Constable John Fisk of King died 1804

My wife and I were watching CFTO news on Sunday evening and there was a story about the 13th annual Ceremony of Remembrance for Ontario's fallen police officers.   As the tv camera scanned the  inscribed wall of  names of fallen officers, my eye caught one in particular:  John Fisk, King Township, 1804.

I was instantly transfixed by this revelation.   I had no idea this person existed in this highly visible and historical setting.   The ceremony this year  added three  new names to the Wall of Honour.   Two were from  1854 and 1919.   The third was York Regional Constable Garrett Styles who was killed last  year on June 28, 2011.

As for John Fisk, he  was the first known police officer killed in the line of duty in Canada.   He was born  in 1752 at Wallingford, Connecticut and  served in the  Continental Army during the War of the Revolution guarding prisoners.   After resigning his commission , he moved to Massachusetts and married Lavinia Higby Dean.   They moved on to New York and Vermont, raised six children, and finally settled in Canada on a 210-acre farm in King Township.   John Fisk was made High Constable of the Home District (Town of York).   He was also an auctioneer and pound-keeper.   On October 7, 1804, he was transporting a prisoner to court in Newcastle on the HMS Speedy, one of only two schooners which made up the Provincial Marine on Lake Ontario.   The vessel never arrived.   John Fisk, his prisoner and  another approximately 20 people on board, including the Judge of the King's Bench and the Attorney General of Upper Canada were lost in what was believed to be a fierce storm.   High Constable Fisk's body was never recovered from the lake.      More than 200 years later, John Fisk is remembered and honoured in two places in Ontario.   There is a plaque in his honour near Trenton, and his name is inscribed on the  Ontario Police Memorial Wall at Queen's Park in Toronto.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace 

Local apples in trouble? Let's hope not.

On Thursday I dropped into the Pine Farms Orchard Cafe & Bakery, north of King City, on the 16th Sideroad between Keele and Jane Streets, to pick up a blueberry pie for dinner.   The minature apple trees were all bursting into leaf and blossoms.

As I looked out across the rolling sweep of the orchard, I immediately thought of the reports about how the incredibly mild March weather has apparently doomed 80% of the apple crop in the Niagara Peninsula.   I asked the young lady behind the counter  if she had heard anything about the condition of the apple trees at Pine Farms.   She was non-committal and thought that it was probably too early to tell how local conditions were going to affect this years crop.   She suggested that perhaps  the apples might be slightly smaller this year, but only time would tell.   Apple-picking at Pine Farms Orchard has become a strong, local tradition for many in King and beyond.   Let's hope Pine Farms Orchard's 'King Ridge' or moraine micro-climate was unique enough to withstand the vagaries of an early spring that seemed so wonderful a month-and-a-half ago but is now showing some unpleasant after-effects.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

  

Little white flags?!?

Photo by Barry Wallace

What are all those little white flags for at the intersection of Keele Street and the 15th Sideroad, at the north end of King City.   There are a few hundred of them in groups of 30 or 40.   A closer look and they state clearly that they are a York Region tree planting project.   The patch in the photo above are labelled Sumach.   It seems major road improvements of well-travelled regional roads are being given this treatment regularly.   Well done, York Region.

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Barry Wallace

Horsing around at Just-A-Lark Farm

Photos by Barry Wallace

I spotted these two white beauties on John & Debbie Weir's 15th Sideroad farm at Eversley on Wednesday afternoon and was interested to see the one on the left working away at stirring up a mud puddle with great enthusiasm and determination, and no concern for appearances.

After much splashing and thrashing of muddy water, the mare, that had appeared so pristine minutes before, seemed quite satisfied with the mess she had created of herself and sauntered off as if saying to her male companion "Okay buddy, the bath is all yours".

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Barry Wallace   

First Trillium

Photo by Barry Wallace

 Trillium erectum
a.k.a. Wake-robin ~ Red Trillium ~ Purple Trillium ~ Beth Root ~ Stinking Benjamin
Keele Street North / King City

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Barry Wallace

Glass binder ~ circa 1930

Glass-Cairns Family Photo Collection

My wife Linda's sister, Margaret Asbury, recently provided me with a slew of old photographs which may or may not be of interest to the King Township Historical Society or the King Archives. That will be pursued in the near future.   In the meantime, a lot of effort needs to be put into indentifying people, places and dates.   The photo above shows Len Glass, maternal grandfather of my wife Linda, and her sisters Marg and Beth, riding on the binder being pulled by the tractor.   What caught my eye about this photo are the fearsome-looking spike lugs on the rear tractor wheels.   Yikes!   Can you imagine any person or creature falling beneath these wheels?   Rubber tractor tires weren't introduced into Canada until 1932 and by 1940, 90% of all tractors had rubber wheels.   The tractor here is obviously pulling the binder, but what's not known is whether the binder is being mechanically driven by a large ground-wheel under its frame or from a power take-off from the tractor.   PTOs for tractors were introduced toward the end of WW1. 

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

One of King's quietest spots

Photos by Barry Wallace

Remnant bridge ~ Humber River

Bottom of the 11th Concession ~ King Township

Marsh Marigolds

Mallards

Up north a creek or stream ~ down here the Humber becomes a river

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace