Snowballs used to fight fire

35 years ago

March 30, 1972 – Digby was about to get a new shopping experience, according to M.L. Bernstein, president of National Leaseholds, as he announced plans to build a $1.25 million shopping centre called Evangeline Mall. The centre was slated to open in spring, 1973, and would have a Metropolitan Store and Save-Easy supermarket as anchors.

Also in construction news, the provincial government awarded an $800,000 tender to Stevens & Fiske Ltd., to build the new Children’s Home in Digby.

On the advice of their union, teachers said they would no longer participate in extracurricular activities until salary issues were resolved.

The Digby Regional High School band, its cheerleaders, Digby Majorettes and one of the largest crowds in the history of the Digby Forum gave a rousing reception to minor hockey teams from Stoneham, Mass., who were in Digby to play the second half of a home-and-home tournament. ‘Shaft’ was playing at the Capitol Theatre, with star Richard Roundtree.

50 years ago

March 28, 1957 – A raging fire that threatened the village of Tiverton was brought under control despite gale force winds and a lack of firefighting equipment and water.

The village turned out to fight the fire and used snowballs on ember-covered roofs, buckets of ditch water carried by hand up ladders, and a makeshift pump made from a motor and hose found in a fish shed.

The fire had begun among closely crowded homes, but damage was restricted to two buildings.

Digby County Power Board announced plans to string overhead transmission lines across Petite Passage from East Ferry to Tiverton to improve service to the Islands.

Canadian Legion Branch 20 in Digby asked the town’s board of trade to protest a Royal Canadian Navy plan to remove HMCS Buckingham from its station in Digby. The move would mean the loss of 30 families to the area, warned the Legion.

At the Capitol was the musical ‘Rock Around the Clock’, with a cast that included Bill Haley and His Comets and The Platters.

60 years ago

April 3, 1947 – The Courier reported heavy demand for a brand of breakfast cereal that came with a metal button or pin showing such well-known characters as Superman and Dick Tracy. Area children were buying as many as four boxes at a time and tossing away the cereal after locating the pins.

The huge skating rink at the former naval base ‘Cornwallis’ was sold to North Sydney, and it was expected that 20 to 30 railway flatcars would be needed to transport the dismantled building.

During the war, the rink with its massive rounded roof was the scene of many thrilling hockey matches when teams from across the Dominion played the usually victorious navy team, reported The Courier. ‘The Bachelor’s Daughters’ was playing at the Capitol, with stars Gail Russell and Jane Wyatt.