older stations were largely relegated to freight service. Cars were increasingly operated on each other's lines, allowing single-seat trips such as from Oakville to Brantford without the need for a transfer. The infant science of aviation found early and enthusiastic supporters in Hamilton. Jack Elliot established an airport in the north end near Stelco which in 1911 hosted the first Canadian Air Meet. Pioneering aviator J.A.D. McCurdy won that contest, sponsored in part by the newly minted Hamilton Automobile Club (now CAA South Central Ontario). Emigration continued from Britain and the United States (chiefly blacks) during this period as local museums show, but also began from other countries such as Italy and Austria-Hungary. Remarkably, thousands of Italian Hamiltonians are descendants of emigrants in this period from a single Sicilian town, commemorated by the dual naming of Murray Street as Corso Raculmuto. Increased population and prosperity prompted a building boom. As a publicity stunt and raffle, workers and contractors built a house in a day in 1913 which was later featured in a Ripley’s Believe It or Not cartoon. The same year, the Hamilton Public Library opened its new building funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. (The site was renovated and now houses the Family Court.) Hamiltonians participated in the First World War as combatants, but due to Col. Sir Sam Hughes' mobilization plans for the Canadian Expeditionary Force, there were no major battles associated purely with Hamiltonians. The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry later perpetuated the battle honours of four of these consecutively numbered Overseas Battalions of the CEF. Heavy industry boomed as the Canadian and British governments' war driven demands for steel, arms, munitions and textiles increased. Unfortunately, in their quest to expand, the twin steel giants damaged the land by infilling Hamilton Harbour and burying or diverting many creeks which formerly flowed into the bay. War profiteering by manufacturers dampened some of the mood, but generally Hamiltonians pulled together. 1919–1938 The United Farmers of Ontario won the most seats in the 1919 provincial election and formed a coalition government with the Independent Labour Party. Walter Rollo, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Hamilton West, became the first Ontario Minister of Labour in this government. The Hamilton Board of Education resumed its ambitious building program for schools. Their names often honoured the memory of war veterans: Memorial School, Allenby School and Earl Kitchener School. The educational building boom was coupled with