Was Simcoe Business Man Over 60
years
-- Served as Mayor Three Terms
-- Genial Personality will be missed
Simcoe suffered the loss of one of
her foremost sons on Tuesday when death followed a lingering illness to
claim Charles Alvord Austin, three times mayor of the town and for more
than 60 years a businessman here.
Mr. Austin succumbed Tuesday
afternoon to a malady which had kept him in precarious health since March
of this year. News of his passing was the signal for wide expressions of
regret.
He was born in Simcoe on January
5, 1855 on the site of the house in which he died. As the son of Jonathan
Austin, he was scion of one of this county's earliest families. While he
was still a young man attending school his father purchased the present
drug store now operated by the deceased's son, with the intention of
having another son, James, take charge of the business. Contrary to
expectations, James had ideas of his own with ambitions to enter newspaper
work. Subsequently he became connected with the present Scripps-Howard
chain in the United States and the business fell into the hands of his
younger brother, Charles, then a mere schoolboy.
For more than 60 years his was a
familiar figure in the store. He had a very remarkable faculty for making
friends coupled with a disposition of which a wholesome geniality was the
keynote. "Charlie" Austin was known to everyone and was
respected and esteemed not only by his fellow townsmen but by hundreds of
county residents who had occasion to visit his place of business.
He was bond of sports and even in
recent years delighted to go fishing on Long Point Bay. For some years he
owned a yacht at Port Dover and made frequent lake cruises. He spent one
or two winters in California, but his heart was in Simcoe, and he was
happiest when here among his friends. He was one of the older generation
of business men who began their work here when Simcoe was a mere village,
men to whom the present community owes a great debt.
In 1903 he was elected to the
office of mayor and held this for the customary two terms, retiring in
1904. Six years later he again entered the municipal field to serve
another year in the magistrate's chair at the completion of which he
retired. When Simcoe staged the Old Boys and Girls Reunion in 1924, he was
the unanimous choice for chairman of the committee handling this important
event. Here again, his joviality served to extend to all former Simconians
a hearty welcome on their return to the home town.
He was a member of many lodges but
in recent years had not taken an active part in their activities.
In 1923 he was bereaved of his
wife who before her marriage was Jennie Cairns, also a native of the
county. He is survived only by one son, Alderman Jonathan C. Austin of
Simcoe, and a grandson, David.
The funeral will be conducted this
(Thursday) afternoon from his late residence with interment in Oakwood
Cemetery.
