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This is Neil Flindall interviewing Mr. Ken Minor in his apartment, in building
C,
Apt. 103, 19 High Street, Fort Erie, Ontario, on the 17th day of July 1985.
N.F:
Good afternoon; when did you first come to Fort Erie?
K.M:
I came to Fort Erie on August eleventh, 1916.
N.F:
And where did you come from?
K.M:
I came from a farm near Wellandport, Ontario.
N.F:
What was
K.M:
Well it was...just at that time I thought it was quite wonderful,
your
first impression of Fort Erie?
because it took me away from the farm...although...it was just
one step above that .�had·water,_ but no sewers or anything...well
.
my
working days began
and I...at the
here...we came here to work my father
International Safe
Sticks are now ...at
the
corner of
what that used to be ...and
the man who lived across
needed
a
helper. ..and
Works, down
I
there...where
Murray and Niagara
worked
Safe,
and
and I
the street from
us at that time...he
he worked as a steam fitter over
in
Niagara
with him,
so
the only reason I worked so short a time at International
worked this
I was laid
up
for
for almost a year, then
place
a while . .well it
.
going to catch a streetcar and I
I got pneumonia...
was my own fault, I was
got all warmed u p
the winter time...and I caught the car, and
of
Street ...that's
there for a few weeks ...and
Falls, New York, he asked me if I wanted to work
I did ...that's
Setter's
I
and
sat in the
it
was
back end
the streetcar and well, that was it I was warm and it was draughty
and that was enough to do it...I remember that part of it...I
worked
at, oh, I worked at so many places I can't remember them all,
ha, ha, at that time, well then I worked at the shipyard.
N.F:
That's the shipyard they call the marina now?
K.M:
Yes, that's it...it was the shipyard then, we built four or five...five
boats I think there were ...four freighters, and a tug ... that was
the ones made for the war, the First World War, and after that
it closed up.
N.F:
Did you live down there when you worked there?
K.M:
No, I travelled back and forth, you remember Walter Kent...he
died a couple of years ago...he was the first one I knew, he and I went
(1)
�to work down there. . . and I walked down there in fact, I walked
(
down there to get a job ... Bert Sampson, he used to be with the
Town, he was the one who hired me... he was the shipyard superintendent,
and Walter Kent his father was the superintendent of the electrical
part of the ship there you see, and all that. . . and
I
got a break
with him there. . . and we were always friends after that for years ... and
it was just about then that I got married...and he introduced me
to my wife. . . my first wife died ... Esther, you knew her too. . . and
for a short time after that
'
Power Plant
...
I
worked down at the... Sir Adam Beck
! worked there for not too long, about seven months
or so ... then I had a chance to go to work at Pratt and Lambert,
and I worked at Pratt and Lambert then from 1922 till 1943.
N.F:
That's a long time.
K.M:
Yes that was a long time.
N.F:
What was your first job at Pratt and Lambert?
K.M:
My first job ... at Pratt and Lambert...well,
I
worked in the Varnish
Department ...making varnish ... Albert Putney, I don't know if
you'd know him or not...he was an old time Fort Erie guy...he
(
was in charge of regular varnish making, and he came from Buffalo. . . he
was the varnish maker at that time...and then
I
went to Buffalo,
to Pratt and Lambert in Buffalo, for three years yes,
I
went over
there and worked for three years and I came back here. .. Max
Waters was ... he was the varnish maker here then ...at that time. . .he
got sick and then
I
made the varnish ... until
I
retired.
N.F:
Has Pratt and Lambert expanded since you first started?
K.M:
Oh yes, they've put an addition on there in 1945 I think ... they
added that on... oh, and they've added additions around the co�pound
there.
N.F:
They have had a good number of employees also?
K.M:
Well they didn't have an awful lot... they usually had about thirty
to thirty-five ...you know, that's one thing about Pratt and Lambert
they always, they had few lay offs, if it got slack you know, there
was always something for you to do...paint the place up and make
it look good, things like that, there was always something
(
(2)
�you...except during the depression, but then ...they kept... everyÂ
(
body on, you might work every other week or so ...but the ones
that had been there they would keep.
N.F:
Depression had a big effect o� Fort Erie?
K.M:
Oh yes, although maybe not so much on the railroad, but even
the men who worked on the railroad ...especially the older men,
they could keep their jobs, and worked on the railroad... but it
was a hard time for the younger men, trying to find work.
N.F:
Did you always live in the south end?
K.M:
Always, I never lived anywhere else...I lived right over here on
"'
.. ·'
the corner of Stanton and Catherine... when I first came to Fort
Erie and then I moved away for a couple of years and then I moved
back there again, and I lived there until three years ago.
N.F:
Did you have many neighhours when you first moved in there?
K.M:
Well, of course there wasn't as many houses then, as there are
now ... it was pretty well vacant all around...the old timers of
course, Archie Campbell, you'd remember him, and Arnie Waite,
Oh, let's see, I can't recall all the names now, and of course on
(
the other side of the street there were no houses there at that
time they all came along after... just at that time on Catherine
Street, on the north side of Catherine Street and on down it was
all maybe just one house...there have been a lot of changes over
the years of course. . .but there are still some houses there that
were there at that time, on the south side there weren't any,
that was all vacant, yes... and then of course they started building
the war time houses, there were one story and two story houses...
and they were all built the same.
N.F:
That was one of the main ways that Fort Erie's areas did become
built up.
K.M:
Oh yes, and they built all those wooden houses so when the was
was over they wouldn't have any problems, and they could thake
them down...that was the object of all those houses up there in
the commons...the way it turned out they rented the houses and
then...all the houses...were bought... and of course...after that
(
(3)
�none of them were ever torn down.
N.F:
But they were all supposed to be torn down?
K.M:
That's why they were built... all those houses out of wood that
way so they would be easier to tear down...that's why th�y were
that type of house. . . they had two types...a one story and a two
story... and that's the way they were all built.
N.F:
What did you think of amalgamation?
K.M:
Well, at that time
! don't know . ! felt at that time that it
.
.. .
.
probably wasn't right, you know, because...Fort Erie was Fort
�
.
'
Erie, and Bridgeburg was Bridgeburg, Amagari was Amagari...
but I do think it was best in the long run... but I don't think Regional
Government helped any ... even at that time Fort Erie was Fort
Erie, and of course the name will always stay that way, but you
know the public never did have much to say about it.
N.F:
Did you have a vote at the time of amalgamation, to say whether
you wanted it or not?
K.M:
No...or yes there was.
N.F:
Was it a popular vote, were a lot of people either for or against
(
it?
K.M:
Well the old timers, who had lived here for a long time, I don't
think they were for it ...and it was a close vote. . . it was only ...
it was very, very, close, I forget just how close it was...Bridgeburg
had a larger population than Fort Erie... and it was a close vote
I remember ... but it was carried anyway...and now we have it,
so I don't know, so many things have happened, so many changes,
big ones and little ones, and the little ones yuou don't notice as
they go by.. .I can remember you. . . really young, and your cousin
Johnny.
N.F:
When you first came to Fort Erie what would there be for entertainment?
K.M:
Well there was a picture show here...in the north end...the Bellard
theatre, the Ziff family, ran it ... down on Dufferin Street... and
then there was one built down here in
1942
or
1943
(in the south
end). . .it was the Bellard down there ... Bellard, the name, was
taken from the first initial of all the family... Bellard, that's where
(
that came from ...and in
1942 I
think they built the other one.
(4)
�N.F:
What was it's name, do you remember a name for it?
K.M:
I forget, I just can't recall right now...that was Barney Ziff that
was down there...but I can't remember a name...that's a long
time ago ...then after that they turned it into a bowling alley...there
sure have been a lot of changes around here...you remember Al
Barber in the south end...and Al Ferguson was the barber down
there.
N.F:
When did you first start with the fire company?
K.M:
Oh, that would be in
N.F:
That is quite a while ago.
K.M:
Yes that's quite a while ago now...I'm about tl'!e oldest living member
�928.,
of that company now.
N.F:
Where would the company have been at that time?
K.M:
Oh, it was right down on Queen Street, right next to what is the
Legion now ...it was a square building made out of cement blocks,
and that was before my time...the members of the company at
that time, they sold cement blocks and built that building, they
went around and sold blocks for that building ...and that's how
they built it...selling blocks around town, and all that.
N.F:
I've never heard that story.
K.M:
Oh, yes and that was before I belonged ...and that was what you
called an honest to goodness Volunteer Fire Company, well it
was in my time too, but that was when they used to pull it around
themselves, and then they had horses and that and they used to
haul everything all the way to a fire...and then they got the Bickell
Truck...that was just before I joined...must have been in
1927,
I guess that was ...a bad part of it with a fire truck was in the
winter time you know, it just couldn't go up the hill ... that was...lots
of times pretty hard to get up the hill ...that would be pretty deep
snow and it would be blowing pretty good... and they always said
at that time...if you ever build a fire hall, it won't be below the
hill ...it will be above the hill...so that's how come it came to
be where it is ...you can't always come up the hill...but you can
always come down the hill...so when it came time to build a new
(
fire hall ...at any rate that was the reason it was built up on the
hill...you can come down, but you can't come up.
(5)
�N.F:
(
When you joined was it a big company?
K.M:
Oh no, it was only...thirty I think
•.•
there aren't many with more
members, in them have thirty-five, of course, you have got all
those exempts.
N.F:
K.M:
. Yes that's true too.
Although they don't go to the fires
•..
they still do a lot of work for
the fire company itself.
N.F:
How big an area would that fire company have covered?
K.M:
At that time
the old town, the Town of Fort Erie
•••
.
wards it did go out as far as Buffalo Road
yes
•..
number three
•••
well then after-
•••
�
East Bertie
••.
that was before
yes we used to go out to Buffalo Road,
•.•
also Crescent Park...up there we had more grass fires than anything
else, there were hardly no homes up there
..•
a lot of grass fires
in those days.
N.F:
You would cover the lakeshore along there too?
K.M:
Yes
•••
and when we had a fire we would go up to the tower on Lakeshore
and Buffalo Roads, that's where we got our water
course the East Bertie Fire Hall was built
(
they built that themselves
•..
the East Bertie Fire Hall belongs to East Bertie
now even
.•.
and then of
••.
they won that
.•.
that East Bertie Fire Hall belongs to East Bertie, it
doesn't belong to the Town
yes when I was in the company we
•••
always had a good time...of course you worked hard too...use to
go out to the parades
•••
over on the states' side, and all over
.••
way
outside Buffalo, and of course they were volunteers too, at that
time, adn they'd come ove.r here too
.••
of course Jack Kellar, he's
been a member for a long time, and Freddy Henderson, he's been
there a long while too, and some of the other ones, there's quite
a few gone now, it's been quite a while.
N.F:
It couldn't have been easy fighting fires back then, especially in
winter time, and in bad conditions.
K.M:
Oh, it was awful
the fire hose was like a piece of iron
•••
and you couldn't bend it
•••
heavy
this new hose is so pliable and you can
•••
handle it so good, the new fire equipment mak�s it so much easier,
than what we used to do, it was very hard to fight a fire...bo out
(
in that cold and everthing was so hard to handle, but when you
stop to think of it you still had a good time .�ven though there
were the bad points.
(6)
�(
N.F:
You were really doing something worthwhile too.
K.M:
Oh yes, it gives you a good feeling that way, you remember Art
Nolan he was chief when we went up to the new fire hall ...he was
a good man I know, a good fire fighter, he used to drink a little,
but he was always a good fire fighter... Harold Rook, and Fred Henderson
he was chief for quite a while, a long while, I'll tell you another
one who used to be in the company, and that is Jonas Nigh, and
his brother Albert Nigh, there have been changes, Jake Barnhart
•••
I don't know if you'd remember him or not...he went out just about
the time that I went in
•••
he was a big, tall man, it's hard to try
to remember all of them, Lou Douglas, he was one of the older
ones, because he was a founding member, and he was a politician...he
and Albert Nigh and Lou Douglas and they were both in the fire
company...when they built the arena, Lou Douglas was the reeve
at the time.
N.F:
Did you know Dr. Douglas?
K.M:
Yes, didn't go to him a lot, but I went to him a few times, and,
Dr. Chalmers, he was down on the lower Boulevard, he was my
(
Doctor, and when I had pneumonia that time he used to walk up
and see me,
I
was really very sick then, they didn't have the different
drugs then, and he was quite the doctor, so you know at that time
I was pretty sick, it was the sort of thing that people did die from
at that time ...he was a good doctor.
N.F:
That was before the hospital?
K.M:
Oh, yes.
N.F:
What would you do for a broken bone or something serious like
that?
K.M:
Well you went to Niagara Falls to go to the hospital, I never went
to any hospitals really...Dr. Derbyshire
•••
Dr. Derby, he was a good
doctor and I liked him, I knew him better than any other, of course
this was a little later on you see.
N.F:
Was he down around Princess Street then?
K.M:
Yes, well he was at the corner of Queen and Archange...he was
there and then he was on the corner of Goderich and Queen...and
(
(7)
�moved to where he stayed at Princess and Goderich, and that's
(
where he retired
that's quite a while ago
•..
he was the last to give
•••
service like that.
N.F:
The building of the hospital must have been a big thing when it
was done.
K.M:
Oh, yes and that was old Dr. Douglas who left the money for that
building...the hospital wasn't supposed to be built there, you know,
at that place
that wasn't where it was supposed to be, it was
•••
·
supposed to be up on that hill...that's where it should have been
.
built...the corner of Ar"
change and Bertie right on the hill there...
well then I don't know...what happened, something, and they changed
it, and they built it where it is now...you don't know if it would
have been better where it is or where it should have been, where
they intended to have it...but however that is where it was built...
and of course they have more area where it is now...and the hospital
has had a lot of additions, and it's hard to look into the future...
and it's still privately run.
(
N.F:
Do you remember the Peace Bridge being built?
K.M:
Oh, yes, and the opening sure, I even remember going across it
before it was finished.
N.F:
What was it like?
K.M:
Well it was quite an undertaking ...standing back and looking at
it I don't think it has changed much ...not the bridge itself, but
the approaches and the buildings... those parts have changed quite
. a bit, up around the bridge a lot of the streets have changed, a
lot fewer houses
•••
practically all of them are gone, and now they
are going to take some away from the other side to make way for
more building.
N.F:
Did you go to Erie Beach much?
K.M:
Well yes, Erie Beach, that was a nice, Erie Beach was a nice place,
we used to go there a lot, we used to ride the train from the ferry
dock up to Erie Beach ;it was a big novelty in it's way
••
little train you know, up along the lakeshore you know
•••
up on that Erie Beach Railroad for a couple of days
(
and that
•••
I
worked
well you
•••
know every year where the tracks went along the lakeshore they
(8)
�get washed out
•.•
in the winter time you know, and they would
have to go back each year and put the tracks in place
I worked there, helping to put those tracks back
days I worked, every year they used to do that
! remember
•••
one or two
•••
••.
Erie Beach was
a nice place, much nicer than Crystal Beach at that time you
know, that was a nice walk through the beach itself
they had a
.••
promenade right through there...the train would stop at the one
end, and you could walk to the other end and they had a lot of good
rides...a big field there,whe_re you could play ball
•..
that is the only
lacrosse game I've ever seen, it was played right there by some
Indians...they had brought them in to play there
the toughest games I've ever seen
it was one of
•••
it was an interesting game.•• they
•••
were just running around like ...just those raquets ...they didn't show
any mercy
..•
quite the game
•••
they played ball there, you know hard
ball ... back then it may have been softball too
.•.
we had some great
ball teams back then...see the Mentholatum Team
•.•
that was in
the 1920's... 1925 or 1926...that's when they had one fine team...they
really had a good team, they were the Champions of all Ontario...!
(
can remember going to Hamilton, the Fort Erie Mentholatum's
and the team from Brantford
.••
they were in the playoffs in that
game and Howe was the catcher and Jack Williamson, the pitcher
•.•
all
those boys were unbelievable, Charlie Hennessey he was center
fielder, and Charlie Hunt, an outfielder...not many who are alive
today
many an evening I'd go and watch a good game of baseball
•••
like that, and it was good baseball.
N.F:
Where did they play their games?
K.M:
They played on the ball diamond down at the foot of Bowen Road
it isn't there any more, right there on the eastern corner
•••
if they
•••
hit a foul ball
•••
it could go on the river
•••
cause them a lot of problems,
they'd loose a lot of balls that way, it was a heck of a good diamond,
but those balls
away they would go
•••
•••
then they built the park up
on Central and the other one down on Bowen
•••
and now they don't
have no ball games...they've got the girl's team...if they're still
playing
(
and I don't know why they don't advertise the ball games...
•••
I used to go over there to watch them... but now you don't hear
(9)
�anything about it
•.•
Fort Erie used to be a good ball team town
•••
have to have the backing
•••
and the advertising you know
to get
•••
the people interested, well see the Mentholatum Company
recall who ran the company back then
•.•
of it
•.•
you
! can't
.••
Stratton, he was the head
and that's where they got all their money for it ••• that's where
they got their backing
! can't remember his first name, Stratton,
•••
he was the big guy...and of course I'll tell you another thing at that
time, was the
•••
Fort Erie had some good ball teams
••.
from the
railroad...different parts of the railroad, oh, each department,
they all had their own section and their own teams
had a lot of good ball teams
..•
yes, and they
and naturally they played a lot of
•..
ball, in those days
with
.•.
••.
and they had some good ball players to start
they took the best out of those teams and moved them over
that's how most of those teams got started
..•
•..
and of course then
they had their advertising and that was how they got people to
go...and oh a lot of people used to go
•••
and now you don't hear about
them ...you don't ever see anything in the papers either
to make
•••
a success out of it you have to advertise.
(Can you tell me anything about the arena?)
(
K.M:
About the arena...hockey teams we had a few of those...amateur
and professional...that was good hockey
just as good as you see
••.
on television, or anywhere now...we had some good players come
out of Fort Erie
Fort Erie did have teams, but then the professional
.••
team came over from Buffalo, and played their games here, that's
when they built that earlier arena •••and the players some of them
came from around Kitchener
•••
and a few were from Fort Erie too,
like Babe Beaugardis •••and many others
played really good hockey
•••
too
and we had fine amateur teams here too
•••
before the arena went down
place was packed
•••
that's like the night
they had played Hamilton
•••
and the
•••
and it was fortunate it didn't happen that night
•••
•••
lot of people could have been killed, if they'd have been in there
•••
it
really went down ••• of course if they had looked after it properly
that shouldn't have happened•••kept those trusses up and tight
•••
!
mean it was supposed to be built like that, was designed that way
•••
if they
•••
those trusses had been kept tight
•••
(
(10)
it never would have
a
�fallen down, because it was built like that, with those trusses, but
(
evidently they didn't do that, and the slack, in the way they were
formed, that allowed it to fall down...it caused quite a sensation,
and that was really a beautiful _arena, it might have still been here,
possibly
things
•.•
it was an expensive lesson learned, not to take care of
just taking care of those trusses, it wasn't much of a job
.••
but it just wasn't done
•••
you take all that weight on that roof, from
the heavy snow...and down she went.
N.F:
Do you remember any �arg€'.1fires, or difficult fires?
K.M:
Well there was the old Erie Beach Hotel, that was one, that was
a big one, it wasn't a windy night but a big fire, and then there
was
•••
let's see now
..•
oh, a fire in the north end...an old business,
used to be on Courtwright Street there, it entirely burned down,
and there was snow on the ground, deep, deep snow on the ground,
and putting water on it
••.
the water got all soaked up into the snow,
and that was about the toughest, hardest fire I ever saw, you just
couldn't get into it ...it was miserable ...and they had one down on
Forsythe Street, where they had the arena, the boxing arena, at
(
one time...that was quite a long time back, wasn't it...oh, they
had boxing
.••
before my time...oh, they had championship boxers ...
Lou Douglas, he had a blacksmith shop
•..
on the corner of Forsythe
and Princess Street, no that must be Archange Street, he had a
blacksmith shop there...he was an expert smith, yes he'd shoe horses
and he was abig guy and strong, a horse ...he could almost pick it
up and throw on the shoes
yes he was quite a guy.
•••
N.F:
He must have been quite an individual.
K.M:
Yes, he did a lot of good for Fort Erie, and a lot of the people who
live here, and they never even knew about it, I knew about a lot
of what he did, but a lot of people never did you know, he had his
own way of doing things for people. There are a lot of things that
I don't remember.
N.F:
You must have seen a lot of changes, in thetown itself.
K.M:
Oh yes, of course a lot of changes
Fort Erie when it was amalgamated
•••
into Fort Erie and they had the town hall, well they had the police
(
station and everything in it, and then later on they changed that
(11)
�and the police station was moved to the north end, on Jarvis Street
(
there...yes, that was changed, the fire hall used to be on the corner
where the town hall is now ...then later they built the town hall
there and moved the fire station to where it stands now on Jarv«!s
Street, and of course that's where our town hall is now, where that
building stands, even this _place beside us wasn't here...but it's doing
pretty good now...they've got lots of work...that's Harber v!anufacturing
f
over there...and Hart and Cooley is gone now ... Horton Steel is back
to work at least a little ... ai:id the Fleet seems to be doing well and
now they are going to have an addition of some sort...I see they
broke ground earlier this week.
N.F:
Fort Erie had never had too many big industries.
K.M:
No, they never have, Horton Steel has been pretty big and at one
time Hart and Cooley was a good size, and then they just folded
up
••.
a lot of people in this area worked there all their lives...and
Mentholatum is gone now...they used to make pills and stuff,
I
was
never in that building ...and of course the railroad has changed a
lot too, it used to be so big and so busy, but it's sure not that way
(
.
now...and the race track it has changed .. ! haven't been up there
in quite a while.. ! think the last time I was up there was a Senior
.
Citizen's Day some years ago, and I just couldn't believe the change...
it thundered and the lightning, and I've never seen it rain so hard
•••
just got soaked.
N.F:
Did you ever go to the Bertie Fair?
K.M:
Oh yes, I used to go up there every year
that was.. ! went first
.••
.
when they used to have the horse races there...oh, I don't remember
too much about it, I remember they used to have trotting races
there at that time...then they changed that and they had exhibits...
stuff like that, a regular fair, it wasn't bad, they used to have pretty
good crowds...! wouldn't say everybody used to go... but they had
pretty good crowds...it used to be very popular...I'd say on the whole
it was very good, yes it was a pretty good fair
they used to have
•••
pretty good attendance you know, exhibitors and that... but it is
like everything else, it petered out
•••
(
(12)
yes, that's the way all things
�go eventually ••.the new things come along
opened Fleet
••.
like when they first
you don't remember when it was first opened
•••
that
•••
was when it was first built...it was on the corner, of Gilmore there,
and there was another street which used to go across there
••.
that
was when it was first built and the Fleet was first started, on the
corner, they first built an office there...oh, I don't remember for
sure, but the thing was that their first office was there on the corner,
oh, it wasn't just there for building airplanes, that came after, in
the war, at first they built everything, now it's much bigger and
"'
�!
very busy ...must be busy with that big parking lot, at both ends
of their yard.
N.F:
When did the firemen start with their parades?
K.M:
When did they start...oh, the Jamboree... they started about, oh
I would say 1939 or 1940.
N.F:
That far back?
K.M:
Oh, yes for a couple of years they used to have them at Roses,
then the Erie Lane, for a few years...use to put up a dance floor,
(
made it up at Erie Beach...and use to put it down each year, in
the summer time...that was for a few years, and then we changed
it...from the west side of the Erie Lane we went over to Bertie
and the Boulevard...and then we were there for a few years
.•.
and
then we went over to the other side of Bertie and the Boulevard
we had it therefor a number of years too
•..
and you know, we did
.•.
pretty good whit those, we didn't make a lot of money, but we all
had a good time
it was the sort of thing that kept on growing...
•.•
and it was a lot of work
•• .
! know that...but it started in 1939...
we used to have a volunteer band at that time Mr. Baxter
•••
know old Mr. Baxter
you
well he started the bands in Fort Erie
•••
he's
•••
the one who started the idea...that's when the station was over
on Bertie Street
and he started us having a Band Tatoo, that's
•••
what we called it
•••
of years
we had it in the ballpark, had it there for a number
! just don't recall how many, I remember we used to have
•••
to take along chairs and all the things up there for the Band Tatoo
and
•••
it used to last a couple of nights I think it was...then go back down
(
(13)
�there and get everything and take it back where you got it...it was
a lot of work...that's a long time ago... Mr. Baxter ...he was a good
musician...he was really good with the music, and with the men,
we know that...he had a lot of patience...we used to be around...and
the practice was going on and we'd listen to it, you know, and some
of the guys would just be starting you know, and all of a sudden
you'd hear somebody go off beat you know...and he'd pound on the
thing ...and he'd start all over again...oh, he had a lot of patience
I'll tell you...and he was gopd, he turned out qquite a lot of good
players...some of them have moved away...but I think that's why
he had such good results, he had patience of Job, buy, and he was
a good musician ...patience I think that was the reason he was so
good because he had the patience to work with it.
N.F:
It couldn't have been easy, no.
K.M:
Yes, that's why I say he had to have patience to get what he did
out of them...and he was a nice man...when I first met him I didn't
know much about him, or who he was, and I didn't thinkmuch of
him...but after I got to know him he was a good, and very nice man...
and he had patience, I guess that's what you could say most about
him...he had patience...he was musical in England, that's w�ere
he came from...he was quite a musician...it's too bad he had to
stop...it's too bad someone else hasn't come along...to pick it back
up...there aren't many like that. There have been so many people
over the years it's impossible to remember them all.
N.F:
That's for sure. The firemen made a big contribution in Fort Erie
in 1957 for the Centennial Year.
K.M:
Oh, yes if it hadn't been for the firemen that year there wouldn't
have been any parade.
N.F:
That's what I've heard.
K.M:
Oh, yes and that was a big parade...and a lot of work
•••
it really
turned out good for the Centennial...there has been a lot of parades
and a lot of work, but I think that was the best one .".it was just
•
so bilg and a good get together...and then we had a lot of companies
from over the river too, of course we always do, but that year it
(
was exceptionally good I think...you know, thinking about that when
(14)
�I first joined the Department, before then, one of the men said
to me that they were going over the river to take part in a parade
and asked me if I'd like to go along, and of course I said sure
I went and watched the parade ••• and after we got back
•••
and
! don't
.••
know if you remember Tom Sumner... he was the chief then
•••
and
he asked me if I would like to belong to the fire company... well,
I hadn't thought about it before that, and I said, "Maybe I would".
to which they said, "Why not"
•••
and I think that was 1928 . .
and that's how I joined the fire company
'
N.F:
You've put in a lot of hours since then.
K.M:
Oh, yes
•••
and all the volunteer companies work at it, they always
do what they can
•.•
and you've got to maintain fire equipment and
do all that...I've been there almost since I started at Pratt and
Lambert
•••
and I started there in 1922 . yes, that's a long time ago,
..
a lot of things have happened.
N.F:
Well, I'd like to thank you very much for the interview, you've helped
me along quite a bit, and have a good day.
(
(
(15)
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Oral History Transcripts
Subject
The topic of the resource
oral history, Fort Erie
Description
An account of the resource
Transcriptions from interviews of various Fort Erie residents conducted in 1985 by the Fort Erie Public Library
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fort Erie Public Library
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
FEPL- LH - Oral History
Contributor
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Fort Erie Public Library
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview.
Neil Findall
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Ken Minor
Location
The location of the interview.
Mr. Minor's home at 19 High Street apartments
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Cassette tape
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Oral History - Minor, Ken
Description
An account of the resource
Provided here is Ken Minor's interview. He discusses such topics as:
Farming
Factories and industry
The Depression
South end
Amalgamation
North end
Fire department
Medicine
Peace Bridge
Erie Beach
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Fort Erie Public Library Local History Collection
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
July 17, 1985
1980s
1985
amalgamation
Erie Beach
factories and industry
Fort Erie
Great Depression
north end
Oral history
peace bridge
south end
transcripts