Newspaper Clipping, "Mabel Beharriell Takes Lifetime Of Memories To New Sault Home", 1995

Mabel Beharriell takes lifetime of memories to new home in Sault

By EDITH CAMERON Special to the Star

DEAN LAKE — When longtime resident Mabel Beharriell left last weekend to live in the Sault, she took with her a lifetime of memories. These memories, for the most part, were part and parcel of her 52 years of marriage to her late husband, Burns, which whom they were shared.

Mabel Montgomery and Clifford "Burns" Beharriell were wed Nov. 17, 1932. Parents of the couple were Robert and Hannah Montgomery and Mrs. W.J. Beharriell. The first year they lived with Mrs. Beharriell before building a new home in Dean Lake.

A plaque, erected in 1988, in memory of Burns Beharriell who died in November of 1984, tells a lot about his life. It commemorates over 30 years of service and public participation in the township of Thompson. By his own generous contribution the township park was established as Beharriell Park (on Lake Huron). The fact that he received a Bicentennial Medal Award in 1984 recognizes Mabel's late husband's dedication to the township and this is reflected in the plaque erected by council.

Beharriell was chosen Man of the Year in the summer of 1984 by the community for his interest and involvement in its activities. The certificate from the province stated its purpose: "To honor the spirit of our pioneer beginnings and the tradition of helping one another, which characterized our first years together and carries on to this day. It is more appropriate to honor volunteers during the Bicentennial year." Simply put, Burns was a good neighbor and his life partner was, and still is, in the same category, as her many friends throughout the district will tell you. "We moved May 1, 1933 to our home here," said Mabel. "Burns was busy trucking all the years when Dean lake was bustling with the lumber camps. When he was a young man, the headquarters of Hope Lumber Company were here. E.D. Eddy Lumber was headquarters for supplies which were sale loaded into the warehouse. The CPR station was always busy."

The Beharriells had a boarding house, store and post office. Each days 50 men were fed there. There was no road down to the lake then as there is now, recalls Mabel.

In the early days a Roman Catholic Church was nearby and later the United Church services where held in the Orange Hall which was finally turned over to that church.

The couple didn't have much time to indulge in holidays. Mabel was too busy cooking meals for the truck drivers for as the years went by, Burns expanded his trucking fleet. When he retired in 1969, he began driving the local pupils to the new public school in Iron Bridge.

Holidays were then taken. The couple travelled to the East Coast and the West Coast and went on trips to Florida and Kentucky during 'half-loading' time, as in previous years. "When we retired we went into gardening and we had more time to enjoy our neighbors," said Mabel.

The neighbors had a surprise party for their friend before she left for the Sault ,and the women gave her a plentiful supply of gift certificates in her new town, where two sisters, a brother and two nieces live.