Club History

A History of the Victoria Club

by John Harvey

Back in 2004, on the occasion of the 1000th meeting of the VC, I was greatly honoured to be asked to present a paper on the history of the Club.

Now 200 meetings later I’ve been asked again to present that history.

Keith Stephens asked me to use the original paper with some revisions and up-dates.

Only 10 of our current membership heard the paper in 2004, you may feel free to doze, the remainder should appear to be attentive.

Kevin Dolan has kindly provided me with material from the archives, he has been busy scanning old papers so that soon all the old records will be in digital form. Among these I found a letter sent to me in 1969 to advise me that I had been made a member of the Club. So here I am 50 years later. I’ve been a member for more than half my life. I’ve attended over 600 meetings. If these had occurred back to back, this amounts to some 75- 24 hour days that I have spent this way .They have been good days, a good part of my life.

Several histories have been written already, one in 1934 under the signatures of Fred Beam and Carl Kitching, a second by Carl Kitching in 1971, and another by Ed. Bennett at the annual banquet in 1991.The archives includes minutes and papers from 1944 to the present, We have attendance records from 1938 to 1944 , as well we have a little brown minutes book from Oct.1932 to Apr. 1935. all else has been lost.

In preparation for each meeting I am sure that every member carefully reviews the constitution and by-laws of the Victoria Club . Having done this so often you can no doubt recite along with me that part of the preamble which says, "Be it known that: Messrs. Fred Bean, John L. Coles, George M.Mather, George Reid, and Carman Thornton, on October the fifth, nineteen hundred and twenty-one, formed the Victoria Club "

Who were these men? What inspired them to form such a Club at that time?

Bean, Coles, Mather, Reid, Thornton.

I proceeded to the Historical section of the Public Library. Only one of their names was recorded in the card file, so I went to the City Directories which were published every other year. All of them were there , this was a start. I have spent many hours in the library. I have become adept at viewing old Sentinel Reviews on micro-film. They know me now at the Oxford Archives and at the Museum. I have been in church vaults.[churches have some uses after all].The museum school in Burgessville [this has now been moved to Ingersoll] , has boxes of old school registers which I searched. I have looked at cemetery records as well as tomb stones.

I have talked to many people, asked a lot of questions, received much help. These people include active and honorary members of the Club, children of past members and spouses of members . And yet it is amazing how people can just disappear leaving no trace. None of these men has descendants living in Woodstock . It is almost as if they were never here at all. Yet because of them we are here tonight. Because of them the Victoria Club is a vibrant, flourishing asset to this city today.

Before looking at the founding members it will be useful to consider the times in which they lived. The world, Canada, and Woodstock were very different then. The Victoria Club was a product of that time. The Victoria Club would not have been created in 2019.

1921; The world was beginning to recover from the effects of World War 1 and from the impact of the ravages of the Spanish Flu epidemic which followed. The Austrian Empire had been broken up , as had the Ottoman Empire .The League of Nations had been formed, with the object of promoting international peace and security, but neither the United States nor Russia were members. Canada was, but Prime- minister Borden although he liked the League would have preferred one without too many Europeans.

His real dream was always a partnership between the USA. and the British Empire. The Canadians who had won from Britain a measure of control over their own foreign policy, did not intend to turn around and hand it back to another superior body.

In spite of the League, Greece was making war on Turkey. There were serious riots in Egypt, but things were beginning to settle down in Russia under Lenin and the Bolsheviks. Under much prodding from Britain, the European Allies agreed to end military intervention and abandon their blockade of Russia. In March of 1921 Britain signed a trade agreement with

the Soviet Government. Still there was the threat of major famine in Russia with 18 M. in danger of starvation.

In India, Gandhi was leading a campaign to boycott foreign clothes by lighting a large bonfire of foreign clothes in Bombay. A treaty was signed in Ireland with the British government creating the Irish Free State.

In Germany , the first stretch of the Autobahn had been completed. And Adolph Hitler made a major speech, a very long one which ended ."The hand of the world clock has moved forward... and is striking loudly the hour in which the destiny of our nation must be decided in one way or another. The process of consolidation in which the great states of the earth are involved at the moment is for us the last warning signal to stop and search our hearts , to lead our people out of the dream world back to hard reality, and show them the way to the future which alone will lead the old Reich to a new golden age ".Following this speech Hitler became leader of the National Socialist Workers ,the Nazi Party.

Meanwhile in Italy Young Benito Mussolini, the Fascist leader was setting the stage to become Premier the following year.

Iraq was given formal independence by Britain, now they are looking for independence from Britain and the USA, while in Paris, Coco Chanel introduced her signature fragrance, Chanel No. 5.

On this side of the water there was a new president in the United States, Warren Harding. Harding, a Republican, was not one of the great Presidents. His public speeches were noted for their murkiness, one critic called them ,"an army of pompous phrases moving across the landscape in search of an idea". That didn't really matter too much since he was quite willing to let the machine bosses set policies. They eliminated wartime controls and slashed taxes, established a Federal budget system, restored the high protective tariff, and imposed tight limitations on immigration He interpreted his election as a mandate to stay out of the League of Nations which Woodrow Wilson had championed.

The USA was in severe post-war recession due to industrial over-production and elimination of defense related industries. There were some 5.7 million unemployed and widespread wage cuts, US. Steel cut wages back to the prewar 30 cents an hour. There was Klu Klux Klan violence throughout the southern states, rioting in Oklahoma resulted in the death of 60 blacks and 40 whites. In Sanbury Pennsylvania police called a halt to rising skirts, issuing an edict requiring skirts to be at least 4 inches below the knees .

1921 was the year in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt was seized by polio, Enrico Caruso died , but there were good things happening as well. Biologist Thomas Hunt Morgan proposed the theory that chromosomes carry hereditary information.

Western union began a wirephoto service, the first US day/night intercontinental flight with mail was inaugurated between San Francisco and New York. Babe Ruth hit 59 home-runs in the season , while Dempsey knocked out George Charpentier in New Jersey in the first fight to be broadcast. There were 9 Million autos in the US.

In 1921 Canada was beginning to recover from the economic turmoil left by the Great War. The labour unrest that was culminated by the General strike in Winnipeg in 1919 along with high unemployment lead to a reduction in union memberships. Labour unrest had more or less ceased by 1921 as the unions collapsed.

Arthur Meighen was the Prime Minister, having succeeded Borden in 1920 as the leader of the Union Party. This was a coalition of Conservatives and pro-conscription Liberals. Meighen a farm boy from near St Mary's, got his B,A. from Toronto in Mathematics, taught school for a year and then was called to the Manitoba bar in 1903.

Meighen was responsible for the Armistice Day Act 1921, which established Nov. 11 as Armistice Day. He also gave Canada a new coat of arms, previously we had used those of the UK to which were added the arms of the provinces giving a confused and crowded appearance.

Meighen's Union Government was defeated in the Fall election of 21,largely because of its stand on conscription and support of high tariffs. William L.

Mackenzie King and his Liberals took over. Agnes MacPhail became the first woman elected to the Canadian House of Parliament.

On July 21 Banting and Best first isolated insulin. A school health survey in Saskatchewan found that of 1346 students 56% were infected by Tuberculosis. Still, progress was being made, the Aberdeen Angus Assoc., amended its bylaws to exclude all red animals, only male red animals having been excluded before this.

Canada had a population of about 9 M., while Ontario had about 3M. In 1919 Ontario had elected a new government, the United Farmers, led by Ernest C. Drury a farmer from near Barrie. This was a coalition of 45 members of the UFO,[United Farmers of Ontario], and 11 members of the Independent Labour Party, forerunner of the CCF. Woodstock was represented in Toronto by J.Alex Calder a Liberal, he died early in the year and was replaced by David Munro Ross of the UFO.

Our man in Ottawa was Edward Walter Nesbitt, an insurance and real estate agent. Nesbitt had represented the riding as a Liberal from ,' 08 till' 17, and then Unionist till the 1921 election when he was defeated as a Conservative . He was replaced by Duncan James Sinclair , a Liberal, and a physician. Oxford was somewhat less conservative in those days.

Woodstock was a pleasant little city of 9,935 inhabitants, it had grown by 615 in the past decade, being almost 1000 larger than when declared a city in 1901,a slow but steady and manageable growth. The city limits extended to the second concession on the north [Devonshire], Parkinson to the south, and Clarke street to the east. Today we would say it was mostly a city of wasps, a look at the names on the cenotaph will bear that out. There were 3 Anglican churches, 3 Methodist, 2 Presbyterian [Knox and Chalmers], 2 Baptist, Salvation Army, British Methodist Episcopal [BME], First Church of Christ Scientist, and St.Mary's Roman Catholic. Most of Woodstock went to church on Sunday .

The children attended the school in their neighbourhood, Broadway, Central, Chapel, Victoria, Princess, or St. Mary's Separate. Woodstock Collegiate Institute accommodated both Protestant and Catholic students from the city as well as the surrounding area, some coming daily by train, others boarding

in town. In addition there was Woodstock College at the end of College Ave., Woodstock Business College and at 427 Drew there was Stewarts Private Kindergarten .

Most of the towns and cities of Ontario had there own business enterprises, owned and operated by men who lived locally. This was true of Woodstock, the name Woodstock appeared on their products. Woodstock was a proud

city, where the industrialists and business people took a very active part in the life of the city. Unlike today, the residents of the city worked here and shopped here as well. Agriculture was carried out on family farms and the farm people came into the city to shop at the numerous stores which lined Dundas street. There were no shopping malls or super markets ,but there were 16 stores selling groceries along Dundas alone, as well as 11 butcher shops ,5 bakeries, 6 hardware stores, 4 selling men's furnishings, as well as

Woodstock Gas and Light which carried a wide selection of gas fixtures. There were 3 Department stores, Wilsons, John Whites, and E.J.Coles which

were happy to deliver your purchases to your home as did Eatons and Simpsons. There were 17 Carters and Express men to make these deliveries and 9 taxi services. Cars and trucks were becoming fairly common, the Fire brigade became motorized in 1920 , but horses were still in common use .7 businesses were involved in automotive sales and repairs ,these included Elliott Bros and the New Central Garage which dealt in Willies knight, Overland, Chalmers and Maxwell motor cars, phone 390, ---'our expert service has no speed limit'. 5 stores sold pianos and organs and on it went, if you needed it you, could buy it in Woodstock.

A wide range of services was available, there were 15 physicians and surgeons, 6 opticians, 5 dentists, 5 druggists ,2 undertakers and 1 embalmer, 1 wigmaker, and 9 barristers including McKay and Nesbitt. The directory lists 22 painters, 20 dressmakers, 12 insurance agents, 11 barbershops, 8 shoemakers, 5 booksellers, 4 artists, 3 photographers , 1 shoeshiner, 10 music teachers.

Most people ate at home cooking food on either a gas stove or on a kitchen range burning either wood or coal, E.J.Coles advertised the McClary Regina an excellent city stove for $49.95. If you wished to eat out there were 4 Hotels with dining rooms and 8 restaurants, the most popular being the Yellow Lantern Tea room at 396 Dundas. To keep your food cold you used an icebox, ice was delivered as needed by Mcintosh Coal Co, much of it cut and stored at their pond in what is now Mcintosh Park beside Cedar creek at Mill Street. Frigidaire introduced a 9 cu.ft. wooden fridge in the States in

1919 for $775 so they were on their way, electric stoves did not appear in numbers till the 1930's .

Travel in and out of the city was readily available by rail, the CPR provided 5 trains a day to Toronto, the Grand Trunk had 7, there were 2 northbound

trains, 1 to Goderich the other to as far as Wiarton . Trains also departed daily for Port Dover, Port Rowan, Port Burwell and St.Thomas , while the Woodstock, Thames Valley &IngersollElectric Ry provided tram service along Dundas street. Mail delivery had begun in the city 3 years earlier, the 1000th phone had been installed ,these phones used batteries but were replaced by magneto units in 1924.

There was no radio, although it was coming. Canada had the worlds first radio station XWA , [now Montreal CFLT], .which went on the air in 1919 and started its first scheduled music show in 1920. There certainly was no television but you could listen to 78 rpm records on the phonograph. Canada had Prohibition, one might even speculate that this was a factor in the

decision to form the Victoria Club. If you didn't choose to spend your evenings at church meetings there were many other clubs. 5 Masonic Lodges albeit 2 were for Women, 4 Oddfellows, the Canadian Order of Chosen Friends ; the Ancient Order of United Workmen. There were the Knights of the Macabees, the Knights of Pythias, and the Knights of Columbus,as well as a strong Orange Lodge. If none of these took your fancy you could join the Woodmen of the World, the Sons of England , the Sons of Scotland or the Royal Templars of Temperance.

Woodstock had a diverse industrial base which was quite different than today. Beside the GT tracks at Wilson Street was Cullen's Flour mill producing “ Sifted Snow Flour ", much of it for the export market. Across the tracks was the large factory of Harvey Knitting, general manager K.W.Harvey. At Huron and Dundas stood the Karn Piano and Organ Company, at its prime it had sold organs and pianos world wide from their London, Hamburg, and Bombay offices The death of Dennis Karn a long time mayor of the city coupled with a decline in popularity of the parlour organ resulted in this company going sadly downhill. In an attempt to stay in business they had now added Phonographs to their line of products. Just west of Karns was the sprawling Bain Wagon Works still making wagons for the farm trade.

At the north end of the city, the Thomas Organ co. manufactured the Thomas Orchestral and Symphony reed organ, they had a capacity of 150 reed organs

a month. Nearby James Stewart Manufacturing was building "Good Cheer Furnaces," those monster coal burners heated the homes ofthe city as well as homes in England and even China .Coal was a big business ,the coal yards were alongside the rail lines, much of it coming in from Port Burwell. It was delivered to the homes by horse drawn wagons, often in sturdy canvas bags.

The man delivering the coal backed up to the wagon, grabbed the bags straps and carried the bag on his back to the window above the coal bin through which the coal was dumped. A very dirty business. Coal sold at around $7.00 a ton, with 25 cents off at the yard. Another small business nearby was the Standard wire fence company, manufacturers of wire fencing .This company also made tubular fence posts and in 1921 sold off the fencing business changing its name to the Standard Tube Company. This year also saw a new Company, Kirsch Manufacturing which produced drapery hardware, the Americans were starting to take over.

At Main and Mill stood the largest Furniture Factory in Canada, Anderson Furniture, owned by Canadian Furniture Manufacturing of Toronto. There

were many other Companies employing fewer workers, including the Canadian ironing machine Co. on Beale street.

Maybe you have walked along Dundas as I have, looking up at the old buildings there, and wondered why they had built 3 and 4 storey buildings. The department stores had used all the floors to display their goods. Doctors, dentists and lawyers all had upstairs offices, while many people lived above these stores, but this was not the case at 374 &376 Dundas Street. This was the location of the Woodstock Biscuit and Confectionary works a 3 storey building which had an addition which extended to the street behind. Let me tell you more about the Woodstock Biscuit and Confection works operation, not just because I have a sweet tooth but also for another reason which may become clear, if I get to it. This Company had moved here from Norwich in 1886 after their plant was destroyed by fire. At the peak of their business they employed 110 manufacturing a wide range of candies and biscuits. Ed, Bennett told me he liked to walk by the factory as he came home from school just to smell the sweet aroma it produced. The whole building was utilized, starting with the basement used for storage , furnace rooms and chocolate dipping room. The front of the first floor was occupied by spacious offices, show rooms and shipping rooms. Back of these were the biscuit manufacturing and packing departments , while in the rear was the boiler room and warehouse An 80 horse power boiler had been installed with the

whole building being heated with exhaust steam, while the firm had their own electric light plant making them entirely independent of the city system. The second floor was devoted

to manufacturing cream gum and marshmallow goods , being equipped with steamjacket kettles, a steam revolving pan, a marshmallow machine, 5 steam

dipping kettles and the latest improved starch separator besides all the other appliances involved in this branch of the business .

The 3ra floor was devoted to the manufacture of hard-boiled goods having a copper vacuum pan of the most improved make, caramel cutter, candy rollers etc.

The business was exclusively wholesale, extending over nearly the whole of S-W Ontario, keeping 4 travellers constantly on the road . Employees were paid in full every Saturday night. They sold about 500 varieties of candy and 70 of biscuits but of all these multitudinous lines the famous Creme de la Creme Sodas were by far the most important, they were handled by the best merchants; their delicate crispness, exquisite flavour and creamy richness making them special favourites with the most exacting trade. Their Empress

Chocolates put up in bulk and in dainty 1 and 1\2 pound boxes were for sale by leading grocers and confectioners.

That was the way Woodstock was in 1921, the year of our birth when at about 10 minutes before 8 on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 5, 1921, a clear

but rather cool evening, [the day before a few flakes of snow had been reported at Tillsonburg], the side door of the house at 495 George St. could be heard to close. A man neatly dressed in a suit, wearing a top coat, stepped from the shadow and turned right towards Riddell St. This was Mr.Fred Bean.

I considered showing you a 1 hour episode in the life of the other Mr. Bean at this time. tThe inclusion of videos into papers has proved a useful means of filling time so that less thought is needed in the preparation of papers. I would never do that, does not our constitution say that many advantages accrue to a man through his ability to speak clearly and forcibly upon subjects of human interest. .

This Mr.Bean was our Mr. Bean, Mr. Fred W. Bean, the first president of the Victoria Club . Fred was the President and Managing Director of Bean and Westlake the notorious manufacturers of Creme de la Creme Sodas etc. .

The Bean's, who were Central Church Methodists, moved to a new house at 495 George, here Fred lived for the remainder of his life with his widowed mother Mary. The widow Bean was listed in the Social register as being at home for visitation on Thursday, she lived on here until she died at the age of 100.

When Fred graduated from WCI, well at least I think he graduated , there is an entry in the register of Nov. 1897 with the mark of 50 in composition with no subsequent entry, anyway after he left WCI I assume he went into the family business where he was joined by his cousin Clifford.

Fred crossed the Macadamized surface of Riddell Street and headed north.

He had just finished skimming that days Sentinel Review, a full 12 pages of small print, it cost him $2.50 a week, but kept him up to date on world, national and local news. The ads were small, although John White had a 2 column ad for women's heavy grey fleece lined bloomers which he should mention to his mother, she was always cold.

The big news of the day was the dissolution of parliament, no date yet set for election. Prime Minister Meighen, seeking re-election, had issued a manifesto

to the Canadian electorate telling them of the conditions which led statesmen 42 years ago to adopt a policy of Tariff Protection and he warned of attempts by opposing parties to upset the system which had built up the Dominion.

The province was fighting the increase in phone rates , and it was high time something was done , they were getting out of hand . Poor Mrs. Wilkinson of Clarke St. had broken her leg that morning when her horse fell and the rig she was driving upset on Dundas street. She had been delivering milk, he should send her a box of candy.

30 cases of Florida Water had been confiscated in Sudbury , it was not sufficiently medicated to prevent its use as an intoxicating beverage, it was 120% proof and being sold for illegal purposes. The price war between London bakers continued, causing the price of a 24 ounce loaf to drop from 11 to 9 cents, next thing you know they will want to pay less for biscuits. He would have to talk to his mother about the need for 1000 rooms to house participants in the ploughing match to be held on the Ontario Hospital grounds , householders were requested to rent the rooms for 2 nights at $1 /night.

Fred had gone west on Buller and then turned north on Graham, the lawn bowling at the Court house was ended for the season, he looked across to the

band shell facing the jail, there was no cenotaph at the corner , it was not erected till 1925. It was a real coincidence, here he was off to a meeting about a men's club and in the paper was notice of plans to form a men's club

at new St.Paul's ,first meeting to be 4P.M.Sunday,-subject, "the church and work".

At this same moment, Carman Thornton was catching up with Fred. Carman too was a bachelor living at home at 70 Wellington St. N. The family had moved here from Listowel where Carman had passed his High school entrance exams. 70 Wellington is a large red brick house on the east side on the corner across from the Funeral Home. His father , E.C.Thornton, had been 2nd V.P. and manager of the Karn-Morris Piano and Organ Co. His mother was at home the 4th Thursday of the month. Carman's sister Marie taught at Woodstock College, a Baptist Boy's School. The College had started out in 1857 as the Canadian Literary Institute, in 1886 it was to become McMaster university, but Senator McMaster donated money to build McMaster on Bloor street in Toronto , and shortly after that donated the large family estate also on Bloor as Moulton College for girls. Thus Woodstock College had only boys, on an expansive campus where CASS now stands .It was a well equipped Prep school with a 4 storey main building and several other buildings including an up to the moment gym. and pool ,plus an observatory. The World War resulted in the loss of many students as well as teachers, attendance dropped to 75 but climbed again after the war only to decline once more to 56 in 1926 when it closed.

Carman also attended WCI, where he earned his Honours Matriculation-Eng. Fr. Lat. Phys. in 1914 .He was a member of the 1914 Rugby team along with Jack Coles . Carman was a tall athletic fellow.Ed Bennett thinks he likely served in the army upon graduation. As he walked along to the meeting he too was thinking of the days news .A short item told that Ernest Shackleton's steamer the Quest had been badly damaged in a storm on its way to the Antarctic, having to put in to Lisbon for repairs. The paper also reported that the Yanks had gone ahead in the first game of the World Series against the

Giants on a single by Babe Ruth, he would have to wait till tomorrow to find out how the game ended.

Jobs were not easy to find, at the moment Carman was working as a sales clerk for Grafton & Co. he was 23 years of age .

George Mather was new in town he was born at Mather's corners near Peterborough and attended Peterborough Normal School. After teaching

Public school at Lang nearby ,he had gone on to teach at Cobden in the Ottawa Valley ,before going to Ottawa to teach returning servicemen for 2 years. George came to Woodstock in the fall of 1920 where he served as principal of Princess Public School. George was now 26 and a bachelor boarding with Mrs. M.Canfield at 581 Peel . He had the furthest to walk, but

he walked with a purposeful stride. A slight yet determined man George understood that the meeting he was to attend was to be of a group of men concerned with bettering their ability to speak in public. He was serious by nature. Why the paper that very day had reported that the lecture room was fairly well filled on Monday when he had given an interesting talk on , "service", to the Central Church Young People.

George E. Reid was the last to leave for the meeting , he just had to walk across Victoria park from the family home at 107 Light, the large old red brick house at the N.W. corner of Light and Buller. George's father, William E.Reid, had purchased a ¼ acre lot from the crown at the surprisingly late date of 1882and built his home there. W.E. was a grocer but he carried an extensive line of china, crockery, and glass as well in his store at the S.E. corner of Dundas and Broadway, where the Mr. U- Brew Beer store now operates .An early picture of the store showed endless drawers and shelves that contained anything called for. Both father and son were tall and very quiet, they afforded a delivery wagon and horse with driver who was part time clerk. But by 1921 the store had been sold and George now 29 was listed in the City Directory as a cost accountant at Harvey Knitwear. George had earned his Matriculation certificate from WCI in the Spring of 1909, the school register had his family listed as Congregational.

As George strode across the park he noticed that the double row of maples were just beginning to change colour, soon he would be raking leaves and burning them by the roadside . George was pondering the weekend ahead. Should he go to the Princess Theatre and see Catherine Calvert in, "The Heart of Maryland", a stirring picture of love, emotion and big spectacular scenes filmed in authentic, historical locations, the big picture of the year for 25 cents. Or should he pay $l.oo at the Griffin Opera House to see ,"The Skin Game", by John Galsworthy, with an all English cast .The Globe said that this was one of the few great plays N.Y. will see this season.George didn't

have this resolved when he found himself at the front door of E,J, Coles large yellow brick home at 126 Graham Street,[ where Park place now stands]. E.J.'s son Jack was hosting the meeting there.

John L. Coles, [Jack], was 23 and a bachelor as well, they were all bachelors. Jack had attended WCI where he had played rugby on the same team as Carman Thornton, Jack played inside wing and was impossible to hold in the game against Stratford which they won 37 to 6, although 1 guess he was held when the Collegiate lost 17 to 6 against Woodstock College. He went on to the U.otT. [Victoria College] in 1915, had one year there and then joined the army and went to France where he fought at the Somme. Following the war he returned to Vic , for the second term , graduating in 2 and ½ years in all. While there Jack was the first string forward of the U of T Blues basketball team.Jack's degree was in Commerce and Finance . Upon his return to Woodstock Jack worked as Office Manager for E.J.Coles and Co. the Department Store which sold most everything, china, crockery, glass, house furnishings, groceries, stoves and furnaces, wall paper, in addition to being Woodstock's leading sporting goods store.

Now the 5 men were assembled and the meeting began. We have no way of knowing what went on at that meeting, but we do know that it resulted in the Victoria Club.

While you have the names of the original gang of 5 in your minds let me tell you what I was able to glean about their lives after this fateful meeting.

Fred Bean continued at the biscuit works, Cousin Clifford Bean, also a Victoria Club member, became assistant manager and superintendent but resigned in 1927,leaving Fred in charge . The firm had discontinued biscuit manufacture to concentrate on the candy business. Their ad. in the

1926 Oracle extolled their line of chocolate bars which included Almond Puff, Log Cabin, and Crow Bar .It would appear that even with the Crow Bar there was insufficient leverage to counteract the approaching depression.The business closed down in July 1929 , leaving the 50 remaining employees without work. Fred continued on with a candy store for a short while and then worked as a traveling salesman. He was secretary of Rotary in 1932 , missing most of the Victoria Club meetings that year, but was back again regularly the next 2 years .Fred Bean died inl936, he is buried at Hillcrest cemetery .Today there is one Bean in the phone book, Colin Bean, he has moved here from Montreal, and is no connection.

Carman Thornton, although a good friend of Jack Coles, apparently did not make much impact on the Club , he was never an executive member. In 1926

the City Directory lists him as a traveler. In 1927 he married Helen Kirk of this city. At about this time Carman and Helen moved to Gait, they had a son Carman Hubert in1932. Carman was invited to the reunion in 1971 but we got no reply. He died in 1979 and is buried in the Baptist Cemetery.

George Mather on the other hand continued as an active member of the community. After leaving Princess School, he went to Central School as a VP. and by summer courses and correspondence earned an Honours degree from Queen's in 1928. This prepared George for appointment by the provincial government as a public school inspector the following year, serving the city and the north half of Oxford , a position he held until he retired due to ill-health in 1956. This was a large job which George took seriously .He visited each teacher in the 5 city schools and some 45 rural schools, generally twice a year . Most of the rural schools were 1 room and often the teacher was a young female just out of normal school who required help and guidance. I talked to a number of teachers who had George as an inspector both when they were students as well as when they taught. As students they were terrified when the inspector came, it did not matter who the inspector was , he might ask them to recite memory work and look at their workbook. As teachers it was worse, some inspectors liked to tyrannize the young teachers, but George was not like that. He looked at their registers, he was very strict, he had high expectations, he took the job very seriously,

but he did occasionally smile and they felt that he was fair. George was an active Club member, passing through the offices to be Pres. in 1932-33 , due to health problems he withdrew from the Club in 1934. George died in his 76th, year and was buried at Keene Cemetery, south of Peterborough .

Of George E. Reid , I could find very little. He was the 1st VP. and the second Pres of the Club. In the 1923 club photo he appears to be a fairly large man with black hair and mustache. The 1924 city directory no longer lists him as a resident at 107 Light, but in 1930 his name appears, listing him as a salesman for W.F.Craig electricians and radio at 412 Dundas.

The Dec. 14 1933 minutes directed the sec. to write to George to ask if he could supply any information which could be used in the consolidation of by-laws etc , there is no record of a reply. At this same meeting the members

voted to make George Reid and Clifford Bean honorary members, this honour had been bestowed on Jack Coles a month earlier.

George died in 1963 ,he is buried in the Presbyterian cemetery.

Jack Coles was the 1st. sec.-treas. , then after a gap he proceeded through the offices to be Pres. In 1928-29. His name does not appear on membership lists after that year. By 1926 he is listed as Sec.-treas. of E,J,Coles, and in 1927 was sec. of the board of trade . That business was sold in 1928 to Eaton's becoming one of their chain of Canadian Department Stores. After taking a brokerage course he set up in business with Charlie Tatham; when Charlie went elsewhere Jack's brother Leonard,[ later county clerk], worked with him and the business acquired its name Coles Brothers . An Insurance agency was added, Ed Bennett ran this part of the business when he returned from the war. Real Estate was added as well, Huron Park sub-division was developed by Coles Bros. The brokerage business was sold in 1958, Jack continued to operate the insurance business until his retirement and the sale of the firm in l978.

Tennis was Jack's first love, becoming the Ontario singles champion in the early 20's , and Western Ontario doubles champion in 1931 with his brother, Len. He also organized and helped finance the Woodstock Badminton Club and was very supportive of the Little Theatre.

Jack did very well in business, as he grew older he made extensive trips to Europe particularly Scandinavia, visiting Museums and Art galleries , where his interest was in traditional art. In 1922 he married Alice, whom he had known at Victoria College, they had 2 daughters and 2 sons, Don and John, they were at Vic when I was. John, the younger was being groomed to take over the business , but that was not to be. John became an archeologist, taught at Cambridge, is listed in the International Who's Who as a world authority on bog archeology about which he has written widely. John lives in Devon in an ancient house .

Don, a good friend of George Calders, taught Literature in the Humanities Division at York University. He is one of Canada's leading poets , being the winner of the 1993 English -Language Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry. Now I don't suppose many of you have read his poetry, it is rather esoteric stuff, but I decided I should try one. The poem entitled " Little Bird", has as its sub-title, Last letters to my father, [1897-1986], the blurb on the back of the little book calls it "a love letter to his father '. I will read a segment to you, starting with Don the youngster, entranced by words, talking to his father at dinner.

Who cares? Not you,

I think, who

took little pleasure in such

flamboyancies ,and not overmuch

in language, either,

never using two

words when one would do,

and sat in spreading

silence when I ,a schoolboy

then, swarmed among syllables

for the sheer joy

& hell of it,monologuing

at mealtime like an anointed

asshole until, too late,

you’d dispatch me with a pointed

“That’s it .Just take your plate

with you when you go, all right?”

It was usually all right. In my heart

I knewI had offended

Jack [John L Coles] is buried in Hillcrest Cemetery.

Bean, Thornton, Mather, Reid , Coles.

This was the gang of 5 that got the Club off the ground.

They apparently had no trouble gathering members. We have no list of them, but we do have a list of officers for the first years. What sort of men were they. Fred Bean was the first President, then George Reid followed by

- Clare MacPherson, of the Crown Lumber Co. on Tecumseh St. with Howard Trueman, Oxford County Agriculture Rep, [later the Canadian representative in India] acting as Secretary.

- Jim Carnwath manager of the Woodstock Concrete Pipe Co. located across from Northgate.

- A.W.Cole an optometrist, Cole Walkway from Dundas to the Adelaide St.parking lot is named after him.

- Wilf Ure civil engineer and surveyor.

- Stanley Rendall teacher at WCI, who went on to be head of the Dept. of Ed. in Toronto .

- -James a. Vance, grandfather of Keith Stevens, at the time a contractor, who went on to make a big name for himself in Engineering and forestry circles.

- Alfred Johnson, a much loved teacher at WCI.

- C.L.Bole, Art Instructor at WCI.who lived in Ingersoll.

These are the topics of the main papers as recorded in the little brown book presented during the 33-34 season.

-The situation in Europe [particularly Germany].

-Forms of government, has democracy failed?.

-The short story.

-Sterilization.

-The Rehabilitation of those who have lost their means of livelihood to new fields of endeavour. [by Keith’s grandfather]

-Corporate taxes and Separate Schools.

-Towards a new Economic order.

-A foreign Policy for Canada.

-State Medicine.

-Proportional Representation.

-The Jew.

An interesting topic for a future meeting would be the minutes of these papers as recorded in the brown book.

A new member in 1927,was the new science master at WCI, namely Oscar Carl H Kitching, known to his students as Chemical Carl. Carl came with a

Masters degree in science and a substantial ego, he was a very bright man and

was not loath to let that be known . None of those to whom I have talked

indicated that he was a well-loved teacher, in fact most were greatly frightened by him. Carl had a very short fuse and was known to throw students from his class. Now I taught with Carl, I found him very intimidating as an insecure young teacher, yet no one complained that he did not know his subject and he always treated me fairly and was helpful.

Carl joined this Club almost as soon as he came to town and remained an active member until he resigned in 1970,a span of 43 years the longest active membership in the clubs history till that time..

Carl Kitching liked to be critical, he loved to argue, he was at home in the Club. When he was secretary in 1934, he was asked to determine how many meetings had been held already . Carl computed that the Feb 22 /34 meeting was # 152, meetings have been numbered from that time on , if this is not #1200 then we know who to blame, but I am betting that Carl was right, he generally was . At the same time, Carl, Wilf Ure and Fred Beam were asked

to recreate the constitution which had been lost. The constitution which they presented is basically the one we have today, it sounds like Carl. Also

a short history of the Club was to be prepared .I will read a portion of it to you.

The purpose of the club was primarily for the broadening of the general outlook of its members and to obtain some practice in public speaking. The experience as gleaned from past and present members would indicate that the Club has functioned full well in these two respects. The very first speeches were merely descriptive but due to the influence of an early member, Mr. Howard Trueman, the speeches became objective rather than subjective,with a critic of style and manner. The dignity of the club in its present form is accredited to this early influence. The early critics took their duties very seriously and were quite severe yet sincere with no attempt to excuse the speaker from any fault. ------------

The closings for the year were fittingly observed in such manner as the eventful mock trial held in the Yellow Lantern Tea Rooms with Mr. J. L.Coles as speaker, Mr.Fred Bean as premier, and Mr. George Reid as leader of the opposition. The venerable debate on this occasion was, "Resolved that the Thames River which is now navigable as far as Beachville be deepened so that ocean liners can come as far as Woodstock". Another closing exercise took the form of a supper at the Yellow Lantern Tea Rooms to which the ladies were invited, the feast being followed by cards and dancing; still others took the form of theatre parties to London. The reading of papers later became permissible as the membership expressed itself as being perhaps more in need of heavier papers with less emphasis on the idea of training in public speaking. At this time also, was dropped the critic of style and manner to be supplanted by leader of the discussion.

At the time of writing the Club is completing its Bthyear of activity with a growing prestige. It is regretted that the earlier minute books are lost inasmuch as some of the earliest secretaries are said to have created masterpieces. The purpose of this short history is that we believe we owe to the generations which we feel will follow in this club, an explanation of its founding and of its founders to whom we all give humble thanks. Signed Fred Bean and Carl Kitching

Yes, we do give humble thanks for this short history, as well as to all those secretaries whose carefully recorded minutes have supplied the fodder for this paper. I remembered that AIDS had been the current topic back when the public was first becoming aware of this disease. I thought it would be of interest to read what had been said about it at that time. After a search I found it in the Nov.28 1985 minutes, " to end the evening Art Boughtflower

introduced the topic AIDS. The distinguished members of the Club could not even begin to exhaust the topic when adjournment was called. " Oh well the secretaries lot is not an easy one, although less arduous than it was when the sec. was responsible for bringing the speaker's lectern to each meeting. Said lectern consisted of a ratty old music stand which was frequently forgotten, misplaced and then , thank goodness irretrievably lost. The lectern was of use when speakers stood to deliver , the last speaker I can remember standing to speak was Bob Mann and he didn't need a lectern since he had no notes. Some speculated that Bob had not remembered to prepare a talk, yet when he was through we found he had spoken very effectively and even dealt with the topic at times .

As I have prepared my paper it has come to my mind how useful it would be if each member at some point would submit a short autobiography for

inclusion in the archives, it sure would make it easier for the speaker at meeting #2000.

Kitching prepared a longer paper on the History of the Club presented in February 1959, meeting 449. Here it is in part.

A history of the Victoria Club.

Should there be uncertainty as to the derivation of the name of the Club, it should be denied that it arose from the name of Victoria College, of which Mr.Coles was a recent graduate, nor does it come from the association with Victoria Park, on the boundaries of which some of the charter members lived. The truth of the matter is that the charter members gave the name in respect for the era of the reign of Queen Victoria.

The question might be asked at this time whether the above mentioned gentlemen had a surplus of spare time in comparison to what some would intimate is a more rushed mode of living in 1959. The answer must be in the negative because these men were quite active in their professional chores and in forwarding community enterprises of that day. It would appear that they then appreciated[as it should hold today]that “many advantages accrue to a young man through his ability to speak clearly and forcibly upon subjects of human interest”and that “these abilities may at best be acquired by a group of young men united in self improvement”.

The Victoria Club has evolved into its present form by what might be termed “ the survival of the fittest”. The inference is that the Club had its happier and duller moments. Interest has waned and waxed. Topics for presentation were tried with great success and with mediocre success. Our most ambitious programmes were in the 30’s when 2 main papers were followed by criticism

and discussion. These papers were on the evening’s programmes first and last. A luncheon break and a current topic was sandwiched in between. The current topic was not discussed.

Our present type of programme with adjournment at 11 and fully arranged in advance of a current season by a ‘programme committee”has been in vogue about 20 years.

“Social evenings “were attempted early in the Club’s life. The first was an evening of entertainment for the fairer sex at a banquet and mock trial in the

“Yellow Lantern”-a restaurant in the Masonic Temple- a site later occupied by Coles Brother’s Insurance. The second was again a treat for the ladies when the Club entertained them at a play starring Beatrice Lilly at the Grand Theatre in London. That was in 1927. Further events of this type were abandoned from the opinion that the club should not attempt to be a social Club.

On another occasion the Victoria Club accepted an invitation to attend another “Literary “Club. This was the Baconian Club of and in London. A representative number of that Club attended a Victoria Club meeting in Woodstock in return. Without in any manner seeming to criticize our neighbour, it was decided the a much much less formal and less critical atmosphere would be of value to the Woodstock Club.

It has been the constant opinion of the Club to date that it should at no time lend its name to any promotion or be officially represented at any organization. The members, throughout the years, have appeared at other functions, often relaying information they have gleaned in preparing their papers, but at no time in the name of the Victoria Club. There has been consistent rejection that the membership be quoted as supporting a civic, literary or other schemes.

Meetings were on the first Thursday and the third Thursday of the month for many years. Meetings were adjourned at the stroke of midnight. The ladies were given a token of appreciation at Christmas. Mails were not used twice a month as reminders of obligations. Dues have never exceeded 2 dollars per current season. In the rationing days of W.W. 2 refreshment limited to soft drinks and cheese and crackers or their near equivalent. Ingersoll came to be included in the membership. There have been 2 outside speakers within the history of the Club. The Club has frowned upon the use of other than private homes for its meetings – exceptions have been made when such was impossible. Regular meetings have been sustained if at all possible, using the fall and winter months only

In the earlier days subjects were allotted in such a manner that the members would be required to do considerable research on a topic in which he had little or no experience. He was immediately followed by a critic of manner who criticize the English, the speakers stance, his mannerisms and, most severely of all, his reference to anything written. He was then subjected to a

critic of the subject matter. This critic was a member whose knowledge of the topic gave him full license to criticize. A member of that day was well advised to have sufficient preparation.

A survey of former members would substantiate that the Victoria Club has been a benefit and an inspiration and that a removal from its activities was a personal regret .

Carl H. Kitching

Carl resigned in 1970 , a span of 43 years, the longest active membership up till that time.

For years lunch was never catered, it was the responsibilityof the wife or perhaps the mother of the host.

The young wife had lengthy conversations with other wives to ensure that the right thing was done, there always had to be something hot, then sandwiches, followed by plenty of sweets. At first the sandwiches came with there crusts carefully cut off,[the best sandwiches ever were the lobster sandwiches that Mary Carnwath prepared], gradually they were served with crusts left on.. At one stage there was always a magnificent angel-food cake smothered in icing at the center of the spread surrounded by plates of delicious little tarts. Coffee was served in proper cups and saucers, gradually tea was added and then a pitcher of milk . To recognize the effort of the always invisible ladies they received a gift, at first a box of chocolates,[ no doubt the finest Empress Chocolates from Bean and Westlake ], or a box of stationery[no doubt from E.J.Coles], but for many years it was a plant. Plants were fine but when the host member was from Ingersoll an additional 50cents was charged for delivery .This was a significant item when the yearly fee was $1.00 which remained the Club fee until in 1950 it was raised to $2.00 only to be reduced to $ 1.00 the next year when the Club was excessively solvent.

There was never much problem getting members.

There were few Doctors in the early years, in a letter turning down membership, Dr Patience the Opthamologist, explained he could not join due to evening office hours. There were however several Doctors from the staff of the Provincial Hospital for Epileptics.

There have been lots of lawyers, a few dentists, engineers,assorted business men and executives.

There have even been Americans, who came when American branch plants were established here . Ed Muzzy with Fisher Controls, Jim Ellis and John S F MacLean with Wood Mosaic. The S.F. standing for Sandford Fleming, his grandfather, Sandford Fleming designed Canada’s first postage stamp, was responsinle for standard time and was the founder of the Royal Institute which grew into the Royal Society of Canada, sort of a larger scale version of the Victoria Club.

Although individual members may have pronounced political leanings the Club has always been apolitical. Members have run for political office in various parties. Clark Murray was the Liberal in Ottawa, Harry Parrott was a member of cabinet in Toronto, and of course Kimble Sutherland for the N.D.P government in Toronto. When Harry Parrott resigned in 1973 due to pressure of work as a new member in Toronto, he very kindly volunteered to present a paper the following January. He chose as his topic, a subject with which he had become very familiar, namely , Regional Government. A rather lively discussion ensued with Harry having to answer a number of rather pointed questions. The minutes of that meeting end as follows."Jim Flowers rose to thank those who had participated, for a moment he got sidetracked and almost made a speech, but he recovered and complimented Dr.Parrott on his fine presentation and suggested that if politics became dull he would have no trouble walking the Niagara gorge on a tight-rope.

Woodstock being the centre of a rich agricultural county, there were always farmers. Frank Ellis was a chicken farmer, his farm was just west of town, Ron Findlater lives in one of his old chicken coops. There he maintained a flock of 3000 leghorns as if that was not enough he was the Ontatio editor of the Family Herald and Weekly Star. This paper was to be found in most farm homes across the country at a time when the family farm was dominant. Frank claimed he was the longest continuing journalist of his time, only stopping when the Family Herald was folded by its publisher the Montreal Sun in 1965. Now Frank was a Presbyterian, he came to to town an elder and

transferred as an elder to Knox Presbyterian, he was a very devoted church man and a dedicated fundamentalist, what the Bible said was the literal truth and he would argue with anyone who disagreed. One who disagreed was Carl Kitching. Franks daughter Marion told me that they crossed swords at the least provocation and Frank loved it. Marion went on to say that she , as a young girl, was very curious about what went on at the Club meetings. She didn't dare peer in, but after being sent to bed she would sneak out to the top of the long stairs, sit in her pajamas and listen.

Then there was R.J.Mc Donald [Rusty]who died last June at 96. Rusty, a vetinarian, was recognized nationally and inter-nationally as a pioneer in the commercial application of artificial insemination of dairy cattle.

We have no farmers today although Kevin Dolan is listed as an agricultural consultant and raised several hives of bees, and of course there is Ross MacElroy who has raised sheep for many years.

There have been quite a few ministers amongst our membership, perhaps they hoped to save our souls

Rev.Vic Mooney, in his biography.wrote.

One invigorating intellectual exercise was membership in the Victoria Club,a select group of university graduates which met monthly from home to home, spending the evening from 8 o’clock to long after midnight in discussions, ranging from current events to academic subjects. ----When I first joined the Club, on their election, it was popularly described as “The Young Atheists Club”, simply because they were free thinker and discussed all subjects honestly and without concern for commonly accepted ideas. Before the end of my pastorate, I rejoice to see more and more of the Victoria Club members attending the service of my congregation in which some have become officials. Perhaps we are all doomed today since we are without a clergyman.

And there have always been teachers. Elementary, secondary, community college, and university. Teachers from the Trinity Boys School at Port Hope which was destroyed by fire in 1928, participated with us when 130 upper and middle school students and 10 masters moved to the empty buildings of Woodstock College, leased from the Baptists for $200 month, remaining for 2 years.

I find myself unable to refrain, at this time, from pointing out what a great contribution has been made by teachers from WCI, particularly in the early years.

Fred Bean had referred to the "growing prestige of the Club ", Phillip Utting spoke of, "a small and select group of Woodstock men ", for a while it would appear that there was danger the club would become elitist, that men might become members in order to make beneficial business or professional contacts. Meeting #569, J. MacLean proposed J. Harvey for membership in the Victoria Club. A ballot was taken and there was no election since there were 2 dissenting votes. Heavens what sort of prestige would the club have if they voted in a teacher like Harvey. If you are questioning my legitimacy, I was elected a member a few months later on a motion by George Calder.

Certainly the Victoria Club is not well known to the average citizen of the city, although not a secret society it is seldom referred to in the local press. The Club has had problems with the Sentinal Review since its early days when we were confused with Victoria Home and School Club. The libraries local history file has only a handful of clippings, stemming from the years when Stewart Lavell of the S.R.staff was a member.

At the annual banquet held in 1991 Ed. Bennett was asked to speak for a few minutes on the founding of the Club . Ed. was a tank commander in the Dieppe raid of 1942, where he was wounded, and taken a prisoner. Upon his return he became general manager of Coles Brothers Insurance.

This is part of what he said.

For 34 years I was in almost daily contact with the late Mr. Jack Coles, who was a founder, and when he died in1986 , the last surviving charter member of the Club. My association with him was a very rewarding and enduring one

I had known him since about the time the Club was founded as he was a very active member of the Y.M.C.A. At that time I was a young 8 year-old who used to marvel at his skill in the basket games there. He had been a star player on the U of T’s Canadian championship basketball team.

During my many years as an active member of the Club, Jack Coles and I would often talk about the many topics discussed at the previous evening’s

meeting . He was always ready to reminisce about the early days when he took an active part in the formation of the Club. He was proud to know that it was being carried on so successfully. I was quite surprised when he told me that the paper of at least 1 hour in length was to be given without any reference to any notes of any kind .

Certainly other rules made by the charter members have been changed, but one fact still remains. There are still no lady members. They may be active behind the scenes but you will be surprised to learn that women did have a great deal to do with founding of the Club.

In my conversations with Jack he told me how the idea of forming a gentlemen’s or business-men’s club originated. After the Great War of 1914-18 he had returned to his home town of Woodstock where his father owned E.J. Coles department store. At the same time many other young men were adjusting to normal small city life. Since the war there were many new horizons for many of them. They felt that Woodstock needed a discussion group -a literary club -and a cultural challenge, as well as an opportunity to meet other young men for studies of current topics of the day. It was to be a small select group, and why not a select group?

At that time the women of the city had, not 1 but 2 active reading clubs, and both had been founded before the beginning of the century in 1896, the Saturday Afternoon Reading Club and the Tuesday Reading Club. In addition there was also the Woodstock Women’s Music Club.

Mr Coles told me that the men felt that they could improve on what the ladies were doing. His wife was a long-time member of the Tuesday reading Club. The result was the founding of the Victoria Club, which in its program , combined a major topic in the first part of the evening and then a discussion of a current issue after lunch [ provided by the wives in the background in the kitchen]. In that way they were improving on the ladies literary programs because the discussion period could quite possibly solve some of the current problems of the day. So you can see, it is as Jack said, the men wanted a club of their own to show the ladies that they too were educated and culturally inclined.

Some of the members may know how the Club came to be named it was not named for Queen Victoria. She had died 29 years before the Club was founded. As Jack Coles told me, I can confirm it was given its name on the

evening of the inaugural meeting. The meeting was held at the home of George Reid at 107 Light Street, the red brick house at the corner of Light and Buller streets.

Reid like Jack Coles was a war veteran and both had joined the army while attending the UofT. Both agreed that a club such as the Victoria Club was needed in the city. At the initial meeting there was a great discussion as to what name should be adopted, there was no mutual agreement by those present, the deadlock continued until finally George Reid looked out the window at Victoria Park and said ,”Why not the Victoria Club, here we are overlooking the park and many of us live in this area”. That’s quite true because the Cole’s family home was on the east side of the park. Clark Murray’s home was a few doors south at 93 Light street and the rest of the members were all within a few blocks of the park. On this occasion it was probably the one time that the Victoria Club members have unanimously agreed on anything without further discussion.

So here we are, on our 79th anniversary celebrating our years of continued success and perhaps only because the original members set a good course and an excellent format to which the Club has adhered.

One change that has been an important improvement is this annual banquet, at which we play host to the ladies. They deserve it because, after all they should be given at least partial credit for the founding and success of this Club.

Signed Ed Bennett April 18/91

And we have now come full circle, in that we now invite the members of the Ladies Reading Club to our Annual meeting.

Of recent years the discussion period has lacked some of the fire of the past when heated debate and even argument was common. This is due no doubt to the insidious effects of political correctness which limits honest self-expression, together with the mellowing or gradual admission of defeat which accompanies aging. Rusty MacDonald told me of spirited discussions which often tore a paper apart lead by George Kruger, Sid Harrison, and Bill Young but in the manner familiar to all members he did not record any conclusion.

We have become softer, more comfortable. From minutes ofFeb. 8 1934, In spite of the extremely cold night there was an attendance of 14 members. It

was announced that the Ingersoll members also Mr. Bean were stranded out of the city on account of the workings of jack frost .The city members were all able to walk to that meeting. Today no one walks and there are 6 members from outside the county. - Jan 27 1994, meeting #864 was cancelled due to a severe ice storm, only Craig McKay managed to get to Bernie Calder's. There was no meeting# 864. Again on Jan23 1997, meeting # 904 to be held at Brad. Bennett's in Tillsonburg was cancelled due to blustery, snow- clogged roads, but since Reinhart Schmoll got to keep the plant the meeting was counted and not rescheduled.

Our meeting places are more comfortable, we no longer get squeezed into tiny rooms, having to sit on the floor or on wooden folding chairs from the funeral home.

At the beginning all the men wore dark suits with white shirts and ties. Then some appeared in slacks and jacket over a coloured shirt and tie .Then some slob came without a tie and its been all downhill ever since. When leaving the meeting the men all put on their dark coats. Now there is a motley assortment of garments, pulled on after shaking hands with the host. But the ultimate departure occurred at meeting #845 from the residence of Woody Lamb, the minutes end this way, * Footnote: Actually a legnote:Brian George carried forth from meeting to waiting ambulance with leg fracture. A First.

Changes have been made in the past several years. It was the practice over many years to recognize that the privilege of membership brought with it the obligation to act on the executive. Thus within a couple of years of becoming a member you were nominated to be secretary/treasurer, and in the following year vice- pres., then pres., then onto the program committee for 3 years. This procedure gave you insight into the workings of the Club and then you could

relax for the remainder of your days. We have been fortunate to have members like Larry Hodges to man these positions for several years when that sequence broke down. Topic selection has been changed from having a topic thrust upon you , to having the freedom to select a topic from a list to which you may contribute. Now after more than 90 years meeting begin at 7.30 rather than 8 o-clock.

In the early 90’s , Roy Brankley gave a paper and demonstration on a remarkable new development , the internet, which has had a profound effect upon the papers delivered by members. So in my research for this paper

I googled w.w.w. Victoria-club.com. To my utter amazement the Victoria Club webpage immediately appeared . Here it is, let me read it to you.

Welcome to the Victoria Club. A foremost International Marriage and Personal Introduction Agency. On our database we have ever increasing numbers of attractive ladies of culture and education, aged 18 onwards , who are looking for serious long lasting relationships with respectable men from around the world. Victoria Club is part of the EUROCLUB network of clubs from across Europe and East Europe where culture and beautiful women abound. Many ladies ultimate goal is to settle down with the man of their dreams and experience domestic happiness in a solid relationship. Please browse this site in confidence ,knowing that the ladies you will see here are serious and committed to meeting with one of our visitors... and that person could be YOU.

To my knowledge no member has ever found a wife at our Victoria Club but we have made lasting friendships.

If there is anyone here who feels slighted that I have not mentioned your name in the course of this paper don’t fret, you are in good company. But there is one member about whom I must say a few words and that is Craig McKay. Craig joined in 1964, and continued in active membership until last year, very seldom missing a meeting. This is a record. Some of the newer members have seen this mature slow moving gentleman who says little and appears to sleep during the paper. Craig is not sleeping he is resting his old eyes. He is listening and he is thinking, Craig is a thinker.

Craig is a Woodstock boy, he grew up in the Carbide Wilson house on Van. Ave. His father was the crown attorney.After graduating from WCI Craig spent 2 years in the air force, then attended the Uof T and proceeded to be a lawyer, and practiced law in Woodstock. But Craig was much more than a lawyer, for a couple of years he taught English at Ingersoll Collegiate, he is a poet having a poem published in The Atlantic. He is well traveled. He kayaked alone from Lake Huron to Lake Erie. He and his young son Ian

kayacked from Whitehorse down the Yukon River to Fort Yukon in Alaska He sailed extensively in the Great Lakes, then bought a yacht in England in which he sailed the Channel for several summers, and then the river/canal system to the Mediterranean, with several VC members as crew. A visit to Craig’s old stone house in the country will show you what I mean when I say he is a collector. Craig is a reader, a thinker and has an astounding memory.

His VC papers are all neatly hand- written. Listening to him deliver the paper is like listening to a symphony, which starts with a theme, has numerous sub themes but returns to the main theme at the climax.. Craig is a man of many parts, the quintessential Victorian.

Although we are are very different individuals we come together as a Club, a collection of compatable men, a remnant of our tribal heritage.

In a paper in 1992 Roy Brankley very elegantly, put it this way.

It has been said that the force that unites men must dissolve disruptive egotism, must awaken a consciousness of the common origin of all things. Such words are too grand to describe the Victoria Club, but they are words fit to be used there and perhaps that is what we may enjoy most, even as we admit to or ever youthful folly, and as we pontificate a bit too much, we learn how to laugh knowingly at our selves and at others ,in good humour and good taste.

The constitution spells out the general conduct of our meetings but in addition to the constitution there are a number of practices carried out be tacit agreement. The constitution does not require that the host when he rises at the end of the meeting should say, "it is always a pleasure to host the Victoria Club". We are not obliged to clap our hands vigorously when the paper ends. I have often wondered what that applause signifies, is it delight that the paper is at last over?, is it to restart circulation in body parts too long kept motionless?, or is it to show appreciation of a paper that has been well done? I am never sure.

If there is to be applause as I end this paper let it be for Fred Bean, Jack Coles, George Mather, George Reid and Carman Thornton and all the men who through 1200 meetings have sustained and enriched our lives through the Victoria Club.

Fred W. Bean 1877-1937 Jack Coles 1897-1986

Carman H. Thornton 1898-1979

George E. Reid 1892-1963

George Mather 1895-1970