One hundred years ago this month, February, 1924, the Kemptville Village Council held its monthly meeting to deal with outstanding issues. There were bills to be paid, as the Auditor’s report indicated, and so Council agreed to pay the phone bill, all of Telephone $4.35. There was an item for Freight, 65¢, and money owing to Dickinson’s Garage, $2.18.
The big item was for “Gravel and work on Joseph and Thomas Streets, $275.85″, a major investment in infrastructure one hundred years ago. One issue which is of interest to dog lovers was the decision to put a tax on the animals, with a gender-based levy: “tax on dogs placed at $2, and on bitches $5 for the first and $7.50 for the second bitch”.
Today, North Grenville has to pay a rather large sum to the OPP for policing services in the community. Things were not as complicated in 1924. There was but one police officer for the village, and even he was not considered a full-time requirement. Council recorded that: “Moved by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Dr. Patterson, that Gordon Ault be employed as police and general worker for the town for the current year”. So, the village Constable also served as the general worker, and, as Constable, his duties were not particularly demanding.
Council “instructed the constable that he was expected to stop the snowballing on the streets. That after a warning, if it was persisted in, the culprits were to be brought before a magistrate”.
There was, however, one serious incident for Constable Ault to look into, and it concerned a dispute between the Village and Dan Bowen, who operated a mill in the village using power generated at Andrewsville, then an industrial hub on the Rideau at Nicholson’s Locks, and now a quiet rural beauty spot with a heritage bridge and little else. Ault was sent to order Bowen to stop his operations, which Bowen refused to do, and an injunction was required to force his concurrence. But that is a story for another time, fascinating as it is.
