Emsdale

Phone: 705-636-5941 Fax: 705-636-5759

A Place Called Emsdale

Author: Unknown

It's strange that I saw this place before, and never really looked at it, until 1961, when I came here to live. Since then I have grown to love it, studied its history, and cannot imagine living anywhere else.

Emsdale is in Perry Township. Perry contains 46, 334 acres of land and has been called a sports lover's paradise. 1, 610 acres are water, consisting of lakes, rivers, creeks, and beaver ponds. The history of this area centered around Emsdale, our proud little village of over a hundred years. The awesome wilderness of Algonquin Park is less than a half hour drive away. Emsdale is traversed from north to south by the Kings Highway 11, and the main line of the C.N. Railways Toronto to North Bay.

Emsdale began when Perry Township opened for settlement in 1873. It started up on the hill on the Star Lake road and moved down into the valley when the railroad was completed in 1886. Soon there was a general store, Dr's office, Post Office, jewelry shop, four hotels, a planing mill, railway station, two boarding houses, and a barber shop. The owner boasted he could cut hair any style you wanted and knew all the latest cuts. The houses were sturdy well-built structures, a dwelling that would last a lifetime. They were insulated with sawdust, something that is against fire regulations today.

Emsdale grew and thrived. A school was built, then an ice cream parlor. A bakery followed. Moth and Skinner ran the bakery and offered to cater to balls and parties. there was a lively social life in the village. There was a population of 357 people. One of the social extravaganzas was the oyster supper sponsored by the women's aid of the Methodist Church. The cost was twenty-five cents per adult and fifteen cents per child. The village was compared to Jerusalem, surrounded by hills. It certainly was picturesque, viewed from the top of any one of these hills.

In 1896 the first T. Eaton mail order catalogue came to Emsdale and there was news of the first exhibition of moving pictures in Ottawa. You could read all about it in the Emsdale Guide. The newspaper kept everyone up to date on local and world news. It was published once a week. The little village prospered. Emsdale also had an airport on one of the hills. In 1941 The Royal Norwegian Airforce trained at the Emsdale Airport. The men ate their meals at the Travelers Rest Hotel in Emsdale. Rumors were circulated that some of the local farmers had to goad their horses to a gallop to stop the Norwegians from landing their light planes on their loads of hay.

There was two great fires in Emsdale's history. When the first general store burned down there was no fire department in Emsdale. North Bay, Huntsville, and Novar responded to the call. The biggest fire burned a whole block. A hobo was blamed. It was said that he came off one of the freight cars from when the train stopped at the station and slept in the stables adjoining the blacksmith shop. The fire spread quickly through the dry hay. Many of the buildings were joined and they were wooden structures making the fire hard to control. A volunteer fire dept was started on June 15, 1942. Later in 1953 a by-law was passed by Perry council to but modern fire fighting equipment.

In recent years, Emsdale has lots some of its importance as it is not the center of everything anymore. Many of the old buildings have been replaced by different kinds of buildings. The hotels are all gone. The last one to go was the old railroad hotel. Our post office is the new Credit Union building. Arbee's Pizza took over that place. Apartments were created in the old school house. The new school is located 2 miles out of town. People shop in the larger towns. We still have a community center, two stores, two churches, a library, a repair shop for small appliances, Perry work sheds, council chambers, a craft store, but Emsdale has shrunk!

We have a large fairground and once a year all the local people attend the Emsdale Fall Fair. It was and still is a very popular event. People come from a great distance to show their goods and attend our fair. Last year 2000 people attended the fair and cars were lined up for a long way on all the roads around the fair grounds. After the fair there is always a dance at the community center. The small center is always packed to capacity for this event. Local people with talent are encouraged to take the stage to sing and play.

Our library, where I studied the history of Emsdale is run by Bessie Marshall and Pat Artchison. There is every kind of book you would ever want to read in this library. Bessie and Pat are very helpful at finding any book or information you want. I enjoy my frequent visits there. The place is kept very clean and tidy. Our library is very much a part of Emsdale as are Bessie and Pat. Bessie planted a lovely flower garden around the library. Flowers bloom from spring to fall and are enjoyed by all who visit here. These two ladies live in downtown Emsdale.

One of the nicest things about Emsdale is how it got its name. As you know a dale is a valley. Emsdale is in a valley. Nearly everyone has heard of Stan Darling, our ex member of Parliament. He had an Aunt Emma, whom was a grand old lady loved by all. She came to settle here around the time Emsdale was being born, and someone had an idea. Why not call the village Em's Dale? The idea caught on and someone changed it to Emsdale. Stan Darling told this story at one fall fair, when he was asked to open the fair with one of his famous speeches.

There are two ball diamonds and a children's playground in the fair grounds. Every year many teams play here. There are adult teams, men's and ladies', children's teams of many age groups, and family teams. For many years Wilf coached different teams of Emsdale softball. He coached a girls team called the Emsdale Eagles. Over the years Wilf umped many games. He still umps many of the games. Many people come as fans and spectators.

Since there is only one mill now and not many local jobs, many men from Emsdale work out of town. My husband was lucky enough to get a job as a township employee. He worked sixteen years with them until he retired. He had a five minute drive to work. He ploughed Perry's roads, Emsdale included. Glen Brockington is one of our local carpenters, Carl Marshall drills the wells, Wayne Fetterly maintains the electrical shop, an ex police officer sells real estate, and Reverend Wilson and the Anglican minister keep our souls in good condition. Doctors in Huntsville and Burk's Falls watch over our health.

Wilf and I raised our five children here. Over the years the children grew bigger and the village grew smaller. Our daughter, Carol married a man from Emsdale and has two children. They all live close by. Our oldest son, Bill, lives close also and he and his wife are expecting their second child in June. Our other children live in Toronto, Callendar, and Dwight. On father's day they bring their spouses and children home to Emsdale for the day. When twenty-one people gather at one little house it literally bursts at the seams.

We built our house in Emsdale, thirty-three years ago. It took a month from the time we started to the time we moved in. Many people from the village came to help. After the frame was up and the roof was on many of them stayed late in the evening just visiting. That was our initiation into Emsdale and the life in a small town. It made us feel right at home.

Steve Harrell, our nephew, lived with us for a short time. He stayed with us in Emsdale and worked for Ahola Bros. He now works for Canada Post in Toronto. He is an avid photographer and sold pictures to newspapers. He had his own dark room and used to develop his own pictures. He was and still is very much a part of our life in Emsdale.

The social life in Emsdale is great. There are many clubs and groups. Adults and children have always plenty of things to do. Mrs. Parker (now Grandma owl) looked after the Brownie pack for over 40 years. There is girl guides, a 4H club, cubs and scouts, the agricultural society, church groups from three churches, baseball from pee wees to seniors, both male and female, and the lion's club. We have a large modern community center where everything from teen dances to wedding receptions are held.

Emsdale is a quiet place. There is not much traffic since the new highway 11 somewhat bypassed it. Walking is enjoyed by most of the people of Emsdale. The children have bicycles or walk and are quite safe on our roads as everyone watches out for them. Crime is almost non existent. Once in awhile a local person will make a mistake but soon is forgiven if they show any remorse for the small crimes they do commit. The people are like the town; quiet and neighbourly, basically nice. The town is small and rural and safe. This is a place I feel I belong, a good place to be. We may leave here to shop or to take mini vacations, after all, a change is always nice. Then we happily hurry back to our homes, to the everyday happenings that are so important to us. I feel that I could never live in Toronto even though my oldest daughter is there. The change is just too drastic.

Emsdale, an insignificant dot on the map, but it fills such a large place in my heart. The thing I love most of all about this place has never changed. It's the people! The type of people that come and settle here, that are drawn to this place, as I was. Emsdale has a heart, the people are the heart of Emsdale. Our home and little half acre part of a place called Emsdale.

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