Results for ‘Prominent Citizens’
By Marie Chamberland, Tribune Staff Writer
[The Evening Tribune 24 July 1990]
Welland—An autopsy revealed Frances Turnbull, a well-known city artist died of smoke inhalation.
The 89-year-old’s body was pulled from the second floor of her burning home at 102 River Road Sunday.
Cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“I have found nothing to indicate anything suggesting foul play, or for that matter, anything other than an accidental cause,” Cliff Miller, an investigator for the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office, said at the scene late yesterday.
“The actual cause remains undetermined at this time,” he said.
“Natural gas has been ruled out as the cause of the fire,” he said.
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PROMINENT MEN OF WELLAND COUNTY
[Welland Telegraph, 1904/05]
Registrar of Deeds, Welland County, was born in the Township of Pelham in the year 1854, the son of John B. Crow, who was clerk of that township for 28 years. His son received the appointment of the registrarship in 1903 as successor to Col Morin. When clerk of Pelham township he lived at Ridgeville, and as well as being township clerk carried on the business of conveyancer and agent for fire and life insurance. Mr. Crow is a member of the Presbyterian Church and in politics a Liberal.
JOHN HILL COMES TO WARDENSHIP
AT MOMENTOUS PERIOD IN THE COUNTY’S HISTORY
[Welland Telegraph, 26 January 1912]
Brief Biography of New Warden
John Hill, Reeve of the township of Wainfleet, was elected Warden of Welland county on Tuesday afternoon. The honor is doubly high for the reason that the year 1913 is going to be the most important in county annuals in half a century. We believe that since the year the Court House was built no Council has been freighted with such weighty responsibilities as has the County Council of this year. The great problem of course, is the putting in operation of the Good Roads Bill. Next to that comes the enlargement of the Industrial Home. The duties will probably be still further added to by the building of a new Registry Office or enlarging the one now in use.
This is the present Warden’s fourteenth year in municipal service. He has represented Wainfleet for thirteen years and his accession to the Warden’s chair is an indication that he is well thought of by his associates. He has never been defeated for municipal office. This is the Conservative year for the holding of office so it goes without saying that he is a Conservative.
John Hill was born in Wainfleet township and has resided there during his entire lifetime of fifty-one years on this sphere. For three years, however, he served his apprenticeship as a builder in Humberstone. It will thus be seen that Welland country’s present warden is a builder. He promises to build up a good many improvements in the county while he is Warden, too. But he is more than a builder for he owns two hundred acres of rich agricultural land in Wainfleet township, which is tilled by his two sons. After this year he intends retiring.
PROFOUND SHOCK CAUSED BY SUDDEN PASSING OF VEN. ARCHDEACON PERRY
Beloved Rector of Holy Trinity Church Succumbs While Paying Christmas Day Visit at Home of Son in Newmarket- Had Conducted Three Services Here in Morning and Appeared in Good Spirits-Funeral Services in Welland Monday Afternoon
[The Welland-Port Colborne Evening Tribune, 26 December 19
31]
About to partake of Christmas dinner shortly after seven o’clock last night at Newmarket, Ont., Nathaniel Irwin Perry, M.A., D.D., venerable archdeacon of the counties of Lincoln and Welland, and rector of Holy Trinity church, Welland, collapsed and died in the home of his son, Ronald Perry. Dr. D.H. Guy was hastily summoned, but could only pronounce life extinct on arrival.
Funeral Here Monday
At noon today, in telephone communication with The Tribune, Ronald Perry, son of the archdeacon, stated the funeral would be held from Welland on Monday afternoon, with service at Holy Trinity church at 1.30. Interment will be at Mount Pleasant cemetery, Toronto. It is expected that the body will be brought to Holy Trinity church from Newmarket on Monday morning.
While arrangements for the funeral had not been completed at press time today, it is expected that Rt. Rev. Derwyn T. Owen, lord bishop of Niagara, will officiate.
His lordship was informed of the archdeacon’s death by E. Cardwell, people’s warden, last night and was deeply grieved at the sad intimation. The bishop said he would arrange for services to be held in Holy Trinity church on Sunday.
Mr. Cardwell is in Toronto today, completing arrangements for the funeral.
Causes Profound Shock
The staggering news of the sudden passing of the archdeacon, dean of Welland clergymen, and a noted figure in Anglican church circles, was received in the homes of church officials and parishioners in Welland last night with profound shock. First in Welland to learn of the sad affair was Hon. Richard Harcourt, K.C., who was informed by telephone by Ronald Perry. The news stunned Mr. Harcourt, as the archdeacon had been his guest at breakfast yesterday morning and had appeared to be in fine spirits.
For half and hour last night, between 9 o’clock and 9.30 the bell at Holy Trinity church sounded the sad tones of the death toll, and grief and sorrow made their way into the homes of many parishioners when the news of their beloved rector was conveyed.
While it was known the archdeacon, who was in his 65th year, was afflicted with heart trouble, yet there was no indication yesterday that the end was so close at hand. The Welland rector was the celebrant at three Holy Communion services at 7, 8, and 10 o’clock, and left for Toronto by train at 11.15 to join his sons and spend the remainder of Christmas day with them. At the church here before leaving he was in a happy frame of mind and it was evident to many close friends that he was looking forward to the reunion with his sons with great eagerness and anticipation.
The last person to see him alive in Welland, was Ervin Cardwell, people’s warden of Holy Trinity church, who motored the archdeacon to the railroad depot. The archdeacon was met in Toronto by his son, Carl, and they lunched together before leaving for Newmarket, where they were to join the other son, Ronald, for Christmas dinner.
Dies Almost Immediately
It was just as the three were about to take their seats sat at the dinner table when the Welland rector was stricken. He passed away almost immediately.
Hon, Mr. Harcourt, friend and neighbor of the rector, was staggered and grief stricken at the news of the tragedy and last night told a Tribune representative that the archdeacon had seemed bright and happy at the breakfast table. “He was lively and looking forward to the visit with his sons very much. The news of his passing is a staggering shock,” Mr. Harcourt stated. The fact that a great friend of Archdeacon Perry, the late Rev. W. Archer, rural dean and rector, of Stamford, had been called only a few months ago in similar manner was feelingly referred to by Mr. Harocurt.
It is said that the prospect of being present with Nick Kozub, December 30, when the execution of the Beaverboard man is scheduled to take place, had caused the archdeacon considerable worry. The Welland rector had been acting as spiritual adviser to Kozub at the request of Greek Orthodox church authorities.
One of the archdeacon’s last acts of kindness in Welland took place Thursday evening when he visited the governor of the Welland county jail, Colonel Donald Sharpe, and left with him a specially prepared Christmas pudding to be given to the condemned man.
The Archdeacon had been in failing health for a number of years and only last Spring collapsed in a street in St. Catharines. He was rushed to hospital, where he remained critically ill for several days. He returned to his parish however, several weeks later after making good recovery. About four years ago he was forced to give up church activities for several months and seek rest in a New York state health resort.
The late rector came to Welland 12 years ago and since that time has accomplished noble works in the large parish here. His chief interest lay in the boys and girls, not only of his own church, but all over the city and for years he was superintendent of Holy Trinity Sunday school, the largest organization of its kind in the city.
Always striving to obtain better accommodation for the Sunday school scholars, Archdeacon Perry worked hard to secure a new Guild hall and largely through his efforts the present fine structure was erected. He served on the Welland board of education and was the first president of the Canal Ministerial Association, formed last year.
Beloved By Parishioners
He was beloved by his parishioners and citizens generally and his preaching always contained a strong evangelical strain. He was kind, sympathetic and always ready to aid those in distress. The rectory was a calling place where many persons in straightened circumstances looked for aid and not in vain.
One of the proudest moments in Archdeacon Perry’s career was on October 5, last, when the honorary degree of doctor of divinity was concurred upon him by his Alma mater, Wycliffe College, Toronto. This degree, rarely conferred, was a fitting reward to a splendid record of service to the church by one of Wycliffe’s sons.
Only last week, the archdeacon was happy in the role of chairman at the ceremony in which the mortgage on Holy Trinity church was reduced to ashes.
Advice Much Sought
Archdeacon Perry’s advice in diocesan affairs was much sought and he was an intimate friend of His Lordship, Rt. Rev. Derwyn T. Owen, bishop of Niagara. The archdeacon was chairman of several diocesan committees and for many years was a member of the executive council. When the late Bishop Clark died, the archdeacon was prominently mentioned as a possible successor.
The archdeacon was born at Lloydtown, near Newmarket. He attended school there and later at Newmarket high school. He received his M.A., at the University of Toronto and graduated from Wycliffe College in 1895.
In Halifax for Time
After being ordained he was assistant to Canon Marsh at Lindsay and then went to St. Paul’s church, Halifax, as assistant to Rev. Canon Dyson Hague. Following this, he became rector of St. Thomas’ church, St. Catharines, and remained there for 21 years. For two years he was organizer of the Forward Movement, with headquarters at Hamilton.
The he came to Welland, had remained here since, taking an active part in all church activities. In addition to his widow, formerly Jean Harris, two sons survive him, Ronald Perry, on the staff of Pickering college at Newmarket, and Karl R., an employee of the Robert Simpson Company, Toronto. Three brothers and two sisters also survive. They are: Rev. R.J.W. Perry, Streetsville; William, Schomberg; Robert L., Islington; Mrs. W.E. McKinley, Toronto and Miss Ettie, Toronto. Rev. T.H. Perry, an uncle, noted professor at Halifax, died several years ago. The archdeacon was formerly a chaplain of the Second Dragoons and was a member of the Masonic order.
“He was one of the older graduates of Wycliffe College,” Principal R. McElheran said in Toronto last night, “and was highly respected by his classmates. As a pastor, he was extremely sympathetic, an able preacher and a wise leader. I am indeed distressed to hear of his sudden death, and I know that all over the Canadian church his loss will be felt.”
Tribune of An Old Friend
“I counted him as one of my oldest friends,” said R.W. Allin, secretary of the Synod of Toronto. “I first met Archdeacon Perry when I was attending high school at Uxbridge. He was then a student assisting the rector of St. Paul’s church. As a priest he had been highly successful, always earnest and devoted. A man of strong character and pleasing personality, he was known for his firm stands on all matters affecting the policy or interest of the church. He will be missed as a friend, and from the councils of the church. I am deeply grieved by his death.”
Bishop is Shocked
“Archdeacon Perry was for most years an outstanding clergyman of this diocese,” said Rt. Rev. Derwyn T. Owen, Bishop of Niagara, “For 20 years he was rector of St. Thomas church, St. Catharines, for two years educational secretary for the diocese and had been rector of Holy Trinity church, Welland, since 1920. He had been archdeacon of the counties of Lincoln and Welland for about 20 years.”
“He was held in the highest regard by all the clergy and laity and was a leading figure in all undertakings of the Synod. Deeply religious and strong in his views, he was also very charitable in his outlook. I saw him on Monday, at the ordination service in St. Catharines. He was then in his usual robust health and his death is a great shock. As his bishop who knew of the magnitude of his work, I can only say he has left a place that will be hard to fill.”
Possessed Kindly Spirit
“It is with deep regret that the members of the Canal Area Ministerial Association learn of the death of Archdeacon Perry,” stated Rev. Dr. P.K. Dayfoot of Port Colborne, president of the association, this morning. “As a man and former president, he had won the esteem of the association by his kindly spirit and his fraternal attitude toward his fellow pastors. In the discussions concerning local and general problems, his counsel was always appreciated, and he will be missed in the days to come. To the family sorely bereaved, and the church so suddenly bereft, on behalf of the association I tender deep sympathy,” Dr. Dayfoot stated.
Visited Europe
Prior to coming to Welland, the archdeacon visited Europe and while in London had the honor of dining at Lambeth Palace with the late Rev. Randall Davidson, the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Cosmo Gordon Lang, the present archbishop and the present Archbishop of York, Dr. Temple. Autographed pictures of these church dignitaries grace the walls of the archdeacon’s vestry room at Holy Trinity church.
During Ethelwyn’s stay at Union Springs Boarding School, New York, she experienced a Christmas which stayed in her memory all her life. In 1940 she shared it in a children’s column in the Welland Tribune. It is a real insight into how life was lived in the 1800s.
Christmas is supposed to be a call from Home Sweet Home, a strengthener and sweetener of domestic ties. Yet one of the pleasantest Christmas holiday seasons of my life was spent at a Friends’ Boarding School in Union Springs, on Cayuga Lake, New York State. Eight of us, five boys and three girls, being so far from home that the family purse refused to consider transportation charges, we were destined to spend the holidays together. The Friends’ idea being that the way to cure a person of wanting a thing extravagantly is to give it to him in reasonable amounts, there were none of us either boy crazy or girl mad. Sitting opposite to boys at meal time is a great destroyer of glamour and builder-up of companionableness. Miss Pope, the girls’ governess, who lived in the village and Elijah Cook the Principal, whose home joined the Seminary, were more than kind; but J.J. Thomas showed himself a super-man.As a trustee we were afraid of him; as a reprimander he was to be avoided. But now his great heart is moved to compassion. Poor little demons! So far away from home and mother! So brave and cheerful about it. Why, that girl from Canada had so sore a throat on Christmas Day, she was in the hospital wing, and could no more have eaten a slice of turkey than she could have chewed up her geography cover! Now, what to do about it? He goes into a huddle with himself and presently emerges with a radiant smile. This he conveys to the Girls’ Sitting Room, where are collected the homeless eight.
“How would you like to go somewhere?”
We are electrified. The writers of letters to home, drop their pens. The crocheters drop their crochet hooks. The checker players drop their boards. All eyes are on the speaker.
“You might drive my carryall to Blankley Quarterly Meeting next Seventh Day, and return that evening. No teacher would go with you; we can trust you.” He glances at my room-mate Mattie Williamson, who nods intelligently,(she later married a Methodist minister) and also at Daniel-I can’t recall his name, but a Daniel come to judgement could not be more impeccable. He is about to add the time worn “I am sure you will conduct yourselves in a way that will confer credit etc. etc.” but is overpowered by a chorus of young voices, exclaiming, rejoicing, delighting in anticipation. Not that we are crazy over Quarterly Meeting; but to go where we haven’t gone, see what we haven’t seen, do what we haven’t done—that is what youth desires.
As may be surmised, this carryall is not in the first heyday of youth. It is a large, top heavy vehicle, somewhat creaky in the joints and unsteady in the sinews, but otherwise still in the ring. Daniel the Dependable mounts to the driver’s seat. Mattie goes with him to do her back seat driving to advantage Three boys within try to sit by red headed Mate Moore, but Eddie and I see no one but each other. With a shout of acclaim we are off! The horses show signs of life, not to an indecorous extent, the intelligent brutes know they are going to Quarterly Meeting, but they are certainly in motion. Jiggetty jog, jiggetty jog; we laugh and sing and spare not! The wayfaring man in quiet country villages is accosted with: “Does your mother know you’re out?” the prevailing gag o the period. The fourteen miles of our pilgrimage are comfortably covered in less than three hours and we arrive in time for meeting, full of self importance.
A tall, wide, hospitable Friend and his fat and smiling wife were evidently apprised of our coming as they took us home with them to dinner. Never before or since have I been confronted with so large and thickly populated a dinner plate. On it reposed three large slices of turkey, two heaping tablespoons of dressing, the same of Irish potatoes mashed, ditto of sweet potatoes, ditto of creamed onions, ditto of mashed turnip, a large amount of cranberries, a sweet pickle and plenteous gravy poured profusely over all. Before seating ourselves our host inquired:”Which is the sick girl? This one? Fat as a match! Couldn’t eat her Christmas dinner hey? Well I’ll see she eats this one.” He seats me next t him. I blush as brightly as the red flannel bandage showing its edge so coyly among the white ruffles at my throat. Having lived on “milk-toast” three or four days, I am not afraid to eat, and my host’s hearty “Atta girl!” cheers me on. But at the advent of plum pudding, mince pie and pumpkin pie, enthusiasm wanes!
The short winter day draws quickly to a close. After a trip to the stables to inspect sheep, cows, ducks and chickens, we gather around the organ to sing with hearts and voices. Then we begin to talk of returning. But this we are not allowed to do without a parting lunch of doughnuts and cider. Eddie and I drive most of the way back and do not seriously imperil the lives of the party. We stop at a small hotel to “rest the horses.” One of them breathes heavily and the other shows signs of exhaustion. The boys treat us to soda water and we play games and start to dance. Oh that dance! If I live to be a thousand years old I could never forget it! Holding hard to your partner you went tum tumpty tum tum,(two steps to the left) and tumpty umpty, tum, tum (two steps to the right). Like the earth we have two motions; one on our axis, the other largely interfering with the axises(Goodness! What IS the plural?) We giggle and laugh, bubble and squeak. The landlord looks in, grinning from ear to ear from teeth to toes. Presently he reappears with a large tray bearing eight tall glasses of raspberry vinegar. This he observes grandly, is on the house.
So we all sit and sip and simmer down. Someone remarks that the horses having been watered have now regained their pristine vigour, and we promised J.J. not to be late. We resume our places in the carryall, Mattie and her Chosen One(was it Alf or Davy?) mount to the driver’s seat, and we move with conscious propriety through the quiet Main Street of Union Springs. Suddenly there is a jerk, a pause, a scraping, scrunching sound. Evidently something untoward has happened.We look out to see the right front wheel moving gracefully away into the ditch, while a broken axle drags on the ground. We all alight, villagers gather around and advice is freely given. The horses are not alarmed. Probably this is not the first time they have been compulsory witnesses of a similar scene. After some consultation, four of us start on the uphill walk to the school. One boy remains to guard the horses and three are sent to explain to J.J. We feel sorry for the explainers but they report next day that the sterling old gentleman blamed no one but himself. One of nature’s nobleman was old J.J. Thomas.
Interesting Reminiscences Penned by Miss Wetherald.
The following reminiscences were written by Miss Wetherald and sent to John W. Garvin who included them in his foreword of Miss Wetherald’s bound volume of the 1931 edition of lyrics and sonnets.
As a child I was never robust enough to enjoy outdoor exercise, although I took pleasure in all-day excursions after wild raspberries among the hills of Rockwood, usually accompanied by several of our household. Large pails were brought back brimming with the perfumed fruit, which was “put down pound for pound”,(a pound of sugar to each pound of berries) to ensure freedom from mould.
Long walks through the woods, which never had enough mosquitoes to frighten me away were always a delight… I am very fond of countrylife; less enthusiastic over farm activities. I was seven years old when we left Rockwood. Hills and rocks, woods and the smell of cedars all come back in the name. (At the age of eight accompanied by my sister and three brothers, I watched the slow-moving train draped in black passing by the railroad station near Haverford College bearing the dead body of President Lincoln. The aura of intense grief, nation-wide, and the sorrowful face of my father, made a deep impression.
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[Welland Tribune March 11,1940]
Death comes to Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald In Her 83rd Year: The funeral on Tuesday.
Fenwick, Ont., March 11- Death has ended the career of one of Ontario’s most renowned and well loved women in the person of Miss Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald, distinguished poetess and writer. Miss Wetherald passed away early Sunday morning succumbing to an attack of pneumonia.
Deceased was a daughter of William Wetherald and Jemima Harris Balls of Rockwood, Ont., where she was born April 26, 1857. She was the sixth child in a family of 11 children, of which she was the sole survivor. Her maternal grandparents were Irish while her father was English coming to Canada from Yorkshire in 1820. Mr. Wetherald established in 1851 a boarding school at Rockwood, it later being known as Rockwood Academy, from which graduated many distinguished men. He later resigned his principalship to become superintendent of Havergal College, near Philadelphia, returning a few years later to settle on the farm near Fenwick, known as “The Tall Evergreens,” where he became an ordained minister of the Society of Friends. He had a fine mastery of English which he imparted to his family and it was in this home and under the fine tutelage of her father that Miss Wetherald received her early education. Later she attended The Friends Boarding School at Union Springs,N.Y. and subsequently Pickering College, Ontario.
Literary Career
As a writer, Miss Wetherald won her first prominence in the years 1887-88-89, when she contributed articles frequently to the Globe at Toronto. Each article was about a column in length and was signed by the nom de plume Bel Thistlethwaite, a contraction of the maiden name of her paternal grandmother. In June 1889, Miss Wetherald was requested by the editor to come to Toronto to write “Notes and Comments” and an occasional editorial. The editor was John Cameron.
The following year Mr. Cameron resign and returned to London, Ont., where in 1890 he founded a small monthly magazine titled “Wives and Daughters” and Miss Wetherald became assistant. editor. This little magazine continued publication for three years during which time Miss Wetherald capably wrote nearly all the editorials, as well as the book reviews and was responsible for selected poetry, the children’s department, etc. It was during those years in London that Miss Wetherald began writing her exquisite lyrics and sonnets, which have since charmed so many readers. By 1895she had enough for her first book, “The House of the Trees,” and other poems. In 1902 appeared “Tangled in Stars,” and in 1904, “The Radiant Road.” In the autumn of 1907 a larger collection of her verse was published in Toronto, “The Last Robin; Lyrics and Sonnets.”
Miss Wetherald returned to her home in 1893, going to Philadelphia in the winter of ’95-’96 as assistant to Francis Bellamy, the literary editor of the Ladies’ Home Journal. Her chance to assist Forrest Morgan, one of the editors of “The World’s Best Literature” came about through correspondence. He had written in praise of her “Wind of Death” and later asked her to be his assistant, in which capacity she acted for nearly a year and included in one of his volumes five or six of her poems.
Active to the End
Miss Wetherald, in company with her brother, Samuel, traveled extensively before returning to the quiet life she lived of latter years. One by one her large family predeceased her and for a number of years she left the shelter of her home only on rare occasions.
Happily engaged with her books, her writing and a large correspondence with friends far and wide, this quiet, unassuming little woman with her keen intellect and wide interests in the affairs of the world of today lived out her life to a happy end. Although she left her home but seldom, many famous people renowned in the world of letters and art found their way to her door.
A complete edition of lyrics and sonnets containing every poem which Miss Wetherald wishes preserved and comprising 350 in all, was arranged and published in 1931. John W. Garvin was responsible for the arrangement of this work. A couple of her better known poems also had the distinction of being a part of the public school readers in Ontario.
Miss Wetherald leaves to mourn an adopted daughter, Miss Dorothy Wetherald; two nieces, Mrs R.D. Linden of St. Paul, Minn., and Mrs Thomas Wollsright of San Francisco, California; one nephew, Rene Wetherald of St. Paul; and a host of sorrowing friends.
A private service for intimate friends will be held at the home on Tuesday, March 12th, at 2 o’clock, proceeding to the Friends’ church at Pelham Corners for public service at 2.30 p.m. burial will be in the Friends’ cemetery.
[The Pelham Pnyx, 1940]
By Margaret Tuck
The hand that has penned many of the finer contributions to Canadian Literature was stilled on March 10th, 1940, when Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald, renowned authoress and poetess, passed away at her home in Fenwick, in her 83rd year.
Miss Wetherald was born at Rockwood, Ontario, on April 26, 1857, one of a family of eleven children, of Irish and English parentage. Mr Wetherald was the founder of Rockwood Academy. The family moved to Fenwick after Mr. Wetherald resigned his position as superintendent of Havergal College, Philadelphia, to become an ordained minister of the Society of Friends. Their home came to be known as “The Tall Evergreens”, because of the spruces and firs around it. It was under her father’s tutelage that Miss Wetherald received much of her early education. Later she attended the Friends’ Boarding School at Union Springs, N.Y. and Pickering College, Ontario.
During her school days she excelled in English but she has confessed that she was a hopeless problem in Mathematics and spoke French with a marked British accent. Ethelwyn Wetherald began to write verse in her early teens and at the age of seventeen received her first cheque to the open astonishment of her schoolmates who thought it absurd that anyone should receive money for writing a string of verses. She has written for a number of magazines and other publications during her long career. Readers of the old Globe will remember her articles, written under the nom de plume of Bel Thistlethwaite. These contributions in 1887-88 led to her appointment in 1889 as woman’s editor of that paper. In 1890, John Cameron resigned his position as editor of the Globe and became the editor of the magazine “Wives and Daughters,” which was published in London, Ontario. Miss Wetherald became his assistant and it was during these years in London that she started writing lyrics and sonnets. In 1895 she finished her first book of poetry, “The House of the Trees” and other poems. Since then she has written, “Tangled in the Stars,” “The Radiant Road,” and “The Last Robin, Lyrics and Sonnets.” Earl Grey, Governor General of Canada at the time, found the poems in this latter collection so appealing that he ordered twenty-five more copies for friends. In 1911, Canada’s silver-tongued orator, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, quoted a poem from this book entitled “Orders” in the House of Commons. Miss Wetherald also has the distinction of being the first Canadian writer to have a poem appear in a Canadian school reader. It was her beautiful descriptive poem “Red-Winged Blackbird,” that won her this honour. “Tree top morning,” which appeared in 1921 was wholly comprised of verses for young people to whom she was very devoted. Her letters to the Patty Perkins column in our local paper, the Welland Tribune, under the pen-name of Octo, will be treasured by its members. Among her acquaintances were numbered such outstanding literary figures as Wilfred Campbell, Marjorie Pickthall, Francis Bellamy. During the last fifteen years of her life, Miss Wetherald seldom. left home, but she retained her keen interest in Literature and she was a gracious hostess to the hundreds of people who visited her. In 1931 a volume of three hundred and fifty poems which Miss Wetherald wished to be preserved together with her interesting reminiscences was arranged by John Garvin. A copy of this book was presented to our school by Miss Wetherald in February, 1933, and is treasured by staff and students. In closing I should like to quote what I consider to be one of the most beautiful poems of this collection.
AT WAKING
When I shall go to sleep and wake again
At dawning in another world than this,
What will atone to me for all I miss?
The light melodious footsteps of the rain,
The press of leaves against my window-pane,
The sunset wistfulness and morning bliss,
The moon’s enchantment, and the twilight kiss
Of winds that wander with me through the lane.
Will not my soul remember evermore
The earthly winter’s hunger for the spring,
The wet sweet cheek of April and the rush
Of roses through the summer’s open door,
The feelings that the scented woodlands bring
At evening with the singing of the thrush?
WETHERALD –At her home in Pelham Township on Sunday, March 10, Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald in her 83rd year. The funeral from her late home on Tuesday afternoon, March 12 at 2 o’clock, thence to Friend’s Church for service at 2;30. Interment at Friend’s church cemetery.
[Welland Tribune March 13, 1940]
Glowing Tribute Paid To Long Life and Service
Fenwick, March 13—Friends and neighbors gathered on Tuesday afternoon to pay their last respects to Miss Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald, who passed away early Sunday morning. A short service for intimate friends was held at the family home, “The Tall Evergreens,” then the funeral cortege proceeded to the Friends church, Pelham Corners, for the public service. The pastor, Rev Stanley Van Every, officiated.
It was fitting that the final ceremonies for Miss Wetherald should take place in the place so closely associated with the life of the Wetherald family. Here for many years, Mr Wetherald, father of the deceased, preached for divine worship, and Miss Wetherald herself was always a faithful adherent.
Mr Van Every paid glowing tribute to the long life of love and service of the one who had gone. She had not really died, as her spirit would live eternally in the many lyrics she left behind and which were so much a part of herself, the pastor stated.
Six friends of many years standing acted as bearers, Frank Page of New Dundee, Wm. Dorland of St. Catharines, J.A. Daboll of Ridgeville, Stewart S. MacInnes of Welland and Walter McRaye of Grimsby and Louis Blake Duff of Welland.
After a short service in the church, the remains were reverently laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery.
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