New: Facebook has blocked all Canadian news. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop.

New: Facebook has blocked all Canadian news. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop.

Wednesday, 26 February 2020 12:44

Bedford History remembered at Glendower Hall

There was a lot of reminiscing going on Saturday at Glendower Hall as the Bedford Historical Research Centre’s annual open house.

“All people are interested in things, it’s just what are they interested in,” said Paul Younge, who was back for another year with his vast collection of farm-related publications.

“All that old stuff is really interesting,” said Coun. Pat Barr. “Like Gramma Barr’s bread and butter pickles recipe.

“If you just read it, you’d think you sliced the onions before you peeled them.”

She said they have a lot of people wanting to donate things, which they appreciate, but “you really need to put it in something.

“We did have a lady organizing the death notices but she died.”

And, she thinks the area was a lot more colourful in the ’50s.

“We had a lot of bootleggers in the area then,” she said.

Perhaps one of the more interesting people for visitors to reminisce with on this day was Gord Sly, president of the Frontenac County Schools Museum and author of Good Old School Days.

“There were more than 100 one-room schools in the County at one time,” he said. “And the museum probably has something from just about all of them.”

He said that legally, kids couldn’t walk more than three miles to school — which accounts for why there were so many of them.

“Most of them were in farm country and there were no buses back then,” he said.

He said that in the ’70s, most of the old schools started closing down and a “bunch of teachers got together” to create the museum and preserve the memories and memorabilia.

Sly had photos from Salem School (Bedford #1) and the Oak Flats school from 1904.

One of the more interesting items on display was an old honey pail.

“That’s what the kids used for lunchboxes,” he said. “They also used old lard pails.”

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

One thing that has set the Frontenac Frolic apart from similar summer gatherings is the annual Cow Flop Bingo.

For those unfamiliar with the Frolic, it’s an annual summer fundraiser held at Bedford Hall to raise money for the Bobs & Crow Lakes Foundation. It includes things like a silent auction, bake table, used books table, flea market, petting zoo, Little Ray’s Reptiles and displays from the fire department.

For those unfamiliar with the Bingo, here’s the “scoop on the poop” as the association puts it.

A field is divided up into 1,600 squares, with each square assigned a number. Players purchase tickets ($10 each or three for $20).

A cow is led onto the field to graze. When it poops, whoever holds the ticket for the square it poops in, gets $1,800. The second poop nets a ticket holder $900 and a third $500.

Now, for a flop to be “real,” it must be three inches in diameter and it does happen that it lands on a line (in which case the judges determine how the winnings will be split).

That’s pretty much it.

But, there are other things going on as well.

“Our silent auction has some really nice items this year,” said volunteer Mary Seaton, who has overseen the auction for nine years now, since the Frolic began. “We have everything from a chain saw to fine art such as the painting from Kingston artist Jordan Hicks.

“We usually get between 20 and 50 items for the auction and this year, we have 33.”

One new attraction this year was the inclusion of the Boot’n’Bonnet (British) Car Club out of Kingston. As one might expect, this is a club dedicated to MGs and Jaguars, as well as some more obscure brands.

President Ken Morgan said club member Larry Henderson, who owns Green Bay Heritage Cabins on Bobs Lake, talked his compatriots into coming out to the Frolic.

“It can be difficult to get people on a long weekend,” Henderson said. “We left our kids to look after the cabins.”

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC

It was, by all accounts, the biggest crowd ever for the Piccadilly/Bedford Jam Sunday as musicians, fans and organizers celebrated 10 years at Glendower (Bedford) Hall on Westport Road.

Second to only Jack’s Jam in Plevna (and that only by a few months) in longevity, the current Bedford Jam began quietly at the pavilion on Second Lake in 2007. It quickly became apparent that they needed more space to accommodate the growing number of musicians who wanted to join in as well as audience members and it moved to Piccadilly Hall.

Well, that lasted two years when it became a victim of its own success and the move to the larger Bedford Hall became a necessity. They even had to buy more chairs for the hall.

“We’ve been a big family from Day 1,” said Judy Murphy, speaking for the committee that oversees the festivities now, as well as taking a turn on the sound board beside co-founder Roy Shepherd. “You don’t have to ask, people just jump in to help with chairs, make sandwiches, coffee.”

For the first five years, Roy and Joan Shepherd essentially were the chief organizers. Then, they effectively passed the reins to Homer and Wilhelmine Card, who oversaw operations with the help of Murphy, Dianne and Kim Sproule in the Kitchen, and Dave Froats who served as treasurer.

“You want to stay straight with the dollars, you stick with Wilhelmine,” Froats said.

After their five years, Homer and Wilhelmine are also stepping down, and while their successors have been chosen, they have yet to formally accept the position.

“It will stay in familiar hands,” was all Wilhelmine would say.

But while she declined to name her successor, Card did have plenty to say about her time at the helm.

“It’s been a busy time and we couldn’t have done it without all the help,” she said. “This has been all volunteer work and we’ve even managed to give back to the community helping individual families in need as well as two food banks.

“It’s amazing what a $2 admission can do and the feeling is very rewarding.

“And everybody seems in favour of where the money has gone.”

She said she’s met “a lot of good people” and has many fond memories.

However, when pressed, she did manage to come up with one memory that stands out.

“Rita (Thompson) dancing with her dummy partner Arnold,” she said.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

The Bedford Open Mike turns 10 years old this year and they’re planning a birthday celebration July 9 at Glendower Hall on Westport Road.

Here’s a brief history of the sessions, according to Joan Shepherd, who along with husband Roy got the idea after attending the Florida Old Time Country/Bluegrass/Gospel open mike sessions at the Elfers Care Centre in New Port Richey, Florida.

“When we returned home in the spring of 2007, Roy commented on how much he was going to miss the jamming,” Shepherd said. “So we asked ourselves ‘why can’t we start our own open mike’.”

So, they got together with musical friends Homer and Wilhelmine Card and on July 1, 2007, 11 performers along with a handful of audience members held the first open mike session at the Second Depot Lake pavilion.

“I might add that over half of the original jammers are still attending the bi-weekly session,” she said.

On Aug. 26 of that year, they finished up with a barbecue but the desire to keep playing was still strong.

“The end of the summer brought sadness so in canvassing the performers and audience, it was decided to carry on the sessions at another location during the fall and winter months,” she said.

That location turned out to be Piccadilly Hall.

The Piccadilly Jam sessions began Sept. 9, 2007. Snowbirds Shepherds and Cards travelled south for the winter but Judy Albertson-Murphy, sound technician and Gerry Webster served as co-hosts while many folks from the audience took ownership of setting up chairs, making coffee, setting up the sound system, etc.

It didn’t take long before the event began to outgrow Pic Hall, with crowding and parking becoming issues. So in the fall of 2009, things moved over to larger Glendower Hall (aka Bedford Hall).

“Now, the problem was we were holding the ‘Piccadilly Jam’ in Bedford Hall, which was very confusing to to people, so the Piccadilly Jam became the ‘Bedford Country/Bluegrass Open Mike Session,’” she said.

Today, the sessions go every other Sunday, often featuring more than 30 performers and a full house of audience members.

They have some special things planned for the July 9 party, but you’ll have to show up at it to find out what they are.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 08 June 2016 19:35

Wintergreen BioBlitz

“We weren't sure what to expect,” said Rena Upitis, the director of Wintergreen Studios on Saturday, June 4, as she was entering species onto a log sheet on her computer.

“But this is fantastic, isn't it!” she continued as she looked out over a building full of mostly young people who were listening to and watching the Salamander Man, Matt Ellerbeck, as he showed them some of the salamanders in his collection and talked about the salamanders that can be found in the woods, fields, and water at Wintergreen.

Last year the Kingston Field Naturalists held a 24-hour BioBlitz at Wintergreen and they identified over 1,000 species of plants, insects, and animals on the property.

When they indicated they were not going to come back this year, Upitis thought that maybe there was a way to put on a different kind of BioBlitz.

“The field naturalists are experts, and they had a scientific focus to their blitz. I wondered if there was a way to put the focus on youth and education. So I put up a poster at Queen's in late March looking for students to co-ordinate an event.” Upitis is a professor at Queen's in the faculty of education.

As part of the Queen's education program, student teachers are required to do one “alternative practicum”, a teaching opportunity outside of the normal school environment.

Two students in the department took the bait, and their three-week 'alt-practicum' turned into a three-month project. Kate Belmore and Monica Capovilla did not seem to mind, however, as they shifted gears easily from greeting and registering participants of all ages and darting about the Wintergreen property, gathering materials and supporting the presenters of the many workshops that were given during the two-day blitz.

Over 50 participants showed up on Saturday, and even with the overnight rain a total of more than 80 people spent at least part of the weekend scouring the property, looking for species and attending workshops.

Belmore and Capovilla are about to graduate from Queen's and the experience they have had organizing, promoting and executing the BioBlitz has been a highlight of their time in university.

“This kind of education is something I want to pursue, now that I've seen it in action,” said Belmore. “It might have ruined me for classroom teaching.”

In addition to the salamander workshop, there were workshops on pond life, wildflowers, even a presentation of peregrine falcons from Quebec, all spread out over the two days.

Rena Upitis took the place of Dr. Graham Whitelaw, who had been scheduled to provide a tour of the 20 metre x 20 metre bio-diversity plot at Wintergreen. He had been monitoring the plot but was not able to make it to the event.

The plot is fully inventoried, with tags on all the trees that are more than 10 cm wide as part of an effort to monitor changes over time.

There are plots throughout Canada and the one at Wintergreen includes a number of mature Butternut trees, some that have been somewhat resistant to the Butternut canker, which has devastated the population of Butternuts in Eastern Canada.

There were about 500 species identified at Wintergreen over the weekend, about half as many as in 2015. The identification of species was not the ultimate goal of this year's event, however. Sparking an interest in ecology and biodiversity in 80 people took precedence.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 01 June 2016 18:24

Bedford Jam buy, sell or swap

The 2nd annual Bedford Jam Buy, Sell or Swap will be held on Sunday, June 12. One day only! Musical instruments, amplifiers, cables, western accessories, song/music books, CDs, DVDs, vinyl records (must be originals, no copies). Lower level of Bedford Jam, at the Glendower Hall, 1381 Westport Road; listing of items: 9am to 11:59am; sale of items, 12 noon to 6pm. Please be advised, the Bedford Jam will be taking place from 1 pm to 5 pm upstairs. You are invited to attend this jam either as an entertainer or one of the audience, but a donation of $2 per person, will be appreciated if in the audience, if you are an entertainer, no charge. This is also potluck supper day, so if planning on attending and staying for a fantastic meal, please bring a dish of your choice. For information contact: Joan Shepherd @ 613-374-5477 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Thursday, 25 February 2016 07:57

CCM History at Bedford Hall Open House

In an effort to widen their offerings of all things historical, members of the Bedford Historical Committee invited some special guests to their open house at the Bedford Hall on February 20.

One such guest was John McKenty of Perth, who had on display a wide array of CCM memorabilia including one very funky yellow and blue pair of hockey skates, one of the company's famed matched sets.

CCM stand for for Canada Cycle and Motor Co. Ltd. The company was established in 1899 and operated until 1983 before selling the business name to Reebok, which is still producing hockey skates, gloves and sweaters under the CCM name. In fact Pittsburgh Penguin Sydney Crosby wears the brand and advertises it.

CCM also made bicycles and cars, and the first line of chromium steel skates they put out were originally called automobile skates. They were simple blades that screwed onto a separate boot that was made elsewhere.

McKenty tells the story of how back in 1905 the CCM company was building and selling a car called the Russell (McKenty says there is one at the Science Museum in Ottawa).

They were no longer making bikes in the winter months and began using the steel from the Russell car bumpers to make skate blades. In the late 1920s, they began producing their “matched sets”, where the blade and boot were manufactured together at their factory and sold as one piece. Decades later, in the 1940s and 1950s, CCM used to claim that all the players on the NHL championship team wore CCM skates.

Fans of Gordie Howe would like one piece in McKenty's collection, a CCM poster circa 1952 with a picture of the players of the Detroit Red Wings, the team who won the Stanley Cup that year. The poster proclaims: “CCM matched sets, chosen by champions everywhere”, with a small disclaimer at the bottom stating “All players except one”, that player being Gordie Howe.

McKenty has written a book about the history of CCM titled "Canada Cycle and Motor: The CCM Story", which was published in 2011. He has varied interests and included in his collection was memorabilia relating to the James Brothers of Perth, who were CCM dealers. The store operated from 1893 until recently.

McKenty was not the only special guest at the Bedford Hall on Saturday. Committee chair Gerald Stinson and past chair Pat Barr were also on hand, making the committee’s archives available to many local families who stopped by to check out their family history. As well, Marion Hart, a genealogist and family historian was there.

Local history is alive and well in Bedford thanks to the late June Quinn, one of the founders of the Bedford Historical Committee. Quinn always hoped to have a permanent museum at the hall, which has not happened; however she would be happy to know that many locals continue to make good use of her hard work and are finding out more about the local history of Bedford.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 05 August 2015 21:55

Frolicking in the Frontenacs

Over four hundred supporters of the Bobs and Crow Lakes Foundation attended the organization's annual fundraising event, the Frontenac Frolic, which was held at the Bedford hall near Godfrey on August 1. The foundation was established in 2005 and works in association with the Greater Bobs and Crow Lakes Association to “preserve and enhance the quality of the environment around both lakes for present and future generations” . It holds the annual event as a means of raising funds for various lake-related projects, either initiated by the association or by individual groups. These projects include aiding in the protection, restoration and maintenance of water quality, protecting fish and wildlife populations, encouraging the prevention of forest fires and water pollution, and encouraging water and water craft safety, as well as educating the public about issues affecting the quality of lake environments.

The Frolic as always included a cow flop bingo event in which Kim the cow, a five-year-old Holstein from Barr Farms, roamed a fenced off area on site. She took her time to do her business, which eventually landed a number of large cash prizes to three winners. Over 1600 tickets were sold for the bingo event. The event also included a bake and yard sale, an on site fishing pond and a petting zoo courtesy of West Winds Ranch plus a lunch of back bacon on a bun. There was also a stellar silent auction that included 20 items donated by members of the foundation and local area businesses. Up for grabs were original art works, a Stihl chain saw, two red Muskoka chairs, a telescope, gift certificates and more. For those who missed the Frolic, donations can be made out to the The Bobs & Crow Lakes Foundation and addressed to the same, care of Alexander Cameron, PO Box 482, Verona, ON, K0H 2W0.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

At this week's open mic and jam that takes place every other Sunday at Bedford Hall near Godfrey, owners and keepers of music and musical instruments set up a sale in the basement where musicians of all sorts came to peruse a number of unique items that were put up for sale. Up for grabs were numerous guitars, fiddles, a stand up bass, banjos, electric keyboards, a Hohner accordion, plus a number of woodwind instruments, sheet music and much more. Buyers who attended made off with some exceptional deals.

The idea for the sale came about when many regular performers and guests at the jam decided they wanted to get rid of musical items that have been collecting dust around their homes and others who have either outgrown their instruments or wanted to see them used and treasured by other players. Dave Dawson had three gorgeous instruments for sale, one Martin classical guitar, a Gibson guitar and a gorgeous mandolin (interested buyers who missed the sale can contact him at 613-279-2280). There was no charge to the sellers and the sale in no way interfered with the lively and very well attended regular Sunday open mic and jam that took place upstairs in the main hall where no less than 35 performers took to the stage.

For those not in the know, the Bedford Open Mike and Jam happens every other Sunday from 1 – 5pm. Now under the direction of Wilomene Card, it is a great place to relax on a Sunday afternoon and a great place to enjoy the talents of so many local performers. Olde time country crooner Mitch Barker, who got his start in the early days of the Bedford jams that were formerly held at Piccadilly Hall, was also in attendance selling his latest CD just out one week ago titled “Mitch Barker Showcase” and he said he participates regularly in the jams because “It's the best jam going and it feels so much like home.”

The next jam takes place on Sunday June 14. In lieu of a cover charge, organizers suggest a donation of $2 per person. Light refreshments are also available. The Bedford hall is located at 1381 Westport Road near Godfrey.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Close to 100 history buffs attended the annual Bedford District Historical Research Centre's open house at the Glendower hall near Godfrey on February 21.

The event included numerous displays of archival information, historical photos, maps and more. In addition, 10 local vendors and collectors set up booths advertising their wares and services. The open house offered local residents the chance to delve into not just their own family histories but also the rich local history of the area.

The Bedford Historical Committee has been actively preserving that history for roughly 15 years, when the center's former chair and founder, June Quinn (who since passed away), began collecting, preserving and cataloging local artifacts.

Gerald Stinson, who has been chairing the committee for the last four years, said that the aim of the annual open house is to promote the center and the local artisans and service providers in the area. The historical displays included in depth histories of close to 40 local families, beginning in 1861, such as the Babcooks, the Corcorans of Godfrey, the Kellys of Fish Creek Road and others

One display included a history of the various cheese factories in the area, along with numerous photos and information about the 11 former schools located in Bedford district. None of them are still operating today but four are still standing.

Other displays included a large historical map of the area pinpointing the families that first settled each individual lot and concession in the Township of Bedford beginning in the early 1800's. Another postal map circa 1879 defines the stagecoach mail routes from that time.

Stinson said that many visitors came to look into their family histories and that the center's archives have a wealth of that kind of information. “Basically anyone looking for information about a resident of Bedford at any time, from the district's first settlers to the present, will likely find that name here somewhere.”

One local family, the Maddens, who were on hand advertising their Eco Tree Care Service, used part of their day to do a bit of family tree digging of their own. The Madden family has roots that go back to the district's first settlers; their great, great, great, grandfather, John Madden of Ireland, settled in Burridge in 1823. Jimmy Madden said he believes that John Madden first arrived in Nova Scotia from Ireland then traveled through northern New York before finally settling in Frontenac County. At that time, 50-100 acre parcels of land were being granted to civilians. That first John Madden settled 50 acres that were located on Burridge Road and Firehall roads. Though the original farm burned down in the late 1800s, at that time John's son, also John, moved into an adjacent property, formerly the Edward Leary property. He built the home that Jimmy's father, Jim Madden, grew up in and where Jimmy currently lives with his family.

The Maddens also took time to peruse a copy of the Bedford Township Census from 1861-1911 and came upon some new information about a previously unknown member of their family. “We just found out today about Mary, a sister of our great, great grandfather, who was born in 1841 in Burridge and who lived there until her early 20s. However, then she disappeared from the census for what could be any number of reasons."

Jimmy Madden mused about the fact that he and his family members continue to this day to live and work off the land where his ancestors also did the same. “We (the Maddens) are very much the products not only of our ancestors but also our environment and it's amazing to think that our livelihoods are still to this day sourced by the local environment.”

The Maddens' findings on Saturday demonstrated how the Bedford Historical Research Centre contains countless hidden treasures that are just waiting to be uncovered by local residents who take the time to dig into the rich history of Bedford District. For more information about the society email Gerald Stinson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in 150 Years Anniversary
Page 1 of 5
With the participation of the Government of Canada