This is Part 2 of a three-part series about human trafficking in the 19th century. To read Part 1, click here.
The tricks of these perpetrators vary very little.
From the 1800s, when criminals abducted young women to work in the brothels of northern lumber camps, to the present day, young people have been lured into bad situations by too-good-to-be-true promises.
The victims were not stupid people. They were perhaps, poor, naive, uneducated, in search of adventure or living in already unpleasant conditions, and their abductors knew how to spot them.
Since its beginning in 1853, the Barrie Fair has been drawing people from all over the county. It was a welcome chance to compete in agricultural shows, catch up with old friends and generally have a bit of fun.
The Fair of 1928 was held during the last week of September. At that time, it was a two-day midweek affair, held on a Tuesday and Wednesday with the Tuesday being the more widely attended day. Tuesday was a half day at local schools to allow children to attend and their admission was free if their teacher had applied for tickets in advance.
Some 7,000 people passed through the fair gates on that Tuesday in 1928. Naturally, the children dashed immediately to the midway which was reported to have been the largest in the history of the fair.
It was on the less crowded Wednesday that the Amos family of Craighurst chose to journey to Barrie for the fair. Walter Amos brought the elder of his 10 children, while his wife remained on the farm with the younger ones which included a newborn daughter.
Mr. Amos parked his car near Five Points and the family walked to the fairgrounds. There, they went their separate ways and agreed to meet again at the family car at 5 p.m. in the evening. At the appointed hour, one of the Amos children was absent.
The family made several return trips to the fairgrounds and back to the car, but Mr. Amos’ eldest daughter wasn’t found. Eventually, he took the other children home and returned to Barrie to call the police.
She was never named in any of the newspaper accounts of the day, and only referred to as the girl, but the missing daughter was likely May Amos, who was 16 at the time.
Another search of the fairgrounds turned up a witness. A neighbour from Craighurst had seen the Amos girl in the company of a woman and the pair were later spotted talking to a man who was operating a midway ride.
The police felt that the midway staff was going to be the key to the mystery. It was learned that the midway company had split the crew in two, sending half to Bracebridge and half to Collingwood to work other fairs.
Searchers went by taxi to Bracebridge while the girl’s elder brother and a friend went to Collingwood where they scoured the fairgrounds and streets, all to no avail.
Walter Amos’ teenage daughter did not return home that night. On Thursday, the distraught family were mightily relieved when their nearest neighbour came running to their farm. There had been a brief phone call from their daughter.
Not much was known. The terrified girl had disclosed that she was being held against her will in a Collingwood hotel and then hung up the phone.
A fleet of cars, carrying Amos men, Craighurst neighbours and police, raced to Collingwood and began visiting hotels. They soon learned that the Globe Hotel had hosted a mysterious trio on the previous night, a Mr. and Mrs. X and their teen daughter.
The hotel clerk remembered the group very well. He recalled that the teen girl was most unhappy about staying at the Globe. Although a separate room was booked for her, she refused to accompany the male guest to the rooms. She only relented when allowed to retain her own room key.
The witness further told the police that the girl locked herself into the room, and kept the lights on all night. At breakfast the next morning, she was still wearing the same clothes as she had the previous day and it was obvious that she had been crying.
After breakfast, the three departed, but to where, the hotel clerk could not say.
Each week, the Barrie Historical Archive provides BarrieToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past. This unique column features photos and stories from years gone by and is sure to appeal to the historian in each of us.
