Ten years ago -- 2000
St. Marys is faced with hiring two new employees for the Friendship Centre for Seniors. Director Sue Fowler announced her resignation after working at the centre for 12 years. She has decided to pursue a career in real estate. Kathy Holdsworth, home support co-ordinator at the Centre, has submitted her resignation to continue her courses in the nursing field.
The school’s location may have made it vulnerable, but how can an almost-at-capacity facility get put on a closure list was a headline in the local paper after a meeting of the Avon Maitland District School Board and an estimated 250 Downie school supporters.
25 years ago -- 1985
Mrs. Walter Dunbar arrived home on the weekend from a month in Wettinger, Switzerland, where she went to see her new granddaughter Melanie, daughter of Marquis and Ellen Dunbar Wizer. Melanie’s christening was held in the Reform Church of Switzerland. She was dressed in a 100-year-old Dunbar christening dress, and a Swiss lace jacket that was 112 years old. (Avonton)
J.P. Wood Specialities will receive $17,549 and the St. Marys Public Library will receive $10,601 under the Canada Works Project for 1984-85. The grants, announced this week by Perth MPP Harry Brightwell, will provide each of these institutions with two workers.
We see -- that six members of the St. Marys Dixies took part in the Southern Ontario Ladies Hockey League all-star game in Mitchell. They players were Janet Edye, Linda McCutcheon, Linda Poost, Deanne Armstrong, Andrea  Favacho and Marg Smith.
50 years ago -- 1960
Dial telephone service is coming to St. Marys. Construction of a modern building to house its central office equipment will begin early this year. As soon as it has been completed, crews of highly trained technicians will begin the painstaking job of installing intricate dial switching equipment. Other crews working outside will rearrange and extend the wire and cable network serving the community. The whole program must be carefully co-ordinated so that all St. Marys telephones can be switched to dial at the same time and with no interruption of service.
Bail of $2,000 each was set for three Londoners and one St. Thomas man when the appeared in County Magistrates Court, charged with confining the mail driver, robbed of 11 bags of registered mail at Thamesford on Dec. 31.
75 years ago -- 1935
The St. Marys Fair Board shows a good surplus reported President W.J. Atkinson - -this was the first really successful year from a financial standpoint for several years. Lincoln White, son of the well known cattleman Joseph White, was elected President of the Society, which was entered into its 88th year of continuous activity. Mr. Atkinson mentioned the two former presidents, Messrs. John Dunbar and John Black, who had passed away during the year. Both men had been pillars of strength to the Society.
Dr. John C. Seaton, an old Lakeside boy, has been appointed coroner for Sheffield and Beverly Townships, Wentronth County. Dr. Seaton is a son of the late Francis Seaton of Lakeside and is a graduate of the St. Marys Collegiate Institute.
100 years ago -- 1910
Owing to the snow blockade of last week, the stage mail service to London was cut off but it takes more than snow to sever the mail connection with Prospect Hill as the never-failing James Murray was equal to the occasion with the assistance of a pair of snowshoes. (Granton)
The employees of A.H. Lofft & Co. have challenged those of the White & May Co. to a game of hockey. The games is to be played some night next week.
At a meeting of the St. Marys Women’s Institute last week, Mrs. Hugh  Thomson, who was a delegate from the St. Marys Institute to the annual meeting of the WI at Guelph, read a report from that meeting. it was noted when the WI was first organized, about 10 or 12 years ago, there was a strong prejudice against it generally throughout the country.