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Pelham Historical Group, Fonthill, ON (2026)

10/14/2026

Pelham Swim Team 1977
Back row:
Left to right
______,Rick Roik? OP_,_______,______, Eve Pongray,Martha____, Bev Kuktah, Mark Taliano, ____, Jeff Young, Michael Kuktah,
Middle Row
Left to Right
Heidi Genginbach, ____,_____,_____,_____, Laurie Zandvliet, ____,_____,_____
Front Row- no one identified
I’m confident you will be able to add more names and correct any spelling needed.

10/13/2026

The Dishers were among Pelham’s earliest settlers, arriving before 1800.

Farming was an important occupation for the family, but the Disher name was also associated with a sawmill and hotel at Sanderson’s Corners, near Effingham Road and Sixteen Road.

Among those gathered here may have been farmers, tradesmen, merchants and homemakers. Women would have played an enormous role in managing households, raising children, preserving food and helping with farm work.

These were hardworking families who helped build our community.

🔎 NOW LOOK CLOSELY AT THE PHOTOGRAPH!

The handwritten notes beneath the picture are particularly fascinating!

Several individuals have been identified, including Asa P. Hansler, along with names that appear to include Sarah, Hettie, Matie and David Disher.

Notice the handwritten lines extending upward into the photograph. Look for the x above this line for identification.

We believe these markings were intended to identify particular family members. What a wonderful little piece of family history someone thought to preserve!

❤️ MORE THAN JUST A FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH

The Disher family belonged to Pelham’s earliest pioneer community. By the time this photograph was taken, several generations had helped shape the township.

The gathering also reminds us how closely connected Pelham families were through marriage, farming, business and friendship.

And wouldn’t we love to know what was served for dinner that day!

📸 CAN YOU HELP?

Do you recognize any of these faces?
Every little detail helps preserve another piece of Pelham’s history!

Photo and handwritten family information attributed to Asa Hansler.
Please FOLLOW our page. 😊

📚 References:

* Asa Hansler — Historical photograph and family identifications
* A History of the Town of Pelham, 1786–1993, Asa Orton Hansler
* Town of Pelham, Heritage Master Plan, 2012
* Historical account of Pelham’s earliest settlers (pictured)
- Disher family name circled in text from Historical Book title: History of Welland County 1887

10/12/2026

🦃 Did you know Thanksgiving in Ontario was once a November holiday?

Long before Thanksgiving meant an October long weekend, it was a day to give thanks for the harvest.

On November 3, 1859, an official harvest Thanksgiving was observed in what is now Ontario and Quebec. Church services marked the occasion with gratitude for an abundant harvest.

In 1879, Thanksgiving became an annual national observance, celebrated that year on Thursday, November 6. The date was chosen each year—it hadn’t yet found its permanent place on our calendars!

🍂 And when did turkey become the tradition?

There wasn’t one official starting year, but turkey dinners were becoming part of Ontario’s Thanksgiving celebrations during the 1870s. By the middle of that decade, Ontario newspapers were popularizing the familiar combination of a turkey dinner and a family gathering.

Beginning in 1899, Thanksgiving was usually held in October. In 1908, the holiday moved to Monday, making it easier for families to travel and spend the weekend together. After briefly sharing a date with Armistice Day during the 1920s, the two observances were separated again.

Finally, in 1957, Thanksgiving was permanently fixed on the second Monday in October.

From church services and harvest celebrations to a crowded family table, Ontario’s Thanksgiving traditions have changed over time—but gratitude and gathering remain at the heart of the holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving, Pelham! 🍁

What dish has always belonged on your family’s Thanksgiving table?

References:
• Canadiana: A Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving, November 3, 1859
• Canada’s History: The History of Thanksgiving in Canada
• York University: Peter Stevens’s research on Thanksgiving in Ontario, 1859–1914

10/11/2026

⚓ A ONE-DOLLAR RECEIPT—AND A LITTLE PIECE OF PELHAM’S HISTORY!

What was the Navy League doing in Fonthill? This surviving envelope and membership receipt offer a fascinating clue!

Addressed to Miss Leone Jones of Ridgeville—later Leone Daboll—the receipt records a $1 Navy League membership for what appears to be 1919. The envelope names G. H. Secord, secretary-treasurer, Fonthill, beneath the heading “The Navy League of Canada, Ontario Division.”

The Navy League was a civilian organization supporting naval interests and the welfare of sailors. Leone’s receipt shows that residents here could participate in that wider cause.

But who was Secord? Imperial Bank of Canada reports place a G. H. Secord as Fonthill’s branch manager in 1916 and still in 1922. The matching initials, village and period make him a strong candidate for the officer on this envelope. By 1923, the bank listed F. T. Kyle as manager.

We haven’t yet confirmed Secord’s full name, the local League’s president or whether Fonthill had a separately chartered branch. But this little piece of paper provides direct evidence of Navy League activity in our community!

Does your family have a similar receipt, letter, badge or photograph? Sometimes the smallest keepsakes open the biggest doors into our past. ⚓

References: Original Navy League envelope and membership receipt addressed to Leone Jones; Imperial Bank of Canada annual reports, 1916, 1922 and 1923, McGill University historical corporate reports collection.

10/10/2026

🐺 WHEN THE HOWLING OUTSIDE WAS REAL…

Imagine lying awake in your Pelham log home, listening to hungry wolves prowling around the farmyard. Then comes the scratching…

For families settling here around 1790–1810, the forest could be a frightening neighbour. Later recollections preserved in History of Welland County describe dark, winding trails that ox teams struggled to navigate—and woods where bears and wolves were plentiful.

One chilling account says wolf packs became so numerous and bold that children could not safely attend school without an armed es**rt. That certainly puts a different spin on the morning school run!

At night, families reportedly lay awake as wolves howled around their homes. The book describes them sniffing at cracks in the log walls and trying to force their way into livestock buildings with teeth and claws. Imagine hearing that with your children asleep beside you.

And bears? They helped themselves to pigs, cattle, beehives, grain and corn. News of a bear brought neighbours rushing out with whatever weapons they could gather to join the hunt.

Today, we might worry about a raccoon tipping over the garbage. Early Pelham families had rather bigger concerns. 😳

Would you have slept soundly?

Reference: History of Welland County, 1887 p. 292, recollections of early Pelham supplied by descendants of its first families. The page does not assign exact dates to these incidents.

10/09/2026

🌳 From garden rows to piano keys—the Crysler family story!

This 1923 photograph introduces on Left Maude Crysler, Children: Viola May Crysler (later Mrs. Ben Summers), William Lewis (he went by Lewis) and Orlin A., husband William -a glimpse of a family with lasting connections to our community.

The Crysler farm on Hollow Road near Fonthill was devoted largely to market gardening: growing produce for sale. But tucked into its woodlot was something special—American chestnut trees! In an account published in 1995, Archie Lang remembered visiting around 1920, when Mr. Crysler showed him trees affected by chestnut blight. About 75 years later, Lang returned, and the farmer’s son Orlin showed him two surviving chestnuts. One near the house still appeared healthy. 🌳

Viola’s own documented career followed a musical path. The daughter of William and Maude Crysler, she taught music to hundreds of children. She also played the organ and piano in her church. She married Den Woodward and later Benjamin “Ben” Summers, enjoying travels with Ben and continuing to play piano at Pleasant Manor in Virgil. She died in 2005 at age 91.

From tending growing things to nurturing young musicians, there’s plenty of local history behind these names!

Do you remember the Crysler farm—or taking music lessons from Viola? We would love to hear your memories. 💚

References:
• Photograph caption supplied with the 1923 family image. Pelham Centennial Edition 1967
• Canadian Chestnut Council newsletter, October 1995, Archie Lang’s account.
• Viola May Summers obituary, St. Catharines Standard, January 27, 2005.

10/08/2026

Who remembers E. F. Kinsman’s General Store in Fonthill? 🛒

This old advertisement offers a glimpse of shopping days gone by: pork and beans for 9¢ a tin, a 3½-pound bag of pastry flour for 17¢, raspberry jam for 27¢ a large jar, and brooms for 39¢ each!

The store advertised “Cooked Meats on Ice,” and its phone number was simply 26w. These specials were available Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The store was located at the southeast corner of Highway 20 and Pelham Street in Fonthill. Do you have a photo of it, or memories of shopping there? Please share—we’d love to hear them!

Sources: E. F. Kinsman advertisement (undated); Welland Tribune, April 27, 1936.
Please like and follow our historical Fb page. 😊

10/05/2026

📖 WHAT DID A PELHAM CHILD READ IN 1887?

This little survivor gives us a pretty good clue!

Found in Pelham, The Child’s Companion Almanack was published by the Religious Tract Society and sold for just one penny. Period advertising described it specifically as being “for the Home and Sunday School,” with engravings and a colourful cover.

Inside is a wonderfully Victorian mix: Bible verses, little life lessons, poems, stories, calendars and pictures of faraway places. There’s even The Folly of Boasting — apparently Victorian children needed reminding about that too! 😄

The colourful Fry’s Cocoa advertisement on the back is almost as interesting as the book itself. Together, the stories, advertising and illustrations give us a tiny snapshot of what children were being taught, entertained by and encouraged to buy nearly 140 years ago.

That’s what makes this Pelham find important. Cheap paper items like this were made to be used, not treasured forever. Yet somehow this one survived.

💰 Value today: An exact 1887 comparison is difficult to find, so I’d be cautious about putting a firm price on it. In this condition, I’d consider roughly $30–$75 CAD a reasonable collector estimate — but its documented Pelham connection makes it much more interesting to us historically.

It cost a penny. It survived 139 years. And now it tells us a little about childhood in 1887. ❤️

References:
• Religious Tract Society publication catalogue, 1886
• The Publishers’ Circular, Religious Tract Society almanac listings
• The Child’s Companion Almanack, 1887 — Pelham-found copy pictured

#1887

10/03/2026

🌳 Remember Effingham Valley Park?

For many Pelham families, the park on Sulphur Spring Drive meant summer days by the pool, fishing in the trout pond and camping beneath the trees. But children were enjoying this spot long before it became the campground many remember.

Barbara Daboll recalls her Hansler School days heading there for an Arbor Day afternoon of games, including one called French and English. On the way, they’d stop at the Moore store for pop. With no refrigerator to keep the bottles cold, they were stored beneath a hatch in the floor. The elderly women who ran the store sent some of the older boys down in rubber boots to fetch them. Rumour has it those boots could hold an impressive number of pop bottles! 🥤
Historically this was land owned by Joe Daboll.

The park later became an official campground with a large swimming pool, concession stand and laundry facilities. The family lived on the property and helped run it. Sneath family history says Albert Sneath purchased Effingham Valley Park from Hilton Smith; George Sloan, an uncle, may also have been involved. Jim and Beverly Sneath married in 1973 and lived on the property. The park was sold sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s. It is currently privately owned.

📸 A tour through the Sneath family photos:

1. Picnic tables beneath the willow trees
2. Stocking the trout pond in spring
3. Jim Sneath, his father Albert
4. The pond and a structure the family called the “Duck House” from a Canada Bicentennial Exhibition
5. The pool, viewed from the shallow end- originally the Olympic sized pool was one section. However later a wall was put in dividing the shallow and the deep ends to support the south wall from the pressure of the steep hill cracking the long side.
6. Jim Sneath on the diving board.
7. A view across the park grounds

Did you swim, camp, fish or picnic at Effingham Valley Park? What do you remember most? Did you come with a scout troop?

Sources: Park history and photographs courtesy of the Sneath family- thank you. Hansler School Arbor Day recollections courtesy of Barbara Daboll.

10/03/2026

From Pelham to the World: Downalane’s Famous Emperor 🐂

Pelham has produced some remarkable characters—and one of them was a bull!

Downalane Emperor, born May 1, 1962, carried the Brown family’s farm name far beyond Niagara. Classified Excellent, he earned Holstein Canada’s “Class Extra” designation in 1972, and his influence continued through generations of cattle.

Bob Brown’s son remembers Emperor supplying thousands of breeding doses around the world, with visitors travelling great distances to see the famous bull. In 1971, a Canadian government trade magazine reported that doses from Emperor were being used in Switzerland’s cattle breeding program.

Behind Emperor stood a family with deep roots in Pelham. The Downalane name was registered to E. C. Brown in December 1950. Robert Henry “Bob” Brown, born at the family farm in 1939, became its fourth generation farmer and incorporated Downalane Farms in the 1960s.

Bob helped build Downalane into an internationally respected farm, welcoming visitors from around the world. His knowledge of Holsteins also took him overseas to judge shows. He served as president of Holstein Ontario and Western Ontario Breeders, contributing to the industry far beyond his own herd.

A celebrated bull, a respected judge and generations of family farming—Downalane’s story is a proud part of Pelham’s agricultural heritage.

References:
• Brown family registration certificate, December 11, 1950, and recollections shared by Bob’s son.
• Holstein Canada pedigree records.
• Foreign Trade, February 27, 1971, p. 36.
• Robert Henry Brown obituary, Lampman Funeral Home.

Pelham Historical Group

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