Prince Edward Island
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| Matthew & McLean's were broken into on July 6, 1961. Six men's shirts, four hunting knives, two wrist watches, one man's white jacket, one claw hammer and $129.00 in cash was stolen. The culprits were caught. Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker made a brief visit to Souris on December 6, 1961. The first co-operative housing development in P.E.I. was officially opened in Souris on February 6, 1962. The Souris Laundromat and Souris Cleaners officially opened in 1962. Souris lads Gary Ward and Joseph Paquet are presented with C.J.R.W. Life-saving awards on February 14, 1963 by the Hon. F. W. Hyndman, for rescuing their four year old cousin, Jackie Roach from drowning in Souris Harbour. Souris pianists Julia Cheverie and Mary Chaisson were awarded the highest mark possible the P.E.I. Music Festival in 1964, a perfect 90. Miss Chaisson went on to serve as the organist in St. Mary's Church for many years. The steel trawler Iceland II, joined the Souris dragger fleet in July, 1964. Red Cross Officials on Nov. 19, 1964 announced that Souris, under the chairmanship of local jailer Marcus Mooney, was recipient of the Manning Trophy for 1964 for achieving 143% attendance for a Blood Donor Clinic held at the Souris Legion in August. The new Souris Curling Club officially opened in December 1964. Interest was raised in developing a ferry between Souris and Port Hood, Nova Scotia in 1965. The longliner Cheticamp, visited Souris in October, where Mayor Reynolds of Port Hood exchanges a symbolic bag of Cape Breton coal for a bag of P.E.I. potatoes. The 8700 ton, 457' Russian ship, Chernjakhovak broke her mooring lines on January 3, 1966. She grounded in the Souris Harbour. It took until Thursday evening for the Captain to skillfully maneuver his vessel back to the Government Wharf. 75,000 gallons were lost in Souris when a water line breaks under Chapel Street in February. The closest election in Island history ended in a Tory/Grit deadlock in 1966. A deferred election in 1st King's scheduled for July decided the fate of the government. The Tories made one of their candidates Minister of Public Works and Highways, and 1st King's got a sudden bonanza of pavement. It didn't work; the Liberals win both seats. Frank Wilson's bakery was forced to close in December 1966 due to a skunk problem. A family in the basement would spray violently every time the bread mixer started.  Caught in blinding snow, mountainous seas, and hurricane force winds, the 91-foot trawler Iceland II of Souris ran for shelter from a killer storm in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. She wrecked on a shoal near Forchu, Cape Breton on February 25, 1967. Capt. Tom Hodder, Mate Leslie MacDonald, Chief Engineer Albert MacDonald, James Carter, Clarence Malone, Lee Jenkins, David O'Hanley, John Hendsbee, Clovis Gallant and Reginald Foote were lost.  The Centennial Caravan arrived in Souris July 3, 1967. Long-time Souris resident and granddaughter of Father of Confederation John Hamilton Gray, Mrs. Gladys Wright, officially opened the displays for the public.  Town and countryside turned out on September 29, 1968 to see Governor-General Michener make a special trip to Souris to invest Dr. Gus MacDonald to the Order of Canada. The new Souris Consolidated School was officially opened with the laying of the cornerstone on October 26, 1968 by Harold Hynes. Nova Scotia Rock Band April Wine made its P.E.I. debut at the Coronation dance at the Souris High Winter Carnival in February, 1971. They would go on to fame and fortune with gold records, hit singles and appearances with the Rolling Stones.  Romeo Cyr of the Magdalen Islands drove the first motor vehicle off the M.V. Manic as she made her maiden voyage to Souris on October 1, 1971.
 Angry tourists blockaded the Magdalen Island ferry on July 3, 1972. They presented a signed petition to the Captain demanding 24-hour ferry service and waiting facilities on the Souris Wharf. For three days in March 1973, Souris politician Bruce L. Stewart was the government of P.E.I. He either led or was acting minister in 11 of the 16 portfolios including acting Premier in the Hon. Alex B. Campbell government, while the Premier and other ministers were out of province on government business. In May 1973, it was announced the Federal Government had accepted a tender to construct a new Magdalen Island Ferry Terminal in Souris. The Dingwell Funeral Home in Souris constructed its last wooden casket in 1980. They manufactured many over the years for their own use, selling others to country stores and delivering some to the Magdalen Islands. They also manufactured tuna caskets, the crates the tuna were packed in ice in, to ship the fish by truck to J.F.K. Airport in New York, and then via air to Japan. The second largest Christmas Parade ever held in Canada passed through the streets of Souris on December 3, 1982. It took well over an hour for it to pass any given point in the Town. The largest crowd in years turned out for the Eastern Kings Exhibition in August 1983. Youth from across the province lined up to get an autograph from Stan Johnson of Halifax, the host of the highly rated television series, Switchback. The Souris CO-OP, formerly the J. J. Hughes store burned in a spectacular blaze in May 1985. A heavy mid-spring snowfall earlier in the day was credited in assisting firemen from the Souris and Eastern Kings departments in controlling the blaze.  The R.C.M.P. Musical Ride performed for the first time in Souris in August 1987. The horses were stabled in the Eastern Kings Arena In 1991, with the retirement of keeper Francis McIntosh, the Souris Lighthouse was the last lighthouse in P.E.I. to be automated.
 Working at the Redfish at Usen Fisheries, prior to the fire Fire gutted Usen Fisheries in Souris in September 1993, throwing 300 workers and 50 trawlermen out of work. Usens at that time was the town's largest employer. In Februaty 1996, over 700 Souris & area residents marched in protest down Main Street to show their disapproval of proposed changes to Unemployment Insurance.  Copyright Waldron H. Leard |
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