On August 29, 1902 my mother, father and I went on a trip, leaving Eva and Etta at home. We drove to Delhi, and stopped at Uncle Peter and Aunt Katie Birdsall's farm which we entered from what is now No. 3 Highway just west of the bridge over Big Creek. Their family: Eliza Jane who married Henry Cook; Ed; the twins William and Walter; Eli or little Pete. We stayed there for the night.
We went to Simcoe by noon and stopped at Jamie Smith's for dinner. His family home had been just north of the Bostwick Road, but he now worked for the Martin Bros. in their music store in Simcoe. We continued on to Cayuga and stopped at Edgar Birdsall's home. Edgar Birdsall, a son of Whitson Birdsall, operated a men's clothing store in Cayuga, lived over the store with daughters Leatha and Ferrol (his wife had died). We stayed for the night.
We drove on to Canfield and stopped at Alfred Lymburner's for dinner. Alfred had married a sister of Edgar Birdsall's. We drove on to Canboro, and stopped at the cemetery where many of the Birdsalls are buried, and to Oran Melick's home. Mrs. Oran Melick was a daughter of John Birdsall and a sister of Stella (Mrs. Henry) Birdsall of Delhi. We visited father's old home which was near the Melick's. We had dinner the next day at Aden Birdsall's and spent the night at Albert Lymburner's who had married Kate a daughter of Whitson Birdsall's.
The next morning we went on to Fenwick to Dr. Birdsall's home, a very large brick house as we entered the village of Fenwick. Uncle Sam and Aunt Ella had two children, Herb and Laura. We stayed there all day and night, continuing on to Niagara Falls the next day. We stayed in a hotel by the Lower Bridge, and the next day drove on the American side, visited a museum, drove to the three sister islands, and Goat Island. We drove back to Fenwick late in the evening to stay at Uncle Sam's.
We drove back to Canboro and went to Aden Birdsall's. Aden was a son of Whitson and brother to Edgar, Mrs. Alf and Mrs. Albert Lymburner. We had dinner there, then drove through Smithville and to Grimsby. Uncle Wez had a little fruit farm just outside the gates of Grimsby Park. We stayed there all night, left our horse and buggy there, and took the stret car to Hamilton. We went to the docks to take the boat to Toronto.
We took a street car from the docks to near the street where Grandpa and Grandma had their bake shop. There was quite a distance to walk from the street car to their shop.
Note: Charlie reported that he didn't know until many years later that this was really a business trip to Toronto, but this was now September 6, and they had left home on August 29 for the first part of the trip to Niagara Falls, and to visit Birdsall relatives.
A farmer in Middleton Township on Lot 12, E 1/2, C. l NTR, wanted to trade his farm for the bake shop, and Alfred and Esther Powers were ready to retire and move near their daughter Annie. There was also the story that they hired two drivers for their two delivery wagons, the two drivers stole money from the deliveries instead of turning it in at the end of the day. The drivers reported that the customers were charging their purchases. They were taken to court over an estimated one thousand dollars, but no money was recovered.
The trade was made, but Alfred did not want a farm of 100 acres, and later moved to the farm John Birdsall owned on Lot 21, C. 2 STR, Middleton -- a 50-acre farm.
On Monday, September 8, we took the street car to go to the Exhibition. This was a real experience as the largest fairs I had been to were Courtland and Tillsonburg. We went on the grandstand for the night show that ended with fireworks such as I had never seen before.
We stayed in Toronto the next day, and on Wednesday took the boat to Hamilton. Mother and I stayed at Uncle Joe and Aunt Aggie's, and Father went to Grimsby on the trolley to get the horse and buggy we had left with Uncle Wez. He came back the next day and we left for Brantford.
At Brantford we went to Mr. and Mrs. Sam Marsh's who lived on a farm outside of Brantford. They had worked Uncle Ham's farm next door to our farm while Uncle Ham was working in Brantford. We stayed to visit the next day as well, and on the following day drove to Delhi. We spent the night with Uncle Eli, and drove home the next day, which was September 14.
It was late when we arrived home and Etta and Eva had gone to bed. They left a note on the table:
The cows are milked the pigs are fed Etta and Eva have gone to bed You may go there, too Without more ado
I passed my entrance in June, 1906. While attending Public School at S. S. 13 in Middleton, I would stop at the Post Office at South Middleton to bring the mail home. At that time the mail came to Courtland on the noon train, and a mail carrier made a trip each day from Port Rowan, to Walsingham, Langton, South Middleton to take out the outgoing mail, and bring the mail back to each of the post offices. Often I would bring the mail for the cheese factory on the corner of the town line and the Hazen. I was usually rewarded with a dinner pail of curds.
In November I started to High School and Etta and I rented rooms to live in from Monday to Friday. These rooms were on Tillson Avenue, later on Pearl Street, and later on North Broadway. They had to pay school fees of $3.00 as they didn't live in Tillsonburg.
After school I frequently had wood to split for our stove. Often I picked up my collars from the laundry, the cost was 2 cents for each. At times we went skating on Lake Lisgar.
April 21, 1908 -- had our telephone put in.
September 28, 1908 -- sold 16 quarts of chestnuts to Fishers. (The store at South Middleton)
A house was on the point at the intersection of the 2nd concession road and the Bostwick. The house burned and Father bought the land. He sold it to the Trustees of the Plymouth Brethern faith and they built a church there. Services continued from about 1890 to about 1945 when the land reverted back to the farm. The church was always called The Gospel Hall.
Shredded corn. -- A corn shredder was owned by a group of about 10 farmers and each had it in turn. It would husk the corn, shred the corn stalks and blow them in the barn.
The Triggerson Place -- 50 acres of Lot 21 C 2 STR was owned by John Triggerson, often called Dr. Triggerson as he owned a steam bath and gave massages. He had separated from his wife and I have a copy of the very detailed document prepared when they separated. When the Doctor was older, he made an agreement with Father and in 1899 Father rented the Triggerson place for $16.00 to use as a pasture farm. On May 7, 1899, Dr. Triggerson came here to live, and gave Father the deed to his farm for keeping him.
The steam bath came to our scullery -- a box about 3 to 4 feet square and about 5 feet high, with a coal oil heater to produce the steam, and a hole at the top to leave your head out.
On January 23, 1900, Dr. Triggerson moved to his daughter's home in Bruce Mines, Ontario, and Father to pay $50.00 a year. When the Doctor died in 1905. Father then owned the 50 acres. When Alfred and Esther Powers moved from Toronto where they had a bake shop, they lived there. When I bought the home farm in 1920, Mother and Father lived there.
Father worked on the roads -- statute labour it was called. When older I also did the road work. All of the owners of property had to supply the labour to keep the roads in good condition. The days of work required depended on the assessment. A man and a team of horses counted 3 days, a man alone counted one day. In the early 1900s, Father needed to give 7 days of road work. In the 1920s the costs for the roads were added to the tax bills.
August 15, 1911 -- Went to Simcoe on the train to hear Sir Wilfred Laurier.
March 19, 1912 -- Uncle Ham tested the gas well.
During the first half of 1912 -- ordered gas pipe -- got our gas in at last -- worked at gas fixtures, 8 lights and 2 stoves -- put gas in parlour and hall. (Note: this gas well supplied the two Birdsall farms until about a year before the hydro became available in 1930.)
In the winter months there was often a note in Charles' diary that he had cut ice, drew two loads of ice home today, or got a load of sawdust. The ice usually came from the pond at Heslop's Mill, and a section of the barn was used to pack the blocks of ice in sawdust.
An explanation was made by Charles for two entries in his Father's diary of 1898 that on January 18, Rover died, and on February 4, took Rover's skin to be tanned:
Rover was a large Newfoundland dog, and after tanning the fur was made into two pairs of gauntlets for Father and Mother. I believe these were the warmest gauntlets I ever put on -- they were well lined and the leather never got hard. I believe Father and Mother used them nearly twenty years.
On the farm they had cattle, pigs and sheep. Frequent entries in Charles' diary would be the arrival of lambs, or pigs. When Charles was old enough he was the one who sheared the sheep. They pastured young cattle on "the other place", and cut hay there -- meaning the Triggerson farm. The crops were hay, corn, millet, mangolds, oats, wheat, buckwheat and rye. An entry might be on one day plowed for millet, on another day sowed mangolds. Frequently the wheat went to the mill, and flour for bread brought home.
Following elementary school, two years at High School, and one year at Business College, Charles stayed on the home farm to work with his father from 1910 on.
The Farm -- C. 3 STR, Lot 13: 76 acres, Lot 14: 24 acres
The general farm grew a variety of crops, hay, wheat, corn, buckwheat, millet, mangolds, oats. There were pigs, cattle, chickens and sheep. In January, 1915, Charles went to Guelph for a short course at the Ontario Agricultural College.
After his marriage to Eva Swinn in September, 1915, he continued to work the farm with his father until he purchased the farm and his parents moved to the 50 acres at Lot 21, C 2 STR. in 1920. In 1928 the first crop of tobacco was grown with arrangements to receive advice and help from Thornton Breckenridge.
Charles continued growing a crop of tobacco each year, Eva housed and fed many of the workers. In 1939 a second house was built in preparation for a sharegrower to grow the tobacco. The growers were: Louis Walgrave in 1940, Theo Brinker from 1941 to 1944, Paul Krukowski in 1945, Jack and Freda Graves from 1946 on. Jack and Freda bought the farm in 1957, and sold it in 1967 to the Imperial Tobacco Company.
Eva and Charles continued to live in the family home that John Birdsall had built and moved in on October 28, 1885. After Eva's death in 1965 Charles continued to live there until his move to 54 Badwin Street, Tillsonburg, in 1972. SOUTH MIDDLETON UNITED CHURCH
Charles attended Sunday School and Church regularly, became Superintendant of the Sunday School in 1927 for a number of years, and a member of the board of trustees. From 1916 until 1927 a group of the church members prepared a play to be put on at South Middleton and many area communities.
Entries were made in Charles' diary of the Ladies Aid meetings at the homes -- in the years up to the thirties the men also went, and a noon meal was served. Other events were held to raise money for the church: an entry of August 26, 1927 -- ice cream social here at night, about 70 here.
By the 1950s the church attendance had declined, the church building was sold, and Charles arranged to have a memorial cairn built on the property. During 1955 he assisted Walter McDowell with the construction, and on June 24, 1956, former members and many others gathered for the unveiling of the cairn. Charles planted trees, flowers, and mowed the grass from 1956 until 1973. The property was turned over to the Township for maintenance.
MUNICIPAL POLITICS
Charles was a councillor on the Middleton Township Council from 1928 to 1930. Elections were held each year for Reeve, Deputy Reeve and three councillors. He worked at the enumeration of voters, at the polls on election day for municipal, provincial and federal elections whenever such duties were required.
He returned to local government in 1948 as Deputy Reeve. The Reeve of each municipality of Norfolk County attended County Council in Simcoe. This continued for 5 years, the first 3 as Deputy Reeve, and the last two as Reeve. In 1951 Charles was Warden of Norfolk County. He became the historian of the Norfolk County Council, gave talks on the wardens through the years, and attended the inauguration of new wardens for many years after he was no longer a member. When the region of Haldimand-Norfolk was formed in 1974, there was no longer a County Council.
In July, 1953, Charles was nominated as a candidate for the Conservatives in the federal election. At the nomination meeting the speaker was Roland Mitchener who was later Governor General of Canada. The election was on August 10 when the candidate for the Liberal party, Raymond Anderson, was elected.
In 1955 he was appointed to fill many positions in the Township of Middleton. These included Building Inspector, Inspector of Drains Weeds and Sanitation, and Dog Catcher. In 1956 he became Assessor for the Township. At that time the assessor called at the home of each property owner in the township.
Politics was an important part of municipal politics, and had been for many years. If the council had a majority of Liberals, all Conservatives that had been hired were replaced with those supporting the Liberal party. In 1962 a majority of Liberals on Middleton Council dismissed Charles as Assessor.
HISTORICAL INTERESTS
Charles had a keen interest in the history of Norfolk County and of Middleton Township. He gathered the pictures of all of the Reeves of Middleton from 1850 to 1973, and presented the framed pictures of the 32 reeves to Jerome Van de Slyke, the last reeve of Middleton before the region was formed in 1974.
Charles gave speeches on the local history to school children, to members of the Norfolk Historical Society, and at other meetings. He also gathered pictures and stories of the early members of the Birdsall family.
LODGES
Oddfellows Lodge:
Joined Otter Lodge No. 50 in 1932, held numerous offices, Noble Grand 1969-1970. Became member of Lisgar Encampment in 1936, held many offices, and was Chief Patriarch in 1945-1946. Was treasurer from 1969 until his death in 1980. Th Lodge held a dinner to honour him for all his years of service in 1979.
Orange Lodge:
Joined Guysboro Orange Lodge in 1948, was Worshipful Master in 1969-1970. Was a member or Royal Black Preceptory in 1949. Charles was Financial Secretary and Treasurer of both of these Lodges at the time of his death in 1980.
Masonic Lodge and Shrine Club:
Joined King Hiram Lodge No. 78 in 1936, and a Life Member in 1960. A member of the Burleigh Preceptory in 1945, and a member of the Mocha Temple of the Shriners in 1945; member of Rose Croix Woodstock in 1972, Moore Sovereign Consistory, Hamilton, 1972.
Charles was a Director of the Tillsonburg Shrine Club from 1961 - 1965, was President in 1966, and Secretary from 1967 until his death in 1980.
A Charlie Birdsall Night was held at the Annual Meeting of the Tillsonburg Shrine Club in 1973 to honour him for his years of service to the Club. He was presented with a brief case and a jewelled fez.
REAL ESTATE SALESMAN
On October 22, 1970, Charles wrote the examination required to sell real estate. From the time of becoming qualified, he went to the office of Jack Graves Realty when not busy with some other activity. He kept his book up to date on the properties available for sale, and entered this new career at 77 years of age. He was a member of the Tillsonburg Real Estate Board at the time of his death in 1980.