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Bill Prime was the youngest Mayor of Carleton Place. He was 31. He also worked as assistant manager of the Brewer’s Retail store.
Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun andScreamin’ Mamas (USA)
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.
Saturday afternoon I scoured newspaper archives while watching Christmas movies on the W channel reading all about the fight between Dan Miller who owned the Queen’s Hotel and the town of Carleton Place. I had written briefly about it before-(Dan Miller of the Queen’s Hotel vs the Town of Carleton Place), but had no idea that it went back and forth the way it did until I saw it in print.
It was basically a story about a stubborn man who thought he was right, and just felt more tax money would equal higher prices and less business. Being a former business owner I get it, but it just reminded me that things don’t change no matter what year it is.
There was no doubt in my mind that both sides attempted to draw in their fair share of the townsfolk’s opinions into their squabble and a vicious “he said, she said” ensued. Instead of working together they fought viciously against each other, and really who won? These back and forth newspaper clippings are worth reading, if not to instill in us that we need not to “threaten old widows” nor “board up our buildings” but all just try and get along. Dan Miller died 8 years later on the 19th of June 1957 in a farm field in Ramsay Township at the age of 74. He is still a person on my list I would have liked to meet as I will always admire people with convictions.
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)
Part 1- Tales of the Chatteron House Corset — Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place- can be found here.
Part 2- Hell on Wheels at Lady Chatterton’s Hotel in Carleton Place– can be found here.
Part 3- I Will Take Some Opium to Go Please —The “Drug Dispensary” at the Chatterton House Hotel
Part 4- Chatterton House Hotel Registrar- George Hurdis -1884
Part 5-What the Heck was Electric Soap? Chatterton House Hotel Registrar
Part 6-The First Mosh Pits in Carleton Place — The Opera House of the Chatterton House Hotel
Part 7-All the President’s Men — Backroom Dealings in Carleton Place?
Part 8- Who Was John Boland? Chatterton House/Queen’s Hotel Registry — The Burgess Family Dynasty
Part 9-What Happens Behind The Queen’s Hotel Stays Behind the Queen’s Hotel
part 10-John Sparrow’s Royal Parilion – Chatterton House Hotel Carleton Place
part 11-The Rules of the Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place
part 12 –He Did What? Tales of the Queen’s Hotel
The Sultans of Swing at The Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place
Things That Disappear in Carleton Place — Elgin Street and The Queen’s Hotel Sign
The Mystery Murals of The Queen’s and Mississippi Hotel
One of Carleton Place’s folk-heros I have always admired is Dan Miller who owned the Queen’s Hotel. In 1949 the 67-year-old began a one-man holdout as he was determined to carry out his threat to keep the hotel closed until the town’s authorities knuckled under for what he considered high taxes.
William Pattie, town clerk treasurer and assessor told the media that insofar as he was concerned; the situation was unchanged so Miller sat on the steps in front of the Queen’s Hotel with his small dog at his side in protest.
He spent many a morning exchanging greetings with fellow townsmen and the people of Carleton Place hellbent on having lunch there were unable to gain admittance. Dan Miller will always be remembered as a man of conviction and I admire that. Stand up for what you believe in– even if it means standing alone.
Gail Sheen MacDonald from Wisteria called me up yesterday to say she had a gift for me to cheer me up. She had mentioned this little wooden man (Carleton Place Folk Art) and I never thought she would part with it, but she said she couldn’t think of another person that would enjoy it as much as I would. She knows me well, as outside and inside of my home is what I call a Lanark County Rescue for all things eclectic Lanark County from local thrift shops collected over the years.
The history of this little guy is: it was given to Gayle by her late friend Dennis Miller from the Queen’s. It once belonged to his father Bill Miller and graced the entrance of our beloved Queen’s Hotel when Bill owned the establishment. He used to have a wooden cigarette coming out of his mouth so I improvised, and the beer bottle he used to hold has been changed to a bottle of wine for Gail.
Traditionally, folk art sprang from a desire to make human and meaningful the daily round of work and home life, and thus reflected the cultural and regional diversity in Canada. So Gail’s gift of local Canadiana is now called: Gale of the Queens’ (male spelling of Gail) and sits next to one of the late Canadian folk artist Tom Rector’s ‘Crotch Men’ whose subjects included stick or “crotch” men, carved from the natural crotch formation of branches.
Folk art is the artistic expression of the people and that is who I write for. It was the people of our local communities and no one else, that made our towns and villages of Lanark County what they were and now are- it’s called “the real roots”– and if you forget your roots, you have lost sight of everything.
Thank you Gail !
Inscription at bottom . Compliments your hosts , Lloyd and Anita Jonson , Queens Hotel , Carleton Place Ont. Might be ” Jansan ” .–Llew Loyd
A closer look at the Queen’s Hotel and the King’s Cafe.. In front of the Queen’s Hotel with the King’s Cafe- Photo- Tom Edwards 1920s
In front of the Queen’s Hotel with the King’s Cafe- Photo- Tom Edwards July 12 1920– King’s Cafe was at the Queen’s Hotel
Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun andScreamin’ Mamas (USA)
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.
Dan Miller of the Queen’s Hotel vs the Town of Carleton Place
People of Carleton Place, Ontario — Gail Sheen-MacDonald
Part 1- Tales of the Chatteron House Corset — Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place- can be found here.
Part 2- Hell on Wheels at Lady Chatterton’s Hotel in Carleton Place– can be found here.
Part 3- I Will Take Some Opium to Go Please —The “Drug Dispensary” at the Chatterton House Hotel
Part 4- Chatterton House Hotel Registrar- George Hurdis -1884
Part 5-What the Heck was Electric Soap? Chatterton House Hotel Registrar
Part 6-The First Mosh Pits in Carleton Place — The Opera House of the Chatterton House Hotel
Part 7-All the President’s Men — Backroom Dealings in Carleton Place?
Part 8- Who Was John Boland? Chatterton House/Queen’s Hotel Registry — The Burgess Family Dynasty
Part 9-What Happens Behind The Queen’s Hotel Stays Behind the Queen’s Hotel
part 10-John Sparrow’s Royal Parilion – Chatterton House Hotel Carleton Place
part 11-The Rules of the Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place
part 12 –He Did What? Tales of the Queen’s Hotel
The Sultans of Swing at The Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place
Things That Disappear in Carleton Place — Elgin Street and The Queen’s Hotel Sign
The Mystery Murals of The Queen’s and Mississippi Hotel
Life Insurance—The late Mr. J. Chatterton of Carleton Place had taken out an endowment policy for $1,000, designating the payment of the sum should go to his little daughter Eva on his decease. An order has been issued by the High Court for the payment of the sum as soon as the guardian of the child has been appointed.
Why did Mr. Chatterton make such a demand? Why wasn’t Mrs. Chatterton, her mother, mentioned? If you have read my stories you will remember that Mrs. Chatterton was owner of the Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place and also ran a ‘ladies of the night business’ on the side in the alleyway of the hotel. So it is no wonder that Mr. Chatteron found her an unfit mother.
Prostitution
The Victorian era was infamous for its prostitution. This may be due to the fact that some people believed that venereal diseases could be cured by sexual intercourse with children. This is why most prostitutes during this time were no other than children. A girl in the lower class, from ages 12 to 18, was paid 20 pounds; a girl in the middle class, of the same ages, was paid 100 pounds; and a girl of the upper class, 12 years old, was paid 400 pounds per job. This was way more money compared to a skilled worker of a normal job who only made about 62 pounds a year.
Since prostitutes made a large sum of money, it was the number one reason that women became prostitutes. Another reason women went into prostitution was because other jobs for women were limited and didn’t make nearly as much money. Prostitutes were more socially liberated than women in other classes. Prostitutes could also gather in pubs, meanwhile respected women could not.
Prostitution was not just good and lucrative, it was also very problematic. Although there were a number of prostitutes, there was still not enough to meet the demands. As a result, pimps, men who managed prostitutes, would go out and kidnap little girls to bring them into prostitution. Finally, there was the larger problem of venereal diseases.
A large majority of prostitutes had syphilis before they reached the age of 18. Soldiers and sailors in the army and navy were starting to get these diseases from the prostitutes which led to the Contagious Diseases Act. This law states as followed:
“Should a member of a special force or a registered doctor believe that a woman was a common prostitute (a term left undefined), then he might lay such information before a Justice of the Peace who was then to summon the woman to a certified hospital established under the act for medical examination. Should she refuse, then the magistrate could order her to be taken to the hospital and there forcibly examined and if found, in either case, to be suffering from venereal disease, then she could be detained in a hospital for a period of up to three months. Resistance to examination or refusal to obey the hospital rules could be visited with one month’s imprisonment for the first offence and two months for any subsequent offence. They might, however, submit voluntarily to examination without a magistrate’s order, but if infected became liable for detention”
After this Act was enforced, women of this time formed the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act. They tried to get the Contagious Diseases Acts repealed. Finally in 1886, these acts were repealed and were replaced with a new legislation. This legislation entitled the Criminal Law Amendment Act. These acts gave more protection to children from becoming prostitutes, made homosexuality a crime, and made the basis for prostitution to eventually become illegal.
Chatterton House was located in what we now know as The Queen’s Hotel at 142 Bridge Street. Built in 1870 by Duncan McIntosh and operated as a hotel under the name of McIntosh House, it was bought in 1882 by the widow Mary J. Chatterton. By 1886 she has sold to Peter Salter, who ran it until about 1890. Photo-Carleton Place & Beckwith Heritage Museum
8413-98 (Lanark Co): Washington PARSONS, 54, widower, millwright, of Arnprior, s/o Elias S. PARSONS & blank HARRINGTON, married Margaret FLEMING, 41, of NY state, d/o William FLEMING & blank BEAT, witn: Howard SINCLAIR & Mary CHATTERTON, both of Carleton Place, 14 Nov 1898 at Carleton Place
Caroline G. Burgess (born Neelin), 1869 – 1915
MARY JANE4 NEELIN (BARBARA3MORPHY, JOHN2, EDMOND1) was born 1856, and died June 1920 in Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada.She married JEREMIAH F. CHATTERTON.
Child of MARY NEELIN and JEREMIAH CHATTERTON is:
| i. | EVA5 CHATTERTON, b. 1874 |
Eva married James MacDougall
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 and Screamin’ Mamas (USA)
The basic facts from Parts 1-5 (see links below) are from the flyer that I added on too which were passed out on January 1: Carleton Place-A Valley Town at Confederation 1867 by the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum.
From Parts 6 on– are facts I am personally researching and doing as a 150 challenge…I am going to do mostly community– as community past and present is what makes up the history of our town.
So today I thought we would pull a year number out of our Carleton Place hat and it is– 1957. Here are your Carleton Place headlines and memories:
Fact--Did you know former Carleton Place resident, now Mississippi councillor, Olympian John Edwards was part of the Carleton Place Canoe Club?
Read : The Young Olympic Hopefuls-1970’s Carleton Place Canoe Club.
Fact–What do you know the Queen’s Hotel was owned by Dan Miller? Did you also know he stood up to the Town of Carleton Place? He once owned The Falcon on Highway 7 too.
Read: Dan Miller of the Queen’s Hotel vs the Town of Carleton Place
Fact-Dutchie Smith died and he was a fixture at the W. A Nichols and Sons Lumber Yard at Centennial Park. What do you know about his boss Abner Nichols?
Read:The World of William Abner Nichols
Fact: Did you know that everyone thought the world was coming to an end in Carleton Place one day in 1957?
Read the rest here–Was it a UFO? A Meteorite or a Fuse Box? A Carleton Place Legend and here: Was it a UFO? A Meteorite or a Fuse Box? A Carleton Place Legend–Photos
Fact-Did you know the IODE is one of the oldest charitable organizations in Carleton Place?
Do you remember the tea we had for the Queen at the Carleton Place Town Hall last April. Click here to remember–A Photo Birthday Message for the Queen-April 21 2016
Fact-Did you know the Miss Carleton Place pageant used to be held every single year?
Read about some of the others here: –Miss Carleton Place– Year? Names?
Related Reading-
Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read.
Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in Hometown News and now in The Townships Sun
Read the rest of Wednesday’s Posts in The Carleton Place daily-click here
PLEASE PLAY THIS WHILE VIEWING PICTURES
PLEASE PLAY THIS WHILE VIEWING PICTURES
Photo by Lisa Stanley Sheehan
Photo by Michael Gauthier Freedom Photography
UPDATE– A GOFUNDME page has been started to create a mural for Wayne- click on this link
Wayne left us this week and left a dark void in our area. The people of Carleton Place turned out today at the Alan R. Barker Funeral Home , Wednesday March 16, 2016, at 10:00 to honour Wayne. Interment will be later in the spring, with his family at United Cemeteries.
For those who wish a donation to the Carleton Place Hospital Foundation would be appreciated.
Wayne was ever thankful to the staff at The Eating Place, and all who helped him, especially assisting him when walking and crossing the street became difficult. I personally think a shout out also goes to the Queen’s Hotel too where Wayne lived for a very long time.
Many thanks to the people of Carleton Place who turned out today, and who also signed the Barker guest book and left comments on my blogs. Thanks also go to the Wayne Bennett & John Bowes of the Alan Barker Funeral Home for allowing me to spread Wayne’s flowers by Erica Zwicker. One of them went to the Century 21 office where Wayne used to pay his rent each month. For anyone that did not know, Ralph Shaw took care of Wayne’s needs after his sister died. There are also flowers that sit on my counter that I will keep for posterity to remind me each day that:
There is never any need to have it all-just make the best of what you have.
Like Wayne Richards did.
RELATED READING
Original Marks Brothers Poster – now in the third floor exhibit at the Perth Museum. From left to right: Back – Joseph, Thomas, Robert, Alex, Earnest : Front – John, McIntyre
Did you know we had our very own version of the Marks brothers? Not Harpo, Groucho and Chico. I mean Joseph, Thomas, Robert, Alex, Earnest, John and McIntyre a dapper looking dramatic company of Perth, Ontario-based brothers and their wives who travelled across North America bringing Vaudeville-style shows to entertainment-starved towns, both small and large. Ernie’s wife Kitty also performed with the group but the main attraction was Robert’s wife, May Bell Marks. Most of them stayed at the Queen’s hotel in Carleton Place and if you have followed my other blogs see related reading below) I have written about several of them.
Photo by Linda Seccaspina from the Queen’s Hotel Registrar at the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum
According to Amazon. com The Marks Brothers formerly known as The Emma Wells Co. may well have been the most remarkable theatrical family in Canadian history. A phenomenon on the vaudeville circuit, the seven brothers left the farm and took to the boards and the footlights throughout the latter part of the 19th century and into the 1920s.
Photo by Linda Seccaspina from the Queen’s Hotel Registrar at the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum
From 1870- to the 1920 the brothers from Christie Lake, near Perth played to an estimated eight million Canadians, as well as to sizeable audiences in the United States. Their road shows, largely melodramas and comedy, kept audiences crying, booing, laughing and cheering until movies sounded the death knell for touring repertory companies. They played at our local Opera hall which was inside the Carleton Place Town Hall. It used to be a one week;s stand in most towns that they played with May A. Bell Marks playing the heroine’s role.
Photo by Linda Seccaspina from the Queen’s Hotel Registrar at the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum
From all about Perth— Dec 27, 1923, Toronto – The Marks Bros Dramatic company presenting ‘The Sleeping Beauty’, an old English pantomime.
Marks Family of Christies Lake
The early history of Christies Lake is lost to posterity. “The Killarney of Canada” was the name given to it by the late Thomas Marks, the little bit of heaven set in the heart of Lanark County. It is situated 12 miles southwest of Perth in S. Sherbrooke. If there is a “Christie” who settled there and perpetrated his name in this lake no information is obtainable. The earlier known settlers in the area were the Thomas Marks family and theWilliam H. Patterson family. Thomas Marks was the father of the seven Marks Brothers who became known from one end of America to the other in the theatrical world. Robert Marks, the eldest brother, was the founder and manager of their enterprise which varied from solo tours and duos, trios and troupe entertainment all of which was in great demand by theatrical managers during the great era of vaudeville. One of the most outstanding landmarks on the shores of the lake is the old Marks homestead which is still in fairly good shape and as one ambles through the rooms one can visualize the Marks brothers practicing for a winter tour. This homestead is a great tribute to Canada’s greatest contribution to the vaudeville stage and the Marks brothers.
At the Queens and Leland hotel yards, agents were hiring teams of horses in December for winter work at Ottawa Valley lumber shanties.
Comedy Company Coming. “ The Marks Bros’. Musical Comedy Co. opened a week’s engagement in the opera house Tuesday night to a good audience. Tom Marks does not change, but is the same funny Tom as of yore, and his spontaneous wit as Dan McGinty in McGinty’s T.*oubles produces the laughter which ripplos unceasingly from curtain rise until its fall. Miss Emma Gertrude, who played the part of Ward No. 1, is a very pretty girl with a remarkably good controlled voice. The rest of the company are very good, and the show went with a snap and vim that is pleasant to see.”—Smith’s Falls News. The Marks Co. will play in the Town Hall, Almonte, for one week—Sept. 19 to 25—under the auspices of the Citizens’ Band
Perth Remembered–ARLIEDALE INN, CHRISTIE LAKE–This building was the original family farm house of the famous Marks Brothers of Christie Lake. When one of the brothers, Tom retired from the theatre he returned to Christie Lake and renovated the farm house into a hotel and named it Arliedale Inn, after his daughter Arlie.
Travelling Shows on the Rural Stage
Peg O My Heart — Gracie Mark’s Belt
What’s Happening at Christie Lake June 23, 1899
The Killarney of Canada in Lanark County
Mr. Hollinger sold horses and cattle at the Queen’s Hotel every Tuesday in Carleton Place. Local Carleton Place resident Angus McFarlane did some local dealing in horses, as his values were uncanny. The local man always felt he needed the best, and wanted a horse to rival his speedy new roadster. On December 17th, 1914, McFarlane began to successfully negotiate with a well known farmer for the purchase of a nifty young driving horse. After he gave payment for the new steed he drove home with the new purchase following behind him. Angus put the animal in Mick Doyle’s stable when he suddenly spied a friend.
He smiled and told the gent,
“Come here and I will show you what I bought.”
Angus walked into the stall, untied the horse with the command,“Back Up!”
Instead of backing up as per instructions, the animal surprisingly sat down. Angus began to review the facts and wondered what to do about the situation. His new purchase was still seated complacently munching on some of Mick’s excellent hay. Angus wasn’t having none of that and left at great speed for the Bank of Ottawa to have payment of his cheque stopped.
Upon arrival at the bank the manger told him the cheque had already been presented and paid ten minutes previously. Leaving the bank slower than he had arrived, he ruefully reflected that he did indeed have the fastest car in Carleton Place, but now he possessed a horse with no reverse gear.
December 16, 1937
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
Asselstine’s Rexall Drugstore- Queen’s Hotel in the background 1944
There was a man in Carleton Place called Jack (Hoppy) Logan that spent most of his days in the rotunda of the Queen’s Hotel. Logan had an artificial appendage, which in those days was nothing but a wooden leg.
The man loved to whittle, and guests in the Queen’s Hotel loved to watch him. One day one of his whittling projects became unsuccessful, so he crossed his legs, uttered some type of expression and drove the knife a couple of inches into his wooden leg. The knife was sticking straight up into the air and a travelling salesman who had been sitting in the next chair watching the wood carving fainted and fell into a heap on the floor.
John Burchill, the proprietor who heard the thump came out running and asked Hoppy what was wrong. Hoppy looked at him with deadpan eyes and said innocently.
“Heck if I know!”
Part 1- Tales of the Chatteron House Corset — Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place- can be found here.
Part 2- Hell on Wheels at Lady Chatterton’s Hotel in Carleton Place– can be found here.
Part 3- I Will Take Some Opium to Go Please —The “Drug Dispensary” at the Chatterton House Hotel
Part 4- Chatterton House Hotel Registrar- George Hurdis -1884
Part 5-What the Heck was Electric Soap? Chatterton House Hotel Registrar
Part 6-The First Mosh Pits in Carleton Place — The Opera House of the Chatterton House Hotel
Part 7-All the President’s Men — Backroom Dealings in Carleton Place?
Part 8- Who Was John Boland? Chatterton House/Queen’s Hotel Registry — The Burgess Family Dynasty
Part 9-What Happens Behind The Queen’s Hotel Stays Behind the Queen’s Hotel
part 10-John Sparrow’s Royal Parilion – Chatterton House Hotel Carleton Place
part 11-The Rules of the Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place
Part 12- Ontario’s Version of the Marks Bros-Tales of the Queen’s Hotel
Buy Linda Secaspina’s Books— Flashbacks of Little Miss Flash Cadilac– Tillting the Kilt-Vintage Whispers of Carleton Place and 4 others on Amazon or Amazon Canada or Wisteria at 62 Bridge Street in Carleton Place
When Tom Sloan was the owner of the Queen’s hotel he had a sign out front that was really worth reading:
Good Sample Rooms-Centrally Located
Commercial Rates- One dollar and a half per day
This house has been renovated all through and is one of the coziest and most enjoyable in the Ottawa Valley
Hotel Rules for Visitors
Board- 50 cents a square foot- meals extra
The hotel is convenient to all cemeteries- hearses to hire 25 cents
Guests are requested not to speak to the dumb waiter
Guests are requested not to play any games more exciting that Old Maid after 7 pm so as not to disturb the night clerk’s slumber
If the room gets too warm open the window and see the fire escape.
In case of fire you will have a hard time finding the fire escape, there ain’t any.
If you’re fond of athletics and like good jumping, lift the mattress and see the bed spring
Married men without baggage are requested to leave their wives at the office for security
Dont worry about paying your bills;the house is supported by its foundation.
Part 1- Tales of the Chatteron House Corset — Queen’s Hotel in Carleton Place- can be found here.
Part 2- Hell on Wheels at Lady Chatterton’s Hotel in Carleton Place– can be found here.
Part 3- I Will Take Some Opium to Go Please —The “Drug Dispensary” at the Chatterton House Hotel
Part 4- Chatterton House Hotel Registrar- George Hurdis -1884
Part 5-What the Heck was Electric Soap? Chatterton House Hotel Registrar
Part 6-The First Mosh Pits in Carleton Place — The Opera House of the Chatterton House Hotel
Part 7-All the President’s Men — Backroom Dealings in Carleton Place?
Part 8- Who Was John Boland? Chatterton House/Queen’s Hotel Registry — The Burgess Family Dynasty
Part 9-What Happens Behind The Queen’s Hotel Stays Behind the Queen’s Hotel
part 10-John Sparrow’s Royal Parilion – Chatterton House Hotel Carleton Place
Buy Linda Secaspina’s Books— Flashbacks of Little Miss Flash Cadilac– Tillting the Kilt-Vintage Whispers of Carleton Place and 4 others on Amazon or Amazon Canada or Wisteria at 62 Bridge Street in Carleton Place
lindaseccaspina 