100 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 5, 1907

• At its meeting Monday night Shelburne Council heard competing proposals from John McMurchy, the Electric Securities Co. Ltd., of Toronto, and Canadian Fairbanks Co., of Toronto, to supply power to the village.

The McMurchy proposition is re the Huxtable power at Horning's Mills. He proposes to deliver current at the rate of 2.5 cents per kilowatt, measured by meter on the high tension line within the corporation, the town to install the line at a cost of about $5,000 and to retain 50% of the receipts within the town until the line is fully paid for. He agrees to keep the line in good repair, guarantees to supply current sufficiently long to ensure the payment of the whole line, and reserves the right to continue the line further than Shelburne and to tap it between Shelburne and the power plant.

The proposition of the Electric Securities Co. is to furnish "steady, continuous and efficient electric current" for various services as follows: for domestic, house and store lighting, current shall be available each day in the year from the hour of sunset to the hour of midnight following; for electric motors, for manufacturing and other purposes, the service shall be for 10 hours during each day, Sundays and legal holidays excepted; for street lighting the current shall be available from sunset to sunrise except upon those nights when the moon is visible. The company would charge the following rates for services: for domestic, house or commercial lighting, eight cents per kilowatt, by meter; where less than five 16-candlepower incandescents are installed, no meter to be used, but the consumer to pay 75 cents per month for each lamp. Connection fee $10. Meter rental, 25 cents per month. Street lights, $50 per standard six-ampere arc lamp per year. Current for motors for manufacturing and other purposes, $22 for each actual horsepower per year consumed. The company asks for a franchise for 20 years, and the typewritten proposition submitted contained a whole string of provisos.

Canadian Fairbanks has a producer gas proposition. The firm's representative gives figures for different sizes of producer engines with the necessary dynamo. The Fairbanks people would install a 200- horsepower engine and dynamo for about $14,000. This would mean an expenditure of about $30,000 for a plant - engine, dynamo, power house, transmission line, etc.

• Residents of East Garafraxa who live between The Maples and Marsville are agitating for a daily mail service from Orangeville. A petition, which was circulated a short time ago, has been extensively signed and the petitioners are hopeful that the Postmaster General will make the desired change in the near future. At the present time, The Maples has a twice-weekly mail service from Orangeville. Reading and Marsville post offices get their mail supplied from Hillsburgh. Should the change be made, the office of Reading, which is only one concession west of Marsville, will probably be closed and a new office started on or near the 16th Line corner, about midway between The Maples and Marsville.

• A sad affair occurred in Melancthon Township on Tuesday forenoon when William James Ferguson, a well-known and prosperous farmer, accidentally drowned in the well at his farm.

75 YEARS AGO Thursday, December 8, 1932

• This week's edition of The Free Press and Economist has 16 pages instead of the usual eight, to meet the increased demand of advertisers to place before the public their offerings for Shelburne's Three Big Opportunity Days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week. The work of printing the edition was done entirely in this office, and represents a night and day effort on the part of editor and staff. We are rather proud of our efforts and hope that our readers take kindly to it also.

• Municipal nominations this year will fall on Monday, December 26 and the election on January 22, 1933. As these days will be observed as Christmas and New Year's holidays, it doesn't look so good for the municipal pots coming to a boil.

50 YEARS AGO Wednesday, December 4, 1957

• In the vote for the reeveship of Melancthon Township on Monday, Lyle Campbell, reeve for 1957, won out over former reeve John Doney, by a majority of 80, the vote being Campbell 283, Doney 203.

• Shelburne Citizens' Band members are to meet in the band room at 1 p.m Saturday to take part in the Santa Claus Parade. Caps will be the only uniform required.

25 YEARS AGO Wednesday, December 8, 1982

• A strike by Consumers' Gas employees has ended and Orangeville workers returned to the work yesterday.

• Some "serious bids" are expected this week on the 38-acre property listed by Orangeville Raceway Ltd., A. E. LePage's listing agent said Monday.