Southwold Township history comes alive again this spring with a collection of one-act plays and original songs presented at the Keystone Complex in Shedden.
Entitled Snapshots, the production focuses on the Second World War and the RCAF Bombing and Gunnery School near Fingal.
Written by Len Cuthbert, one of the plays mirrors the philosophy of long-time area resident Lorne Spicer, one of the founders of the Rosy Rhubarb Festival, a member of the Elgin Stewardship Council and the St. Thomas Field Naturalists.
He believed life is the train, not the station which is the title of one of the productions, notes Cuthbert.
Tag Archives: Flagship Erie
Flagship Erie commemorative plaque: a memorial to ‘the enduring bond of friendship’ between two nations
In reassuring contrast to President Donald Trump’s tempestuous Tweets undermining Canada-U.S. relations, an emotional ceremony Sunday (Sept. 9) in a soy field east of Lawrence Station serves as confirmation of the lasting bond between the two countries.
The occasion was the unveiling of the commemorative plaque at the crash site of the Flagship Erie, American Airlines Flight 1 en route to Detroit from Buffalo that slammed into the ground at 10:10 p.m. Oct. 30, 1941, killing all 20 aboard the DC-3.
It’s final resting spot was the farm of Thompson and Viola Howe.
Their deaths made it Canada’s worst airline crash at the time and it remains Elgin county’s worst disaster. An almost forgotten chapter in the history of Southwold Township. Continue reading
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Commemorative plaque to honour the 20 souls lost in Elgin county’s worst disaster
The evening prior to Halloween, 1941, saw light rain and fog blanket Elgin county and through that murk, American Airlines Flight 1 lost its struggle to remain airborne, hurtling into a field southwest of St. Thomas.
About two hundred yards distant, in a second-floor bedroom of Thompson and Viola Howe’s farmhouse, five-year-old Ken slept peacefully, oblivious to the flaming wreckage visible from his window.
Thompson Howe was in the barn around 10:30 p.m. when the DC-3, christened Flagship Erie and en route to Detroit from Buffalo, hit the ground with such an impact it shook the ground as he completed the chores for the day.
Viola Howe, who witnessed the crash, had expressed concern when she saw the plane circling, apparently in distress. Her fear was the craft would hit the farmhouse.
In fact, there is speculation that perhaps the pilot, at the last minute, did all he could to avoid further loss of life. Continue reading
Ian's City Scope 