70 Years Ago
September 15, 1948
– Overcrowding at Napanee’s West Ward School encouraged a number of parents to voice their concerns at a meeting of the board of education. Kindergarten students were having to walk across town to attend the East Ward School.
Board chair H. L. VanLuven explained many schools across the province were overcrowded and the system was still trying to catch up. He said it was hoped a new school in West Ward would be opened by the start of the school term, but the opening never materialized. He believed the new school would be built for the following year.
Napanee Collegiate also reported record attendance with 410 pupils enrolled. With double the number of students in their first year, compared to 1947, the school was examining ways to reallocate space and considering hiring additional part-time staff to accommodate the influx.
– The Napanee Athletics intermediate baseball team was left to pay a considerable bill and appease its disappointed fans when the Toronto Leaside team forfeited the second game of their Ontario Baseball Association two-game playoff series with no advance warning. The Athletics had started the series in Toronto with a convincing 8-1.
– The newly installed Hammond electric organ at Trinity United Church was dedicated by Rev. Noble Hamilton. The instrument replaced a Casavant pipe organ that had been used for 40 years.
40 Years Ago
September 13, 1978
– A fire on Dundas Street East caused an estimated $75,000 in damages to three Napanee businesses. The blaze broke out in a vacant apartment above the MOM Restaurant with heavy damage to the unit’s kitchen space. The restaurant was affected by water damage, fire chief Pat Patton said. The Lipson’s Furniture House building had fire and water damage, while the Hogarth’s of Napanee building suffered smoke damage. All three were insured.
– Napanee Business Association president Lloyd Cowle called parking meters a “necessary evil” because they stopped office workers from parking in free spaces on Dundas Street. Crowe said he did not believe the cost incurred at meters would scare consumers from the downtown core in favour the Napanee Mall or other communities to shop.
– The Lennox and Addington County Board of Education prevailed in a dispute with Colebrook area parents who wanted to see their children attend school in Enterprise, rather than Odessa. The parents reasoned they could not keep their children out of school any longer, so they voiced their objections, but sent their children on buses to Odessa.