100 YEARS AGO Thursday, January 23, 1908

• A convention of the Oddfellows of Dufferin District No. 21 - comprising lodges from Markdale, Dundalk, Shelburne, Orangeville, Grand Valley, Hillsburgh, Alton and Erin - was held in Erin Thursday night of last week. A special train was run from Markdale and points south to Erin in the afternoon, and on arrival it had on board about 150 of the brethren. Along with them was a band made up of bandsmen from Markdale, Dundalk and Shelburne who are members of the order. On the train's arrival a procession was formed, headed by a real live goat and the band, and paraded the principal streets, after which a good supper was had at the two hotels before the lodge work of the evening commenced. Sixteen new members were added to the Erin lodge in the course of the evening's proceedings, Degree teams from Markdale, Dundalk and Shelburne doing the necessary mystic. Lunch was served during the night; there was music by the band; and they didn't get home until morning. It was 6:30 a.m. when the special train reached Shelburne on the return trip. Shelburne's hockey team went on the trip and played a game with Erin that was won by the host team, 6-3.

• There is a rumour afloat of changes to be made in the running of passenger trains on the Owen Sound and Teeswater branches of the C.P.R. for the remainder of the winter, to involve the running of the Owen Sound trains around by the Teeswater train from Orangeville to Toronto, making the run of the Teeswater train from Teeswater to Orangeville only.

Service between Bolton and Toronto would be left for the Sudbury trains and an accommodation train would be run from Orangeville to Mono Road and return once a day. The nice rumour is very circumstantial and maybe it will come to pass all right, but in the meantime C.P.R. employees say they have "no official information" to give out on the matter.

• A high-class moving picture and song program will be given in Shelburne's town hall on Thursday, January 30. Nothing but words of praise have been spoken of this exhibition of pictures wherever given. This is the third annual tour of the company in Ontario. Some of the pictures to be presented are Kathleen Mavoureen, an Irish play; Pathes new Cinderella, the most gorgeous and beautiful of moving pictures; the Counterfeiters in 20 scenes, exciting and humourous; Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Circus, Flags and Faces of all Races, and Josiah and Samantha, Dreams a Rarebit Fiend, great laugh producers. Admission: adults 25 cents, children 10 cents.

• Shelburne Council has decided to purchase a snow plow. The council did some good work on the roads leading into town during this week with a rented snow plow. The plow seems to be just the thing for the drifted roads in the winter season. The county council should purchase a number of the plows for the use of the different councils in the county.

75 YEARS AGO Thursday, January 27, 1933

• At the inaugural meeting of Dufferin County Council for 1933, held in Orangeville Tuesday afternoon, Reeve Ray Cunningham of Mulmur was elected Warden. Reeve T. F. Brown, of Shelburne, Reeve Hoare, of Orangeville and Reeve Tovell, of East Luther, were also nominated for the post but withdrew.

• Mr. R. W. Brett, of Shelburne, has been appointed Radio Supervisor for the federal riding of Dufferin-Simcoe. Licence vendors to be appointed at different points throughout the riding will be responsible to him for all returns. Radio owners will be required to secure their annual licence from the nearest or most convenient vendor in the riding at an annual fee of $2.

50 YEARS AGO Wednesday, January 22, 1958

• The Liberal Party of Canada has a new leader in Lester B. Pearson, who won the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize. At the national convention in Ottawa last week he demonstrated that he will pull no punches against the Progressive Conservative Government. He won 1,074 of the 1,380 ballots, leaving only 305 to his main opponent, former Health Minister Paul Martin. Mayor Lloyd Henderson, of Portage La Prairie, received one vote.

• A C.P.R. freight train, with two diesel engines and 60 freight cars, passed through Shelburne in a hurry Sunday night, making at least one observer wonder whether the old bell warning system at the Main Street crossing was still adequate for its job.

25 YEARS AGO Wednesday, January 26, 1983

• Dufferin's sixth annual Snowarama has been cancelled for lack of snow. Laureena Stewart, vice-president of the Orangeville and District Snowmobile Association, said that with no snow on the fields "it's a lot of money down the drain." Organizers had hoped to get 200 participants for the run, scheduled for January 30.