December 1941
A man who took up residence in the little railway station at Blakeney and who was there for upwards of a week was arrested Saturday morning by Chief Green of Almonte, on complaints made to him by women residents of that section. It appears the old fellow, who gave his age as 70, took advantage of the miniature depot and the stove installed in there to make himself comfortable. The C. P.R. employes either did not know about their new tenant or paid no attention to him. At any rate no action so far as can be learned.
Women residents of the neighborhood were perturbed, however, over the presence of “the unknown” and feared he might burn down their handsome railway terminal and perhaps a barn or two as well. At any rate they protested to the fullest. The unwelcome guest was not armed to the teeth as some suspected and gossiped about.
He gave up quietly and when he appeared in court was sentenced to 10 days for not having a registration card and to 10 days for vagrancy, terms to run concurrently. Contrary to their first intention the C. P. R. laid no trespass charge.
The Hamlet of Blakeney in Earlier Times
The extension of the railroad to Rosebank (Blakeney) was another huge development. In 1859 Almonte became the northern terminus for the railroad until enough money was raised to extend the railroad, in the early 1860s, past Rosebank. Because the flour shipped from the A&D Snedden Flour Mill was a large part of the train freight, the stop at Blakeney was named Snedden Station. This was a flag stop where it was a thrill for me as a child, to accompany my father with our two or three cans of milk to load on the train going north at midnight. You lit the big red lantern in the station, ran out waving it on the tracks and the huge steaming monster pulled to a stop. The cans were then loaded and empties thrown off to replace them. There were many stops like this until North Bay was reached, where farmers received a small bonus per hundredweight. This was in the 1950s before farmers in the country received the better prices those near the city did. That’s where the term ”Milk Run” came from.
Opening Night at The Blakeney Dance Hall 1954
Rosebank, Blakeney, Norway Falls and Snedden’s Station
1960 Accidents – Union Street and Blakeney
Did you Know Mother Goose Came from Blakeney and Union Hall ?
The Beauty of Blakeney by Jim Collins
So I Walked Into a Candle Holder and Blakeney-ed Out
People of Rosebank — Sarah Jane Coxford Black
The Runaway Bridesmaid From Rosebank to Huntley
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