| Notes |
- . For many years the Wellington County Home was known as the " House of Industry & Refuge", commonly known as the "Poor House". It over looked the Grand River in Nichol Twp., about mid-way between Fergus & Elora. About 1950, Mr & Mrs Wilfred Roszell of Puslinch Twp, became the new Superintendent & Matron. She is a Registered Nurse; both are very capable an well liked. Feb 1966 by Mrs T J Hutchinson.
Photo: Wildred Roszell gave up his position as reeve of Puslinch to return as superintendent of the Wellington Co. Home. He hasn't regretted the move & says it has been a good life.
(Wellington) County held a presentation for Mr & Mrs Wildred Roszell who served as Superintendent at the old Wellington Home on the Fergus Road for 22 years.
Ref: Tweedsmuir History, Elora Women's Institute.
. .Black Smoke from the School Yard
One thing I remember we done - the teacher used to go home for lunch, you known, she boarded across the road. I mind, Oh there were 5 or 6 of us, we dug a great big hole at the back of the school yard. Oh, dear, it was 3 feet deep I don't know what was going on there but here was a whole lot of tar paper around there. We put tis in the hole and set fire & you've never seen such black smoke - when she came back from her dinner, she thought the school was on fire. Yeah, we all got the strap.
. Visits from the Inspector
We used to have a dread of the inspector coming around - we used to have a dread. In the later years maybe he book the car but he had the horse & buggy then. It used to be Craig here from Fergus, year. J.J. - and we used to dread his coming. Each one of us would try to get to take his horse to the neighbor and spend most of the afternoon there. I don't know why we should have but we did - He was always strict. I guess, I can mind one day, we had this Scotch woman teacher then. We, he wrote on the board & there was something the matter with his wrist but he'd take his other hand like this & you couldn't make out the writing. And then he expected the kids to answer the questions he wrote on the board, that's why I didn't do it." Then he was mad. Some of them (teachers) were scared but this Scotch lady wasn't. He was inspector when my parents were in school & all the time I was in school.
. Captain at the Barn Raising
My Dad wen to a lot of barn raising but it was my grandfather who used to tell stories about going to these 22 barn raising in one year. He was chosen captain 20 times. I don't known if he ever told me how many times they won or not but he thought it was a big thing even to be chosen captain. I guess it was too. He gave the orders for his end of the barn but the barn framer, was over it all The 2 teams would each take an end of the barn - they would have the timbers all laid out on the floor - and then they would raise them. You'd have 25 men on these pike poles, pretty near, & they had to shove them up even too. I wasn't old enough to ever be in on it.
. As Dangerous as Any Car
Oh, let's say the fall of 1921 when I did all the ploughing - I was home from school the whole year of 1922. That's when I was 13 years. I mind, I like it - it wasn't very hard work. I remember my father had this farm rented in 1922. That was the time when I was coming home from ploughing & the road gate was shut. I just let the horses walk through, you see, and I was going to shut the gate, when the hub of the wheel caught the post & that scarred the horses. Away they went. Well, the farm was 200 rods long, so they ran near a mile to our back bush. They had a wagon following and there were 2 or 3 gates, I mind, along the laneway and they just split them gates in two. They never stopped from them at all.
You talk today about cars being dangerous driving but a wild horse was just as dangerous. You've got control over a car if you want to have it but a wild horse ...we had a bod horse down home one time. It was a western & those westerns were bad beggars. I was going to the mill at Aberfoyle with a load of cop one day, and I had to get off and walk because it was kind of cool and that horse got scared of something. Oh, I know it was going to get away because you just couldn't hold it - its mouth was that tough. So I tried to head it into a tree near the road & the damn line broke. I held the other line and it just circled him around back the thing went right home. It was about 3 miles, I guess, and you've never seen anything so dangerous looking in your life.
They're just mad when they're going & they just to like the devil. There was a woman going for the mail & how she didn't her them coming I don't know, but the hub of the wheel struck her & I thought I'd be in for a big hospital bill - lucky she didn't really get hurt bad. And the funny par t of it was, when they got near home, they turned in at the neighbours, when down around their barn & straddled the pump & they just broke it right off the top of the round. And there was a great big bond and they went sailing right into this & when they found them. They were standing with their heads out, with the water up to their bellies. They couldn't go any further. You can talk about cars being dangerous but it you had a team of horses that you couldn't hold and got away from you, they were just as dangerous as any can you drive You bet.
. Wilfred Rozell, Puslinch Township.
Group photo of 9 Rozel children included in this book. Photo of Wilfred showing his colt at the Aberfoyle fair 1924. WR with a group of residents at the County home.
Ref: Older Voice Among Us (Wellington County, Ontario). 1981. - - -
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1901 - 1901 (0 years)