Arnot MACGREGOR wrote:

"After Mr. STEWART and his wife Jane sold their farm north of the village they purchased this house and lived there a few years. Shortly after arriving, the STEWARTS gave their home for a party being staged by the older young people of the village and as a result an interesting story may be told." [Another information source has described an almost identical story to this one, but the culprit was a Mr. MATTICE instead of Mr. STEPHENSON].

"Miss Bess BOWER of Morrisburg was the teacher in the primary room of the public school and Emma GARDENER taught the intermediate classes. They were allotted the job of buying a couple of turkeys for the affair and asked me to drive them out to Jake MCLAUGHLINs to pick up the birds. It seems that Jim STEPHENSON, later a victim of enteric fever while serving in the Boer War, was not invited - but decided to take a look in at the party anyhow. By the time he came on the party the birds were already cooked, sitting in a pan on the rear of the stove. The stove was near the rear kitchen door which was wide open. While Mr. STEWART sat on a chair near the door from kitchen to living room where the young people were dancing. Jim was sure he could get the turkey, but he first took off his shoes than picked a potato out of a pot and brought it down to the HUNTER store where a group of married men were chatting. They agreed if he could get the potato he could almost as easily get the bird. When Jim returned, Mr. STEWART was still intent on watching the dancers, so went into the kitchen, picked up the turkey and hurried back to the store with it. F rank MOFFAT accompanied Jim on the second trip, but when they arrived back at the store, they saw in the window a couple of late lady customers had arrived. This didn't daunt Jim for he quickly stuffed the turkey in the bosom of his shirt and walked through the store to the storehouse in the rear and put it in an empty box until the ladies left the store. Mr. HUNTER expected that as soon as the turkey was missed some of the boys from the party would go out, look around, and visit the store. Alex DILLABOUGH and George MOFFAT soon arrived, looked around the store and not finding anything amiss returned to the dance quite mystified. The men at the store then had a good feed of turkey, divided what remained and each took some home. Bess BOWER told the story in verse so well, I kept it for years."