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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1971-02-04, Page 1Tuckersmith Council Approves Grants Tuckersmith Township Council at its meeting Tuesday approved 'the following grants: Huron County Plowman's Assoc- iation, $25; Huron County Soil and Crop Association, $15; Sal- vation Army, $15; Seaforth Agricultural Society, $100; Sea- forth Community Hospital .$150; South Huron, Agricultural Society $100; Central Ifiirbn Agricultural Society 4100 and Huron County Historical Society $10. passed for payment were the following • accounts: Roads, $9,497.54; Drainage,' $3,374.93; Egrnondville sidewalks,, $3,682.54; General Government, $2,208.42; Welfare, $742.46; pay- anents to Fire Area Boards, $1,608.16; Tuckersmith Tele- phone System, loan, $6,000; Miscellaneous, $705.78; for a total of $27,819.83. - Reeve Elgin Thompson was named representative to Mid- weStern Ontario Regional Development-. Council for 1971. Clinton Council invited the, Tuckersmith Council to a joint meeting in Clinton on February 15 to discuss problems common to both councils. A discussion was held on house trailers in the tow.nshlps. Council approved a motion to increase the charge for individual house trailers paid to the township from present $6 to $12 per month.. BATTLE AGAINST BIG ODDS Despite the oddS area snow plow operators continued their battle with the storms as they fought to keep traffic moving through steadily deepening snow. "This Hibbert Township plow_ was forced to give up when a section of the frame broke as the big machine attempted to punch a path through eight foot drifts on a sideroad east' of Dublin. (Staff Photo) Storms Bring Community Activity to Standstill Plan for Public Speaking Competitors in the Huron Cotinty elementary schools ora- torical contest will meet in the Clinton Public School Audi- torium on Wednesday aof next week at 2 p.m. Each of the contesting schools has chosen its best speaker for the event and the winner of this county speak-off will go on to the zone fipals in- Glencoe -Feb- ruary 27th. The winners 'of all the tone finalsi will compete in Toronto March 22 for the Ontario champ- ionship. The contests are under the joint Sponsorship 'of the Ontario Public School Trustees Association and Ontario Hydro. A. Gray, Printing- of Clinton Public School -and Mrs. J, W. Wallace , County Convener have extended an invitation to the public to attend and lend its sup. port to the young contestants. By A. Mathers, Principal, ' Huron Centennial".School I wish to express thanks to the people who assisted us in so many ways ,during the recent storm. While it is understandable that the parents of snowbound children would co-operate in every res- pect to insure their well being, it amazed us how many other People risked themselves to bainS 'us food and to help deliver the children -home, ' Shortly after noon on Tuesday we made the decision to remain at school overnight. A substantial order of food was requested from the two stores In Brucefield. During the next four and a half-hours Barry Wang - our bus manager, with the help of Gary Triebner on one snow blower and Bob Broad- foot on another attempted to deliver the food by bus. Fortunately a bread truck was 4 0 4 Little wonder that 600 students at stayed in the school far two nights principal A. Mathers looks out the front The window at the left is completely homes on Thursday. Huron uenteiunai acnooaat Brucefield were storm last week. They couldn't get out if they tried. 'Here door of the school at snow piled halfway up the door. covered. The list of the-pupils were taken to their (Staff Photo! The one storey Huron Centennial acnooi aimost aisappeared as record snow blanketed the area. The' Principal' A. Mathers points to drifts that extended to the roof of the building. (Staff Photo) Snow Halts Area Trains Despite Added Diesels What 536c• 112th Year , SEAFORTI{, ONTARIO, THURMAN, FEBRUARY 4, 1971 io PAGES- COP/R$•-15 'Cents_ ,g/Q YeAr. A00#.;, What Happens When 600 Children Stormbound in Centeimial School? McKilitm Sets Lights For Walton Mrs. ,Annie Harrison was named convener of the social committee for February at Mon- day night's meeting of Edelweiss Rebekah Lodge. Her committee will-be Miss Belle Campbell, Mrs. Mae Hillebrecht, Mrs. Andy Dun- lop, Mrs. Charles Felker, Mrs. Wilmer Cuthill and Mrs. John pullman. An invitation was received from Pride 'of Huron Lodge, Dieter, to attend a Dessert Euchre there in early February. -Mrs. Gordan Papple, supplies convener of the 'Ability Fund (March of Dimes) handed out kits to several preseht for the annual canvass taking place now" I and to end February 10. The date of the lodge's annual. Dessert Euchre was set for May e 12, to coincide with the lodge's s 59th anniversary. As a euchre party is to be held c on February 8, the next Meeting will commence at '7:30 p.in. Staples, who is on the staff at. Seaforth. Community Hospital was trapped in Seaforth and five children stilt" at home Were stranded at their schools, (tires _ in St. Coluriabatia one in Seaforth and one in Clinton. Mr.Staples survived the ordeal by cooking • bacon and eggs,,,,qn the coals of Os furnace. It was late Friday before any headway was made along ,the road which was packed with drifts '8 to 9, feet high on the. Staples gate. Mr. Staples kept in touch with the outside world by • telephone which for- tunately never failed and by listening to a 'transistor radio. ",If it hadn't been for the phone " and the radio I wouldn't have had a clue about what was"going on or what had become of my wife and, children", he said. Con Eckert, of R.R.1, Sea- forth, who operates a large dairy farm, was rnort fortunate. The power never failed on his farm but by the time trucks got through to pick up' the milk he had 9,000 lbs accumulated in almost every available container. Al- though some. farmers in more northerly communities were forced to dump accumulated milk, there was no need to do so in, the Seaforth area. 'Buses to Seaforth District .. High School were still not run- ning on Wednesday morning and although the school was open for those who could make it, no organized classes have, been held since the storm started eight days ago. Buses were able to get most of the rural students home on Friday but have been unable, to run safely since, that time. Rural students hid been billeted in Seaforth homes from Tuesday to Friday during the time when all road travel was impossible. Those who did• Manage to leave, town early .Tuesday for work or business in other cen- The Canadian National Rail- ways are having their problems in the area along with everyone else. On Sunday afternoon a snow removal train consisting ,of plOw, two engines and a caboose became stuck about 1/2 mile south of -Brucefield -while attempting to clear the line from London to Seaforth Advances Drain Work Clinton. All efforts to extricate the plow failed and the crew of seven was, rescued by a fleet of five Brucefieid area snowmobiles and taken to the home of Stewart Broadfoot in Brucefield. Help was summoned from London and two more engines were dispatched. They arrived about 3 o'clock Monday morning and after taking the caboose to Hensel' hitched on to the stalled engines and plow and with all four engines running managed to get free and return to London. The line still has not been opened, from Brucefield tos Clinton and it is unknown when plewe will be able to getthrough: • The last train through Sea- forth on the Stratford to Gecierich line of the CNR was on Friday and the line has been closed sincel due to drifting snow., A plow went down Monday night- but got no further than Holmes- stile before it got Stuck.— _ . Seaforth Station Agent, Beh Williams Said Wednesday morn- ing that he was unable to find .Out the, Status' of the line and did' not know 'when the next train would get through. A CN spokesman'-in Clinton said that the line was still plugged' frem Clinton to Goderich as of Noon Tuesday but crews stuck in the village -and thus not only were•the 160 loaves of bread purchased bu t also the driver became. an "assistant in trying to deliver it. Two other fellows with snowmobiles ,ended up de- livering the food when it turned out to be impossible Co get the bus through. Classes continued from 5:30 until 7:30 interspersed with a full schedule of gym activities, library use, and television view- ing. Meanwhile a few cans of soup, Jhaif a dozen boxes of bisciiits and 20 - cases of pop became supper for the students . NO one complained. Coats, ••, gym mats, stage drapes and hall runners became mattresses ,and covers•and class- rooms became bedrooms. Some chose to sleep on the floor while others made chairs into a bed ora slept on a bed of desk tops. The Stanley Township grader arrived about 10:00 p.m. and stood by for the night. By 11:30 the telephpne ceased ringing, late snacks from the now arrived .groceries had been served and all but the senior pupils were. asleep. After the late movie these pupils also went to sleep. Few teachers slept more than an hour. Tire chronicle of Wednesday differed little from that of Tues- day. All hoped the weather would clear but weather reports and our own sense told us otherwise. The telephone came to life before, 7:00 A.M. Wednesday's calls brought forth a very different response from almost everyone Parents were not asking when the buses would run but rather,'4 What can we ,do to help?". Fortunately only a few parents insisted upon talking to their children. The callers were usually homesick in reverse. The Kippen Snowmobile Club offered and gave help in bringing groceries from Kippen and blank- ts from nearly everyone. A up of snowmobilers from Hen- sallbrought in groceries. Mr., and Mme. Jim McIntosh brought in 60.dozen eggs on Wednesday have so that everyone would have a good breakfast on Thurs-.. day. Some snowmobilers from Kippen, Hensall and Brucefield made as •Many as three trfps to bring supplies we needed. • An - interesting element, of human concern was demonstrated on Wednesday. Four truck, drivers who were stranded in Brucefield came in on snowmo- biles and offered to stay up with the pupils and let some of the teachers sleep. What a relief, since Wednesday was a day of normal 'classes followed by a one and one-half hour indoor track meet. Orr Wednesday a few parents were able to take their children home by snowmobile. However with 62 pupils gone home we still had 540 to'bed down. There were a few tears Wednestlay evening when some of the children rea- lized that they really were staying a second night. At one point six 'children were lyihg down "ill" In the health room when someone spread the word that Red Skelton was being shown on our four T.V. sets. All miraculously recovered within seconds. On two occasions we needed medical advice and once a pre-. scription. The co-operation which we received from the three doctors and their assistance in getting the medication to Us was just excellent. Minor medical hazards such as nose bleeds, cut chins, mumps, sick stomaches and colds were present but no more prevalent than' usual. Stewart Broadfoot kept his snowmobile gassed up and his telephone by his bedside all night Wednesday night in preparation for any emergency call. No emergencies arose.- The children settled ' dOwn earlier and slept better than the first - night. Maybe it was the good supper before going to bed. It certainly wasn't the horror movie on T.V. Two or three children tried sleep walking and tripped over bcidies on the floor. Sotne time around two o'clock one child sat up, yelled "Gobbled-.. up, Gobbled-up", and then went back to a sound sleep. The teachers spent the night taking hourly shifts in the rooms, getting work ready for the next day, waehing the endless dishes, elevating their feet, and reading the magazines which one person so kindly sent in. At 5:00 we began cooking the 60dozen eggs and making break- fast. The phone was quiet until 6;45 t was only a teacher's husband ailing to see when she would be coming home. With incoming ails almost steady, as many as ix people were lined up to make utgoing" calls, some outgoing ails were just never made. Thursday morning we decided (ClOntintted on Page 10) (By Rob Brady) "Seaforth and district on Thursday was ,slowly digging it- self 'out from the worst blizzard in thirty years. The blizzard, which ,started Monday morning, had all highways and district roads closed by Noon. Railways gave,.,up a losing battle lale Mon- day and it was Thursday before plows ;, had 'tattled their way through the drifts between Strat7 ford and Goderich." , Sound familiar? The above paragraph was the lead story in The Expositor issue dated March 7, 1947. Change the day .to Tuesday and -the story accurately .. describes the events of last week in Western Ontario. - The blizzard of '71 began just as most businesses were opening their doors last Tues- day. By Noon accumulated snow and winds gusting, to fifty miles an hour, 'and higher nearer the lakes, had completely isolated all area communities, trapped children in their schools and cut off thousands of people from sup- plies of food and in some cases, essential medication. The Seaforth Snowmobile Club was one of the first in the area to mobilize in order tolielp cope with the emergency. The effort, which was co-ordinated by Sea- forth Councillors, George Hilde- brand and Betty Cardno, began Tuesday night when a fleet of machines arrived at the Seaforth CommUnliy Hospital. They were kept busy from Tuesday night until Friday transporting staff and food for the hospital. They• did, hoWever, really prove their, worth In one Medical Emergency. Wednesday evening, five of the snowmobiles were sent to Dublin ito bring in an expectant mother. Mrs. Stephen Maloney of Dublin was bundled tip in a sled along with Anne Rowland, a registered nurse for the trip to the hospital, Marlen Vincent; president of ,the Seaforth Snowmobile Club, said Tuesday that,. aside from the service at the Hospital, the Club answered about 100 calls for help over the three-day period when travel by more conventional 'means was impoesible. Most of the calls were made to deliver groceries or much needed medi- cation. Some stranded- persons were taken home inclu'ding several school children. Trips were' made to the St. Columban School to deliver blankets for the use of the childre n and teachers which were stranded there for two nights. The Menthes were also used to transport hydro crews to areas which were Inaecessible by any other means. eSne instance involving, power loss was at the horne of Gordon Staples on Concession 3 of Hibbert. Mr. Staples, who was home alone, was without power for a total of 38. hours. The hydro went out at. 9:30 Tuesday evening and was not restored until after 10:30 Thursday morn- ing. Later Thursday it went off again for five hours. 1VIrsas- , tres were unable to return to Seaforth until Thursday or , FridaY, Hospital administrator Gordon McKenzie, Ny110 left Tues- day ,morning for a Meeting in Stratford, made it as far as -Sebringville where he spent , Tuesday night. , Wednesday he battled his way 'back as far as Dublin before he was forced to give up and it was Thursday before he finally made it home to Seaforth. In the meantime, the administrator from the Goderich Hospital, Ted Elliot, on his way to the same meeting, got as far as Seaforth where he stayed until Friday before 'he could return to Goderich. Seaforth's rural mail cour- iers made a partial trip on Monday, delivering mail along rural roads which had been cleared by that time. It was the first yip made by the cour- iers since the previous Monday. Except for, a trickle of mail which came ih 'Thursday and Friday afternoons 'no corres- pondence from outside points reached Seaforth Post Office until Monday .morning. Joe Wilkinson, of Wilkinson's I.G.A. Food Market in Seaforth said Wednesday that no stock In the form of dry groceriesivas received after Monday. The major shipment of groceries for the store usually arrives on " Wednesday morning but last week it didn't arrive until Sunday."By closing tiMs Saturday our cup- board was pretty bare" he re- marked. ',I was very pleased ,with the effort made by bakeries and dairies to supplrus through- , out the storm and I was also very" glad that eggs and butter are so- readily • available locally". The store ran out of bread and milk twice during• the four days of the storm but was resupplied within hours; Tentative arrange- ment3 had been made to airlift {C-Oritinued on Page 10) Saturday was not one of Bill McLaUghlin's better days. He operates McLaughlin Motors in Seaforth and on Saturday morning he set out with an employee, Bedford Taylor, to retrieve a " car which was broken down near Centralia. While en route to the stalled carrthe wrecker experienced mechanical trouble in the storm so the two hitchhiked back to-- Exeter where they• rented ,a car to return to Seaforth. Just this side of Hensall, in a particularly bad -stret'c'h of Highway 4' and at the height• of the Storm, they were in collision with a pick-up. The head-on crash wrecked both vehicles. ' Mr. McLaughlin suffered an injured knee and a cut to his chin which required 15 stitches to CloSei- Mr. Taylor ' - - A by-law to provide for ton- structien of phase 1 of the Silver Creek drain was given two read- - ings at a spedial meeting of council On Friday evening. The $50;880 project is designed to clear a long thine, drainage problem in the north . easterly part of town. The first stage of the program, was cotn- pleted two years ago when Silver Creek-was widened and deepened from the CNR to the Hayfield RiOr. Court of Revision on the drain assessment has been set • for February 22. ‘;It as% New street lights will be in- stalled in Walton this spring a " it was learned at the McKillop Township Council meeting held at Winthrop Tuesday, With Walton situated on the boundaries of three townships the councils of-McKillop, Morris and Grey made an agreement for the installation of 27 new 175 watt mercury vapour street lights to replace, the present outdated lighting. McKillep will be, responsible for five of the lights and Morris and Grey will each have eleven lights. Ontario Hydro" will install' the new lighting system and rent it to the townships at $36 for each 'light. McKillop's rent will"..,,_ amount to $180 per year. In other business at the meet- ing which was postponed from Monday because of the weather and snow-clogged roads,. Coun- cillor William J. Leeming was. appointed representative to the Midwestern Ontario Regional Development Council for 1971. Reeve Allan Campbell was named to' represent the town- ship at the Hayfield River Watershed meeting , to be held in Goderich on February 10. The township agreed to collect taxes twice a year and forward, payment to the Huron County Board of Edu- cation and , the Huron-Perth County Roman Catholic Separate School Board on June 30; 1971, and December 15, 1971. A grant of $25 was made to the Huron County plowman's Association. •,paseed for payment were read accounts totalling $9,233.02 and general accounts' totalling $2,457.21. • - •• • • The 1970 'tax arrears are to be sent to the County Clerk- Treasurer at Goderich. Storm Troubles Come In 'Threes was not seriously injured but the truck driver sufferedl.„:bri311.6 arm,' broken leg., and-possible chest injuries. An old saw says that mis- fortune happens in threes and their day wasn't - over yet. A phone call to Seaforth brought his wife and her uncle, Lon Smith to, bring the two travel- leis home. AbOut a half Mite south of Brucefield the visibilitywas' e-. duc'ed to nil by ' drifting snow so Mr. Smith. stopped, the car to wait for it t6 clear. While they 'were waiting a arnaVailOW overtook the and,..0au gueSted it)'..hit' the Smith ear. Dorn e1 however, was slight alidahe OfftiP Was able to continue in ihe,400.9,4:7 of the plow arld'eVentiliillY 'MO* 'home. • continued work in an effort to . open it. The plow,•which had been stuck Jra•Holmesville, had been freed and was being pushed by five ,engines 'In an effort to clear the balance of the line. Name Committee ti