31 Spruce Street
Harold Francis Bethune
Harold Francis Bethune along with his twin brother Herbert Franklin, were born in March 1926. As soon as Harold finished school, he got a job at Sanderson-Harold building screen doors. But at 16 years of age, in 1942, he quit and enlisted in Paris with the Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles, C Company of the Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles and rose to the rank of Corporal.
Harold was released from the D and H Rifles in 1943, but he apparently remained vigilant even after his military service. There is an article in the Paris Star from June, 1945 titled “Burglars Foiled by Paris Youths.” Harold and Able Seaman Hugh Simon saw two men rolling a safe across the railroad track in the Junction at 1 a.m. on a Tuesday morning. The men were in the process of stealing the safe from CNR ticket office. When approached by Harold and Hugh, the robbers fled. Harold married twice, first to a woman named Hendrika and then to Margaret Joyce Town. They lived at 12 Market Street and later at 18 Gold Street. They never moved away from their home at the Junction. Harold died in 2007 in his 82nd year.
Bethune Brothers: