From the Archives of Western Newspapers

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Vauxhall Advance

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

March 24, 1882 – The Sun
(Winnipeg)

While it is undeniable that Ontario is being subjected to a heavy drain, of men as well as money, for the benefit of Manitoba, it is not to be supposed the province will shrivel up and become another British Columbia or Prince Edward Island. Toronto has not yet fallen into decay, nor is there any disposition on the part of the farming community to abandon their land and take to the woods.

There was another narrow escape from the fiend of fire last night. About midnight, an unknown man dashed out of the lane between the surgery and blacksmith shop and minutes later the flames were in full force. Although the bricks of the Queen’s Hotel smoked ominously, the fire was, by the well-directed energy of the fire brigade, prevented from catching. The surgery was also protected, even though the lane between it and the blacksmith shop is quite narrow.

In New York, pickpockets have the audacity to relieve policemen of their watches. It’s a nice state of affairs when a peeler can’t have a kip on his beat without being robbed. We do things better in Winnipeg.

March 24, 1911 – Coleman Miner

In a column about remarkable want ads one hotel advertised they had a parlour for ladies thirty-five feet wide. Another hotel stated, “this hotel will be kept by the widow of the widow of the former landlord, Mr. Jones, who died last summer on a new and improved plan. Under looking for household help are: General servant, small house, family of two, one agreeable and obliging; A woman to wash, iron and milk one or two cows. Finally, under missing there is, “Wanted – information regarding the whereabouts of Ebenezar Jones, who is supposed to have died in this city last year.”

To dry-clean fabrics of different kinds at home, all one needs is salt and flour. To each quart of flour add a heaping tablespoon of salt, sift twice before spreading in broad pans. Place pans in open oven, stirring often until the flour is warm, you should be able to hold your hand in it with comfort. Turn into a deep pan large enough to contain the article of clothing to be cleaned and treat the same as when washing it with suds, rubbing gently and faithfully between your fingers. Throw away the grimy flour and cover the clothing with fresh flour without salt. Throw a cloth over it to keep out dust and leave for 24-hours. Then shake and brush out the flour. If well done, the effect is entirely satisfactory.

Be good to rubbernecks, otherwise known as gossips, as they are the ones that attend weddings, funerals, christenings, engagement parties and other social events and then decide on what the public opinion will be on if a baby is pretty, how the bride looked, if the family appeared as grief stricken as they ought to be, did so-and-so wear the right dress, did he make a good match and on and on and on.

March 23, 1916 – The Alderson News

Among the factors that deter young men from enlisting is the national habit of taking their sport by proxy. They go and sit on the bleachers at baseball, hockey or football but do not themselves engage in the game. The result is the cultivation of the vicarious habit of letting others do things that ought to be done.

According to the latest information, the famous Hungarian actress Sari Petrass, well-known for her beauty, was executed in Budapest for being a British spy. She was tried by court martial and convicted of getting military secrets from Austrian and Hungarian officers and sending them to England. Her capture came after some of her letters were intercepted and one of her dupes confessed. She was well-known in London and was appearing in a play at one of the big theatres there at the start of the war (Note: This was a rumour started by the American media. Petrass settled in New York in late 1916 and died in 1930 in Belgium by drowning as the result of a vehicle accident).

At the start of the war, the British navy had 146,000 officers and men, which number has now increased to 320,000 with the authority granted for a further increase of 350,000 officers and men along with 67,000 naval reserves. Additionally, there are 85,000 men engaged in work at royal dockyards and other naval establishments and several times that number on admiralty work under contract and subcontract.