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FBEE PBESS, LONDON. ONTARIO. SATtTEDAT. 3TJNE 11, 1949 = = B«NTH SECTION--PAGE NDfli Arva, Komoka, Wilton Grove ffi^lffl^iiiftK ..:,: '"'"- •• ,-' •"•*•-• "* iiiiffliiilrT"".....'"" - :::J ' ^i This sturdy wooden loom, with a frame of maple pinned together without use of nails, was built in Syracuse, New York, more than 100 years ago. For 75 years it has stood in its present location in a century-old house Campbell Weavers Famous In Komoka During 1850's By Malcolm McConneU GHOSTLY COBWEBS hanging from the ceiling cloaked the entire room with a dusty veil of age and disuse. In the centre of the room surrounded by debris, the old man stood with head slightly bowed, a nostalgic glimmer in his eyes as he gazed at the gaunt skeleton of an industry that died with its builder. In his gnarled hands he fondled a dusty wooden bobbin, recalling the days when he sat at his grandfather's feet, winding bobbins in time with the gentle swish of the shuttle. John Campbell, 85-year-old Komoka resident, is the last of the famous Campbell weavers in Komoka. This was the loom on which the famous Campbell weavers of the 1800's made their colorful spreads. Note the cardboard pattern and the hank of wool hanging from the right side of the loom. who, during the last century, were renowned throughout Western Ontario for the beautiful spreads and carpets that rolled from their wooden looms. The two looms, one for weaving rag carpets and one for bedspreads, still stand in perfect working condition in an old CONGRATULATIONS London Free Press on your 100TH ANNIVERSARY Alex M, Stewart & Son Growers and Exporters of High Quality Seed ALEX M. STEWART PHONE 608-r-33 JOHN A. STEWART PHONE 608-r-22 AILSA CRAIG --:-- ONTAEIO ----- We Are As Close As Your Telephone ----- We Specialize in Oats, Barley, Wheat and Hybrid Corn ' "You Reap What You Sow -- So Sow The Best" rambling clapboard house in the Village of Komoka. The looms, one of which towers to within a few inches of the roof, and the main part of the house are more than 100 years old; the section where the looms are installed, about 75. Although he is 85 this month, John Campbell looks and acts like a man 10 or 20 years his junior. He stands a poker-straight six feet, his shoulders just ever so slightly stooped. But his years on the railway and behind a plow are written in the lines of his face. Despite his agility of mint.", and muscle, Mr. Campbell reasons that at 85, he can't have many more years to live, and so is planning, not for his own future, but for the future of this historic weaving mill. His greatest ambition is to see the looms installed in the museum of the University of Western Ontario so they will not be lost to future generations. "It would be a shame to see them broken up for firewood," he said. "I'll take care of them as long as I'm around but I hope Western will take them as soon as they have room." Came From Glasgow The origin of the looms goes back more than a century when Mr. Campbell's grandfather, after whom he is named, emigrated to North America from Glasgow where he had learned the weaving trade In the woollen mills. With him came his wife, also a weaver, who had learned the trade in the near-by silk mills at Paisley. They settled first at Syracuse, New York, where they built the looms and started their own business, About 90 years ago they moved the heavy looms to 1913 )- E. C. Killingsworth & Son FOUNDER OF LONDON'S ORIGINAL FUNERAL HOME 1949 }- Our organization offers an unusual service, backed by years of experience. This experience Is offered to you In a courteous, sincere and reverent manner. You may confidently turn to us when sorrow comes, and rely on the guidance and assists ance we offer. E. C. KILLINGSWORTH & SON FUNERAL DIRECTOR 389 BURWELL ST. MET. 397! Komoka, a long and difficult' task In those days, and set up their mill in a small frame house. The business and family soon outgrew the confines of this small house and they moved to the present building which even then was "quite an oldish house," and built an addition to house the looms. The weaving was carried on by the elder John Campbell, hii wife and daughter, until "Weaver John" died about 30 years ago. Since then the looms have remained idle gathering dust and cobwebs, but still in a perfect state of preservation. Frames Still Solid The maple frames of the looms are still as solid as the day more than a century ago when the cross-pieces and uprights were pinned together; the cardboard patterns designed when the looms first operated at Syracuse still rest intact upon a shelf, and even a hank of the old 100 per cent pure wool yarn still hangs from a cross-piece unmolested by moths. Komoka was the heart of one of the greatest Campbell settlements in Canada, and there is a saying that Komoka goes as go the Campbells. The Campbells came and Komoka grew- The Campbells went and Komoka declined. Mr. Campbell can recall when the Campbells nearly outnumbered all other settlers in the district, and when no fewer than 14 John Campbells picked up their mail at Komoka Post Office. Those were the days when Komoka was "quite a town" containing five hotels, and stacks of hardwood for the old wood-burning locomotives were piled along the railroad right-of-way. Through the years the Campbells gradually dispersed throughout the country and other names appeared in Komoka Post Office. Many of those hardy Scottish settlers lie beneath the green sod in the Campbell Cemetery near Komoka -- the Indian word for "quiet resting place of the dead." But while the original Campbells have passed on, some of the carpets and spreads produced by the Campbell weavers still grace homes throughout Western Ontario. And in a century-old building the sturdy looms stand patiently like forlorn watchdogs waiting for a master's hand. Tombstone Links London With Churchyard at Arva ST. JOHN'S CHURCHYARD AT AEVA is a close link with London's earliest days for it contains a tombstone dated April 12, 1826. A nejvspaper article signed by Ven. Archdeacon Richardson, who died more than 20 years ago,- claimed that the "churchyard has a name and a history which is sacred and interesting, not only to the many whose precious dead sleep here, but to all who pass by and are touched by the influences of its associations. "Its soil is virgin and primeval. The land was a gift free and voluntary, and it was spirit of sorrow, affliction or hope. The epitaphs are numerous and different, and they all seem to have certain distinct associations suggesting them. . . . made by one of the forefathers of the hamlet, whose body lies buried here. Parish Established "In 1836, St. John's was constituted a parish conterminous with the township, and the Rev. Benjamin Cronyn was appointed its first rector. Some time, however, before this, and whilst it was yet but a part of an extensive missionary district under Rev. Alexander Mackintosh, rector of St. Thomas, church services were occasionally held there and the burial ground set off as God's acre. It is the oldest cemetery in these parts. . . . "By an indenture, dated June 26, 1832, between John Fraleigh and Charles James Stewart, Lord Bishop of Quebec, and his successors, in trust, a parcel of ground, covering some four acres, became the exclusive property of the Anglican Church. . . . Records Few "The records which we possess," the late archdeacon wrote, "mark the occupancy of the first graves. . . . We find several stones bearing dates in the 30's, with one as early as April 12, 1826 (evidently transferred), of old and well-known family names. But the memorials of many are not to be found on carved stone-- their useful lives and good deeds alone remain to memory dear. Except by the help of the old and well-kept parish register, It would be difficult today to ascertain even the names of all who lie buried here. The remains of many noble ones are to be found In graves not even distinguished by a modest headstone to mark the last resting place. This applies especially to the earliest interments. ..." 400 Standing At the time of writing, there were "more than 400 tombstones standing, nearly all in good state of preservation. These are of various forms and designs; some severely plain, with fewest words possible, no epitaph, no record, name and date alone; some of ancient form anrl nonventirm «v_ pression; some displaying traces of art arid refined taste, with familiar sentences of Scripture; some with original words inscribed, breathing the devout Farm Post Office At Wilton Grove WILTON GROVE is a nebulous community which ranges over nearly half of Westminster Township and includes the new Ontario Hydro Electric Power Commission switching station at Pond Mills where nearly 500 workmen, many of them displaced persons from Europe, are employed; hundreds of farms, many of them worked by descendants of the first settlers; more .than 100 homes in the new Veterans' Land Act subdivisions occupied by ambitious young veterans of World War II; and dozens of modernistic new suburban homes of wealthy Londoners. Over Four Concessions It is almost impossible to point to any building or group of buildings and say "This is Wilton Grove" for the community stretches from Lambeth to Belmont over Concessions 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Westminster Township. But the acknowledged nucleus is the century-old rambling brick farmhouse on Concession 3, a quarter-mile from the Wilton Grove, London and Port Stanley Railway station, where the post office has been located ever since its organization 80 years ago with Peter Murray as postmaster. Mail Heavy Although Wilton Grove has the only farmhouse-post office In Middlesex County and is rated as a "small rural post office" there is nothing small about the amount of mail handled. The growth of Wilton Grove since the war has been little short of phenomenal. The number of mail boxes served by the post office is an indication. Ten years ago there were 130 on R.R. 1 which is now one of the largest rural routes in the vicinity of London, many of the boxes serve two or three families, and permits for about 70 new houses in the V.L.A. subdivisions have already been granted. tured hi the shade of a weeping willow. Beneath are these quaint lines: " 'If love or care death could prevent My life would not so soon be spent, In giving birth I lost my breath Nothing certain in this world but death.' "The tone of strong, rugged and reverent regard for the memory of the silent goodly citizens who rest here in hope, as well as for those living who sooner of later shall find a like resting place here, whilst th« spirits of them all rejoice in th« glories of the Paradise of God." patriotism comes out on «. plain stone thus: "'Joseph and Ann W-- Is our name, And Ireland was our nation; London is our dwelling place, And heaven our expectation. Here we lie buried in our graves, And when our bones are rotten This headstone will remember us When we are true forgotten.'" The late archdeacon's final paragraph is as applicable today as it was the day it was published on the now ancient yellowed newsprint: "Such is our tribute to th« hallowed old churchyard. It may be Imperfect and unworthy; yet it is prompted out of a slncert "Here, for example, are the beautiful sentiments of loving children: " 'Sweet is the sleep our mother takes Till with Christ Jesus she awakes, Then will her sleeping soul rejoice. To hear her blessed Saviour's voice.' "A stricken husband dictates these words: " 'The pains of death are past, Labor and sorrow cease, And life's long warfare closed at last, Her Soul is found in peace.' "Another in most expressive brevity: " 'Reader, consider what a wife should be, and she was that.' "A remarkable monument to a young wife of 21 years, bearing date 1857, which is said to have a touching history, has a carved representation of the death-chamber, with coffin and corpse exposed and resting upon a canopy-bed; whilst a mourning dove and patient lamb are pic- Walkers Village Named for Family THE LITTLE METCALFE Township Village of Walker* was named after one of the township's first families. The Walk%rs, along with the Mitchells and McCallums, Scottish or Scottish-Irish, settled in the western sections of Metcalfe. By 1887 Walkers had a population of 25, with a general store and post office run by James Greaves, and Alexander Rattray as blacksmith. The tpwnship actually dates its settlement back to 1832 when the "commuted pensioners" Cap- Established 1887 62 Years of Service Best Wishes to the London Free Press on its 100th Anniversary PAINTING AND DECORATING CONTRACTORS * PAINTS AND VARNISHIS WALLPAPERS Geo, A, Burdick & Son 634 Dundas Stree* East, London. Phone Fair. 778 and others located on the lands in the northern part of the township. Other pioneers included David Brown and his son Robert, John Lemon and George Mortimer who settled in the southern part of the township. At that time there was actually no Township of Metcalfe, the township being formed in 1846 from parts cf Adelaide and Ek-frid townships. The early settlers had to walk 20 miles south to Kilworth to the nearest gristmill, and 30 miles to London or 50 to Port Stanley for markets. REPAIRS SALES SERVICE Complete Service On REWINDING INDUSTRIAL and DOMESTIC MOTORS ALL TYPES AND MAKES A. C. JENKINS ELECTRIC REPAIR CO. i 289 ASHLAND AVE. FAIR. 4278-M WATERS' ELEVATOR PARKHILL - - - ONTARIO BEANS -- GRAIN -- FEED -- SEED HAY AND STRAW FERTILIZER GRINDING AND MIXING SEED CLEANING PHONE 36-J 'For Feed Mill PHONE 36-W For Grain, Beans, Seed USED CARS Serving the -- MOTORISTS of Western Ontario for 19 Years. s t n C 6 1930 Eddie O'Doud has been serving the motoring public of London and district with the best in both * new and used cars, trucks and tractors. The motorists of all Western Ontario recognize the reputation for reliability built up by Eddie O'Doud. They know when they buy a car from Eddie O'Doud they are buying from a firm of reputation. There is a trust built up through years; it is a most prized possession today. On This Occasion We Welcome the Opportunity of Extending Hearty Congratulations to The London Free Press on Its 100th Birthday Eddie" O'Doud "London's Headquarters for Finer Service" NASH -- AUSTIN -- FERGUSON TRACTORS Reliable Used Cars Bought and Sold 255-257 MORTON ST. METCALF 4140