*READ ABOUT THE COURT CASE BEHIND THE WRIGHT HOUSE STORY

Just click the above link

Click the above "Court Case" link line to see a new special page added to this site...dating back to Fairport settlement days in the mid 1800s.

The Wright House on Sydenham Street

YOURS FOR THE CLICKING

OTHER DRESDEN RELATED BLOG SITES: YOURS FOR THE CLICKING
*DRESDEN: A PERSPECTIVE ON RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN MY HOME TOWN

*THE WRIGHT STORY": IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS HENRY AND MARY WRIGHT

*WRIGHTS LANE

*THE GAME I GREW UP WITH

*DRESDEN JUVENILES ONTARIO CHAMPS 1953

*THE PERRYS: MY OTHER HALF

*TRIBUTE TO DOC RUTTLE

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

REFLECTIONS OF DRESDEN: A VISIT WITH A HOMETOWN GIRL (SEE VIDEO)

This is one of my favorite newspaper clippings from the 1940s, published in the North Kent Leader as a flashback feature in 1982. I went to school with three of the Browning sons, Clarence Jr., Larry and Doug. When Clarence Sr. returned home from the war numerous other little Brownings were curiosly added to the family.
Garnet Eves Jewellery Store was a fixture in downtown Dresden for four decades.  Shown here behind the counter is owner Garnet Eves (right) and son Herb in about 1955. I purchased a wedding ring from Garnet in 1959. Garnet's wife Marjorie also worked in the store as did my aunt Hattie Sharpe on a part-time basis.

Click on the video icon below to view this mini-movie stroll down memory lane. *Full screen view is recommended.  Have computer speakers 'ON'


This video, "Reflections of Dresden, a Visit With a Hometown Girl", will serve as a rather unique introduction to the nostalgia included with this site. It is an edited version of a DVD that I originally produced as part of an hour-long memorial service presentation for the late Dorothy "Jeanne" (Elgie) Ellis, 1915-2011. While Jeanne married and moved away in the mid 1930's, she retained a strong attachment to her hometown and looked forward to frequent visits with family and friends. So strong was her love for Dresden that her family asked me to pay this special tribute to her at the memorial service and what better way than to take a stroll through the town that Jeanne knew so well in the 1920's and 30's, and to invite her spirit to come along with us. You will have to set aside about 18 minutes to view the complete video. 

OFF TO THE RACES AT THE FAIR...
In the 1950's former high school classmate Betty Shaw  led the post parades on her beautiful palomino as part of the pageantry of the annual Dresden Fair harness race program. Below: Teddy McFadden, 6, in the foreground supervises as Fred List helps harness the horse Stewart Volo, owned by the Howard Bros. of Chatham. Partially obscured behind the horse is his father "Jiggs" McFadden, a well-known trainer and sulky driver. This photo was taken during the 1955 Dresden Fair races. The bottom photo was taken at the finish line of one of the heats in an extensive fair race card. A packed grandstand is shown in the background along with several of the old livestock barns of the era.




Craven's Garage and Gas Station, circa 1930, owned by Clarence Craven.  That's son Andrew (Junior) standing at the pumps.  The business was taken over by the Webster brothers about 1950.  Thanks to John Craven (son of Jack and grandson of Clarence) for providing this rare photo from a family album.

The Dresden Dairy, better known as "the Creamery", owned by Francis Foster, was a downtown landmark for many years.  Above is a stopper from one of the glass bottles of milk, delivered door-to-door each morning by horse and wagon.


THE MOVIE SCENE IN DRESDEN

To my knowledge there are no existing photos of the Majestic Theatre after massive renovations, 1930-60, so I attempted to sketch one from memory (the vertical Majestic sign is a figment of my imagination). The Majestic ran two movie features each week with Saturday afternoon matinees. It was the centre piece for entertainment in the mid 1900's. The original theatre 1914/ '15, was quite different from the theatre many of us went to 1940-'60+. As a point of interest, Menzo Craig was married to the former Gladys Wetherald and his brother-in-law Murray Wetherald also worked in the theatre as a projectionist. Murray operated an electronics repair shop adjacent to the theatre for many years. In the early days of silent screen movies Menzo often played the piano to accompany the action. Several women in town -- Velma Craft, Mae Sharp and Jessie McVean -- also took their turn providing lively music on the keyboard as black and while images flickered on the screen.


Thanks to Norman Kimber this circa 1955-'60 photo of the Majestic Theatre recently came to light. The exposure was taken shortly after dusk. My artistic rendition was not far off, after all.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello
I am researching Dresden and wonder if you can tell me who was Mayor in 1969?
Thank you

Anonymous said...

SORRY, I have not lived in DRESDEN since 1956 and am not up to date on the town's politics/polititions subsequent to that. There is an outside chance that a chap by the name of Les Hawgood was mayor in 1969.