and hunting were in the local economy back in the day. In addition to Frank and Ken, Nelson Montgomery and Johnny Carpenter were actively pursuing muskrats and fox along the Scotch River, east of the Three Bridges. They used a boat that Nelson built himself, which suggests there was actually enough flow back then to justify the use of the word “river.” Years later, in the 1970s, Nelson Montgomery operated an automobile repair shop in the brick building on the southwest corner of the Dunvegan crossroads. Try as they might, none of the 1940s trappers were able to eradicate the “rat” population. They are still being trapped today. Although, with 2018 muskrat prices in the range of $3.00 to $4.00 a pelt, one has to wonder why.
Lightning strikes twice
Despite the claims of climate alarmists, severe weather events are not exclusively a product of the 21st century. A perfect example is Bonnie Hill’s reputation as an attractor of fierce thunderstorms… it being the height of land for miles around. Bonnie Hill’s connection to Dunvegan was severed in the 1970s when the building of the 417 effectively annexed the northern tip Glengarry to Prescott-Russell. For those unfamiliar with the location of Bonnie Hill, it’s on what used to be the western end of Skye Road, near where the Ontario Hydro sub-station is today.
It was there on July 20th in 1899, that a very young Johnny Carpenter and his sister escaped death when a bolt of lighting struck their family home and killed their seven year-old brother, Duncan John. As was the practice in those days, the siblings were all sleeping in the same bed when the lightning claimed the life of the child in the middle and left the other two unharmed. The Glengarry News of Friday, July 28th, 1899 also reported that, during the same thunderstorm, “the dwelling house of D. Urquhart, of Skye, was struck by lightning and damaged to some extent. The thunderbolt entered an unoccupied room, threw many things out of place, and reached the cellar through an opening it made through the floor. None of the family, we are glad to report, was injured.” It’s interesting to note that many older houses and barns in the region sport lightning rods with their classic glass insulators. Today, not so much.
Halloween is for families
In just over a week, on the evening of October 31st, the DRA’s annual Community Halloween Party will be in full swing. I haven’t been given any details of this year’s party plans, but I would imagine it’s a wonderful amalgam of perennial favourites and fresh ideas. Some hits from the past include: Kreepy Kitchen, Put-out-the-Pumpkin, the Ghoul Pool and the Li’ll Spooks obstacle course. Plus, there will be crafts, games, loot bags and the Monster Mashcostume parade around the Haunted Halloween Tree. So if you have a child or grandchild of Halloween age, why not head down to the DRA Hall, 19053 County Road 24. The fun begins at 6:30 and it’s 100% free.
Sweets appeal
We need YOUR help to fill the loot bags for the Community Halloween Party. Please drop off your candy contribution as soon as possible. The collection depot is located on the front porch of Mona Andre’s home on the northeast corner of the crossroads (19083 County Road 24). Volunteers will turn your sweet generosity into bags of goodies for the kids attend the party at the hall.
Lisa’s October list…
Here are last Friday’s euchre results, thanks to our official scorekeeper, Lisa Chapman. Our “50/50” winners were: Lisa Chapman, Tigger Benson, Irene Joanette, Jenny Laforet and Margo MacRae. As for top scores, Jennie Laforet took first prize with 80 points. Tigger Benson came in second with 78. And Joe McDonell won third prize with 77 points each.Donald Clark and his friend Helen Bellefeuille were tied for the “Most Stars” prize with four of the pointy stickers. And Helen Bellefeuille also took home the door prize.
The next DRA Euchre is on Friday, November 15th (at 19053 County Road 24) from 12:00 noon to around 3:30 PM. Admission is only $5.00 including lunch. We hope you’ll join us.
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