November 18, 1921
What was happening a century ago this week from the front page of the Cowichan Leader.
November 18, 1921
Almost three-quarters of the front page of this issue of the Leader is devoted to the week-old story of the unveiling of Duncan's Memorial Cross, better known today as the Cenotaph.
It sat, in all its glory, in the middle of Station Street at its junction with Front Street (Canada Avenue). Not until 1947, by then a traffic obstruction, was it moved to its present location in Charles Hoey VC Park.
An estimated 1000 citizens, men, women and children, attended the unveiling in brilliant sunshine--sunshine that also gleamed off the new memorial on Mount Prevost.
It's interesting to note that the Cross was draped in two flags--the Dominion of Canada's Red Ensign and the White Ensign of the Royal Canadian/Royal Navies. The latter had been loaned for this special occasion by H.M.C. Naval College, Esquimalt.
Honour guards were composed of Boy Scouts under the direction of the Rev. Arthur Bischlager and Assistant Scout Master Sydney Wright; the Guides were directed by the Misses N.C. Denny and D. Geoghegan. Students had marched to town from their public and religious schools and members of the Women's Institute and the I.O.D.E. were present.
In the first row of the audience were relatives of the fallen and, behind them, veterans of the Great War, now three years past.
In front of the Bank of Montreal were an organ, borrowed from St. John's, Duncan, and a choir led by W.A. Willett, with G.F. Elliott playing trumpet in place of a bugle.
"The Cross itself is greatly admired," noted the newspaper of the 14-foot-tall Victoria-designed memorial. The names of the fallen were inscribed around the eight-sided base in letters of lead, the panel facing east bearing the legend:
"Erected by the people of the Cowichan Electoral District in memory of their fellows, who, by sea, land and air, passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. 1914-1918."
Below was the four-line translation of Simonides' epitaph on the plateau dead at Marathon.
Capt. J. Douglas Groves read the opening address which covered both the Cross and Mt. Prevost Memorial Cairn, and Rev. Bischlager recited a prayer. H.J. Ruscombe Poole, acting as master of ceremonies, then called for two minutes' silence.
Mrs. J.Maitland-Dougall who'd lost both her sons then said a few words "in a clear voice" and drew back the flags. To City Clerk James Greig fell the duty of reading off the list of 160 names in alphabetical order. They fill an entire column of the Leader in small print.
The Rev. A.F. Munro concluded the ceremony with a lengthy prayer.
In other news, St. John's Church had mounted its bell which was to be dedicated as a thanks offering and a memorial to its parishioners who'd perished in the war. A.E. Burchett had created a Roll of Honour to be placed in the church. It honoured no fewer than 16 men of that single Duncan church.
The new Cowichan Choral Society had elected its first slate of officers, a contact had been let and work was to begin immediately on rebuilding the Cowichan Bay government wharf.
There were shouts of laughter at the Opera House thanks to the antics of silent film star Harold Lloyd: "His struggles with the unfamiliar garments of a baby girl, temporarily adopted by him, and his awful dilemma in the sleeping car caused great amusement, while his facial contortions were, as usual, perfect of their kind.'
About 60 members and supporters of the Liberal Party held a meet-the-new-candidate at the odd Fellows' Hall--without their federal candidate T.B. Booth, thanks to a schedule mix-up.
There was to be a new drug store on Station Street, on an unoccupied lot north of the Tzouhalem Hotel. Currie G. White would be the proprietor as of February 1922.
And the Board of Railway Commissioners which oversaw public utility rates was considering whether the B.C. Telephone was entitled to its new rate increases. Until they made a ruling, customers were advised to pay their bills in full.
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