It was -16 degrees Celsius on a Sunday morning in January.
We could clearly see that the figure walking on the side of the highway, was an elderly gentleman who was using a walker. Most people were still lounging in the comfort of their homes. Regardless of the frosty winter morning and despite his compromised walking ability, this man chose to get his daily exercise.
This gentleman’s name is Mr. Wes Hill and is one of the oldest inhabitants of the picturesque area known as Prince Township.
Oh, the stories Wes Hill can tell us in his 96 years of residing in Prince, his childhood home. He is one person who knows more than anyone else about its history, of what used to be and of what he sees today. How invaluable are people like himself who are walking history lessons! In this case, spending an afternoon with him revealed what memories he holds in his heart.
Wes’s grandfather, Ira Hill, originally came from Niagara Falls and became one of the first homesteaders to inhabit the rugged terrain.
Ira was one of five siblings who decided to venture to Northern Ontario and make Prince his home where he purchased a few hundred acres of property. He married Mary (Wilson) and together they had eight children. Alex, Wes, Herb, Clarence, Thomas, Liddy, Jack, and William. As grandfathers and fathers often do, Ira eventually divided the land among his children.
When driving around Prince Township there are roads and side streets that bear the names of the early inhabitants. Visitors and residents alike often have no idea as to the history that each name might possess.
If the streets could talk, the history of Prince would come alive!
Living his entire life in Prince, Wes easily recited some family names that came to mind. Ironside, Parr, Gagnon, Hotchkiss, Marshall, Odber, Walls, Deans, Daigle, Heywood, Sharpe, Wierzbicki, and Pandzik but these are just some but not all the historical names that have formed the history of this cozy township.
On the north side of Second Line, near Wall’s Road, sits Hillside Cemetery. Although it does sit on a hill, the significance of its name gives credit to its land donor, Wes’s uncle, Wes Hill, who donated three acres of property to ensure that residents of Prince Township could be laid to rest in the area that they so love.
One of Wes’s childhood memories is of his father logging in and around Prince Lake.
Venturing up the winding road for a day of logging took strength and patience with a team of horses. At day’s end, the horses, Babe and Ruth skidded the logs down to the steam engine sawmill on the corner of Prince Lake and Second Line where they were cut up for lumber.
Logging was an income; however, the family’s main source of income was dairy farming.
The original Hill Homestead is still visible from the road. It sits nestled back against the rocky mountainside just before the Prince Lake turnoff. Wes recalls when their cows roamed through the nearby forest and valley. Although it is enjoyable to think back on his childhood days, Wes relayed that he would not wish farming on anyone, nor would he like to go back to those early days.
Cows had to be milked by hand, twice daily. A typical day on the dairy farm began at about 4:30 a.m. when all 22 of the family’s cows needed milking.
After barn cleaning and milking were done, breakfast was served and then came the chore of hand delivering the milk to customers.
Each day, Wes and his father would drive far into the East end of Sault Ste. Marie to deliver the bottles of milk. Father and son delivered the milk in glass quarts and pints. They were packed in ice for the journey to Sault Ste. Marie by horse and sleigh in winter, and on a wagon in the summer.
Milk cans are now considered collectible antiques. But, back in the day, was a necessity as all of the milk was stored in milk cans and kept on ice.
After milk cans, farmers used large cement tanks and then progressed to using stainless steel tanks to store the milk. The most important element of milk storage was keeping it nice and cold!
Conveniences of today were foreign back in the 1930s and 1940s and acquiring the ice needed for delivery was also a chore of its own.
Where did the ice come from? Well, that was another physically intensive task. What better resources could there be, with icy Lake Superior about a mile or so down the road?
Area residents were hired to cut large chunks of ice called cakes. Ice cakes were carved out of the lake, then loaded on the sleigh, and trekked back up the long hill from Gros Cap! The old road was rough and rugged as it jutted through the thick bush. When back home, the ice was then stored in the root cellar with sawdust on top of it to ensure that it wouldn’t melt until it was needed again.
Delivering the milk was like a daily paper route and Wes recalled having approximately 100 customers. It wasn’t until late evening that he and his Dad would return home only to look forward to the next day’s routine.
Wes recalls one time when bringing milk into the Soo with his father, they were stopped around the Goulais Avenue area by a Dairy Inspector. After discovering that the milk was unpasteurized, Wes and his father were sent back to their farm with the unpasteurized milk.
They could do whatever they wished with it but it couldn’t be used for their customers! Following this incident, the Hill’s began selling their milk to the local dairy, Soo Dairy. They were given the quota of 400 pounds of milk per day. The inspectors had put a stop to them selling to their own customers!
Wes recalls that generosity was one of the characteristics of the neighbours who lived in Prince Township. People looked after one another he said. Life was nothing short of a challenge and people relied on one another.
Arduous work was a way of life. He fondly remembers neighbours having work bees of all kinds. There were wood bees, thrashing bees and bees to harvest the grain at the end of the growing season. Barn and house raisings were also common.
The community welcomed these sorts of social gatherings as they also lifted spirits and fostered feelings of togetherness as isolation in a rural setting could easily set in.
Wes’s father, Clarence, served as Reeve for a time. He also recalls that his father was responsible for allocating monetary assistance to locals who were in need. He clearly remembers that his father had an axe and a saw that hung on the wall of his office. His philosophy was, “go and cut some firewood and then you will receive welfare!” In other words, money must be earned and not just given!
As time went on, Wes continued to find his way as a young man still choosing to make his life in Prince Township. He soon married a beautiful young woman in 1948 whose name was Evelyn. The couple went on to have three children, a son, Melvin and two daughters, Eunice and Pauline.
Wes also did community work and served two terms on the Prince Township Council as a councillor while working at his long-time career with the Algoma District School Board.
His wife Evelyn made her mark in the township volunteering countless hours.
She was a 4H Leader in the township for 40 years which she started in their family home and eventually meetings were held at the township hall. She was a vital member of the Women’s Institute as well.
Evelyn was, most importantly, a strong advocate for the founding of the Prince Township Museum and for many years she served on the Museum Board as President. She aided in the acquisition of numerous pieces of local artifacts including the carvings and historical farm implements that were restored by the late Prince Township Historian, Charles Parr. Her memory and influence live on because of her passion for preserving the history of Prince Township.
Today, Mr. Hill leads a much quieter life, but he still resides in Prince Township. Only now, he lives across the street from where he was born and raised. From his living room, he might spend some time enjoying the ever-beautiful scenery, or he might watch as the vehicles race by on the freshly paved highway. He might stroll on over to visit his nearby daughters and their families, or he might just go out for another walk to enjoy the beauty that still surrounds him!
Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provides SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here.