One quite common way to classify modern history is to divide it up loosely by generational age (also called a cohort), each group gets its own name and an approximate age span.

This is where we find the groups called the Greatest Generation (people born between 1901 and 1924, the Silent Generation 1925 to 1945, Baby Boomers 1946 to 1964, Generation X 1965 to 1980, Millennials (or generation Y) 1981 to 1996, Generation Z 1997 to 2012, we also have a Generation Alpha 2013 to 2025 (so called because it is the first generation to be born entirely in the 21st century) and the newest kids on the block generation Beta 2026 and up.   

Each of these cohorts has their own set of characteristics that are associated with their unique group. These distinct qualities are greatly influenced by historical, technological, and social experiences including war, The Great Depression, music and video, the age of the internet and social connectivity. As an example Gen Z individuals have never known a world without the internet or the smartphone.

While I am not going to discuss the characteristics of each cohort, I will say that the residents of the village of Norwood over the last century would have shared in these influential experiences. However Norwood, like most North American small towns has its own personality that would have provided is own effect on each generation’s experience.

Past generations are often referred to as living in a simpler time; for the first two generations listed above their early years would have indeed been simple in comparison to today. Norwood in the 1920s and earlier was a busy and growing community; however these two cohorts witnessed the arrival of many amenities that we do not give even a thought to today.            

A few facts and interesting oddities from the village of Norwood in the 1920s:

One popular form of winter entertainment both before and beyond the 1920s was tobogganing on the hill that we refer to today as Water Tower Hill. The area at the time was free of bushes and trees and of course there was no water tower, so it provided both children and adults with the perfect slide, interestingly a good run would take the rider and their toboggan straight down the hill through what is now the intersection of Highway 7 and County 45, usually stopping just about where the Norwood Royal Bank building is today. Vehicular traffic was not a concern at the time.          

The train was the main method of moving goods in and out of the village, these included hogs, cattle and more. Pigs sold for about $3 and were brought to the railway station in crates usually by horse and cart. Cattle sold for around 11 cents a pound, however getting them to the station required a different logistical solution. The cattle walked, owners herded their stock through the village streets to the waiting train cars. This particular practice encouraged one of the more picturesque features found in rural villages: the traditional picket fence along the front of one’s property; both attractive and practical for keeping wayward cattle off your lawn.

On Jan. 9, 1921 the then-called Hydro Power Commission (a precursor of Ontario Hydro) turned electrical power on in Norwood. Although for the first while it was only used for lighting. Most rural properties in the area didn’t get hydro until the 1930s and 1940s. Before 1921, electricity was produced with a dynamo by the local sawmill. It provided power to seven street lamps for a few hours each night.

In 1922 Norwood hosted “The Old Boys Reunion,” what would have been the largest event ever hosted in the village at the time. Hundreds of former village residents from across the globe returned to Norwood for a week long gathering of events and activities.

It was an end of an era in 1923 when Norwood’s first reeve Joseph Burgess Pearce died.

Access to information has always held great importance to village residents. On Feb. 1, 1924 the present day Norwood Library was opened. A Mrs. Jennie Rothwell served as the first librarian in the new building. The Norwood Library has the distinction of being the very last library to receive the funding for its construction from the famous Carnegie Foundation. Before 1924 the library, called the Mechanics Institute, operated out of the basement of the town hall. The village’s first library however was opened in a log building on the south side of Highway 7 in 1853; this was before the City of Peterborough had a public library        

Fire has always been a nemesis in the village, 1924 was no exception. On Feb. 3 fire consumed a row of businesses on the north side of what is now Highway 7. The buildings lost included a garage, a warehouse plus the offices of the village newspaper the Norwood Register, located approximately where the LCBO outlet is today.

The year 1924 also witnessed the construction and unveiling of the village’s war memorial or cenotaph. The project was organized by the Norwood IODE and more than a thousand people attended the dedication ceremony on July 6, a very hot Sunday afternoon.

Norwood was not immune to disease. In 1928 typhoid fever became a problem with Dr. Carlton the resident doctor treating many cases throughout the village.       

Sport has also held and continues to hold great importance in the village; in 1929 a Lawn Bowling Club was organized and flourished for nearly 15 years (until it was disbanded at the start of the Second World War). The large manicured bowling green was located on Spring Street.

The 1920s did not end well for Norwood or the rest of the world for that matter; 1929 was the time of the financial crash and the beginning of The Great Depression. Opportunities in the village dwindled rapidly causing many people to leave in search of work. At the turn of the century (1900) Norwood’s population was around 5,000 people, at the height of the Depression that population had dropped to fewer than 800 people. 

One often mentioned characteristic of earlier generations is the fact that they were built of “sterner stuff.” They are the generation that fought wars hand-to-hand, many times with nothing more than a simple rifle, they struggled through financial ruin and global depression, but never gave up. Among other things they are responsible for some of the world’s greatest innovations. Which kind of makes me wonder why many Ford Motor cars in the 1920s were designed with the gas tank under the seat; thus requiring everyone to get out of the car just to put gas in it? I guess we can’t hit a home run all the time. 

More decades of facts and stories will be featured in future columns

This coming Saturday, April 18 will feature a fun afternoon of music and entertainment. The historic Norwood Town Hall will host the Hospice Norwood Variety Show. Many local entertainers and musicians have signed on to help with fundraising efforts for the local facility; including The Norwood Lions Club who always get a good laugh from the audience with their own brand of good natured skits and humour. Also performing is the Norwood Ukesters with their unique musical sound, Peterborough’s fiddler, singer and songwriter Irish Millie returns to Norwood with her multi-nominated and internationally recognized Celtic based music.

The well-known local group the Nephton Ridge Runners as well as Norwood’s own and equally as well-known Kevin Hornsby and Lynn Wilson will also have individual performances.

The show will be a matinee event from 2 to 4 p.m. Advance tickets are $12.50 and are available until Friday, April 17 by calling Jan Darling at 705-639-1726. Tickets at the door are $15.

Local History Lecture

The Asphodel Norwood Cultural and Heritage Committee will host its first Historical Gathering of the year on April 21 at the Norwood Town Hall. It is pleased to welcome Dr. Michael Peterman; the author of “Sisters in Two Worlds.” He will speak about the lives and legacy of pioneer author and naturalist Catherine Parr Traill and her sister and fellow author Susanna Moodie. The presentation will start at 7 p.m. This is a free event and all are welcome, light refreshments will be provided. Come out and enjoy an evening of storytelling, history, and community.

St. George’s Rummage Sale

Spring is here and that means it is also Rummage Sale season. St. George’s Anglican Church, next door in the village of Hastings, 38 Bridge St. S. is hosting its Spring Rummage Sale on Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Besides rummage the church also has a large selection of books available at its ongoing book sale, all bargain hunters are invited to stop in and see what they can find.

© Peterborough Examiner