The Great War didn’t hit the Pontiac with the sound of gunfire; it arrived through word of mouth and the quiet, steady hum of people getting to work. By the time the first few months had passed, the usual pace of rural life had shifted into something more purposeful. Whether they spoke English or French, people across the county didn’t wait around to be told what to do.
In Shawville, the women of the Homemakers’ Club were already churning out massive amounts of supplies for the Red Cross and Belgian Relief. Over in Fort Coulonge, a dance at the town hall brought in folks from all the neighboring Francophone parishes, raising over a hundred dollars for the cause—a small fortune for a single night. Even the local lodges stepped up, with the Pontiac Lodge A.F. & A.M. pledging a dollar for every member to the Canadian Patriotic Fund. What used to be simple social nights became something bigger, stitching these small villages along the upper Ottawa River together.
You could see the weird mix of war and “business as usual” in the pages of The Equity. One ad might warn that the price of hay wire was about to skyrocket because of the fighting overseas, while another merchant would be bragging that his apples were so cheap “everyone could afford the best.”
The paper’s editorials really drove home the gritty reality of a soldier’s life, too. One piece reminded readers that a soldier is only as good as his feet, and his feet are only as good as his boots. It made the distant conflict feel a lot more personal.
The dispatches were full of both horror and strange moments of grace. One story told of a wounded Scot being cared for by a German soldier in a trench, the two men even swapping helmets as a sign of respect. But mostly, it was brutal. Readers learned about the Royal Engineers at the Aisne, where eleven men were cut down trying to light a fuse before the twelfth finally blew the bridge. They read about the Prussian Guard being mowed down by machine guns at Ypres, and the heartbreaking sight of Belgian refugees arriving in London too exhausted to even cry.
As the first frost hit the Pontiac and autumn turned to winter, the “over by Christmas” hope started to fade. The first letters from training camps and overseas began to trickle in, and the people who had rallied so quickly in the summer realized this wasn’t going to be a short sprint. The long haul had begun.
Soldiers Mentioned in The Equity
Dr. Lippiatt (Shawville)
Mentioned: November 26, 1914.
Status: He left Shawville to enlist in the Second Contingent. He planned to first take a post-graduate course in military hospital work and expected to leave for the front in a few months.
Corporal Maitland (Shawville)
Mentioned: November 19 and 26, 1914.
Status: Serving locally with the 3 F. Co. Canadian Engineers. He was the designated recipient for N.C.O.s and men returning their rifle.
Sergeant G. H. Harrold (Shawville)
Mentioned: November 19, and 26, 1914.
Status: Acting for the O.C. 3 F. Co. Canadian Engineers in Shawville, issuing notices for men to return their equipment.
Lieutenant H. E. Maple (Shawville)
Mentioned: November 26, 1914.
Status: Acting Adjutant for the local Engineers, directing the collection of uniforms and equipment.
Mr. Arthur Earle (Wakefield)
Mentioned: November 26, 1914.
Status: Collecting uniforms and equipment from the Wakefield members of the Engineers.
Captain Barnet (Renfrew)
Mentioned: October 22, 1914.
Status: Organized the Renfrew contingent and was reported to be in England, while also keeping busy organizing a home guard.
Mr. Code (Renfrew)
Mentioned: October 22, 1914 issue.
Status: Enlisted as a member of the Sifton gun corps (his wife concurrently left for France to serve as a Red Cross nurse).
Rev. Mr. Boulden (Pembroke)
Mentioned: November 5, 1914.
Status: A former Anglican minister at Pembroke who joined the first Canadian contingent. At the time of publication, he was stationed on Salisbury Plain in England.
Col. Herbert Mackie (Pembroke)
Mentioned: December 24, 1914.
Status: The son of the late Thomas Mackie, he was reported to be serving as a staff officer with the Russian forces.
Timelines: October - December 1914
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