[Welland Tribune February 8, 1940]
Bernard T. Haynes, Local Business man succumbs to heart seizure.
Bernard T, Haynes, well known Port Colborne shoe merchant, was found dead this morning seated in the chair in the sun porch of his home at 254 Kent street where his family had left him reading when they retired last night. The discovery was made at 7 o’clock this morning. Dr. S.V. Railton and coroner Dr. E.A. Mackenzie were called. Death was due to coronary thrombosis.
Mr. Haynes was at his Clarence street business as usual yesterday. Last night his family retired, leaving him reading in the sun porch. His son Bernard returning from work at midnight, chatted with him and left him about 1 o’clock. Death, according to Dr, Mackenzie, had occurred about four a,m.
The late Mr. Haynes was in his 43rd year. He was born at London and resided in London and Windsor before coming to Port Colborne about ten years ago and opening his shoe business. He was an adherent of Central United church and was a former member of the Port Colborne Gyro club.
Surviving are his widow, two sons, Bernard, an employe of International Nickel Co., and Peter Paul, aged five, and a daughter, Barbara. His parents, in London; three brothers, George of Toronto, Gordon of London, and James of Port Colborne, and two sisters, Mrs. William Mase and Emily, both of London, also survive.
The funeral will be held at 10 o’clock Saturday morning from the Dell and Merton funeral home, 50 Clarence street, Rev. George H. Knighton conducting the service. Interment will be in Oakwood cemetery.
[Welland Tribune March 25, 1947]
Fonthill, March 25- The funeral of the late William Eybel, one of the older residents of Effingham who died at his home on Friday was held from Drake and Barron’s Funeral Home on Monday afternoon. Many floral tributes showed the esteem of a large number of relatives and friends. Mrs. C. L Gregory provided appropriate organ music and Rev. Dr. Brown of the Presbyterian church of North Pelham conduced the service. Interment was in the Friends’ cemetery with the following acting as casket bearers: William Johnson, Clair Johnson, Wilson Cline, S. Easterbee, Gus Brady and John Sweeney.
[Welland Tribune February 3, 1940]
Wellandport, Feb. 3- Mrs James Page passed away on Thursday at her home near Smithville after a very lengthy illness. Mrs. Page was the former Miss Christine Wilson of Wellandport and was the fourth daughter of James Wilson and his wife, Olivier Fisher. She was born here and spent all of her girlhood days in this vicinity where she made many friends. Later she married James Page in the township of Gainsboro and has resided there since that time. She was in her 62nd year.
Besides her husband she leaves to mourn one daughter, Mrs. Edward Parsons of St, Anns and three sisters, Mrs. John Lymburner of Niagara Falls, Mrs. Angus Utherland of Saskatoon, Sask., and Miss Mabel Willson of St. Catharines.
The funeral was held on Sunday afternoon at her late home with interment in the Union cemetery, Smithville. Pallbearers were W. Neil, W. Lane, W. Hunter, W. Adams, Harmon Hodgkins and Blake Hodgkins.
[Welland Tribune February 8, 1940]
The funeral of the late Harvey Haun was held on Sunday afternoon January 28, from his home. He was a local railway employe and passed away suddenly white at work.
Interment was at Overholt cemetery.
He was a member of the I.O.O.F and is survived by his wife and six children.
[Welland Tribune February 3, 1940]
George Henry Algar, until recently a resident of the Welland-Crowland district died in hospital on Friday at Brockville following a residence of five months in that city in his 66th year. He was pre-deceased by his wife three years ago. He is survived by three daughters and two sons, Mrs Roy Young, Mrs. Arthur Morningstar and Miss Hazel Algar, and James and Henry Algar, all of Welland, and by five grandchildren, Jean, Robbie, Pauline, Eleanor and Donald.
The funeral will be held on Monday. February 5th at 2 p.m. from the H.L Cudney funeral chapel 241 West Main street to Fonthill cemetery.
JOSEPH NESTOROVICH ANNIVERSARY
SALEM-Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Nestorovich of Wellandport, R.R.1 celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at Wellandport Community Hall, Saturday evening. The three daughters and son were hosts and over 60 guests were present.
They were married in Poland in 1924. The groom’s brothers John from Toronto and Nick from Beamsville and a cousin John Nestorovich from Toronto. Mr. and Mrs. Nestorovich had four daughters, Mary, Mrs. Wm. Kerniky; Nellie, Mrs. Gordon Cavers; Katy, Ms. Howard Climenhaga; Pauline who predeceased them, and one son, John at home.
The table was decorated with a wedding cake in the centre with two tapers in silver candle holders and red and white carnations. A number of beautiful gifts were received. After the wedding supper, dancing was enjoyed by all.
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Climenhaga held a surprise birthday party in honor of their little daughter Pamela at the home of her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Nestorovich.
Present were Sandra Stayzer, Cathy Stayzer, Eleanor Costello, Julie Coverdale, Susan Hayward, Judy Stayzer, Dorothy Henderson, Mark and Miles Climenaga. A number of gifts were received. Friends assisted Pamela in opening her gifts.
[Welland Tribune, 31 October 1964]
Arthur G. Halstead of 246 Alexandra St. Port Colborne died at his residence last evening in his 46th year.
He was a member of St. James Anglican Church, Port Colborne and a veteran of the Second World War.
Surviving are his wife, Catherine Fraser; three daughters, Joanne, Nancy and Leslie, all at home; one sister, Mrs. Lloyd Goss of Port Colborne; two brothers, Robert of Port Colborne and Capt. Jack Halstead of Montreal. He was predeceased by three brothers, three sisters and his mother, Beatrice Halstead.
His body is resting at the Port Colborne Chapel of the Davidson Funeral Homes where services will be conducted by Rev. G.N. Standish of St. James Anglican Church Monday at 2 p.m.
Interment will follow in Pleasant View Memorial Gardens.
By Paul Forsyth
[Welland Tribune, 24 January 1986]
WELLAND- When Heinz Gaugel created a 16-foot high sculpture outside Sunset Haven Home for the Aged, he was trying to get a message across. Now 20 years later, the theme still radiates from the work.
“Has it really been 20 years?” asks Gaugel, who was unaware that this week marked the sculpture’s 20th anniversary.
[Standing in front of the statue are, left to right, residents May Quinn and Laura Campaigne. In the back are maintenance employees Walter Fogel and Dominic Trozzi.]
THREE MONTHS-The concrete steel and stone abstract work took him three months to complete in 1966, and was created to complement the modern addition of Sunset Haven.
“I selected stones from a quarry in Paris, Ont.-the greenish ones-because I wanted to have a contrast with the red brick wall behind it. It’s basically a steel frame covered with a strong wire, and cement put over it and the stones put in the wet cement.”
Gaugel, now 58, is world-renowned artist of many disciplines.
A native of Germany, he immigrated to Canada 35 years ago and has done artwork on a large scale all over the continent.
Included in some of his local works are a mural of the Last Supper inside Sunset Haven and a mural at St. Andrew’s Church.
SOMETHING APPROPRIATE-“The thing was to find something appropriate for the home of the aged. I felt the name-Sunset Haven-meant there was a need to project the feeling that people are protected and taking care of each other.
“It is an exchange of love and protection-the care of humanity.
That’s the general idea. It’s a man and a woman protecting each other and holding each other in the sunset of their lives.”
On the building behind the sculpture a setting sun is depicted, and flood lighting at night creates an interesting effect.
BEAUTIFUL SHADOW-“The two people in front cast a very beautiful shadow. It’s a little more dramatic than I expected it to be-I’m very happy with what’s been done there.
“I’m surprised after 20 years it’s still in mint condition, but I’m very happy about that.”
Gaugel gave no name to the sculpture-a belief he has with all his works.
“I never have named any of the things I have done. I don’t think names should be given-it limits it to some extent.”
Instead, he leaves names up to those in possession of his works.
By Robert J. Foley
[Welland Tribune, Date Unknown]
William Hamilton Merritt stood on the floor of his grist mill and watched the feverish activity as they attempted to get as much done as possible before the mill shut down. The level of the Twelve Mile Creek had been dropping steadily in the last week and soon the great water wheel would be high and dry. The shutdown could last for weeks or even months with the loss in business and the financial pressures that accompanied it.
To add to the pressure a monetary crisis was brewing in England that had begun to affect the business in the colony. Merritt had gone up to Montreal and had received a very low price for his goods because of the shortage of cash. Things looked gloomy for business prospects for the balance of 1818.
On his return from Montreal he found all the mills idle and a backlog of timber and grain to be processed. Merritt then resolved to pursue an idea that had been lodged in the back of his mind since his days of patrolling the upper Niagara River during the war. If he could dig a ditch from the Welland River to the head of the Twelve Mile Creek his water problems would be over. To pay for the project he envisioned a canal that also would carry boats to bypass the Falls of Niagara.
Taking the imitative, he went about the district gathering support for his proposal. The idea of a canal was not as revolutionary as we might think. This was the age of the canal. In Britain the young Duke of Bridgewater had toured the Canal du Midi in the Languedoc region of France in 1753. He was so impressed that he began to build his own canals in England using the French model. The Canal du Midi had been in operation since 1681. In the United States, two small canals had been built in the 1790s. The Santee Canal in South Carolina, 22 miles long with twelve locks was completed in 1822 with the Champlain Canal linking Lake Champlain with the Hudson opening the following year.
In the summer of 1818 Merritt, with his friends, George Keefer, a merchant and mill owner from Thorold and John Decew also from Thorold set out to make a rough survey of a possible route. With a borrowed water level belonging to a mill owner at the Short Hills the three set out. Starting from the south branch of the Twelve Mile Creek at present day Allanburg they proceeded due south to the Welland River a distance of two miles. They reckoned the dividing ridge to be 30 feet above the level of the creek. It was later proven that an error of 30 feet had occurred and the height was actually 60 feet. Merritt and his partners were not the only ones thinking canal in the peninsula. The inhabitants of Humberstone and Willoughby Townships advocated a canal from Lake Erie to the head of Lyons Creek. Bertie Township pushed for a canal to avoid the rapids at Fort Erie. John Garner of Stamford remarked that, “Locks may be made to pass the great falls and connect Lakes Erie and Ontario; but many years must elapse before the province is rich enough to afford the expense.”
The British government was also interested in a canal. The vulnerability of shipping should another war erupt with the United States was of great concern. Ships would have run the gauntlet of guns all the way to Queenston when coming from Lake Ontario and from Fort Erie to Chippawa on the other end.
The government was also planning to survey a route from Ottawa to Lake Ontario. The rapids at Lachine were being eyed as well. However, talking was one thing, building was another.
While others dreamed and talked, Merritt plans in hand, went into action. He approached the legislature for an appropriation of funds for a proper survey of his route. Sir Peregrine Maitland, the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, having built a summer home at Stamford, was most interested in the project and lent his support to the scheme. The legislature set aside $2,000 for the purpose and hired an engineer by the name of James Chewett to do the job.
To Merritt’s dismay, Chewett scraped his proposal and embarked on a much grander canal scheme that was doomed to failure before it began. Chewett began his survey at the Grand River passing just west of Canborough into Caistor where it was to swing east into Gainsborough. It then swung north crossing the Twenty Mile Creek and descending the escarpment between Beamsville and Vineland. The canal turned west from there and following the escarpment, ended at Burlington Bay, a total distance of over 50 miles.
Although Merritt’s main motivation for a canal was one of water rather than shipping a new impetus for construction of a ship canal in the form of the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal began construction in 1817 to link Lake Erie with the Hudson River allowing goods from the upper lakes to move directly to New York City. The bulk of trade thus would bypass Montreal and Quebec leaving Canada a backwater in the scheme of continental business.
With the rejection of his proposal by Chewett, Merritt’s financial situation became critical and dark days lay ahead for him both financially and personally.
[Welland Tribune March 11, 1947]
Largely attended by representative citizens from all ranks of life as well as by many personal friends from all over the district, the funeral of the late R.F. Curtin, who died on Saturday at his home on Randolph street in his 54th year, was held from the J.J. Patterson and Sons funeral residence, 19 Young street to Fonthill Mausoleum on Monday afternoon. The pall bearers members of Horatio Lodge, Knights of Pythias and Merritt Masonic Lodge, were R.A. Elwood, C.G. Herman, N.J. Penwarden, J.B. Walker, H.C. Crysler and J.D. Patterson.
Representatives of many Welland and district fraternal, civic and other bodies were present and many floral tributes were noted at the graveside. Among these were lovely tokens from the Sir Isaac Brock Chapter, I.O.D.E.; Welland Anglers’ Association, Ladies Auxiliary, Royal Canadian Sea Cadets of Welland; Welland County Agricultural Society, Welland and Crowland branch of the Canadian Red Cross Society, the corporation of the city of Welland, Welland Volunteer Firemen’s Club, Welland Optimist Club, Merritt Masonic Lodge, Horatio Lodge, K. Of P.; Presbyterian Church Managers, the Ladies’ of A.A. Club, Past Chancellors’ Club, and many others from firms, hotels and individual friends and relatives.
Rev. A.D. Sutherland of St Andrew’s Presbyterian church officiated at the service, and he referred to the high esteem in which deceased had long been held during the many years he had been in the Welland district.
Two special services were held aside from the regular funeral rites. On Sunday evening more than 30 members of Merritt Masonic Lodge and other district lodges met at the J.J. Patterson and Sons funeral residence, and observed Masonic rites. Wor. Master Temple Melville, Wor. Bro. L.R. Brennan participated. Also on Sunday evening many members of Horatio Lodge, K. Of P. Held service at the funeral residence. They gathered at K. Of P, hall and marched from there to the funeral residence, with Bro. R.A. Elwood officiating as chancellor commander, Bro. J.B. Walker as vice chancellor, Bro. William Male as prelate, and Bro. William Anger as master at arms. With swords drawn they marched into the funeral residence and conducted K.of P. Rites.
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