By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer

In 1996, when Sarnia Councillors debated whether to regulate sexually explicit movies, some of them may have thought they were breaking new ground.

But in reality they were only carrying on a tradition started 87 years earlier by Mayor David Milne.

In fact, our 29th Chief Magistrate launched an offensive against what he called “disgusting” movies as far back as 1909.

Milne, who was born in Scotland on April 19, 1848, feared the Community’s first-ever movie theatre would corrupt young children. Youngsters could afford to get into the Theatre, he noted, because it charged an admission fee of just five cents.

The Mayor couldn’t talk Council into regulating movies but he did convince the Theatre’s Manager to agree to bring in more wholesome products by threatening to revoke his business licence.

Milne, who came to Canada at age 23, worked briefly in Montreal and Toronto before settling in Sarnia in 1872.

He married Mary Leys, had two daughters and became the President of his own hardware business.

After serving five terms as an Alderman, he won the Mayor’s Chair in 1909, defeating Joe Dagan by 369 votes.

In addition to his crusade against what he considered to be immoral movies, the new Mayor tried to reduce the number of drunks wandering Sarnia’s downtown streets.