by Jean Turnbull Elford (1982) Beginning with British rule in the northern part of this continent, land was acquired from the Indians as it was needed for new settlers. Because of legislation passed in 1763, no Indian band forfeited their land without their own and the Crown’s consent. The Indians [...]
by Jean Turnbull Elford in Canada West’s Last Frontier (1982) Point Edward, Lambton’s largest incorporated village, placed where Lake Huron empties into the River St. Clair, made its way into recorded history earlier than any other part of Lambton. The first written account comes from the pen of Father Hennepin [...]
by Phil Egam - Special to The Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. (2015) In the late 60s, I worked for a time as a bartender in the old Pine Room of the Vendome Hotel. It was a downstairs bar that could be entered either from the hotel above or from [...]
By Phil Egan - Special to The Sarnia Journal (2015) It is a warm evening in early July, 1910. King George V is in his second month on the throne of the British Empire. Sir Wilfred Laurier is Prime Minister. You have just boarded the 100 foot long ferry, Skater [...]
By Phil Egan - Special to the Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. Iceman wasn’t just a hotshot pilot in Top Gun. He was once a regular visitor to our homes. Like the milkman, he came in a horse-drawn wagon, and later a truck. As late as the early 1950s, the [...]
By Phil Egan – Special to the Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. It began with the blowing of a company whistle. At 4:45 pm on June 28, 1913, the sound of that whistle heralded the opening of Sarnia’s new H. Mueller Manufacturing plant at 100 Clifford Street. It was a [...]
By Phil Egan – Special to the Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. Sarnians passing by the River City Vineyard church and homeless shelter on Mitton Street might be surprised to learn that this location was once the heartbeat of one of Sarnia’s most celebrated industries. It happened like this. In [...]
By Phil Egan - Special to The Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. (2015) What began as a search for oil led to the discovery of salt. The discovery of oil in Lambton County in the late 19th century had many believing that vast wealth might be just around the corner. [...]
by Stephen Huebl (2005) Over the past 100 years, the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce has played an active and vital role in Sarnia Lambton's growth. But even before its official incorporation in 1905, the Chamber can trace its roots back to the late 1800s. It all started on Feb. [...]
by Charles Phelps writing in A History of Blackwell Church & Community, 1880-1980 (1980) The Purdy family has been fishing commercially in Lake Huron for more than 75 years. The 1911 Sarnia and Port Huron Directory lists the name, “Purdy, Milton B., fisherman, lives 310 Nelson.” Later, his son, William [...]
