Sarnia Historical Film Footage on YouTube: 1941 Wartime Parade and 1950s Home Show

I received a very interesting donation several weeks ago and I'm happy to be able to share it here! The digital donation is a combination of the work of a father and son both passionate about the history of Lambton County.

The father-son duo is George and Derek Smith. George L. Smith was responsible for much of the material that now makes up the Lambton Room's collection. He was an avid collector and wrote many books and booklets on Lambton history including the popular "A History of Sarnia in Pictures" as well as lesser known pieces like "A History of A.B.C. Books of Lambton County." Both his writing and his collection of newspaper clippings, photographs and history books form some of the cornerstones of our archival collection. For more on Smith's contributions to the Lambton Room, see an earlier blog, Where Did Our Collection Come From?

In addition to collecting and writing, Smith did some work with film, including a video of a wartime parade in Sarnia in 1941 and a video from a home show in the Sarnia Arena in the 1950s. Both sets of film are degrading in composition and quality as the decades have gone by. Fortunately, George Smith's son Derek has inherited his father's appreciate for Lambton County history, and also has a knack for video editing. Derek has taken the time to digitize his father's film, tinker with the film quality and produce two excellent digital copies of the old film.

The wartime parade marched down Confederation Street in 1941, and we believe that George Smith stood at the intersection of Confederation Street and Mitton Line while filming. The video features young soldiers as well as aged veterans. Most of the video is in black and white but it does feature an amazing colour sequence with a series of floats that have slogans like "K.O. Hitler," "More Machine Guns," "Make Your Savings Fight For You" and "Canada Needs More Planes." The video was uploaded to YouTube and split into two sections, so make sure that you visit the links for both sections: Sarnia Wartime Parade 1941, Part 1 and Sarnia Wartime Parade 1941, Part 2.

The home show was filmed sometime in the 1950s. It reveals a huge crowd that turned out to the Sarnia Arena for a display of modern appliances and home accessories. Local companies can be seen touting their merchandise. Interesting, the video transitions into what looks like a talent competition sponsored by local radio station CHOK! I went through our Sarnia Observer indexes and our files for information about the home show but did not find anything to provide us with more details. If you know anything about this home show, please post and let us know! The home show has also been posted on YouTube and can be viewed at Sarnia Home Show, 1950s.

I hope that you enjoy these moving pictures from the past!

Summer Fun at the Beachers' Club: 1914-1928

Rare photo of the Beachers' Club.

With spring just around the corner and our recent blast of warm weather, I know that many of us are looking forward to summer and all the activities we'll be able to enjoy. I recently dug up some interesting material from the Beachers' Club, a group of young Sarnian gentlemen who "believed that summers were endless, nights filled with music and pretty girls and that the days of youth would never end." (Red Wilson from the Observer, July 28, 1978).

The Beachers' Club was founded in 1914.
Founding members of the club include two WWI veterans, Harvey (Hot Dog) Douglas and Reg Savage, and characters like Moon from Ingersoll (who reportedly always brought a book to read but never got around to reading it). The tincovered building was located where the Sarnia streetcar turned sharply east near the Grandview (or Wees Beach) Hotel, just off Lake Huron. If you're trying to place that location on a modern map, it's at the end of Colborne Road!

This diagram shows the path of the Sarnia Street Railway heading towards Lake Huron, and the Wees Beach Hotel. Image the Beachers' Club nestled near where the streetcar takes the sharp turn east. Diagram published June, 1904 and entitled, "Diagram showing Sarnia Street Railway from Christina Street to Wees Beach Hotel, Township of Sarnia."

In the Observer of July 28, 1978, Red Wilson wrote a history of the Beachers' Club and gave this description of their clubhouse: "The Club held no secrets. It was open for all the world to see. About June the front was lifted to make a sort of patio roof. The interior, festooned with pennants, was a landmark from its inception until it moved across the road into a new and more substantial building. The new headquarters were more modern, sophisticated and roomier than the old. But they lacked that touch of glamor of the old."

Beachers' Club Reunion Itinerary

So what did these young men do at the Beachers' Club?  I couldn't find very many records of the club's activities in its heyday between 1914 and 1928, but I did find hints about what those boys got up to in some material released for a reunion that occurred August 15, 16 and 17 in 1941. The itinerary for this reunion promised sports, good meals, visiting hours (with a special tea where ladies were invited), and "... poker in the kitchen for the affluent and carefree -- chess or checkers for the serious." Attendees of this reunion were told to bring the following items: 

• Pyjamas - the regular regalia;
• Blankets enough for both sides of you;
• A pillow, too, if you must have it; don't bank on borrowing;
• One old white sheet for the ghost walk;
• Any musical instrument you toot or tickle;
• A disposition to let bygones be bygones and a hope for the continuance and dignity of the BEACHERS CLUB.

Beachers' Club Reunion Intivation

An official invitation accompanied that itinerary and was sent out to approximately sixty former members of the camp. It included notes from some men who had already RSVP'ed for the event. Some of the comments included:

• Jerry Battrum, "I got my Ukulele all tuned up - bring your voice well oiled."
• Reg Savage, "If you boys would like a date - I still have the old book."
• Ray Miller, "I'll get out the old jallopy and just start something."
• Red Wilson, "Ahh, boys, please let me sleep!"

Sounds like they enjoyed friendship, a bit of mischief and long summer days. Hopefully we can all enjoy these things as spring will soon turn to summer! Red Wilson reminisces fondly in the Observer article mentioned above, "They were good days then."

Twenty-two of the former campers invited would attend the 1941 reunion. This picture appeared in the Observer the week after the reunion in August.