Yesterday's News

Grand Valley Star & Vidette
Correspondence Thursday, October 22, 1903
Keldon - Children playing with matches was the cause of a fire by which H. Hay lost a stable and straw stack. Hard work on the part of a few men and girls who were not at the Grand Valley show succeeded in saving the house.

Orangeville Banner  March 24, 1949
First Television Set in Orangeville Works Well
The first Television Set in the County of Dufferin, built and recently completed by George McKennitt, Orangeville Radio Technician is working almost perfectly, an amazing fact when one considers that present day Television is guaranteed to work at its best only within a radius of 50 miles from the sending station. The set is creating plenty of interest among town and country folk, many of whom have crowded into the McKinnitt living room to witness the programmes which are broadcast from Buffalo and New York between the hours of 5:30 p.m. and midnight. At times reproduction on the 12" circular screen is almost perfect although passing cars create an unnatural disturbance which distorts the image greatly. Sound has the same clarity as the radio and may be increased or decreased by adjusting a dial. The image may be enlarged or made smaller by a similar means.
Interested in TV at Early Age
Way back about 1934 when George McKennitt was nearing his tenth birthday and had already mastered many of the intricacies of radio he became interested in Television which at that time was little known to people in most parts of Canada. He read all the data he could obtain in books from the U.S. When World War II commenced McKennitt was one of the few radio men in the province who knew something worthwhile concerning TV. During the was he was all over Canada as well as in the States working in the various branches of "Radio in the Service", as well as spending some time in active theatres of the War as infantryman. After the War when the broadcasting of Television and all that it entailed became a reality McKennitt decided to build his own set but because of lack of materials he didn’t get the project under way until January ’49. About September ’48 he gathered all the TV books he buy and read and studied until he was convinced he knew all the angles. The initial time of the project was spent in the building of a test set consisting of three tubes. This test set had to include a frequency modulation receiver to eliminate static and had to cover a special wave length. This experiment proved conclusively that the vision would come through from Buffalo, the nearest TV Station. He then went ahead with the building of the main set which was completed between February 5 and March 5, a record time when one considers that the builder had to obtain most of the parts from wholesale houses in Toronto who in turn had to send to firms in the U.S. for such materials as were not manufactured in Canada. The fact that the distance between Buffalo and Orangeville is so great creates an adverse condition. However Mr. McKennitt feels he is getting good results and with a different location, preferably a higher spot in town, he thinks the reception would be much better. An excellent example as to the worthiness of the set came recently when a R.C.A. Victor Radio expert came up from Toronto to see it work and made the remark that its performance ranked with the best sets in the Toronto Area. Incidentally, Mr. McKennitt is quite willing to show the set in action to interested persons.

Grand Valley Star & Vidette
Correspondence Thursday, February 27, 1902
Tarbert - Quite a number enjoyed the gramophone selections at the home of Mr. J. Scott, Wednesday evening.

Grand Valley Star & Vidette
Correspondence Thursday, May 31, 1906
Monticello - Our obliging mail carrier, R. Boyle, is getting material on the ground for a large stone stable. He is bound to have everything up-to-date and right on time.  Mr. Geo. Cann, postmaster and storekeeper, is nearly better after a severe illness.  Mr. J. Maben is up to his eyes in work now, farming and running the house. He has the well drillers at work again trying to get a supply of water. Pretty dry up there. There is talk of the railroad going through here this summer. We hope it will and when it does let us have a station at Monticello. Oh, let it be soon. We had a sharp thunderstorm last Tuesday night, 22^nd inst. Hail fell in considerable quantities, and lightning was incessant. No serious damage was done but two trees and a fence on different parts of Mr. E. Barber’s property were struck, a tree on Mr. Hayes’ place and a telephone pole right at the door of the Post office.  Mr. L. Bond of Buford, representing the National Life Assurance Co. of Canada, is the guest for a few days of Mr. and Mrs. C. Wood. Mrs. Bond and children we reported as being there last week. We might mention in passing that Mr. Bond is a first cousin of the famous General Baden-Powell, the defender of Mafeking in the South African War.

The Economist, August 18, 1904
A few minutes after eight o’clock Saturday evening last the people of this section who happened to be out of doors at the time were startled by a strange flash, as of long continued lightning, followed by a booming as of the discharge of heavy artillery.  The cause of the unusual sight and sounds was a meteorite, which had taken a notion to visit this earth of ours and was so specially attracted by the beauties of Dufferin County that it decided to make its resting place here.  The sky being overcast with clouds a good view of the descent of the phenomenon was not obtainable at Shelburne. Farther north, however a full view was to be had of it, and spectators describe it as having exploded while high up in the air, the pieces flying in all directions. It was this bursting that caused the sounds as of artillery fire.  Only one piece of the strange visitor has, so far as we have heard at time of writing been found. It is a 14-pound chunk which struck the ground within a couple of feet of the verandah on the residence of John Shields, about three miles from Shelburne and Horning’s Mills, spattering earth up against the side of the house and imbedding itself to the depth of 18 inches.  The stone was dug out of the ground on Monday morning and brought to town, and it has since been on exhibition in the window of Jelly and White’s hardware store, where it has been viewed by a whole shoal of people.