City police and scores of volunteers – including 200 high school students – turned a neighbourhood upside-down in January 1966 when a 10-year-old girl was reported missing from her Adolphus Street home.
When a “thorough” search of the home – including the basement – by police didn’t find the girl, a house-to-house, block-to-block manhunt was carried out under the supervision of Deputy Police Chief Hermidas Poirier.
Police were concerned because the girl’s boots and winter coat were still in the closet. Police feared she had been abducted or had wandered away in the freezing cold.
Hours later and with darkness setting in and the temperature dropping, the mother, hearing a noise in the basement, investigated. She found the child curled up behind a pile of tires under a table. She had been there all the time.
She went into hiding after “stealing” several home-made cookies from a jar kept on the counter in the kitchen. When she heard her parents coming inside, fearing she would be punished, she retreated to the basement and hid behind the tires.
Thankful she was safe and sound, her mother treated her to a cookie and glass of milk before she was put the bed.
Meanwhile, the cops scored an “F” for their “thorough” basement search.
ALSO IN 1966: Nurseries at Cornwall General and Hotel Dieu hospitals were busy in 1965 with 2,450 babies born during the year. (The baby boom was alive and well). Girls won the baby derby by 15. Top names for girls were Diane, Shelley and Mary. Topping the list of boy names were Robert, John, Richard and Joseph. …. Stormont MP Lucien Lamoureux was elected Speaker of the House of Commons. The former Liberal MP-turned-Independent had served as deputy Speaker for three years after being elected to the House in 1962. He served as Speaker for eight years and was lionized by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau as perhaps the greatest Speaker since Confederation. … Talk about a busy traffic cop. Const. Frank Bourdon investigated three accidents in the first hour of his shift. He finished off his eight-hour shift with a fourth accident. … Six fatal accidents in the city during 1965 took eight lives. … The new year was greeted with a 26-inch snowstorm that closed many rural roads. … The combined police and fire budget for the new year was $1,070,082. (Proposed 2024 budget is $24M). Police salaries made up $411,340 of the budget, while fire department salaries (52 members) came in at $305,747. … Marcel Dionne of Rosemount Bombers was named the outstanding player in the Cornwall Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) International Bantam Tournament. He piled up 22 points in four games, including four against Cornwall in a 10-2 win in the championship game. (Dionne would have a hall-of-fame career in the NHL). Cornwall’s Gerry Campeau had 11 points in four games. In 1981, future NHLer Ed Olczyk of the Chicago Young Americans was named tournament MVP. … Paul Daoust Construction of Ottawa was given the contract to build a new Roman Catholic Church on Tollgate Road. Cost was $263,400. (It would be named Blessed Sacrament). It was one of three new Cornwall parishes established in the 1960s… Canada’s population reached 20 million. Ontario led the provinces with 7,794,000. … Price of butter was raised to 63 cents a pound. … The Economic Council of Canada warned that the country was facing an acute shortage of skilled workers and said the federal government needed to take action. … Released by the Brockville Braves, forward Jovan Marich of Massena was signed up by the Cornwall Royals. Marich said he had “lost interest” in playing for the Braves. … Jacques Brunette, 22, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Brunette, Ninth Street West, was serving with the U.S. Army in Vietnam. … The Knox United Church annual report showed that the congregation had 725 members, making it one of the largest Protestant congregations in Cornwall and the United Counties. A house at 516 Sydney St. was purchased as a pastor’s home for Rev. Clare Kellogg.
HERE AND THERE: After less than three years on the job, Timmins Police Chief Dan Foy – twin brother of Cornwall deputy chief Vince Foy – has retired. The police board thanked Foy for his “steadfast dedication” and “outstanding leadership.” Foy spent 27 years with the Ontario Provincial Police before being recruited by the Timmins police board. Foy wanted to spend more time with family. … Brantford is prepared to spend $140 million to build an entertainment centre that will include a 5,100 seat arena, despite just spending $7.2 million to renovate the Civic Centre. The city is the temporary home of the Hamilton Bulldogs who were forced to vacate the Copps Arena which is undergoing a two-year renovation. Brantford wants to make a pitch for an OHL franchise using the new digs as a carrot. The city secured an OHL franchise in 1978 when the Hamilton Fincups moved to the city. In 1984 the team moved back to Hamilton and became the Steelhawks. … Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre turned the tables on a CBC reporter. She wanted to know how he felt about charges by a “number of experts” who characterized his comments and actions as dog whistling to the far right. “Who are these experts?” asked Poilievre. “Well,” she fumbled on, “I think it has been established ….” Again, Poilievre challenged her to name the experts. “You can’t even tell me who these experts are (and you want me to respond),” he said. Well done, M. Poilievre.
TRIVIA ANSWER: In 1960 Cornwall Drive-In at Pitt and Tollgate became known as the Seaway Drive-In.
TRIVIA: In a 1970s television crime series, this actor played a detective who used the catchphrase “Just one more thing….”
QUOTED: “Show me someone without an ego, and I’ll show you a loser.” – Donald Trump
