On this dazzling summer morning while tricycling about the neighbourhood I approached an elderly woman walking with a ski pole on the sidewalk. Even from a distance she exuded affability. We exchanged reciprocal greetings. In a hastily conceived resolve I slowed and careered my 3-wheeler closer to the edge of the sidewalk from which I blurted something in the nature of a general nod to the current atmosphere. As unimaginative as it was, it was sufficient to draw us closer to one another for what followed as a highly amusing and decidedly instructive encounter.
Not seconds into our confab, Rose Mary S disclosed that she already knew of me indirectly through her relative Elaine F who, with her husband John F, live in the same apartment building as do I and my partner Denis A. Thence ensued further the connection to the Village of Clayton – which I vociferously shared with her I consider to be an estimate of Blue Blood in Lanark County if not the lesser geographic boundaries of Ramsay Township and what is now the conglomerate Town of Mississippi Mills (Town of Almonte, Township of Pakenham and Township of Ramsay). The educational nature of the meeting no doubt drew its element from the fact that my correspondent – Rose Mary S – is a former teacher. She is, as it turns out, also the author of a history of the Village of Clayton (part of the Township of Ramsay now within the Town of Mississippi Mills in the County of Lanark). I was fascinated to learn that she had drawn much of her material from notes historically written and preserved along with what she assures me are some extraordinary photographs. I have every intention of purchasing this hardcover book to read and add to my library. The notable Rath name did not escape our conference.
My acquaintance with the Village of Clayton – or what I now understand is summarily referred to as Clayton – goes back to 1976 upon my introduction to the Town of Almonte when I assumed the chair at the desk of recently retired Raymond Algernon Jamieson QC, Barrs. &c., 74 Mill St, Almonte.
One of my earliest professional acquaintances with Clayton was when I met John and Halcyon Bell. They lived on the Clayton Road. Prior to that John had lived with his father James Mackintosh Bell at Old Burnside on what is now Strathburn Street in the Town of Almonte. John and Halcyon were neighbours on Clayton Road with Dennis LeC and his wife Jean. Dennis worked with Keith Blades who subsequently oversaw reconstruction of the masonry of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. By coincidence Keith, Penny and I were among those who foregathered socially with the Bells in their lovely country home. Among others were K. Patricia Flesher – of Pat Flesher Furs in Ottawa, Ontario – who now lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her sister Suzanne C, like their parents, was originally from nearby Dunrobin, Ontario.
Among Mr. Jamieson’s more cherished clients were Mr. Bill Bellamy and his wife Margaret. In later years I learned Bellamy had acquired the nomenclature of “Mayor of Clayton“. Subsequently I saw on an antique map that the area in which he lived may have been called Bellamyville. My particular involvement with the family was to ensure the conveyance to them of a Crown Patent, the entitlement to which they had acquired – so we proved by repeating a record of factual detail – by prescriptive right (that is, prolonged and notorious usage over a period of 60 years without objection).
On another occasion I was retained by the Thompson family (notorious for investment in maple syrup production). We transferred title of the various real estate holdings to a corporation in the interest of perpetual existence (a process that included a broad list of private shareholders).
In the latter part of my career (that is prior to my retirement in 2014), I learned of the relocation of the Alan and Christine McIntosh family to the outskirts of Clayton. Neil McIntosh – after whom Neilcorp Homes is named – was the father of the man whom I knew (along with his sons Doug and Keith who played pivotal roles in the corporation).
Most recently it is Suzanne J who – from her thriving activity with St. George’s Anglican Church on Tatlock Road in the Village – has sustained my most immediate attention to and connection with the place.
Editor’s Note: I have since attended upon the author of Whispers from the Past – History and Tales of Clayton Ontario, and I am now in receipt of an impressive hardcover book which I shall read with delectation. The author – who had the courtesy to sign the volume – informs me that over 600 copies have been sold.