Maurice Burke, a cooper, made barrels across the street from where the Carleton Place post office now stands.
The art of coopering dates back centuries, and the basic trade has remained unchanged. Coopering requires skill, intelligence, and strength. The tools of the trade are often handed down for generations.
Coopers crafted casks which:
- Held flour, gunpowder, tobacco, and other commodities
- Served as shipping containers
- Stored liquids from wine to milk
His sister Julia taught school in the Public School for many years. Passerby’s often heard the youngsters rhyming c-a-t CAT, r-a-t RAT, etc. in her class through an open window Julia was burned to death as was Levi Brian’s wife in the same tragic house fire that I am still trying to track down.
BURKE
John, head, 22 Jan 1841, 60, b Ont, Irish, cooper
Julia, sister, 1851, 60, b Ont, teacher.
Buried Beckwith Tp, Lanark County, St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Reference: OT-86-11 (from Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid)
Buy Linda Secaspina’s Books— Flashbacks of Little Miss Flash Cadilac– Tilting the Kilt-Vintage Whispers of Carleton Place and 4 others on Amazon or Amazon Canada or Wisteria at 62 Bridge Street in Carleton Place
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