Hitherto the names of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison have been associated with the discovery of and development of electricity. But I'm prepared to wager a not-insignificant amount that very few of you have ever heard of our local pioneer in the electronic movement namely, Ellroy Frumppe. This being the case, I feel that a short history would be in order at this junction.
Ellroy Frumppe was born in the latter days of the 19th century. The family were from Squiggin's Township, down the 4th Concession Line, and were into pigs, mostly. Ellroy married the young and lovely Wilda Walmsley and they settled down to continue his family's traditional occupation namely, pigs. To that end, Ellroy had one of the largest silos in the Chezlee, Ont., environs and certainly the tallest. The significance of this becomes evident the night of the Great Storm of' 25!
The devastation wrought by wind, rain and lightning that nasty night has been well recorded in the historical annals of Chezlee, Ont., so I won't delve further there but focus instead on Ellroy.
In the midst of that great storm, Wilda noticed that loosened bricks from the top of their silo were being hurled towards their cozy home and had already shattered three windows and knocked Persephone, their cat, totally cross-eyed and semi-conscious.
"You've got to fix it!" yelled Wilda above the thunderous din and howling winds. And as it was Wilda who "wore the overalls," so to speak, in their domestic arrangement, Ellroy did.
Well, to cut a long story a bit shorter, as Ellroy was up-silo fixin' bricks, needless to say LIGHTNING STRUCK.
