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Huron Expositor, 2015-04-15, Page 5Wednesday, April 15, 2015 • Huron Expositor 5 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com letter to the editor Still time brepair enatronmenWldamage The Great Seaforth Fire of 1876 Dear editor, (This past weekend marked) Earth Day, a most important day on which to celebrate and to be thank- ful, hankful, since our amazing human substance is of the earth, and is imbued with spirit and with evolutionary intelligence. These are aspects which humans share with all the earth>s flora and fauna. Planet Earth is forever changing. Planet Earth and the universe appear to pos- sess their own mysterious agenda for change and evolution. At this point in time, as never before, it is most apparent that the future path of the earth's evolution will be signifi- cantly affected by human behaviour. Individually and collectively, we can choose to be good or bad stewards of the earth's bounty. What has become increasingly apparent since the industrial revolution is the crescendo of demands for fossil fuel -based energy and of the earth's other finite natural resources? This, coupled with the bur- geoning human popula- tion, which the earth sup- ports, has resulted in massive pollution and deg- radation of the planet's ecosystems. Collectively, the human species deserves an "F" for our stewardship of this won- drous planet. If allowed to continue unchecked, our collective materialism, consumerism and lack of action as earth stewards will doom future genera- tions to a markedly dimin- ished quality of health and life. As Dr. David Suzuki so poignantly states, "The environment is not some- thing that is, `out there.' We are the environment.» The good news is that there is still time to restore some of the environmental damage, which decades of unnecessary neglect and greed have caused. Other than the persistent possibil- ity of a nuclear war, either by accident or by conscious design, there is no greater threat to the environment and to our collective health and wellbeing than climate change. On the issue of cli- mate change, Noble laureate Desmond Tutu, former archbishop of Cape Town and an anti-apartheid cru- sader, said, "to serve as cus- todians of creation is not an empty title; it requires that we act, and with all the urgency this dire situation demands." In Naomi Klein>s recent book, This Changes Every- thing she states, "I think that all of us should take the word of ninety seven per- cent of climate scientists and their countless peer- reviewed articles, as well as every national academy of science in the world, not to mention establishment institutions like the World Bank and the International Energy Agency, all of which are telling us we are headed toward catastrophic levels of warming.» I believe that most Canadians believe the ninety seven percent of pro- fessional climate scientists. Why do we have a prime minister who chooses to be unwilling to deal with this life -destroying issue? During his almost nine-year reign, Prime Minister Harper has dismantled many of the laws which protected the environment and hence our human and ecological health and well being. His lack of leadership on climate change is appalling. At some level, I believe that Mr.Harper knows the gravity of the crisis of cli- mate change, yet he fails to address this most critical issue of our time in a mean- ingful way. His myopic vision, together with his relentless pursuit of excavat- ing the tar sands and frack ing for gas, at tremendous cost to the environment and our native people, will be the most remembered legacy of his nine years of rule of this fine country. For- tunately, Canadians still have time to read Naomi Klein>s exceptionally well - researched book, This Changes Everything, before we go to the polls in October. Yours sincerely, Jim Hollingworth, MD. Goderich. In the long, hot, dry summer of 1876, the fire demon struck Brussels, Clinton and Exeter but nowhere did it hit harder than Seaforth. At 2:00 am on Septem- ber 4, 1876, Patrick Cooney was making bread in Patrick Megary's Bakery on the west side of Main Street when Mrs. Megary ran into the shop and said she saw Mrs. Griffith' store on fire. Mrs. Griffith ran a small grocery and candy shop on Main Street's east side. The fire had already spread to the frame buildings on either side of Mrs. Griffith's store when the alarm was raised. Moments later, hundreds of people were in the streets in minutes trying to contain the blaze and save whatever posses- sions they could. The fire brigade's only steam engine was sta- tioned by the water tank on the corner of Huron and Main streets and vainly began pumping water onto the flames. According to the account in the 'Huron Expositor,' the buildings were of such an 'inflam- mable material that the water had but little effect on the flames.' The flames had entirely engulfed the buildings on the east side of Main Street. A south west wind fanned the flames in a northward direction destroying the British Hotel and stables. The fire spread 'with the rapidity of lightning' and at one time, the `Expositor' reported, was burning in six direc- tions. The inferno had grown so hot that it nearly melted the fire hoses. When the tank on the corner of Main and the Huron Road ran out of water, the fire brigade retreated to the water tank by the Presbyterian Huron History David Yates Church. The 'Expositor' speculated that 'there was not water enough in Seaforth had there been one hundred engines to apply it to stop the fire in the midst' of so many wooden buildings. The conflagration had grown so high that flames from the east side of the street arced over Main Street and ignited the buildings on Main Street's west side. Vir- tually all of Seaforth's Main Street from St John Street (now John Street) to the Huron Road was `burning with aterrible fury: Had it not been for a new brick building near St John Street which checked the fire's southern progress, the 'Expositor' said 'the whole of the town between the Huron Road and the railway track' would have been a 'mass of ruins: Flames were visible as far away as Clinton and Mitchell. The 'Expositor' wrote that it seemed the 'dreadful struggle' must surely over- whelm 'those who were so bravely fighting' the fire. Salt poured onto bum- ing buildings from the town's salt wells proved to be an effective fire extin- guisher. Residents sur- rounding the fire zone doused sparks and flying embers with wet blankets to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby houses. The `superhuman efforts' of the fire brigade and citizens had contained the fire's pro- gress before it bumt itself by about 5:00 am. When dawn broke, the 'Expositor' described the sight as 'one not soon to be forgotten.' Five acres of Seaforth's core were smouldering ruins. Two square blocks were 'liter- ally filled with furniture, stoves, boxes, crockery, and an unimaginable variety of articles, and hundreds of begrimed and weary men and women searching for what remained of their worldly possessions: 'Too much praise cannot be given to the citizens for the noble manner' in which the town fought the blaze. Women, in particular, were praised by the 'Expositor' for rendering useful ser- vice. The paper also noted that there was hardly any drunkenness evident. Yet, not everyone 'nobly' did their duty. Some resi- dents looked on and refused to help 'lest they might strain their nerves or soil their clothes: Worse yet, were several 'miserable demons' who looted the possessions of their unfor- tunate neighbours piled on the streets. It was believed that 'a good deal of property has been lost in this way.' The 'Expositor's edi- tor suggested that 'a severe application of the "cat" to the bare backs would be a fitting punishment: When the smoke cleared, 40 buildings had been destroyed and over 30 families were home- less. Miraculously, no lives were lost. Recon- struction began almost immediately. By noon, most homeless families had found accommoda- tion and their posses- sions stowed away for safekeeping. Within a week, the paper reported the temporary location of several businesses. An inquest into the fire was held on the Tuesday after the fire, Mrs. Griffith was accused of deliber- ately setting the fire. She was also accused of keeping 'a house of ill -repute' and liv- ing with a 'paramour' to whom she was not mar- ried. It was reported that 'parties were seen coming and going from the house at unreasonable hours: Some testified that Mrs Griffith had even threatened to bum her own house for the insur- ance money. Mrs Griffith denied all charges and contended that the fire began when a kerosene lamp exploded. The inquest ordered Mrs. Griffith placed under arrest because of her'dis- reputable character' and imprisoned in the Goder- ich gaol. At her trial on September 28, 1876, Mr. B. L. Doyle, Mrs. Griffith's defence lawyer, moved to have the charges dropped because the indictment only stated that she was accused of setting fire to her own property which, in British common law, was no crime. Doyle argued that the charge should have read that Mrs Griffith intended to `defraud' and 'injure others: It was a novel but effective defence. The judge dis- missed the charge. Mrs Griffith was freed. Clearly, there was no will on the part of the court to make Mrs. Griffith the scapegoat for the fire. The 'Expositor' opti- mistically predicted that the loss of the town's ramshackle wood build- ings would 'only be tem- porary: He hoped that their loss would be more than compensated for by 'good and ornamental buildings' erected in their place. Indeed, within a year great brick edifices like the Queen's Hotel and Cardno Hall replaced Main Street's wooden shanties. Seaforth's pic- turesque down town arose from the ashes of the Great Fire of 1876.