Rebecca (Culbert) Whiteford - Oldest Woman in the Exeter Old Home Week Parade

Rebecca Ann (Culbert) Whiteford (born about 1845) was the daughter of John Culbert and Mary Ward. For a full biography of Rebecca, click here.

UPDATE (posted 15 July 2025): This new photo of Rebecca (below) is from the personal collection of Rebecca's great-granddaughter, Anne (Routly) Willcox of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Thanks to Anne's son, Scott Willcox for sending this photo to me.

When they retired in 1907, Rebecca and her husband, William Whiteford moved to Exeter, Ontario, Canada.
 

Exeter is about 20 km (13 miles) north of Lucan, Ontario.

If you're a descendant of John Culbert & Mary Ward, you have relatives who lived in Exeter. 

Residents of Lucan often went shopping in Exeter. Exeter offered a variety of stores, and it was closer than driving to London.

Main Street, Exeter in 1916.

The summer of 1935 was an exciting time for Exeter. The town was celebrating a "Century of Progress." It was over 100 years since the first settler built the first log cabin.

The Founding of Exeter. Photo by Alan L. Brown at Ontario's Historical Plaques.

A year ahead of the "Old Home Week" event, invitations began going out all over the world. Exeter's "Old Boys and Girls" were invited to attend "Old Home Week" from July 27-31, 1935. 

Even the local businesses got caught up in the excitement. This hair salon advertisement invites you to "Look your best for Old Home Week with a Shelton Permanent Wave"...

This schedule promised five days of entertainment including music, dancing, a baseball tournament, horse races, a street carnival, a fiddlers' contest, and fireworks...

A highlight was a Grand Parade of floats, cars, and calithumpians on Monday, July 29th.

The photo below shows some of Exeter's aged residents who took part in the parade.

Among the most enthusiastic of Exeter Old Home Week were some of Exeter's aged and esteemed residents who appeared in the parade on Monday ... No. 5: Mrs. Wm. Whiteford, aged 91, oldest woman in parade.

A closer look...
 

Rebecca (Culbert) Whiteford, oldest woman in the Exeter Old Home Week Parade.

The following is a truncated description of the "Monster Parade." Rebecca (Culbert) Whiteford won the prize for oldest woman, along with James Handford, age 96, who won the prize for oldest man.

Highlights of Old Home Week:

It sounds like a good time was had by all!

Click here to read more about Rebecca (Culbert) Whiteford and here to read about her children.

Tongue Frozen Stuck

Sure, you've seen it in the movies...
 

Frozen tongue scene from A Christmas Story

 And if you're Canadian, I know you've tried it...

Okay, so maybe it was just me. 

But for the rest of you, did you know that your tongue really can get frozen stuck to metal?

Here's what happened to Reg Beavers, the little son of Councillor B.W.F. Beavers, a store owner in Exeter, a town north of the Culbert homestead near Lucan, Ontario...

Source: Exeter Times, 13 Jan 1916, page 14.

 Not convinced yet? Need scientific proof?
 

Click on the image to enlarge this chart

Don't try this at home, kids.

Christmas 1918

100 years ago around this time, our relatives would have been making a list, and checking it twice. 

Exeter, Ontario attracted shoppers for miles around, including the Lucan-Biddulph region. 
 

Source: The Exeter Advocate, 12 December 1918, page 8.

B.W.F. Beavers' Exeter Bargain Store was a dry goods store carrying clothing, shoes, and a range of household items from towels to handkerchiefs.

I know you're tittering into your handkerchiefs at the mention of "RUBBERS IN ALL STYLES" but I'm here to tell you that the "rubbers" in question were galoshes, rubber footwear designed to protect your shoes from the rain.

The Rubbers of a Gentleman, 1913.

"I'm gon'ta have em if it takes me last Nickel"

And braces? That's just another word for suspenders; used to keep your trousers (pants) up. Trousers were still high-waisted in the early 20th century, making it impractical to wear belts. It wasn't until the 1930s that belts became a popular men's accessory.

Man wearing suspenders to hold his trousers up.

One wonders if Mr. Beavers managed to lure shoppers into making 1918 a "footwear" Christmas.

You have to give Mr. Beavers credit for trying to discourage frivolous expenditure at Christmas. 100 years later, not much has changed, aside from the cut of your trousers.

Victory Celebrations of World War One

VICTORY! Armistice Signed Nov. 11 at 2.45 a.m. Fighting Ceased at 11 am.; that is 6 am. Our Time

Headline from the Exeter Advocate, 14 November 1918, page 1.

By the time the citizens of Exeter, Ontario and surrounding area were reading this headline, telegraph operator Miss Sanders had already spread the word. And there was much rejoicing...

Exeter Advocate, 14 November 1918, page 1.

"A perfect day was wound up by a bonfire in the evening." 

But not just any bonfire.

In towns and cities all over the world, the end of the war was celebrated by burning an effigy of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Exeter joined in on the festivities. Another newspaper, The Exeter Times explains...

Exeter Times, 14 November 1918, page 1. See below for transcription.

In the evening a huge bonfire was started in front of the Town Hall. Boxes, barrels, etc., were piled high and oil was poured upon the flames. An effigy of the Kaiser and the Crown Prince were suspended from poles about twenty feet in the air and burned. The crowd afterward went to the river bank where another large fire was kindled.

The Kaiser was ripe for caricature as you can see from this effigy in England...

It's said that "World War One was one of the deadliest conflicts in the history of the human race, in which over 16 million people died." 

The world, including small-town Ontario was ready to live again.

Private Elmer McFalls - Killed in Action at Passchendaele

If you've visited Exeter, Ontario you'll recognize the Town Hall clock tower on Main Street; a landmark since 1887....

Exeter Town Hall clock tower. Photo by Mary Jane Culbert.

The company responsible for building the Town Hall was Ross & Taylor, owned by John W. Taylor. Taylor was the uncle of Myron Manford Culbert's wife, Effie Pearl Taylor. At one time, John W. Taylor was Reeve of Exeter and Justice of the Peace so not only did Taylor build the Exeter Town Hall, he worked there on Council as well. 

The clock tower isn't the only impressive feature of the building. In front of the Town Hall and the library stands a 10-foot high War Memorial Cenotaph constructed of Canadian grey granite.

War Memorial Cenotaph in Exeter, Ontario. Photo by Mary Jane Culbert.

This memorial contains the names of the fallen heroes of Exeter and Usborne Township and Stephen Township. One of those names is Elmer McFalls, the great-grandson of John Culbert and Mary Ward.

PRIVATE ELMER McFALLS

Regiment Number: 654816

Private Elmer McFalls was born 19 February 1897 in Usborne Township, Huron County, Ontario to Elizabeth "Lizzie" Whiteford and Alexander McFalls. (Elmer's name is misspelled as Eylmer on his birth registration.) Elmer's parents farmed at Lot 13, Concession 2, Usborne Township, about a mile east of Exeter.

Elmer had two younger brothers, Garnet Clifford McFalls and Percy Alexander McFalls.

Elmer was a single, 19 year old hardware clerk living in Exeter when he enlisted on 13 May 1916 in Exeter. At the time of his enlistment, he'd been training in the hardware business with George Hawkins.

I don’t have a photo of Elmer but his Attestation Papers state that he stood 5’ 9.5” with a dark complexion, brown eyes, and dark hair.

 

Elmer went overseas with the 161st Huron Battalion. He served with the Army’s Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment) in Company B, 58^th Battalion. On 4 December 1916, 157 men from the 161st Huron Battalion were taken on by the 58th Battalion. They arrived as reinforcements in France.

Killed in Action

Private Elmer McFalls was killed in action during the fierce fighting at the Battle of Passchendaele on 23 October 1917. He was 20 years old.

Elmer's parents received the tragic news via a telegram they received on Sunday, November 11th, 1917, exactly one year before Armistice was signed to end World War One.

Elmer McFalls' obituary in the Exeter Advocate, Thursday, 15 November 1917, page 1.

 

Eye-witness Earl Southcott says he "saw Elmer McFalls killed just as they were going "over the top." He was wounded as he was going over." Source: Exeter Advocate, 15 November 1917, page 1.

In the Canada, War Graves Register (Circumstances of Casualty) 1914-1948, Elmer's death date is listed as October 23rd yet on his grave marker, the date is October 24th.

Private Elmer McFalls is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery, located 5 1/4 miles northeast of Ypres (Ieper), Belgium. Grave reference: XIV. G. 4.

Elmer McFalls' grave marker in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium. Photo via the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, courtesy J. Elliott/J. Rutledge, The Men of Huron WW1 Project

Although he’s buried in Belgium, Elmer’s name is inscribed on the McFalls family headstone in Exeter Cemetery.

Although Elmer McFalls is buried in Belgium, his name is inscribed on this family headstone in Exeter along with the names of his parents, Elizabeth Whiteford & Alexander McFalls, his brother Garnet McFalls, and Garnet's wife, Velma Bilyea. Photo by Mary Jane Culbert.

Elmer's name is also inscribed on the Exeter War Memorial Cenotaph.

Elmer McFall’s name is inscribed near the base of the Exeter War Memorial Cenotaph. Photo via the Canadian Virtual War Memorial courtesy of Marg Liessens

Source: The Huron Expositor, 16 January 1920, page 1.

On 5 September 1933, twenty-six years after Elmer's death, a son was born to Elmer's brother, Garnet McFalls and Garnet's wife, Velma (Bilyea) McFalls. Garnet & Velma named their boy Elmer Alexander McFalls. Could it be that the baby was named in honour of his uncle, Private Elmer McFalls?

Private Elmer McFalls' Family Tree:

John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-grandparents)
Rebecca Culbert & William Whiteford (grandparents)
Sarah Elizabeth “Lizzie” Whiteford & Alexander McFalls (parents)