Food For Thought: The area was originally settled in 1835 by David Craig, who donated land for the Grand Trunk Railway station in 1858 on condition it be named Craig's Station.
However, another place with that name already existed, so the settlement was named Ailsa Craig after the witches' rock in the mouth of Scotland's Clyde River.
Now, in 1984 the organizers of Canada's first pari-mutuel turtle races were charged under the Criminal Code of Canada by the Ontario Provincial Police Anti-Rackets Squad with operating a common gaming house.
The races had been organized to raise money for a community centre whose grant had been reneged on by the government of the day.
In Ontario Superior Court in London, attended by busloads of supporters of the organizers, charges eventually were dismissed but not before the formation of the Ontario Rhinoceros Party at Ailsa Craig designed to oust the government responsible for the turtle trial.
The 27 party leadership hopefuls are believed to have set a provincial record. Subsequently, the Ontario Elections Act was amended to preclude the creation of political parties not large enough to field candidates in all provincial ridings. |