Wellington "Wellie" Barrett

Wellington James Cameron Barrett was born June 10, 1892, to William Barrett and Isabella Cameron. Attending public school at Summerstown Station, his boyhood chums were quick to shorten his name to “Wellie”, a sobriquet that would endure for the rest of his life. A studious youngster, Wellie Barrett quickly waded through Williamstown High School to graduate at the age of 16. He was then off to Queen’s University in Kingston.

Although greatly interested in sports and his studies, his young age handicapped his ability to participate due to his lacking height and weight in high contact games like football and hockey. He settled instead for basketball. By graduation year, however, his situation was different. By now Wellie was a gangling, hefty Golden Gael athlete. He travelled west that summer to reap extra college money as well as wheat, and joined the Norquay ball team in the Saskatchewan basketball league.

Wellie Barrett then joined the high school staff of Wiarton, Ontario. Here he felt quite at home in the traditional counterpart of Glengarry, where there was a classy OHA hockey team in the Northern Division, the Wiarton Redmen. Wellie played defence and was a highly rated leader with the twice-district champions, whose exploits included defeating the Hamilton Tigers the year before their NHL entry.

Back in Williamstown as a valued member of the high school teaching staff, he became a major defence asset to the Williamstown hockey and lacrosse teams in the Roaring Twenties. This was the era of the Williamstown greats, with goaltender Tab Larocque (inducted 1980), fellow defenceman Clarence Cattanach (1984), Tupper McDonald (1983), John Raymond (1985), and the Sullivan brothers Ellis, John, Alex (1986) and Paddy (1981). One notable final series game between Williamstown and Cornwall resulted in Cattanach taking offence to the Cornwall rougness, sending everyone in the arena – players and spectators – into the brawl. Police were needed to restore order, and Williamstown won 4-1.

Wellie was also a renowned track and field athlete, taking three classic championship field days during the 1920s, with Tab Larocque in second. Other accomplishments of his include many years of curling and good fellowship at the Lancaster Curling Club, as well as introducing football to Williamstown High, and his 47 years at the school, including 34 as principal.

After retirement, Wellie Barrett continued living in his village home until his death in 1983.