Little Nell

Earlier, Eric posted "Broad-way in Middleton." We return to the stage with this picture of "Little Nell."

Dave Swim was the farmer; Neil Fisher was Little Nell, his daughter; the villain was Eric Wright; and the policeman, blocked by the mike, was Corning Sinclair.

"'Twas a dark and stormy night when my Nellie went away, and I never shall forget it 'til my dying day; she was sweet sixten, the village queen, the prettiest little picture that you ever seen. She went away with an actor guy with a black mustache and a red necktie; nothing's been the same since my Nellie went away; the rooster died and the hens won't lay."

1947 Middleton Bantam Cardinals

Front: Roy Dowell, Ken Perkins, Neil Fisher, Bob Montgomery, Ron Rawding, Bob Rafuse;
Back: Herb MacLeod (coach); Ted Rafuse, Sonny Dowell, Ted Marshall, Bev Bruce, and Eric Wright. (Missing Gordie Francis) Write-ups suggest Jim dumeah did some coaching too.

You knew it had to be posted sooner or later. The 1947 Provincial Champions, defeating first Annapolis (22-0 in Middleton; other game forfeited) and then Amherst (7-2 in Middleton; 9-1 in Amherst) to win the title and cap an undefeated season. There were exhibition victories against Annapolis, Aylesford, Berwick and Kentville.

Halifax Trip

Denny Johnston circulated this picture awhile back.

The MRHS Grade XIIs must have taken a trip to Halifax.

These well-dressed young men - Eric, Gerald, Neil, Watson, Corning and Denny are seen with teacher, chaperone, Al Peppard.

Probably spring of 1951.

Macdonald Consolidated Plus ...

We discovered, perhaps re-discovered, this picture yesterday.
I recognized Macdonald Consolidated School but not the other building.

Bruce MacKenzie has identified it as the Town Hall.

My brother adds: Acccording to a book by the Macdonald Museum, the building on the left was the old Middleton School. It served as the town hall until it was demolished in 1936.

Millard (Joey) added a bit more: That was the old school, town hall and court room. It's where hobos used to hang out . In the winter there was a stove in there and plenty of wood, with a buck saw. One of the visitors just took the 4 ft. long log and shoved it in as it burned off.

Thanks, All.

Middleton Teachers identified

According to my brother the other teacher is Audrey Taylor who married Buck Miles, who worked in the Bank of N.S. and was a good hockey player.

Cowboys and Baseball

There was a time when the big decision was - do we play Cowboys or Baseball. If you had a Red Sox uniform and a gun and holster, you were ready for both.

Macdonald Consolidated teachers

These two tachers were before our time. I recognize Grace Henry but the other lady is totally unfamiliar. Again, maybe Millard and Bruce can help ?

Macdonald Consolidated School pupils and teachers

This is a nice old picture but not sure what year. Probably late 30's and maybe old timers like Millard and Bruce can help ? My father is in the top row, far left. Some faces look familiar.

Broadway in Middleton

Not sure what year this theatrical production was launched. A lot of the faces look familiar but I'm only sure of Denny (who's he wooing ?), Eileen and Marsha Kelley and a couple others.

Kedge

Since we had received some postcards/pictures of Kedge, the Lodge and the cabins, I decided to put them in a slide show and see how this movie widget works. I had often heard of fishing and vacation trips to Kedge while growing up in Middleton. Hope you enjoy them. - N

Battle of the Blades

This is a very frightening looking hockey team and unfortunately it's somewhat faded. In the front row, left to right are Jack Phinney, Corning Sinclair, Fish, Fred Grant, Dick Morse, unknown, Bobby Montgomery and me. None of us made it to the NHL.

Camping Expedition

This picture was taken about 1949 and we were on our way to our old camp in Victory. We still miss Bev in his GM coveralls ! The rest of us are still in regular contact with each other. My father (D.B. in my mother's handwriting) drove us to the lake. No doubt we had a riotous time.

Cute Couple

Here we are again on a big date !

First Girlfriend

This is my first girlfriend, Joan (aka Coop) Cooper now happily married to the lucky John Byrne. I still love her as do all of us in our "gang".

Eric Joins In

Hi I'm Eric Wright and Neil (aka Fish) and I have been best friends since we were three or four years old. We grew up together in beautiful Middleton, Nova Scotia and I'm going to add some pictures to support Fish's efforts.

American House

A postcard of the American House suggests a much earlier day. The American House was created when the Joseph Craig house was converted to a hotel to meet the needs of railroad traffic in the early 1900s. It operated until the 1950s and was torn down in the 60s. There must be a more recent picture with a large addition that was more familiar to us. Thanks, Bette. Nice addition to our album.

Rugby Team

The MRHS Rugby team. I assume 1950. Front: N. Fisher, F. Martin, T. Marshall, F. Grant, R. Dowell, I. Cumming; middle: P. Ward, R. Phinney, C. Annis, E. Wright, R. Montgomery, D. Swim; Back. W. Morley, T. Rafuse, R. Parker, H. Dowell, J. Carter, W. Mapplebeck, A. Peppard (coach)

MRHS

A leap in time. Many of us (especially those in that kindergarten picture) spent most of our school years in Macdonald Consolidated School. Then the new school was built and we had the luxury of MRHS for Grades XI and XII. Here was the staff when I graduated in 1951. Is Al the only one still living ? Does anyone know ? Cheers, Neil

Middleton Baseball, 1904

Front Row: Willard Charlton, Robie Beals; Second Row: Percy Elliott, Willis Miller, Fred Bentley, and Lou Phinney; Third Row: Charlie Fisher; Fourth Row: Carroll Charlton, Bob Gullivan, Lambert Young.

This has been especially meaningful to me as both my grandfathers (CF and FB)and two great-uncles (BG and LY) are in the picture. Coop tells me the picture is in History from the Heart. Her grandfather is in the front row. Let the game begin, NF