The big road camp built by the Provincial Government in Darling Township in 1934 was partially destroyed by fire last Saturday morning. Provincial’ police believe that it was the work of incendiaries and have been carrying on an investigation into the circumstances. Just before going to press today (Thursday) afternoon The Gazette got in touch with provincial police at their district headquarters in Perth and found that no warrants had been issued up to the present time.
While not committing themselves to any extent the provincial officers admitted that it looked like the work of “fire bugs.” This camp which had about a dozen units, including warehouses, dormitories, cook houses etc. was constructed during the time, townships like Lavant, Darling and part of Pakenham were under jurisdiction of the Northern Development Department. About half of the buildings were destroyed.
It is understood the watchman, Murray McLean of Perth, was in Calabogie a t the time. The camp has not been occupied since last fall when road work in Darling was discontinued. It is locatell about nine miles from Calabogie. Ray Kilgour of Eganville, was watchman in the interests of contractors who had supplied equipment such as bedding, etc. It was his time off, according to reports. That the camp may have been burned by people who were angry because they did not get work on the roads is a theory that the police are running down. One bright feature about the sad occurrence is that the $900 “root house” constructed by Premier Hepburn’s Government escaped the flames and will remain a monument to those great architects who constructed it. 1936 May Almonte Gazette
Thousands of jobless men were shunted off to federal relief camps in the Canadian wilderness in the 1930s. The camps became a focal point for a generations anger and a lasting legacy of a government’s ineffectiveness during the era.
By 1932, there were an estimated 70,000 unemployed transients. Many of the men congregated in cities and frustration was growing among their ranks.
As the number of jobless transients grew, the federal government feared they could threaten public order. Bennett’s military chief, General Andy McNaughton, warned that the unemployed could launch a Communist revolt. suggested that the men be sent to rural relief camps where they could neither vote nor organize. The camps were voluntary, but those who resisted could be arrested for vagrancy. he men cleared bush, built roads, planted trees, erected public buildings in return for room, board, medical care and 20 cents a day. They were paid one-tenth of what an employed labourer would make doing the same work.
In April 1935, the men’s unhappiness boiled over. Fifteen hundred men from the British Columbia relief camps went on strike and congregated in Vancouver. The move launched months of cross-country protests, which culminated in a riot in the streets of Regina.
A year later, with a change of government, the unpopular relief camps were shut down. Some of the men found temporary work but most returned to their wasted lives in the cities.
In all, 170,248 men had stayed in the camps.
During the Great Depression and WWII, the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration encouraged people to “put up” foodstuffs and use their existing root cellars or even make new ones. They were encouraged to waste nothing and that meant keeping food as fresh as possible for as long as possible.
MEN PLACED ON FARMS Another week’s operation tacked 500 more placements on the Ontario Governments score in its farm-labor drive; and Hon. David Croll,/minister of Labor and Public welfare, announced Wednesday that the total through all agencies can now be Estimated conservatively a t 2(500 m |n. Placement score during. the second half of last week was through offices of the Employment Service of Canada, 28 through district representatives of the Ontario^ Department of Agriculture, and an estimated 50 more through relief officials. Almonte Gazette 1936
May 30 1936
Provincial police from their district headquarters a t Perth, are carrying on two investigations in the Township of Darling at the present time. One of these has to do with the fire that destroyed the Provincial Government road camp on the morning of Saturday, May 9th and the other concerns the stripping and theft of heavy copper wire from the steel towers of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario. Two arrests have already been made. The watchman in charge and Ray Kiigour of Eganville, are in jail at Perth, following their arrest last Thursday, May 21st. 4 McLean was watching the camp in the interests of the Government while Kilgour was there in the interests of the contractors who had supplied blankets and other equipment. According, to a police theory the Company that supplied blankets did not ask for the return of extras included in the order and these were disposed of to farmers and other residents of the district. The Company then made a demand for the return of all its equipment and the fire ensued. It is understood the caretakers of the camp deny all connection with the mysterious fire that destroyed half of the buildings.
related reading
Hobos, Apple Pie, and the Depression–Tales from 569 South Street
lindaseccaspina 