In September of 1889, what began as a leisurely buggy drive in Halifax eventually led to a “high-speed chase” down the Valley. At least newspapers of the time called it a high-speed chase, perhaps the equivalent today of police pursuing a speedster on the 101 at 250 kilometres an hour.

This doesn’t qualify as historical, but the chase that took place from Halifax to Wolfville gives us a glimpse of law and order in the 19^th century. And we may not regard a horse thief evading the law as a high-speed chase. But that’s how newspapers reported it when a Sheriff tried to arrest a gentleman who neglected to return a horse and wagon to a Halifax livery stable – and at the time it was big and exciting news and caused quite a stir.

According to newspapers, the said horse thief, named only as Captain Smith, went sightseeing down the Valley to Windsor, Hantsport and then headed towards Wolfville, all the while pursued madly by various county Sheriffs and constables. After a leisurely drive with a lady friend, Captain Smith picked up a male companion and went on his way to the Valley. He was soon in trouble.

In November 1915, recently commissioned Windsor M. P., Lt. Col. Hedley B. Tremain, received orders from Ottawa to form an infantry battalion, pulling it from “all counties in Nova Scotia west of Halifax.” Recruiting began immediately and after basic training in their community militias, the newly formed 112^th Battalion, CEF, assembled for the first time in Windsor the following spring. The Battalion camped on the grounds at Fort Edward for more intensive training over the next three months.

The official records tell us that over 1500 men volunteered for service in the new battalion but only 1200 made the cut. The average age of the volunteers was 23. They came from farm country and fishing villages, all with patriotic zeal, as if going off to war was something to celebrate. Sadly, as a side note, of the 1200 that eventually sailed off to the war in Europe, many of them, at least 200, would never return.

My father, one of those patriotic farm boys, enlisted in the 112^th Battalion shortly after it was formed This piqued my interest in the Battalion, especially when I recently saw a copy of the Hants Journal, dated July 5, 1916. This issue was devoted to the departure of the 112^th from Windsor and apparently, it was an occasion for celebration. They are off, declared the Journal, to participate “in a final glorious victory and a safe return home.”