The Huron Expositor, 1975-04-17, Page 20We are happy to be the newest store in
Seaforth. We can't talk about the past but we
look forward to serving you for present
and future styles.
Celebrate Seaforth's Centennial Year
in "present" and "future" styles
from-the
C"-•
• NTANT'S eN14,1fiCi+7, TEEM
"The Pretty Store with the Arch"
60 Main Street, Seaforth
-J.F. Daly, left, and Bill Forest in their stetson hats.
Prospecting for gold with Forest and Daly
In its history Seaforth has
produced many intelligent and
colourful people . Edmund Daly
tells a story of one of them his
father J.P.Daly and his good
friend. Tuckersrnith born Bill
Frirest.)
By Edmund Daly
I knew Bill Forest as a friend of
my father, J.F.Daly. The
Expositor article in the January
16 issue, brought back many
' memories. I think one of the
earliest of these was an incident
when Bill walked into my dad's,
Ford Garage, ordered a new car,
paid for it, told Dad to deliver it to
a niece of Bill's, and teach her
how to drive-my brother George
got the teaching assignment'', '
Once you got used to his large •
size, his big Stetson hat, his
moustache and goatee, all of
which made anyone immediately
think of pictures of Buffalo Bill
Cody. my lasting impression of
Bill was the far-away look in his
eyes. My Dad shared that look
and maybe that mutual vision of
dreams ahead attracted them to
each other.] remember a line
frorh Longfellow's "My Lost
Youth" which says, "-and the
thoughts of youth are long, Jong
thoughts". Maybe they never
really grew up but kept that gift of
dreams which is the secret of a
zest for living.Bill presented Dad
with a Stetson. in a much smaller
size, which Dad wore the rest of ,
his life. I'm sure he wore it as a
token of his regard far 'Bill as a
friend' and as a man.
Bill was a great man for tall
stories as recorded in a Toronto
Star Weekly interviev, back in
February. 1928, a copy of which I
still have. I remember one story
that was supposed to have
happened to Bill himself. Bill was
in the dredging and construction
business, He was back in
Goderich after completing a
dredging job in Montreal. Some
of his equipment was still in
Montreal including a big scow.
He got a call from a Montreal
contractor who wanted to buy the
scow. "How much" said the
contractor. "$35,000" answered
Bill. "Give you $25.000" "No.
$35.000, or nothing" says Bill.
The contractor phoned many
times trying to budge Bill getting
ally the $35,000 or nothing reply
,•ven when. he raised it a little. He
finally told Bill that $30,000 was
ois final offer and he wouldn't
budge. Bill got mad, got the name
:tnd address of the contractor,
old him that he had said all along
!hat it was $35.000 or nothing so
Bill was deeding the scow to the
man 'in Montreal for nothing.
Ford Dealership
My Dad's Ford dealership was
on Main Street in the store now
occupied by Hildebrand's Paint
and Paper. One day a big truck
pulled up in front of the shop, the
driver said, "Where'll I put
them?" I said, "What .are you
talking about?" He showed me
the back end of the truck, full of
cardboard cartons which in turn
were full of second hand books.
Somehow we got the load stacked
by in the garage and it must have
been a day or so later that we got
the answer to the mystery of the
truck-load of books. Bill was
talking around downtown
'Toronto and noticed a second
hand book shop, took a look
around, spoke to the owner, and
finally made him an offer for all
his stock. We later delivered 'the
truckload out to the farm. Bill
used to use Dad's place as a
dropping off point - even a team
of horses were dropped off there
once.
In the late 20's they both got
interested in 'mining. I guess it
was the vision of the pot of gold at
the end of the rainbow.They
made many trips into Northern
Ontario and came back with tales
.•oar. "The Holy Season of Lent is
over. John-let's have a drink." I
think it was in the 30's that 'Bill
and Dad got the notion that there
was oil in Huron County. After
several trips to Pctrolia, they
hired a well digger with some
financial assistance from some
Seaforth, Clinton, and Goderich
residents. After a few
unsuccessful attempts on some
land they bought north-east of
Clinton. they finally gave up. I do
remember one incident in this
"oil well phase" though. One day
Bill walked into the Garage with a
wizened little old man who wore
queer clothes and had a mustache
and goatee-sort of an "Absent
minded professor" type.
He was introduced as an expert
"oil witeher."
Nothing would do but we had to
drop everything and head out on
an exploratory trip. Dad drove
with the "oil witcher" in the
passenger seat - Bill and I were in
the back seat. The "witcher" was
a Y-shaped gadjet covered with
leather held on with a multitude
of brass studs. He held it by the
top ends of the Y. At the
intersection of the Y there was a
fancy knob and pointer and a
series of brass studs over which
the pointer moved.The studs
were marked, "Gold", "Tin".
I expressed my thoughts out, loud
- "If oil down 3000 feet will just
about pull that witcher out of his
hands, how is it that a gallon ,of oil
only three feet away doesn't pull
him into the engine?" A roar out
of Bill. "Stop the car!" The
only punish -merit Bill could think
of for my blasphemy was that
"the boy" should walk home.
SomehoW 'he was calmed down
but I'd broken the dream bubble
and we headed back to Seaforth.
We never saw the "witcher"
Again but I think Dad got many a
chuckle out of my logic.
Dad died in 1947 and I didn't
see much of Bill after that. He
started to lose weight and was in
poor health. I guess it was about
1952 when' Bill died in a
.Haileybury hospital. the same
town that he and Dad had met the
Labines twenty-five years earlier.
In reminiscing at the time of
Bill's death with his nephew-in-
law, the late Bud Platt, Bud told
me that even though he was in
poor health, he still had' the
dream .of "the foot of the
rainbow". Budalso reminded me
of Bill's favourite expression
when he was exploring some new
venture - "I'm going to take a
kick at the dog." In fact when
Bill left for the North on his last
trip there. Bud said his last words
to Bud were. "Well, Bud, I'm
going to take one last kick at the
dog."
I'm sure he died still with that
far-off dream in his eyes and the
knowledge that the rainbow was
just over the ,next hill.
of "the find of the century". I
don't know how much money they
lost on the many "moose
pastures" they invested in but I
still have plenty of "wall paper"'
stocks which were the result fo
their expeditionS.
'Grub Staked
On one of the trips Dad got
acquainted with a couple of
prospectors he'd met up there
and even "grub-staked" them to
carry on thskpfospecting. I don't
know how much Dad's financing
had to do with the discovery, but
it was in the summer of 4930. that
Gilbert LaBine, one of the
prospectors - the other being his
brother Charlie, discovered
radium at Great Bear Lake in the
North West Territories. I know
that, when they formed a
cOmpany . they made Dad a
director, a position he held till it
was taken over as a, Crown
Corporation by the Federal
Government about 1942 when the
atom bomb was being developed.
This mine was the only source of
supply of uranium and so it was
Great Bear Lake uranium that
was used in the two bomb s
dropped on Japan that ended the
Second World War.
Shortly after. my return home
from overseas in the Air Force in
1944, Dad told me we had a date
in Goderich. We went up to Bill's
Island in Goderich Harbour - he
told Dad he wanted to welcome
"the boy " home. I think that was
the only way I was ever referred
to by Bill. My first impression. of
that visit was the massive oak
table in the main room - it looked
as though it must weigh a ton.
There it was completely bare of
anything - even paint or varnish.
There was a little chap who acted
as Bill's cook and housekeeper
and kept the place neat anti tidy.
When we arrived, Bill let out a
;oar and the little man came
st in-Eying in with the "first
,ourse" - an unopened bottle of
Scot. h placed in the center of the
tab' with glass tumblers and no
ni.,yrs, not even a jug of water.
he main course was the largest
000se I've every seen and I don't
think there was any dessert. I do
remeMber that the bottle • of
'Scotch was the only beverage.
Kept Lent
In W.,E. Elliott's article in the
January 16 Expositor, he
mentioned about Bill keeping
Lent. I can remember many times
after Easter. Bill walking into the
i—Garage and greeting Dad with a
4-THE HURON EXPOSITOR, APRIL 17, 1975
"Iron", "Oir.,. "Water", etc.
We drove back and inith over
the back roads north and parallel
to Highway between Clinton
and Seaforth - a lot of driving
through the present Wild Life
Preserve. Every 1/4 mile or so the
"witcher" would almost pull the
"professor" through the
floorboards of the car. "Million.
gallons of oil at 2500 feet there",
the old boy would mutter. Later
"Half million at 3000 feet there."
Start Digging
This went on for about an hour
with discoveries in the millions of
gallons and Bill just about ready
to stop the car and start digging
right there. I'd had about fifteen
years experience in electronics at
that lime and I suppose it made
me a bit analytical. Unfortunately