And so you see, life in Tavistock fifty years ago was not so different from today's. Later came the Y. Minstrel Shows from Woodstock with Percy Canfield and "Spike" Arnott, a local Minstrel Show put on by the Men's Club under Harry Boyd, our Community Concerts to which all local artists contributed and more recently Rotary's Talent Nights.

Much of this was made possible by the patience and devotion of our local piano teachers. As early a May 25, 1911 Miss Gertrude Morson held a recital for the pupils; through the years other teachers have been: Mrs. John Krug, Miss Celia Oehm, Miss Georgina Herold (Mrs. George Blum), Miss Helen Schwantz and Mrs. Lloyd Wilker. Miss Ida Kollman, Mr. Illingworth, Mr. Harrington and Mr. Karl Wittig, have been music instructors at the school, Miss Marguerite Murray having introduced this course.

For thirty-six years our village had a resident artist in the person of Reginald Selfe of Guildford, England. When the Hotsons returned to Tavistock from England, Reg. came with them and lived with them for some years. He had learned his trade well, and passed his knowledge of colour and form to many in the community, along with a love of the outdoors that he depicted on his beautiful canvases. Many of these adorn the walls of local living-rooms.

His first studio, in 1924, was the shop of Mr. Fred Eckstein, just behind the building on the site of the present Tavistock Medical Group. He moved into the second storey of the Masonic Building, where he held regular classes in sign writing and painting. From 1933 - 1947 He lived with the Fred Funks. Fred had proved a sincere friend throughout the year and set up a market for his work in the galleries of Toronto. After a stay with the Waldies and a return to the quarters in the second storey of the Glasgow Warehouse, Reg. heeded the urgings of his two sisters and returned in 1960 to England. Within a short time we learned that he had passed on.

Many of us learned a deeper meaning of art and acquired a keener eye to see the beauties around us, through the instruction of Mr. Selfe, particularly the members of his art class, that the Rotary Club sponsored for two years.

Among the apt pupils of Mr. Selfe who learned sign writing from him were Clifford Wettlaufer, Fred Funk and Gordon Stereo In fact, from 1950 - 62, Fred was a full time painter and decorator in the village, with a fine know-how of paints and colour combinations. He had spent the previous fifteen years with Fuller Brush, and risen to District Supervisor. Fred is still in the direct sales business, at present with Rawleigh's, and is in charge of hiring and training personnel in this district. He is the firm 's second most productive salesman in Ontario and fourth from the top in the Dominion.