SOS A severe storm passed over the northern part of the County just before suppertime on 15 June. The next day, The Berlin Daily Telegraph’s front-page story, “Cyclone sweeps over Elmira,” described the swath cut through the small town. No one was injured, but shortly after the winds picked up, “it developed into a […] Read more…
The ladies’ ten-day recruitment campaign ended without either fanfare or an inkling of results–except to say empty bunks meant a last-ditch sign-up campaign had to be launched. Recruitment meetings continued to attract “the usual crowd” of ladies and old tigers; eligible, fit young men were nowhere to be found. Woe betides these slackers, for “they […] Read more…
Irish Uprising News from Ireland was slow and—at least at first–sparse. Apart from cut communications lines, London’s censors vetted the uprising’s details, leaving many in the dark. By the end of this week—10 days after the rebellion began—more than 100 people were killed or wounded, the street fighting subsided, and more than 1000 insurgents were […] Read more…
St Julien Day 22 April 1915 marked the first time a large quantity of deadly gas was deployed in battle. On that date, the Germans unleashed 160 tons of asphyxiating gas on Allied soldiers at Ypres. The unsuspecting men were not equipped to handle the yellow-green chlorine cloud that smelled of pineapples and pepper. Some […] Read more…
Spring comes to Alert City The ice broke on the Grand River, Robin Redbreast made his first appearance, and a young red fox trotted into town (he was quickly enlisted as the 118th Battalion’s mascot); all hopeful signs Berlin, Ontario’s cold, snowy winter would soon end. The city’s renaming contest was in its final days, with […] Read more…
Corsica, Ontario Every alderman (except for the two who opposed to the name change) attended a special council meeting to decide how to proceed. Mayor Hett wanted ratepayers to have the final word, but Alderman Cleghorn disagreed. He clung to his chestnut that the petition’s 1080 signatures (from a population of 20,000) meant the electorate’s voice […] Read more…