Arnold was an extraordinary looking person. He was quite short and had a large nose and ears that folded forward in the style of a small elephant. And he certainly had the proverbial “twinkle in his eye”. Whether it was true or not, he said that his wife was from Clayton; and, when he invited her to Almonte (when they were first courting) to go to a dance, he said he would put gravel in her shoes to make her feel at home. But, as the occasion of our visit was New Year’s Eve, Arnold recounted a story about a New Year’s Eve which he remembered from some years back. Imagine sitting in the cozy “front room” of Frank and Annie’s house, with a fresh layer of snow outside, everyone charged with a bit of cheer, and hearing Arnold tell this story with an accent which was clearly “Lanark County”, and probably resembled something from Ireland. Here is his New Year's Eve tale:
For years, he said, I had been in the custom of going outside the house on New Year’s Eve with my shotgun at midnight and shooting off a couple of rounds to bring in the New Year. But one year, we noticed the next day that no one had bothered to call us on the telephone as they normally did on New Year’s Day. So I went outside to take a look and hadn’t I shot the Bell Telephone wires off! So the next year we decided to do something different. The wife and I, we live down by the River. I came up with the idea of going down to the River and throwing onto it a stick of dynamite (which he pronounced din-a- mite). We had been using dynamite for ice fishing for years. After the blast - WHOOSH! - the fish’d come right out of the water!
Anyway there I was down by the River’s edge, waiting for the wife to give me the signal from the kitchen that the clock had struck midnight. Finally I saw the wife wave from the kitchen and I knew that it was time. So I lit the stick of dynamite and threw it out onto the River. Well... Jeez!... didn’t the dog go out after it! He picked it up and started back towards me. I didn’t stop running until I got to the Bells Corners; and the dog or someone would’ve been hurt if he hadn’t dropped the stick of dynamite. But didn’t he drop it right under the shit house!
Another less humourous but perhaps more truthful tale was the one told to me by Bruce and Carl Sadler shortly after the death of their father, Howard Sadler, in February of 1981. Howard was an elderly gentleman about the same vintage as Raymond Jamieson. Howard lived on a large parcel of land in an old farm house on the edge of Town where he conducted his market gardening business. The story goes that years ago, he was selling strawberries for 15 cents a quart. The local IGA then began selling strawberries, 2 quarts for 25 cents. Howard followed suit and sold on the same basis. Then the price war escalated, with IGA selling 3 quarts for 25 cents. When Howard got
wind of this, he told his wife, Beatrice, that he couldn’t make a living selling his product at those prices; and, he went out into the field and plowed the whole thing up. Howard obviously had a healthy degree of pride, and undoubtedly a bit of a temper. I understand from Howard’s wife that Howard’s family came from Scotland, but I am not sure that they came here directly. He always had that rugged, weathered look which one might expect to see on a man who spent a good deal of his time outside on the land. Howard and his wife lived with his parents on the farm which he eventually purchased pursuant to a lease-type of agreement. The farm has now been transferred to the two boys.
As I mentioned, Howard Sadler and Raymond Jamieson were of the same vintage. Raymond was renowned for his stories, many of which have unfortunately never been recorded in writing (even though people tried without much success to gain an audience with him in his twilight years). But I heard and recorded bits of a couple of accounts told to me by Raymond. Here is one I noted in my diary on January 25, 1981 (Robbie Burns Day):
Every so often I have the pleasure of visiting with Mr. Raymond Jamieson at his house or in my office. He usually tells me stories about events in his legal career in Almonte. One story particularly caught my interest two days ago. It’s an account of a case in which Mr. Jamieson was involved. He represented the Defendant. The opposing lawyer was another former Almonte lawyer, Mr. W. H. Stafford, who is now deceased. Mr. Jamieson began his story by saying that Stafford was an excellent lawyer, very learned. The Plaintiff held a promissory note executed by the Defendant, representing the sum paid (or rather, to be paid) for a cow which the Defendant had purchased from the Plaintiff. The Defendant had apparently paid part of the price after he had taken delivery of the cow, but later refused to pay the balance; and, hence, the Action. As Mr. Jamieson stated to me, on the face of it, the Defendant was doomed. He had signed a Note for a sum certain, and he had not paid it.
Stafford called Jamieson during the course of the Action and told Jamieson that he noted that Jamieson had put in a Statement of Defence, and went on to say, “I’ll give you lots of Law at the Trial”. At the trial, Jamieson produced evidence that the cow had been sold to the Defendant with the assurance that it was in calf (which turned out not to be true, and it was for this reason that Jamieson’s Client refused to pay the balance of the Note, having satisfied himself that what he had in fact paid was sufficient for the cow itself). This “assurance” itself would probably not have been enough to have won the day for Jamieson and his Client; however, Jamieson further produced an advertisement from a newspaper which stated that a cow in calf was for sale. Jamieson won.
After the Trial (sometime after, perhaps a couple of days), Jamieson saw Stafford on the street and asked him what he thought of the Court’s decision (Divisional). Stafford stated that it was a poor decision.
Every so often I have the pleasure of visiting with Mr. Raymond Jamieson at his house or in my office. He usually tells me stories about events in his legal career in Almonte. One story particularly caught my interest two days ago. It’s an account of a case in which Mr. Jamieson was involved. He represented the Defendant. The opposing lawyer was another former Almonte lawyer, Mr. W. H. Stafford, who is now deceased. Mr. Jamieson began his story by saying that Stafford was an excellent lawyer, very learned. The Plaintiff held a promissory note executed by the Defendant, representing the sum paid (or rather, to be paid) for a cow which the Defendant had purchased from the Plaintiff. The Defendant had apparently paid part of the price after he had taken delivery of the cow, but later refused to pay the balance; and, hence, the Action. As Mr. Jamieson stated to me, on the face of it, the Defendant was doomed. He had signed a Note for a sum certain, and he had not paid it.
Stafford called Jamieson during the course of the Action and told Jamieson that he noted that Jamieson had put in a Statement of Defence, and went on to say, “I’ll give you lots of Law at the Trial”. At the trial, Jamieson produced evidence that the cow had been sold to the Defendant with the assurance that it was in calf (which turned out not to be true, and it was for this reason that Jamieson’s Client refused to pay the balance of the Note, having satisfied himself that what he had in fact paid was sufficient for the cow itself). This “assurance” itself would probably not have been enough to have won the day for Jamieson and his Client; however, Jamieson further produced an advertisement from a newspaper which stated that a cow in calf was for sale. Jamieson won.
After the Trial (sometime after, perhaps a couple of days), Jamieson saw Stafford on the street and asked him what he thought of the Court’s decision (Divisional). Stafford stated that it was a poor decision.
But the crunch of the story came when Mr. Jamieson told me that Stafford subsequently bought the mortgage (which was then in default) on the Defendant’s house and foreclosed it!
Mrs. Marion Graham (who is a widow), had no trouble keeping the company of gentlemen. She is one of those women who enjoys the company of men. One of her friends was Mr. Jim Monette (uncle of Ray Monette, insurance agent for the Co-Operators in Almonte and Carleton Place). Jim had a place on White Lake, across the lake from Mrs. Graham's cottage. I had been invited to the cottage one weekend:
Last night, we had a lovely dinner: cocktails on the front yard, overlooking the Lake; Spencer steaks cooked on the out-door gas stove; homemade potato salad; bread and tomatoes; Beaujolais Superieure red wine; fruit pie; and Belgium chocolates. After dinner, we played cards, nattered away, and Jim kept us entertained with stories. He told two tales which I remember in particular. First, about how he put a stop to people stealing his cut wood; he drilled a hole in one log and filled it with gun powder; it apparently blew up the cast iron stove of one of his neighbours. Second, about how he deterred thieves from raiding one of his camps; he rigged up a shot-gun inside the door, and the gun went off when the door was slightly opened.
Though I have already mentioned some of the following items before, I quote from my diary of March 31, 1986:
About three weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, I met, as planned, with Mr. Raymond A. Jamieson, Q.C.. The following are some of the comments he made during that interview:
1. In spite of the revocation of the Queen's Counsel designation for Ontario lawyers by the incumbent Peterson Liberal government in Ontario, Mr. Jamieson still has his, since it was bestowed upon him by the Queen in right of the Government of Canada; i.e., it's a Federal appointment. He said he would send it back if the Queen wants it.
2. He was on the University of Toronto Track Team in 1920 - 21. At that time he was a resident of East House, Devonshire house, where I was a Don in 1974 - 75, while taking the Bar Admission Course at Osgoode Hall.
3. He is a member of the English Church, as he calls it. I'm assuming he's Anglican.
4. Twenty-five years ago (in 1960), he gave a talk to the Historical Society at their annual meeting, concerning all that had happened within 100 yards of St. Paul's Anglican Church. Dr. William Mostyn, the first Master of the Mississippi Lodge No. 147 in Almonte, was an Anglican and an Elder of the Church. Apparently the conspirators who met to plan the murder of D'Arcy McGee rallied at a house near the Church. The “bad guy” was one Whelan. His grandfather, Joseph, came to Almonte. Mostyn lived in Dr. Murphy's house, located at the corner of Brougham and Queen Streets, Almonte. Mostyn built it. It was subsequently inhabited by Dr. Dunn, Dr. Lynch (who was there before Dunn), and Dr. Murphy, all original Irish medical doctors. Mostyn hid the minutes of the D'Arcy McGee tyranny in the walls of the house when he built it. It took 13 lots to kill McGee. Whelan was arrested. It was a Catholic plot (Fenian - U.S.A. types from New York).
Mrs. Marion Graham (who is a widow), had no trouble keeping the company of gentlemen. She is one of those women who enjoys the company of men. One of her friends was Mr. Jim Monette (uncle of Ray Monette, insurance agent for the Co-Operators in Almonte and Carleton Place). Jim had a place on White Lake, across the lake from Mrs. Graham's cottage. I had been invited to the cottage one weekend:
Last night, we had a lovely dinner: cocktails on the front yard, overlooking the Lake; Spencer steaks cooked on the out-door gas stove; homemade potato salad; bread and tomatoes; Beaujolais Superieure red wine; fruit pie; and Belgium chocolates. After dinner, we played cards, nattered away, and Jim kept us entertained with stories. He told two tales which I remember in particular. First, about how he put a stop to people stealing his cut wood; he drilled a hole in one log and filled it with gun powder; it apparently blew up the cast iron stove of one of his neighbours. Second, about how he deterred thieves from raiding one of his camps; he rigged up a shot-gun inside the door, and the gun went off when the door was slightly opened.
Though I have already mentioned some of the following items before, I quote from my diary of March 31, 1986:
About three weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, I met, as planned, with Mr. Raymond A. Jamieson, Q.C.. The following are some of the comments he made during that interview:
1. In spite of the revocation of the Queen's Counsel designation for Ontario lawyers by the incumbent Peterson Liberal government in Ontario, Mr. Jamieson still has his, since it was bestowed upon him by the Queen in right of the Government of Canada; i.e., it's a Federal appointment. He said he would send it back if the Queen wants it.
2. He was on the University of Toronto Track Team in 1920 - 21. At that time he was a resident of East House, Devonshire house, where I was a Don in 1974 - 75, while taking the Bar Admission Course at Osgoode Hall.
3. He is a member of the English Church, as he calls it. I'm assuming he's Anglican.
4. Twenty-five years ago (in 1960), he gave a talk to the Historical Society at their annual meeting, concerning all that had happened within 100 yards of St. Paul's Anglican Church. Dr. William Mostyn, the first Master of the Mississippi Lodge No. 147 in Almonte, was an Anglican and an Elder of the Church. Apparently the conspirators who met to plan the murder of D'Arcy McGee rallied at a house near the Church. The “bad guy” was one Whelan. His grandfather, Joseph, came to Almonte. Mostyn lived in Dr. Murphy's house, located at the corner of Brougham and Queen Streets, Almonte. Mostyn built it. It was subsequently inhabited by Dr. Dunn, Dr. Lynch (who was there before Dunn), and Dr. Murphy, all original Irish medical doctors. Mostyn hid the minutes of the D'Arcy McGee tyranny in the walls of the house when he built it. It took 13 lots to kill McGee. Whelan was arrested. It was a Catholic plot (Fenian - U.S.A. types from New York).
5. The house presently inhabited by Alaister Gale (the Ottawa architect) and his wife, Margaret, to the south of the Church, on the Mississippi River, was built by Mr. Jamieson's grandfather, Joseph Jamieson. It was later inhabited by A. M. Grieg, Percy Grieg (his son), Grant Campbell (now on the Ontario Municipal Board), and Harold Jamieson (father of Mr. Jamieson), who died in the '40s of a stroke. They were all lawyers, with the exception of Alaister Gale. Grant Campbell was the most recent inhabitant before Gale; Campbell was living there when I came to Almonte in June of 1976.
6. James Rosamond, Sr. had three children, James, Jr., Bennett and William. They were all great politicians. Bennett Rosamond was an active Anglican.
7. Mr. Jamieson was the first of the clan to be a Mason. His father, Joseph, was not a Mason. Raymond went on to become Master in 1928 - 29.
8. The cornerstone of the Anglican Church was laid by the Carleton Place (St. John's) and Almonte (Masonic) Lodges. At the time, the Almonte Lodge was under special dispensation, but was not yet legal. Masonry was an old trade union, which began with the laying of the cornerstone of King Solomon's Temple. At the ceremony in Almonte, the Senior Warden (Anderson) turned up drunk. He was voted down as the Master of the Lodge; took his demit; got sick; applied to get back into the Lodge for a Masonic funeral, which he got.
9. St. Paul's Cemetery used to be between the Rectory and the River.
10. Mostyn drowned on March 28, 1881 in Almonte. I have heard that he was
on his way across the River in the winter to visit a patient. He was buried on April 2, 1881. I would expect that the Whig Standard would have more details, since he was buried in Kingston.
11. The Clement house, located next to the Registry Office (near the Church) was the original Registry Office, but it got too small.
6. James Rosamond, Sr. had three children, James, Jr., Bennett and William. They were all great politicians. Bennett Rosamond was an active Anglican.
7. Mr. Jamieson was the first of the clan to be a Mason. His father, Joseph, was not a Mason. Raymond went on to become Master in 1928 - 29.
8. The cornerstone of the Anglican Church was laid by the Carleton Place (St. John's) and Almonte (Masonic) Lodges. At the time, the Almonte Lodge was under special dispensation, but was not yet legal. Masonry was an old trade union, which began with the laying of the cornerstone of King Solomon's Temple. At the ceremony in Almonte, the Senior Warden (Anderson) turned up drunk. He was voted down as the Master of the Lodge; took his demit; got sick; applied to get back into the Lodge for a Masonic funeral, which he got.
9. St. Paul's Cemetery used to be between the Rectory and the River.
10. Mostyn drowned on March 28, 1881 in Almonte. I have heard that he was
on his way across the River in the winter to visit a patient. He was buried on April 2, 1881. I would expect that the Whig Standard would have more details, since he was buried in Kingston.
11. The Clement house, located next to the Registry Office (near the Church) was the original Registry Office, but it got too small.
12. One Pidard was the Editor of the Almonte Times. He was of a distinct Tory
persuasion. The Gazette used to be Liberal.
13. The many lawyers who used to have their offices on Mill Street, next to one another, used to knock on the walls to communicate certain bits of information to one another. Among them were Stafford, Kirkland, Harold Jamieson, A. M. Grieg and Joseph Jamieson (who was appointed a Judge).
14. Mr. Jamieson's maternal grandmother was a Carss, after whose family the street is named (at the end of Union Street in Almonte).
15. The beautiful stone house on the River, at the south end of Martin Street, was originally owned by Dr. McDonald.
16. The Willard house on Martin Street was built by John Drynan, who owned a steam boat, which operated on the River, docking just outside the Willard house, which is located at the south end of Martin Street, just before the bend in the road. It was there that I used to take my first dog, Lanny, for walks when he was a puppy. I lived just up the street at Rev. Bickley's house, while he was the Minister of St. Paul's, just around the corner.
17. There were two fords across the River, within the Town precincts, one (before the Bridge) towards the Town Hall; the other, toward the Fair Grounds, where the Agricultural Hall is. The Bridge was named after McCallum, a Warden of the County of Lanark, and a soap manufacturer in Almonte. He was the same fellow who dedicated the land to the Lawn Bowling Club, pursuant to a deed drawn by Mr. Jamieson, which deed was later investigated by me (I even hired Toronto Counsel, Weir & Foulds, the same people Mr. Jamieson used to use when he was practising), and which was found to contain a rather serious error, which, if known by the McCallum heirs (and there are some still in Almonte) would entitle them to the reversion of the estate in the land. But the subject has thankfully never been brought up, and the evidence lies buried in a file at my office, probably under the name of Emile Callow (now dead, I did his estate), who was then the President of the Club.
18. There are a couple of streets in Almonte which have become known by names other than the names given to them originally on Wilkie's General Plan No. 6262 of the Town; namely, Christian Street (Hwy. 29) is really Christina Street; and, Princess Street is really Prince's Street. There are also two High Streets in Almonte, one in “Irishtown”, the other behind the Almonte Hotel, being the street on which the library is located...I omitted adding to the above that the Bridge is called the McLan Bridge (McCallum - Lanark).
persuasion. The Gazette used to be Liberal.
13. The many lawyers who used to have their offices on Mill Street, next to one another, used to knock on the walls to communicate certain bits of information to one another. Among them were Stafford, Kirkland, Harold Jamieson, A. M. Grieg and Joseph Jamieson (who was appointed a Judge).
14. Mr. Jamieson's maternal grandmother was a Carss, after whose family the street is named (at the end of Union Street in Almonte).
15. The beautiful stone house on the River, at the south end of Martin Street, was originally owned by Dr. McDonald.
16. The Willard house on Martin Street was built by John Drynan, who owned a steam boat, which operated on the River, docking just outside the Willard house, which is located at the south end of Martin Street, just before the bend in the road. It was there that I used to take my first dog, Lanny, for walks when he was a puppy. I lived just up the street at Rev. Bickley's house, while he was the Minister of St. Paul's, just around the corner.
17. There were two fords across the River, within the Town precincts, one (before the Bridge) towards the Town Hall; the other, toward the Fair Grounds, where the Agricultural Hall is. The Bridge was named after McCallum, a Warden of the County of Lanark, and a soap manufacturer in Almonte. He was the same fellow who dedicated the land to the Lawn Bowling Club, pursuant to a deed drawn by Mr. Jamieson, which deed was later investigated by me (I even hired Toronto Counsel, Weir & Foulds, the same people Mr. Jamieson used to use when he was practising), and which was found to contain a rather serious error, which, if known by the McCallum heirs (and there are some still in Almonte) would entitle them to the reversion of the estate in the land. But the subject has thankfully never been brought up, and the evidence lies buried in a file at my office, probably under the name of Emile Callow (now dead, I did his estate), who was then the President of the Club.
18. There are a couple of streets in Almonte which have become known by names other than the names given to them originally on Wilkie's General Plan No. 6262 of the Town; namely, Christian Street (Hwy. 29) is really Christina Street; and, Princess Street is really Prince's Street. There are also two High Streets in Almonte, one in “Irishtown”, the other behind the Almonte Hotel, being the street on which the library is located...I omitted adding to the above that the Bridge is called the McLan Bridge (McCallum - Lanark).
There were other tit-bits of information which Mr. Jamieson shared with me - like the fact that his family was the first in Town to have a chauffeur driven automobile and a grand piano; and, a penny farthing (that old fashioned high bicycle having a large and a small wheel). On the subject of the penny farthing, I believe Mr. Jamieson stopped and corrected himself, since he remembered that in fact there was someone else who already had one. He recounted a story to me about a gentleman who apparently lived in the Almonte Hotel on Bridge Street, and who owned such a bicycle. The story goes that there were gentlemen drinking in the pub quarters on the main floor of the Hotel and someone challenged the owner of the penny farthing to a bet; viz., that he could not successfully career the bicycle from the top of the main stairs on the second floor, down the stairs, through the front hall, down the front steps and across the street, all without falling off. Well, to anyone with the least sense of engineering, this was no challenge whatsoever, for after all the large front wheel would simply flow over the various bumps without so much as a hint of obstruction. And so, bets were posted with an independent third party, and our hero headed off on his penny farthing from the top of the stairs. He had no trouble at all getting down the main staircase, nor of course through the hallway, nor even down the front steps. But, alas!, he had forgotten that the street was being dug up for some kind of repair or whatever (it hardly mattered at that point), and he plunged into the hole, just short of his destination - the other side of the street. Needless to say, he lost the bet.
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