Maryboro Lodge Personality: Mark Fell

Mark Fell in Military Uniform, First World War, 252nd Battalion, Victoria Regiment

Mark Fell was a farm boy from Somerville Township who had the misfortune of his father dying. His mother remarried, but his stepfather was abusive, and it is said he drank himself to death. To escape his unfortunate situation, Mark Fell enlisted in the army, becoming part of the 252nd Battalion of the Victoria Regiment. He was transferred to the 2nd Division and served near Ypres from 1917 to the end of the Great War.

Mark arrived on the Western Front in time to witness some of the most intense fighting. He felt the ground shake under the great artillery barrages, watched friends fall, and was himself wounded when he was hit with shrapnel in the left foot.  He recovered sufficiently to return to active duty, but as he lived in the trenches, he couldn’t help but wonder if a shell hole in no man’s land wouldn’t end up being his final resting place. Though he was one of the fortunate soldiers who survived the war, after returning to Fenelon Falls, he would never be quite the same. He did not marry and had a room filled with his war memorabilia, where he spent time remembering his friends who did not return.

Mark used the gratuity he received when he retired from the army to buy a cement block maker, a cement mixer and 6 horsepower—1 cylinder Fairbanks-Morse gas engine to run it. He began to make concrete blocks, filling one form at a time. At his peak, he was making batches of 50 blocks. He worked hard and developed a reputation as one of the best carpenters and masons in the community. Block by block, he constructed many local buildings. Mark continued to make cement blocks until after the Second World War.

For all the money Mark earned over the years, he spent little of it on himself. Though he would dress appropriately when he served on the village council, as president of the Legion, or attended a Rotary Club meeting, he spent practically every other moment in his denim bib overalls, grey plaid work shirt, undershirt, and black leather work boots—even for Sunday dinner. To the end of his life, it always looked like he was marching as he walked, with proper posture, a habit engrained during his years in the military. Everyone could see that Mark Fell had a purpose in his stride. A safety pin kept a great wad of cash in his chest pocket. Eddie Wong was one of his best friends, and it seemed that he ate almost all of his meals at Eddie’s Chinese restaurant—often sitting by himself. When he passed, he would be buried beside Eddie, leaving sizeable donations to the Ross Memorial Hospital, Five Counties Children’s Centre, the Lindsay Boys and Girls Club and the Salvation Army. Mark Fell was someone who really liked to help Fenelon Falls residents, as he worked day after day, helping to build his community.