We are in a new month, and that means it is time to find out what was going on in the area one hundred years ago. It was a very different world back then, but also one that has some similarities to today.
On June 9, Oren Baker, who was 77 and an early pioneer in the community, was chatting with visitors in the home of his son Frank when he suddenly fell back in his chair. As soon as people rushed to him, they found he had died.
On June 10, two children, aged five and 13, the sons of a local farmer named M. Mufyowski, were out for a hike when they came across some berries that they had eaten. When they returned home, they suddenly became ill and sadly passed away before help could be obtained. Both had died from poisoning.
On June 16, Rose Wener and Charles Podersky were married at the home of Rose’s parents.
On June 21, a plowing match was held in Vermilion. It was very well attended despite less-than-ideal weather. Donald Douglas from the Department of Agriculture was the judge for the event. Everyone was very happy with how the event with, and the number of competitors that came out.
On June 26, Vermilion defeated the Mannville baseball team in a hard-fought battle by a score of 2 to 1. Vermilion only had one hit for the first six innings played, but in that inning one player named Ford hit a two-run home run to put the Vermilion team ahead for the rest of the game.
That same day, James Anderson of Vermilion pled guilty to stealing $85 from a roommate on a farm that he was working at. For his crime, he was sentenced to one year of hard labour at the Fort Saskatchewan Jail. He had three previous convictions for theft before, which resulted in his longer sentence for the crime. Today, that $85 would be worth $1,500.
On June 28, the Vermilion Athletic Association held its annual meeting. The committee decided to offer purses to the amount of $700 for the races that would be held in the community in August. Officers were also elected to the organization. William Telford was chosen as president, while J.A.M. Craig was chosen as the vice president.
That same day, 100 members of the Masonic Lodge met at Vermilion and three lodges joined in an installation to their respective organizations.
Contact Craig at craig@canadaehx.com
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