Letters To Editor Almonte, Ont., August 2, 1950.
HAPPY IN CARLETON PLACE
Dear Sir: — Would you please put this correction in the paper in regard to an *item from last week of a bridal couple. The party did indeed commit an offence by not stopping at the stop sign, but were not stopped twice by Officer Osborne as printed in last week’s paper of the Almonte Gazette.
They were not stopped until reaching the Almonte town hall and did not receive a warning, but were stopped and promptly handed a ticket. There is a picture as well as many witnesses to clarify this statement. The picture shows that the couple were stopped in front of the town hall where Officer Osborne’s picture was taken.
It was also printed that the bridal couple sped through the streets. They did not exceed the speed limit- they were just in a hurry to get home. The newlyweds now live in Carleton Place, hopefully happily after ever and free from bad press.
Sincerely, H. R. DRUMMOND groom
Photo by Linda Seccaspina
*Happy Bridal Party Takes Time Off To Pay For Traffic Offenses
The law cracked down on a wedding party on Friday afternoon after a number of cars crossed the station yard. They failed to stop at the O’Brien Theatre corner, streaked down Mill Street, and did not stop at the intersection of Mill Street and Highway 44, with horns blowing all the while. P.C. Osborne caught up with the parade and warned the offenders of the consequences of creating a disturbance and failing to stop at a stop sign.
This information was not well received and a photographer who was present to take pictures of the bride and groom, gratuitously took a picture of the officer—to prove that he was not in uniform so therefore not on duty. As they proceeded up Queen Street, the exuberant motorists decided to flout the law still further by a continued blast of their horns. This was a mistake as it turned out as P.C. Osborne corralled them once more and ordered them to proceed to the town hall. The fines totaled $33 and were paid out of court.
The procession through the streets of the town was immediately following the wedding of Miss Marie Craig of Almonte and Mr. Harold Drummond of Carleton Place in Bethany United Church manse. Those in charge of the three cars which were stopped were Gilbert Johnson of Carleton Place, brother-in-law of the groom; Morley Whalen of Carleton Place, a guest, and Clarence Bradford of Toronto, uncle of the groom. The bride and groom were riding in Johnson’s car.
Authorities take a serious view of the all-too-common practice of bridal parties who speed through the streets without due regard for their own safety and the safety of others. It is particularly dangerous on Almonte’s hills. After this inauspicious start, as they say in the story books, “they lived happily ever after.”
lindaseccaspina 
From what I have heard over the years the Almonte Gazette’s then editor/publisher, Adelbert Stewart “Stew” Hanna was quite a character, especially when he was inebriated (which apparently was not that unusual), and was not above a bit of “yellow” journalism at those times, and this appears to be one of them. My father told me one time it was frequently Mrs. Hanna, not Stew, who oversaw the Gazette’s weekly publication because he was in no condition to do the job.
I also had occasion one time to sit down with Angus Edward “Gus” Dobbie, long-time editor of the Smiths Falls Record-News, who told me he and Stew Hanna maintained quite a running editorial battle in the pages of their respective papers. Gus Dobbie also commented about Norman E. H. Turner, who was editor and publisher of the Perth Courier during that time period, that Norm Turner was a great businessman as publisher, but as an editor “he couldn’t sharpen Stew Hanna’s pencils”.
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Love this John.. Love it
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Going to add this.. thanks John
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