60 years ago: Ottawa re-opens Cornwallis base

Lloyd Hill, secretary manager of the Annapolis Valley Affiliated Boards of Trade, advocated that the federal government take over the CPR and DAR railway in Nova Scotia and offer commuter trains for the province.

A.G. Sabir Mian, who had moved to Canada six months earlier from Pakistan and chose nDigby because of its friendly people, opened a new art and craft store in Digby. He hoped to soon be established enough to send for his wife and children.

Digby native Doug Woodman successfully obtained his certificate as chartered accountant, having passed the New Brunswick examination.

John Comeau, son of Weymouth’s customs collector, was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar and joined in partnership with Charles Haliburton in Digby.

An exhibition match in Digby Forum to open the high school hockey season saw the home team trounced 10-1 by West Kings in front of 230 fans.

James Coburn was starring in the western, ‘The Honkers’, at the Little Cinema. Co-stars were Lois Nettleton and Slim Pickens.

50 years ago Dec. 11, 1958 – Looking backwards has always provided a good view at The Courier, and a front-page story recounted some of the highlights of the issue of June 19, 1914, a copy of which had been supplied by Mrs. Edward Webber.

Among the pages of the 44-year-old paper was news of a theatre being opened in Weymouth with a ‘cameragraph with stereopticon attachment’. Direct current was provided from a building 500 feet away where a dynamo was powered by a gasoline engine.

Almost drawn from the early move pages was another 1914 story about Capt. George Brooks of Weymouth who with his crew saw a sea monster as they approached Gloucester. It was “the worst looking animal” he had ever seen, and the captain resented any suggestion that it may have been a whale or a porpoise.

Back to 1958 news: The B.J. Roop store at the corner of Water and Church streets recommended a “truly glamorous gift” for her at Christmas and suggested whisper nylon and silk hose.

At the Capitol Theatre was ‘Witness for the Prosecution’, starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton.

60 years ago Dec. 9, 1948 – Ottawa announced it was re-opening the Cornwallis naval base that had been declared surplus in January 1946. During the war years, HMCS Cornwallis had grown into the largest naval training base in the British Empire, handling as many as 11,000 recruits at a time.

Plans were to close training operations in British Columbia and use just Cornwallis for training as many as 100 to 200 recruits a month.

A $400,000 cold storage unit for bait and marketable fish was proposed for Little River, the only deepwater port on Digby Neck. Financing was to be raised by Americans.

George Humphrey was re-elected chief at the annual meeting of the Digby Fire Company.

J. Willie Comeau of Comeauville, the first Acadian to occupy the position of acting premier of Nova Scotia, was named to the Senate by Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent. Comeau had served as Digby MLA for nine terms.

Red Skelton was starring in ‘The Fuller Brush Man’, playing at the Capitol.