Spring/summer 1956 school is over for most of us and those of us that were still around still did the patrol, again, starting at Brundage’s-fuelling up just prior to closing. As we pulled out Cecil would come to the door and admonish; “no spinning tires” which sound would be partially drowned out by noise of the tires leaving a streak on the pavement.
Up and down, over and across, killing time until one o’clock in the morning, when Cecil would be long at home and we could safely park on his lot, facing up Bridge St. Tune the radio to WWVA, Wheeling West Virginia and listen for Johnny Cash to sing “I Walk the Line” We never got bored of it, listened night after night. That is until the boys disappeared one by one, two by one and soon it was my turn.
NK & RW joined the RCMP, but not before NK sold me his Chev Fleetwood (he had had a small accident and the driver’s door was wired shut, which was a small problem-now a one door) but all I had to do to possess it was to take over the payments (wowser). GG went off to Labrador and later joined the airforce. The rest scattered as well-I had enlisted and was soon off to London/Centralia and beyond, not returning –only briefly for 8 years.
1956 Carleton Place
On January 26, 2019 we had the Carleton Place Winter Carnival and in January of 1956 the Ottawa Citizen reported that the ‘glamourous’ Miss Carole Mcintyre daughter of G. E. McIntyre of Lake Ave West won Miss Eastern Ontario at the Perth Winter Carnival. Some were worried there might be shenanigans afoot as yet another Carleton Place gal Joan Hendry was crowned Miss Eastern Ontario the next year in 1957. In 1960 the Carleton Place Chamber of Commerce, assisted by the Ladies Auxiliary, agreed to sponsor and select the town’s representative for the Eastern Ontario Snow Queen contest to be held in Perth on February 20,1960. It was noted that a Carleton Place girl did not win that year.
The Chamber of Commerce’s Amazing Race
In July 28 of 2019 we had the first Carleton Place Amazing Race held at the Market Square and in the same month in 1956 the Carleton Place Canoe Club had the first annual 7 mile race from Almonte to the Carleton Place Town Hall. The only notable person from Carleton Place to ever come near the top every year during those races was Dave Findlay. In 1959 the Chamber of Commerce took over and in 1963– the Annual Seven-Mile Road Race ran under the sponsorship of the Carleton Place Chamber of Commerce. That year, three additional events were added. The top award given out was the Queens Hotel Trophy which was allegedly filled with beer.
The Ottawa Journal,
03 Nov 1956, Sat,
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