DEAR VISITOR:

Thanks for dropping in for a peek at the Town of Dresden as I (and my father) remember it, primarily from 1910 to 1955!

After you have had an opportunity to view the entire site I would really appreciate your feedback in the form of any reactions you might have: i.e. your memories from a specific time period, special thoughts, elaboration on details. Email responses can be forwarded to me at wrightwords@eastlink.ca

Sincerely,

Dick

Reflections on growing up in a small town on banks of the Sydenham River

The main "characters"

DEAR READER:

Because I let certain online detractors and misguided emotions influence me negatively, I foolishly deleted the contents of this blog and several other Dresden related sites from a roster of more than 20 web sites. After a brief hiatus from on-line writing, I regretted that with one knee-jerk impulse and a flick of the computer key I had wiped out a lifetime of research, memories and musings about my hometown, never to be completely recovered. As a substitute for the original Dresden: Father and Son Turn Back the Clock web site, I include here select excerpts from my book Dresden Life Remembered.

The idea to create this site came to me in stages. Initially, I wanted to revive some of the things that my father Ken Wright had written and I felt that his "word picture" of the Town of Dresden in 1910 would be a good place to start. Then, I thought I might add some reflections of my own. Before long the site took on a life of its own and what I ended up with is/was the equivalent of a book -- and it continues to be a work in progress with additions and revisions to the site almost weekly as I think about something or come across previously overlooked information.

For background purposes, my grandfather Wesley Wright was born in the Township of Colchester South, Essex County in 1852, the second son of Ebenezer and Elisa (Stockwell) Wright. Twice a widower, Wes married the former Louise Reddick of Sombra in 1896, my father Ken being the result of that union. Ken (1899) and I (1938) were born in the Dresden home that Wesley built with his second wife Annie in 1878.

My mother's family, the Perrys (see https://dicktheblogster7.blogspot.com/) were descendents of English immigrants who found their way into Canada by way of Cape Briton and Newfoundland. So no matter how you slice the corporate family tree, we've been occupying Canadian soil for a long time.

Both sets of grandparents, Wesley and Louise Wright and Nelson and Harriet (Peck) Perry, were prominent in Dresden in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as were my mother and father, Grace and Ken, in subsequent years.

*It should be noted here that my 3XGreat Grandfather Henry Wright (1745-1813), a native of England, was a United Empire Loyalist who came to Upper Canada with his family (circa 1790) via Pennsylvania and settled finally on land obtained from the British Crown in Fort Walden, Essex. Ontario. See my "The Wright Story" https://mywrightstory.blogspot.ca/ for all the details.

JUST A BIT ABOUT ME AND MY MOTIVATION

*Click on text to enlarge

HOW KEN REMEMBERED IT:

A look back on downtown Dresden as it was more than a century ago: Written by Kenneth A. Wright and published in The Chatham News, November 1942.  Born in 1899, Ken reflected on the downtown Dresden that he remembered as a young lad. *If necessary, click on each page to enlarge the reading text then return(↺) to follow remaining blog content.

Ken Wright 

DRESDEN CONTINUATION SCHOOL SOCCER TEAM, CIRCA 1914: KEN WRIGHT IS THIRD FROM THE LEFT IN THIS PHOTO, STANDING NEXT TO HIS FRIEND ELDRED BRANDON.

Grandpa Perry in front of his general store in Dresden after selling his bakery business, later to become the landmark Burn's Bakery.

Ben Madden Grocery Store, circa 1910

The Standard Printing business on the Union Block in Dresden in 1910. A piano manufacturer would later take over the location, then Ruble's Funeral Home and eventually several restaurants -- Fitsgerld's, Swainstons and Martin's Mi-Choice. Today Union Block Bakery graces the location.

DRESDEN BASEBALL TEAM, CIRCA 1905:  Back row (l to r) Ern Wells, Russ Dynes, unknown (said to be banker in town), Cliff Huff; middle row, Alex Cuthbert, Tom Newman, team manager (unknown), Jim Rice; front, Walt Dynes and Bill Perry.  A real collector's item.

Click to enlarge these photos for better viewing

*PHOTOS OF OTHER DRESDEN BASEBALL TEAMS 1910-1953 ARE POSTED FURTHER ON IN THIS SITE...JUST KEEP SCROLLING.

Automobiles replacing horse and buggies in busy downtown Dresden.

My mom and dad and friends dressed to the nines ready to attend an Old Boys Reunion in Petrolia, 1918.

The newly-built Dresden Continution School, circa 1920 (left) with the old Sydenham River lift bridge in the background (right).

SANDY McVEAN’S MILL - Was located adjacent to the Dresden bridge, and was established by his father, Alexander McVean prior to 1872. Two years later, he and a partner, Hugh Currie, bought the Dresden Hub, Spoke & Bending Factory at the foot of Hughes Street, and in 1877, McVean Sr. became the sole owner. Pressure of operating the wood working factory saw him turn his flour mill over to son Sandy, after having previously established sons James and John in a hardware business. Later, in 1890, two more sons, Osgood and William took over the Hughes Street plant. The building shown in left foreground came from Dawn Mills and was hauled to Dresden in the winter when the Sydenham River was frozen over. Sandy McVean operated the mill until 1919, when he sold out to George Lawrence. In recent years the buildings were demolished and the property purchased by the St. Clair Regional Conservation Authority as a greenbeft area.

MAYOR, FORMER MAYOR DISCUSS DRESDEN IN A WIDE-RANGING 1945 RADIO BROADCAST

Walter Weese

Harold McKim

I insert the following item as an introduction to this web site because it is a first-person(s) account of the 1940s Dresden in which I grew up. Then Mayor Harold McKim and former Mayor Walter Weese were featured guests on "The Kent County Family Almanac" program aired by CFCO Radio Station in Chatham. The program was broadcast weekly, placing the spotlight on Kent County communities. What follows is the transcript from a broadcast on Thursday, March 22, 1945. I apologize for the poor quality of the transcript reproduction (a magnifying glass may help). You may also click your cursor on the images to enlarge the type.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sense that Harold and Walter were just starting to get on a roll when they were typically and abruptly cut off by the announcer.  Had time permitted, I'm sure they would have given mention to Dresden merchants who not only served the town, but the neighboring rural area as well and the churches and service clubs that formed the hub of community activities.  It was good, however, that they gave prominent recognition to the contribution of Blacks (colored) in the early and current development of the town, even at a time when the racial discrimination issue was starting to rear its ugly head.  

They don't make 'em like Harold and Walter anymore...The imposition of amalgamation put and end to all of that!

Aerial view of south and central Dresden, circa 1957.

Downtown Dresden of my dad's youth.

Dresden Fire Brigade in front of their Fire Hall, circa 1900. 

Original Dresden Town Hall, 1906, located on Market Square (today Jackson's Park).

This is one of the earliest photos of Dresden in my collection. It is believed to be a gathering at the downtown four corners near the end of the Second Boer War in the Spring of 1902 and to witness the arrival of farm equipment by lake steamer (see photos below). Note the corner clock indicating the time as being  9:00 a.m. on a rainy day that turned the as yet unpaved road surface into a river of mud and muck. 

The Green Mountain Hotel (above), well-dressed citizenry on hand for arrival of farm implements by lake steamer.

The Dresden, Wallaceburg & Sarnia passenger vessel docked in front of The Green Mountain Hotel, circa 1910.

There is a great tradition of Old Boys Reunions in Dresden.  They were even having them in the 1940's when I was growing up.  Here is a photo of  Old Boys princesses from the summer of 1906.  Back row l to r,  Grace Turner (Mrs. Fred Zimmer), May Cuthbert (Mrs. Ern Sharpe); middle row, Stella Steeper (Mrs. Roy Baxter), Mabel Steeper (Mrs. Joe Wilson), Florence Graves ; front row, Jean Slater (Mrs. Art Hoyles) and Sabra Merrill (Mrs. Bill Prangley, later Mrs. Dr. Welch).  I remember them all! 

DRESDEN IODE:  This is a photo of the founding members of Dresden IODE chapter in about 1925.  Charter President Catherine McVean is sitting at the table (far left).  The only other women that I can identify are Mae (Cuthbert) Sharpe, third from the right and Estelle Jackson, standing in the back. The chapter would later be named the Catherine McVean Chapter, in honor of the first president.

A walk down Memory Lane, 1938-1956

Here's a very familiar downtown site for me -- Kay's Cafe flanked by Farnsworth Meat Market) and Dutch Ellis' Barber Shop, circa 1950.

The downtown Dresden of my youth.

Dresden Fire Department, 1951

Summer time (1941) and the livin' was easy...So was the fishin' for Ken and me.  Note Crisco can for worms and bamboo fishing polls. 

Gerald "Elmer" Cook

Roy Holmes

With his baseball days behind him and after retiring from Union Gas, Francis "Red" Brewer became manager of the new Lambton-Kent Memorial Arena in Dresden.

DRESDEN WOLF CUBS AND LEADERS, 1945

Ken giving his boss and mentor Faye Craig a trim in 1917.

Ken's tools of the barbering trade, 1917-1950.

THE TALE OF OUR ONLY CAR

The keys to Old Betsy with 1948 license tag.

My mother Grace and Old Betsy.

*THERE'S STILL MORE...

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