Constable Frank Rose – Moonshine, Indians, Raids, Drunks and Dances –The Buchanan Scrapbooks

Rose’s funeral January 29, 1948

With files from The Keeper of the Scrapbooks — Christina ‘tina’  Camelon Buchanan — Thanks to Diane Juby— click here..

Big Frank Rose was six foot, 239 pounds, and born on a farm in Ramsay Township on the Clayton Road in 1896. His family moved to a farm in Pakenham Township where he and his brother were still boys and attended Cedar Hill School until the war broke out.

He enlisted and went overseas with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces stationed in England until in 1919 when he returned to farming. In 1924 he became interested in the lumber trade and travelled to Dryden, ONtario and later Hamilton, Ohio where he worked in pulp and paper.

In November of 1926 he returned to Ramsay to marry his sweetheart Kathleen A. Arthur and they journeyed back to the US. In 1927 Frank became Lanark County’s first OPP officer and they returned to Almonte to await is acceptance. He began with a salary of $100 a month and if he made good it would be raised to $1200 a year increasing gradually to the max of $1800 a month.

Here are some of his diary notations:

January 20,1928

Train fare from Almonte to Cornwall- $4.00

meals- 45 cents

January 21, 1928

Raid on Gambling house.

Made an investigation in case of X impersonating an OPP officer

January 28,1928

Observation of bootlegging and gambling house at 12 midnight– all quiet

Brought X (native) from jail to police court as witness against Y for selling liquour to said native,

About 8:30 Pm proceeded to the scree of an accident..struck a horse and cutter.

Mr. X is charged with doing assault with doing bodily harm to wife

Proceeded to serve a summons but due to bad weather, left car and hired a horse and cutter

February 8th, 1928

Took observations of a number of dance halls, but found no evidence of liquor

Visited the same dance hall at midnight and told them to stop dancing and go home ( Cruisin Through the Dance Halls- From Carleton Place and Beyond!! Larry Clark)

February 29th, 1928

Proceeded to Smiths Falls Rink and remained on duty there until the visiting team left on the train about 10:40 PM

Had a tip and had to travel a great distance only to seize a half bottle of spirit.

March 2,1928

Proceeded by train to Arnprior to assist Chief Reid of Carleton Place County Police on the cases of foxes from the ranch of X.

Found no clue except a piece of veneer that had broken off cutter as it was turned about. Too late to get a train out but got a freight train about 11:35 Pm

Proceeded to Almonte to take observation of liquour conditions in pool room ( read-It Came Out of Rooney’s Pool Hall)

March 17 1928

Carleton Place to assist Prov officer JJ McGregor to raid on premises of X reported reported to be selling moonshine. No evidence. ( read about Johnny McGregor here-Carleton Place Then and Now–Bridge Street Series– Volume 8–Olympia Restaurant to McNeely’s)

April 17,1928

Proceeded to CNR station and found a man drunk in the toilet. Two tramps had lifted his watch and whatever money. Covered all rods leading out of town.

April 19, 1928

Received complaint about Mrs. X from Mr. X about a lady who had been living in their home and been making liquor from wheat. She had put all the wheat down the sewer until it filled up and then moved out.

May 1, 1928

Received call from Chief of Police Peacock from Almonte to insist him in break ins in the shops and theft at H H Coles Gents Furnishings. Found out that a strange car from Ottawa, supposed to be an Essex, had been seen. Proceeded to Ottawa and arrested X from Ireland who had confessed to Ottawa Police and brought him for trial back in Almonte.

May 30th, 1928

Proceeded to Almonte to attend picnic by request.

Received word that a band of gypsies were in Perth

July 16, 1928

Went to inquest of Reverend Father Connolly killed at railway crossing at Snedden

Proceeded to take observation of Dollar Day in Perth.

August 15,1928

Obtained search warrant to also keep tab on all trains

Search Hydro camp at Almonte for stolen goods supposed to be stolen from one Hassan Abdullah, Jewish pedlar ( Almonte and Carleton Place) Found some goods, but cold not make a court case.

Nov 19-Dec. 5th, 1928

ON Hunting Leave

Proceeded to cheese factory to investigate theft of cheese and butter.

He was a one man representative of the force and that meant long hours for him and his family. He often brought work home and sometimes he would be fingerprinting criminals on the kitchen table.

He would rather see a guilty man go free than an innocent man charged.

Thanks to Jean McPhail of Almonte, and daughter Barbara Armstrong of Kingston and Margaret Campbell of Balderson for use of the diaries and photos and Steve Forester for research. With files from Adam Fisher

Also read:

Big Frank Rose –The First OPP Officer in Lanark County

Cruisin Through the Dance Halls- From Carleton Place and Beyond!! Larry Clark

Carleton Place Then and Now–Bridge Street Series– Volume 8–Olympia Restaurant to McNeely’s

It Came Out of Rooney’s Pool Hall

With files from The Keeper of the Scrapbooks — Christina ‘tina’  Camelon Buchanan — Thanks to Diane Juby— click here..

It’s Too Cold to Be Pretty — Winter 2021

February 19, 2021

It’s too Cold to Be Pretty

I live in an old home that was built in 1867 and various additions were added throughout the years. Everything was built with stone– and the walls are three feet thick. The thickness of the walls holds the heat away for a week in the hot summer and then it becomes an oven. The same applies to winter–keeps the cold out for a bit and then cold drafty temperatures prevail.

Sometimes as I type I wear fingerless gloves similar to the 19th century folks that once lived here only they had muffs. Apparently the Victorians paid attention to their hands first to keep warm and muffs were just the item to keep their fingers toasty. Of course the drawback which is the same with fingerless gloves is that once you have to do things with your hands other than sit there, smile and twiddle your fingers– it’s fruitless. You just can’t press that ‘delete winter’ button as fingers need to be free—cold or not.

One perfect thing about winter in an old home is snuggling under those warm blankets, not that I don’t have backup. Decades ago at an auction in Knowlton, Quebec my father bought me one of those long-handled bed warmers that they used to put charcoal or hot rocks in and rub the contraption over the sheets. But one must ask themselves how safe that would be today. I have never heard Martha Stewart say all is well with smouldering coals with her 300- thread- count sheets. As far as I know, and I could be wrong, she has also not come out with matching nightcaps and socks to accessorize her sheet line either.

Former owners of my home used to have a lift up hatch door in my living room floor for access to the cistern below. For all of you that have older homes you know a cistern is where they stored all the water caught in rainstorms. Using the roof as a rain collection surface, gutters and downspouts delivered water to the cistern. In the old days when the temperature dropped, water in homes began to turn into ice. I can’t imagine my first job in the morning lifting up that hatch to the cistern and break the ice up if we had not saved water from the previous day for cooking.

But then again we have a few spots in the house that have to have heaters running on them when it goes below freezing, or the pipes will freeze and burst. That in the old days was called being “frozen up”. It must have been pretty miserable in this home built by the first Scots in the area to be so cold. Come Spring, no one knew what pipe was going to break first when the thaw came and buckets and bowls were always ready to collect the drips.

Needless to say when we bought his home in 1981 we had no idea the cistern existed until 20 years later as they had constructed a stone wall over the entrance. Goes to show you how fed up they were with the cistern and they probably got sick of catching the fresh fish they stored in the cistern on cold days with an axe.

I read a lot of Victorians kept warm in an older home by living in one room during the colder days with a fire roaring. It did mean that people would have frozen if they had left the room, so I imagine they seldom left.  One would likely assume that was when strong deodorant was invented or thought about.

Long drapes and fireplaces or wood burning stoves solved a huge problem in days of yore, but it’s not solving mine. I long to get rid of the daily uniforms of warm sweatshirts and sweatpants and sleeveless fun fur jackets. Today I took a photo of spring items I wanted to wear. A green and blue sweater and extra long vinyl baby blue elbow gloves. I laugh when I look at the gloves and realize 100 years ago I would have been cleaning the cistern with them. You have to admit they could clean a lot of floors with the length of them.

I look in the mirror at the white winter skin that gazes back at me in contrast to my black attire. Even though the outfit has been monotonous this winter it has kept me warm. Of course back then I probably would have been jokingly identified as a sickly Victorian woman who would not have made it through the winter. Stay warm my friends, Spring is coming.

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 9- Code Family –“I had much trouble in saving myself from becoming a first class liar”

 

 

In the Springtime of 1876, April 21, I came to town (Perth) having rented the McPherson carding mill as associate with my Uncle George. He was supposed to have the capital, but after a few days he got homesick and I decided to continue, feeling that to turn back would mean defeat and that I would never get anywhere.

The executors of the property trusted me to go ahead. I bought the yarn stock for 159 dollars and 60 cents on time. During the next two weeks business was good and I paid for this in full. As terms were cash I was enabled to finance. There was a shingle mill in connection. I bought the shingle stock and cut it into shingles, but I had much trouble in getting rid of the shingles.

I continued carding rolls for home spinning: charging four cents when oiled at home, and six cents per pound for spinning, deducting one pound in ten for loss; much of the wool was hand picked or semi washed.

Customers were strong on getting their own wool back in the yarn as each person thought that his wool was better than the others, but they did not always get it. I had much trouble in saving myself from becoming a first class liar as customers wanted to know when their work would be ready, and if not careful in promising trouble followed– sometimes with a severe chastisement.

In the autumn of 1876, together with a party, I went to *the Centennial at Philadelphia, Pa. We lodged in Germantown and had a rate one dollar a day. We were away 6 days in all, and altogether it cost me 28 dollars and a half. I was called the boy of the party, but I do not think it cost the others much more if anything. Of course we did not have Pullman accommodation.

When the custom season was over I was asked by the executors of the estate what I would give for the property where I was. I named 3000 dollars. Shortly after I was advised that the property had been sold to a *fellow elder at the figure that I had offered. I felt that I had been used, and naturally I was disappointed, however I resolved not to be outdone. I rented the small frame building at the south side of the stone flour mill and put in a water wheel. I installed carding and spinning machinery of a primitive character, and got into operation about the first of June 1877.

I got my share of the custom, and after two seasons, my opposition ceased to operate. The same executors came to me and asked me to buy the machinery. I told them I had no money, to which they replied that they would trust me. At the same moment one A. D. Disher– representing the McLaren Lumber Company at The Pache, province of Quebec– was on his way to buy the machinery. He was told that I had bought it so he came to me and asked if I would sell, and at what price. I named 1000 dollars for the cards, hand jack spinner, and the picker. He put his hand in his trouser pocket and produced one hundred 10 dollar bills. This happened without any banter whatsoever, and the deal was verbal.

I immediately went to the law office of F.A. Hall and paid off the claim. I had left a Judson roll card that had been operated by my Uncle Richard on the Haggart premises many years before, which together with some other equipment I had for 100 dollars. Without opposition the struggle was not so strenuous for a year or two, but the evolution had started from the homemade to the factory made.

Next- The Ryan Family and the Evolution of Socks

 

 

*In celebration of America’s one-hundredth anniversary of independence, the Centennial Exhibition took place on more than 285 acres of land in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park May 10-November 10, 1876. Close to ten million visitors (9,910,966) went to the fair via railroad, steamboat, carriage, and on foot. Thirty-seven nations participated in the event, officially named the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine. The grounds contained five major buildings: the Main Exhibition Building, Memorial Hall (Art Gallery), Machinery Hall, Agricultural Hall, and Horticultural Hall. In addition to these buildings, approximately 250 smaller structures were constructed by states, countries, companies, and other Centennial bureaus that focused on particular displays or services.

 

*Of possible interest, a notice in the Courier in August 1872 announced that John Drysdale of Glen Tay had come to work in the carding mill of McPherson Wool in Perth. The Drysdales had a connection to the Adams family, and a man by the name of Drysdale was injured in the woolen mill fire of 1870

 

 

 

Photo- Perth Remembered

Note—When the post office opened in 1851 a clerical error resulted in the community being called Innisville. The error was never corrected.

History

The first industrial process on the site was operated by the Kilpatrick family beginning in 1842 and established as a tannery shortly thereafter.  In 1882 a new owner, Thomas Alfred Code, established Codes Custom Wool Mill with a range of processes, including: carding, spinning, fulling, shearing, pressing, and coloring of yarns. In 1896, its name was changed to the Tay Knitting Mill, and it produced yarn, hosiery, socks, gloves, sporting-goods, sweaters, and mitts. Another change came in 1899, when a felt-making process was introduced and the mill was renamed Code Felt. The company continued to operate until the closing of the factory in 1998.

 

51 Herriott – The Code Mill is actually a collage of five different buildings dating from 1842. T.A. Code moved to Perth in 1876, and bought this property by 1883. Code spent 60 years in business in Perth. The business started with a contract to supply the North West Mounted Police with socks, and continued for many years manufacturing felt for both industrial and commercial uses.

Code Felt Co today– Click here..

 

In the 1883, Mr. T. A. Code established Codes Custom Wool Mill with a range of processes, including:  carding, spinning, fulling, shearing, pressing, and coloring of yarns. In 1896, its name was changed to the  Tay Knitting Mill, and it produced yarn, hosiery, socks, gloves, sporting-goods, sweaters, and mitts.  Another change came in 1899, when a felt-making process was introduced and the mill was renamed  Code Felt. The company continued to operate until the closing of the factory in 1998. The following year, John Stewart began a major restoration and introduced new uses for this landmark. This impressive limestone complex with its central atrium now has an interesting mix of commercial tenants.-Perth Remembered

How did I get this?

I purchased this journal online from a dealer in California. I made every attempt to make sure the journal came back to its rightful location. Every day I will be  putting up a new page so its contents are available to anyone. It is a well worn journal full of glued letters and newspaper clippings which I think belonged to Code’s son Allan at one point. Yes there is lots of genealogy in this journal. I am going to document it page by page. This journal was all handwritten and hand typed. Read-More Local Treasure Than Pirate’s Booty on Treasure Island

How did it get into the United States?  The book definitely belonged to Allan Code and he died in Ohio in 1969.

Allan Leslie Code

1896–1969 — BIRTH 27 MAR 1896 • Ontario—DEATH JUN 1969 • Mentor, Lake, Ohio, USA

 

Andrew Haydon–He was the author of Pioneer Sketches of The District of Bathurst (Lanark and Renfrew Counties, Ontario) (The Ryerson Press, 1925) and Mackenzie King and the Liberal Party (Allen, 1930).

 

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun andScreamin’ Mamas (USA)

The Original Thomas Alfred Code and Andrew Haydon Letters – —Part 1

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 2– Perth Mill

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 3– Genealogy Ennis

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 4a – Innisville the Beginning

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 4b – Innisville — Coopers and “Whipping the Cat” 1860-1870

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 4c – Innisville — Henry York and Johnny Code

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 4d – Innisville — “How We did Hoe it Down”!

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 4e – Innisville — ‘Neighbours Furnished one Another with Fire’

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 5- Code Family– “Hawthorn Mill was a Failure, and the Same Bad Luck has Followed for at Least 50 Years”

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 6- Code Family– “Almost everything of an industry trial character had vanished in Innisville in 1882”

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 7- Code Family–“Thank God, no member of my family has disgraced me or the name!

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 8- Code Family– “We got a wool sack and put him inside and took him to the bridge”

When Newspapers Gossiped–David Kerr Innisville

Kerr or Ennis? More about the Innisville Scoundrel

What Went Wrong with the Code Mill Fire in Innisville?

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 4b – Innisville — Coopers and “Whipping the Cat” 1860-1870

 

There are about 6 huge pages about Innisville written by Thomas Alfred Code so I will do this in parts. This is 4b— the  1860s and 1870s.

 

Reverting to the 1860s and 1870s was the prosperity in the village of Innisville. We had two woolen mills (I will refer to that later) and a tannery in addition to the Innis Mills already referred to. The latter was operated by James Jackson. It was a primitive institution, but it served the wants of the people at the time. The people sent the hides, which they might get back six months later. We had our local shoemakers: boots and shoes were made up in the homes by itinerant shoemakers: likewise tailoring. This form of service was called:”Whipping the Cat”.

The carding mill was on the south side of the river and was operated by A& G Code making carded rolls for spinning. In many cases a woman went from house to house at 2 S. 6 d a day, sometimes spending weeks at one home. The hand loom-weaver who wove the yarn into drugget– which consisted of a No. 10 cotton warp, wool filling– was to be found in every section of the locality. Coarse flannels were made into fancy striped patterns, and proud were the wives when the piece came home. All the friends came to see it and pass their opinion, or express their appreciation. This was worn next to the skin, which would be somewhat ticklish for the people of today, but we never saw knitted underwear or rubber footwear in those days.

We had our cooper– William Churchill— who with an assistant turned out pork barrels. I may here mention that the hog product in the shape of pork was packed in barrels and branded by the district inspector as mess, or prime mess etc. for shipment to the lumber shanties. The old dash churn was another product, and there are many who can remember churning was quite a task, especially for the small boys who wanted to join their chums at play, or go fishing. Another product of the cooper was a firkin for butter, a small barrel which would contain as I remember, one hundred pounds, and was marketed in the autumn in Carleton Place, or in Perth at Meighen’s, Shaw’s, Henderson’s, Hicks’ and other stores.

The locality was what might be called self contained– that is, the people produced most of their requirements with the exceptions of groceries. Those were obtained during the year at the places named, and paid for in the autumn with produce: butter, wheat, oats and pork, etc. Potash was another product of the early days.

Wash-tubs and wooden buckets completed the cooper’s list of manufactured articles. But, with the trend of time, and the coming of more modern utensils, the village cooper became extinct. The same applies to Perth: when the writer came to Perth to attend school in 1874, Perth had five cooperages and 81 shoemakers on the bench.

In the village was to be found a foundry where plows and plow points were turned out. In addition there was a thriving blacksmith shop, established by the Hughes family and continued by Robert Jr. Blacksmithing is still something carried on in the same building (1929) which must date back about 90 years. Horse-shoeing, and the ironing of vehicles for a brother who works next door, was the principal work carried on. Two men were employed.

Two shoemakers, two stores, the village tailor and two hotels made up the list. Meals were to be had at 25 cents, and lodging for the night free to the wayfarer who partook of the good fare of the stopping-house.

Tomorrow- The Innisville’s doctor, Henry York, and the country school

 

Photo- Perth Remembered

History

The first industrial process on the site was operated by the Kilpatrick family beginning in 1842 and established as a tannery shortly thereafter.  In 1882 a new owner, Thomas Alfred Code, established Codes Custom Wool Mill with a range of processes, including: carding, spinning, fulling, shearing, pressing, and coloring of yarns. In 1896, its name was changed to the Tay Knitting Mill, and it produced yarn, hosiery, socks, gloves, sporting-goods, sweaters, and mitts. Another change came in 1899, when a felt-making process was introduced and the mill was renamed Code Felt. The company continued to operate until the closing of the factory in 1998.

 

51 Herriott – The Code Mill is actually a collage of five different buildings dating from 1842. T.A. Code moved to Perth in 1876, and bought this property by 1883. Code spent 60 years in business in Perth. The business started with a contract to supply the North West Mounted Police with socks, and continued for many years manufacturing felt for both industrial and commercial uses.

Code Felt Co today– Click here..

 

In the 1883, Mr. T. A. Code established Codes Custom Wool Mill with a range of processes, including:  carding, spinning, fulling, shearing, pressing, and coloring of yarns. In 1896, its name was changed to the  Tay Knitting Mill, and it produced yarn, hosiery, socks, gloves, sporting-goods, sweaters, and mitts.  Another change came in 1899, when a felt-making process was introduced and the mill was renamed  Code Felt. The company continued to operate until the closing of the factory in 1998. The following year, John Stewart began a major restoration and introduced new uses for this landmark. This impressive limestone complex with its central atrium now has an interesting mix of commercial tenants.-Perth Remembered

How did I get this?

I purchased this journal online from a dealer in California. I made every attempt to make sure the journal came back to its rightful location. Every day I will be  putting up a new page so its contents are available to anyone. It is a well worn journal full of glued letters and newspaper clippings which I think belonged to Code’s son Allan at one point. Yes there is lots of genealogy in this journal. I am going to document it page by page. This journal was all handwritten and hand typed.

How did it get into the United States?  The book definitely belonged to Allan Code and he died in Ohio in 1969.

Allan Leslie Code

1896–1969 — BIRTH 27 MAR 1896 • Ontario—DEATH JUN 1969 • Mentor, Lake, Ohio, USA

 

Andrew Haydon- see bio below–He was the author of Pioneer Sketches of The District of Bathurst (Lanark and Renfrew Counties, Ontario) (The Ryerson Press, 1925) and Mackenzie King and the Liberal Party (Allen, 1930).

 

 

 

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun andScreamin’ Mamas (USA)

 

The Original Thomas Alfred Code and Andrew Haydon Letters – —Part 1

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 2– Perth Mill

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 3– Genealogy Ennis

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 4a – Innisville the Beginning

When Newspapers Gossiped–David Kerr Innisville

Kerr or Ennis? More about the Innisville Scoundrel

What Went Wrong with the Code Mill Fire in Innisville?

I’m Not Crazy — My Reality is Just Different from Yours – Zoomer

 

I’m Not Crazy — My Reality is Just Different from Yours – Zoomer.