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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1971-11-11, Page 12This drawing of the walton Hotel appears in Beldon's Atlas G. Sage, prop.; Walton, Morris Twp., Ontario". of 1879. The inscription in the Atlas reads "Walton Hotel, It's Time To Think of -FOR EASY LIVING Here at Ball-Macaulay we are ready to help you plan a new modern kitchen, make suggestions as to design and materials and work out estimates to suit your budget. You'll be surprised how little it will cost. We suggest you act now so that you may enjoy your new kitchen for Christmas. Ball Macaulay Ltd. BUILDING SUPPLIES 4 SEAFORTH 527-0910 CLINTON 482-9514 NENSALL 262-2713 REL Your Pudic Utilities Commission Accounts Will Vary Any number' of conditiles can cause changes in your Utility, ac- counts as rendered every two months on the average. Greater use of Hydro is generally experienced during certain months. Winter, for instance, has its longer periods of darkness and the heating season. Some Conditions That Can Cause Changes —In' Your Accounts: LIGHTING— Artificial light is used more in., Winter than in Summer. HOUSE HEATING-- Electricity is used to operate associated forced air systems, ek- burners, circulating pumps, controls, supplementary heating, and so on. The colder and more prolonged the Winter month* the greater use of both electricity and fuel. ADDITIONAL NEW APPLIANCES— Such as a television, .range, dryer, refrigerator, freezer, radio, Hi-Fi, air conditioner, etc., will generally result in the increas- ed use of Hydro. ENTERTAINMENT AND COMPANY— The greater use of electricity for cooking, lighting, wishing, drying, ironing, television, and so on. HOLIDAYS,' CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR'S— Preparations and festivities are usually accompanied by the in- creased use of electricifjr ILLNESS IN THE HOME— Heat lamps, heating pads and supplementary heating can be the cause of increased electricity nse. THE FAMILY— An increase in numebr is generally reflected in an increase in Hydro. UNNECESSARY USE— Lights and appliances left on when not required can cause changes in accounts. Electricity Meters Are Tested Electricity meters are tested 'and sealed as to accuracy by the Standards Branch, Canada Depart. Mont of Consumer and Corporate Affairs. BILLING PERIODS-- Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, inability to obtain meter read- ings and so on will cause variations in scheduled meter read- ing dates. r' rte SEAFORTH PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION DEALER WANTED Aero Leisure Truck Tops A Top for All Seasons A Top for All Reasons All aluminum Sliding safety glass windows with screens Water & dust mid Theft proof door with lock Counter balanced for easy operation CAMPER MODULE • Converts work truck to camper in minutes • Fits any 8' truck box • Kitchen facilities— stove, sink, icebox • 2 cushioned seats convert to beds ASK YOUR DEALER ABOUT OTHER . 'FEATURES AND OPTIONS '.AERO LEISURE PRODUCTS ONI .SION OF GARRETT MANUFACTURING LIMITED 255 ATTWELI, DRIVE • RE)4 DALE • ONTARIO rivetted construction Full back window No visual distortion Colour keyed to match. your truck 12--THE HURON EXPOSITOR, SE/WORTH, ONT., NOV. 11, 1971 100 Years Ago C has. and Louis McDonald bought it followed by a John McDonald, a son of Louis. While the Mc- Donald brothers owned it in 1881 they gave employment to about twenty men with over a million feet of logs being made into lumber. They also made shingles and barrel staves. Many of the logs were cherry, birch, hemlock, pine, maple, beech, elm, basswood and ash. In 1944 Dunc 'Johnston bought the mill from John McDonald. A few years later a Wm . Palm er bought and he sold to a Mr. Kyte who removed all the machinery and sold it to a Mr. L. Medima who converted it into a chicken house. At present the building still stands and the lot is owned by Gerald Ryan. A corner was sold off this -lot in 1968 to Frank Kirkley who built a new house there. LITERARY SOCIETY The Huron Expositor of 1881 mentions this society met once a month and had quite an en- tertaining. program 'of musical numbers. The highlight of the evening seemed to be a debate. Some of the subjects were: "ResolVed that the Negro has 1 suffered more at the hands of "'the white man than the Indian". 2. Resolved that single life Is happier than married". USE EXPOSITOR WANT,ADS Phone 527-0240 A history of Walton prepared by Mrs. Nelson Reid of that Village, was presented to a Meeting of the Huron Historical Society held in Walton on Oct- ober 27th. The following is the second in a series of extracts from the history. TEMPERANCE SOCIETY Records show that a Temper- ance Society was organized in 18'19 called the Royal Templars of Temperance. It had 120 mem- bers. A notice in the Huron Expositor in 1893 says the Templers will have to get a hustle on now that the vote is shortly to take place on Prohi- bition. In that same paper in 1873 we find the following item, "The other night a gang of hoodlums went through the village, alter visiting one of the hotels, pelted residences along the street with stones , breaking windows in some cases. In 1873 clay of the best quality suitable for making tile and brick was found on the farm of David Campbell, 3rd lot from Walton. The farm is now owned by Ron Lee. CHEESE FACTORY From the Huron Expositor February 1881, the farmers in this section being desirous of having a cheese factory near them have decided to take the initial steps to form a joint stock com- pany to establish a factory at or near the village. A meeting was held with Mr. J. R. Miller, De- puty Reeve of Morris present to address the meeting, showing the benefits of dairying to farnfers. A committee to make inqui- ries to be Lewis McDonald, An- drew Morrison, Jonathon Moore, David Campbell, Adam Arm- strong, George Forrest, Jas. SmIllie, Alex Gardiner, Jas. McDonald, Mathew Morrison, Henry Hamilton, Alex Mc- Allister, ' The next meeting to be held in Beirns Hall, February 9 at 6 p.m, There is no better section of country anywhere than that of which Walton forms the centre: A good factory properly managed would be of im -nense benefit to the farm ors in this section. And so after several meet- ings a cheese factory was built on John Hewitt's property by the farmers contributing a number of shares at $15.00 per share. A Mr. Leitch ran this mill for some time and, a Mr. Orin McTaggart drew milk to the factory. This factory was burned. In 1896“boxes of cheese were shipped from}wc.iton and Winthrop cheese factorl.'ig from Brussels railway station. Price 8 11/16 cents per lb. CHOPPING MILL An item in the Expositor in the 1870's told of a group of boys playing. around the grist mill who untied all the horses on sleighs and let them go. There was a warning to parents to take some action towards the disci- pline of these 'boys. The grist mill ' was located between Williamson's and Nolan's house. A Chopping Mill was built on the site of the old cheese factory by Henry and George Hoegy in .1910. Later they sold to Jack or tne people who served there through the years. Chas. Robertson, Annie Ferguson,Maud Ferguson, Jean (Drager) Bryans, Armour Dundas, Torrance Dun- das, Douglas Ennis, Adrian Mc- Taggart, George McTaggart and A Jim Rae. In 1930 after the fire, the post office was opened in the store owned by W. C. f3ennett. In 1952 it was taken over by Barrie Mar- shall and then in 1965 it was moved to its present location in Humphries Store. 114 There were four mall routes from Walton Post Office. Some of those who have operated these routes are William Sholdice, Harvey Hover, another Wm.Shol- dice, Mac Sholdice, Dan Stiess, Erie Sholdice, Andrew Coutts, Wm. Thamer, Thomas Johnston, Joe Carter, Barrie Marshall, Stewart Humphries, Enoch Clark and Jack Marshall with others assisting at different times. THE RAILWAY, STATION HOUSE AND TELEGRAPH In April 1887 a meeting was held in Sages Hotel to appoint a committee to confer with the C.P.R. with regard to a railway line from Guelph to Goderich. John Hewitt was appointed chair- man and a Mr. Morrison, secre- tary. It was not until 1905 that' the rail line got started and finished in 1907. It runs through the centre of Grey east and the centre of concession 10 of Morris west. From 1907 to 1930 four pas- senger trains ran a regular route from Hamilton to Goderich. This passenger service ended April 23, 1955. The first passenger train ar- rived on the evening of July 8th and four days later, 200 tickets were sold to area residents on their way to attend the twelfth of July celebration at Blyth. A big event each year was the Sunday School Excursion when parents, teachers and children enjoyed a picnic at Goderich on Lake Huron, On this trip there was always the thrill of passing over the high railway bridge at Goderich when the train slowed down to a crawl. Picnics and shopping trips to Guelph were also exciting. Train connections to Ouelph Jun- ction made it possible to spend a day in Hamilton and Toronto which was very convenience for the businessmen. Many village residents enjoyed meeting the evening train on its way to Goderich. It was exciting to see the big bright light coming to- wards you from the east and hear the shrill ,steam whistle blowing from that big engine. OnChrist- mas eve in the twenties two village maidens dressed as -Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, met the evening train and were allowed to go through the cars to cheer up the weary passengers. This line did a large business in the transportation of livestock when as many as four cars of hogs and cattle were shipped on a Saturday. The stockyards were owned by shareholders and are still occasionally used when Western cattle are shipped to farmers in the community. The freight train still makes one trip a day. Drovers who shipped live- stock from Walton were John Watt, George Ferguson, George Muldoon, Silas Johnston and John J; McGavin. Car loads of baled hay was also shipped by Peter Gardiner who owned a hay press. A cement shed used by John McDonald, owner of the sawmill, was used to store bags of cement. There was also' a coal shed where coal was emptied from the cars and stored here until needed by the residents. This coal business was run by the Humphries family. A large grain elevator at the station was pur- chased by Harold Sellers and later sold to Herb Traviss for feed storage. It was sold again and torn down and the material taken to Brussels. Chas. Drager and Wm. Woods were two of the men in charge of the elevator through the yearsi The station was built by Harry Edge of Seaforth in 1907 . It included a waiting room, office, living quarters for the Station agent and a freight shed for the express parcels which some- times were crates of eggs being shipped to Toronto. In January 1967 the building was sold to Alex Gulutzen Sr. who moved it to his farm on the 17th concession of Grey township. Section foremen included Jas. Bishop, Russel Ald- erson, Joe Gilkinsen, Harold Smalldon. Mail carriers from the station to Post Office were Joe Love, Thomas Johnston, Dunc Johnston. Station agents were - Thos. McKay, Herbeit Thomas, Mr.Crawford,Edward Beuerman, Alfred Bruce, deo. Hadley, Fred Rutledge, Fred Wilson, Percy Holm an and Arthur Busby. A diesel engine was put on the train in 1930 and only one round trip was made. The regular passenger service was dis- continued In April 23, 1955. The early residents were glad to see the railroad come but a thing is only good until some- thing better and more efficient replaces it. The telegraph ran through the village from north to south before 1870 with a station In Pattison's store. At first it was the type that put the ,mess- age on paper in the form of a' code. Later a ticker type was used. After the railroad station was built the telegraph office was in it. The telephone came to Walton in 1908, (To be continued next week) History Recalls Walton Activity Buchanan who raised the front part and put a foundation under it. In 1924 he sold it to Ernie Radford and his father-in-law, 11.., A. Ashton. After two years Radford took over by him self. He built a piece to the side and the wind-break over the front door as well as 'a' henhouse at the back of the mill. In 1926 they built a new house. In 1935 Albert Traviss of Palmerston traded his farm for the mill and Radfords went to the farm. There were two boys in the Traviss family and in 1945 Herb took over the Wall and Is still operating it assisted by his brother Ralph. Hoegy had steam, Buchanan had steam, Radford put in a diesel engine and the Traviss_ family operated with a Generalotors engine. SAWMILL The sawmill was located on the east side of the street, just south of the railway tracks. At first it used to be on the north side -ass well. The first owner was Thomas Knox and later it was owned by a Mr. Adams. Then 3. -“Resolved that worn an has a greater influence over man than his money". In all cases it was reported that the affirmative won. I don't know how long this society kept going. POST OFFICE AND STORE - The location of the first Post Office and store in Walton was at the end of main street on the south side of the road. It was a frame structure with a frame house to the west joined together by a small hallway. The Post Office opened in 1862 with Geo. Bigger as first postmaster. R. Pattison as early as 1865 was in possession here. He must have been an active man as records show he sold Sun Mutual Life Insurance, was agent for a loan company for real estate and secretary treasurer of the school. sn one paper his advertise- ment read - have received a large shipment of boots and shoes, dry goods, groceries, pro- visions, glassware, hardware, coal oil, paint oils and patent medicines of all descriptions. Farm produce taken in exchange. I would also respectfully intimate to those who have not paid up their accounts due Jan. 2, 1876, to call .and -do se at once either by cash or note, as I must have--a settlement. Please call without any further notice." In March 1881 Mr. Pattison sold to a Mr. Jas. McDonald. A week later he sold to Richard pollard for $3,000. In April Wm. Blatchford of St. Marys went in with Mr. Pollard as partners in the store. Around 1890 George William Neal bought the store. He had formerly lived in Brussels. His wile was formerly Rebe.ccaSher- ritt from near Hayfield. They had two sons, Frank who became a doctor in Peterborough and Wm. G. who carried on the store until his death in 1928 at the age of 54. A daughter died in child- hood. The store did a tremendous business In the horse and buggy days. Flour, sugar, molasses, feed, etc. were brought in by the carload following the building of the railroad in 1907. Prior to this everything was brought from Brussels station. A room built on to the east of the store was used for test- ing cream which was brought in then sent on to Seaforth Cream- ery. Eggs were also graded here and at one time sent to Toronto by train and later to Thompson's Produce, Brussels. Butter and lard were exchanged for grocer- ies and other goods. Old hens. were also bought and hold here. The Post Office was situated at the front of the store and in the early days a telegraph system was operated. Miss Annie Fer- guson worked in this post office for many years. She was also Justice of the Peace. The younger Wm. Neal was' a born businessman and took a keen interest in all church and community affairs. At the time of his death he made a bequest for the purpose of installing street lights in Walton. His wishes were carried out by 1930. Following his death the store was purchased by J. Bernie of Listowel and J. McLeod of Wrox- eter. The store was destroyed by fire during the Christmas. season of 1930. The following are some •