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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1975-08-07, Page 1tl "THE LAST RUN — On Saturday, Art Powell, arnilkrneti Irfthe Seaforth area for 27 years made the last home delivery. Due to dwindling sales, and the cost of keeping a truck and man on the road, home delivery is becomning a thing of the past and the milkman who was as necessary and as welconied as the product he carried, won't be seen any more on Seaforth Streets. (Staff Photo) In McKillop S EEP crew paints bridges THE HURON EXPOSITOR, THUR DAY, AUGUST 7, 1975 — 16 PAGES $10.09A, YearifkAdv,ante ;Angle copy 2$ cents By Nancy Andrews Exeter Dairy Ltd, announced this week that as of August 2, , milk delivery in Seaforth will be ,,discontinued. For the first time since Seaforth's , ;beginning the milkman who :.;through the years has been a ,.welcome caller at area homes no .:..longer will make his rounds. Clarence McDonald, manager ,of Exeter Dairy, said the number ot' customers in the Seaforth area 'doesn't warrant the continued -4 ,cost of a' truck and a man. "It hasn't paid for more than a ear." he said, "Marketing of milk has chang- ed drastically in the last few ,lears," and added "home deliv- gry, its dying." 'I don't like to do it.' It's good :`business. Home delivery has Always been the back bone of the milk industry." Now a lot of people bWtheir milkd from local stores. "There are few tow,tts left with home • (Sieffillitto}- delive ' aid. To make home delivery pay, the dairy would have to sell about" 3,000 quarts a week, in the. Seaforth area, whereas it is only selling about 1,500. "It isn't half enough, and the milkman, Art Powell, was doing stores as well," he said. Mr. McDonald said there is about 15 cent difference 'between the cost of home delivered and store bought milk, "At one time we used to deliver all over, but gradually the trucks have been pulled of the road," he . said. The costs of trucks, gasoline and wages have gone up, and sales have dwindled. No Way He said his company tried to ,itLerease sales by introducing jugs, and specials, but there was "no way of doing it." In Exeter, they have only one truck involved in home deliveries. "To leave a truck there in town, all the time. It becomes very costly." he said. "At one time, we were the only dairy, but inthe past few years numerous dairies have entered the, local market and the only way to meet competition is to lower prices in , stores." "They don't deliver, you see,' we have to try to match them," he said. The present milkman, Art - Powell has been with Exeter Dairy since it bought out Maple Leaf Dairy from Harvey Traviss in. 1958. Before that he had worked with Mr. Traviss and has been a milkman in the Seaforth area for 27 years. Mr. Powell turned,65 years old this March, and the company decided to discontinue a service that hadn't been paying its way. Mr. McDonald said: "Art has been a fine employee, he knoWs„ everyone in Seaforth". Mr, Powell will continue work- ing for the company for "a while yet", but he won't he working as hard as he is now. He will be delivering milk three days a week to stores. Mr. Powell said peopled just seem to buy more milk up town where they can get it cheaper and carry it home. "What with the cost of living, everybody's got to cut don w every place they can," he said. "The,. older generation always count on the milkman coming," he said. "A lot of the older people who can't aet out every day, will • FIGHTING. A BLAZE -,Seaforth firemen were called to fight a fire in a garage Thursday nnorning:‘, Tnetareoe was Owned by Mrs. John Coutts of Jarvis Street. MI's boUtteilald'theltrernen,WereAtraidpf the house catching on fire, so the house 'avast evacuated while they' fOUght the blaze. ROM digging at Egmondville again Whole No. 5604 116th Year At the first evening session of Huron, County Council in many years, rumbers last ThyrOay evening agreed ••-ir appoint. William R. Alcock of Goderich as Deputy Clerk Treasurer, effective September 3. Mr. Alcock and his wife attended the session and were greeted by council members. Salary for Mr. Alcock will be $19,000 per annum with salary to be adjusted to $20,000 per annum effective January 1, 1976: He is presently with A.M.Harp'er's 'chartered accounting firm in Goderich. Council als ecepted, with much regret, th a resignation of county planner Nick Hill effective September 30. Mr. Hill will be returning to school this fall and • will write exams in the' spring for a degree in architecture, Mr. Hill's hard work in the planning department was noted by council. In answer -to Reeve Gerry Ginn's question concerning whether or not it was partly a question of money that Mr. Hill was leaving the county employ Planing Director Gary Davidson explained that Mr. Hill was 'anxious to get back into architecture". Planning Board Chairman Jack L. McCutcheon said that a replacement for Mr. Hill will be power to a new plant located on County Road. 6 just west of Kirkton. "it was the decision of the committee at that time, after consultation with the Township of Usborne, that this surplus parcel of land was of very little use to the county as it was too small for a park and rather than' see Hydro forced to purchase some good agricultural land, it was agreed to sell," reported Mr. McNichol. Hydro will landscape the parcel atA cost of $5,000 and maintain it as an open space except for the 100 foot square fenced area, for all time. Members of Huron County Council agree with Warden Anson McKinley and the county executive committee that the Lake Huron Parkway Committee should be disbanded and the funds disbursed. Warden McKinley was Chairman of that special body which has not met formally since November 13,' 1973. A meeting inMay, 1974 was cancelled after a provincial government announced that Ontarin would not proceed with either the Lake Huron or Col. Th omas Talbot Parkways. The Warden told council Thursday evening in Goderich that the Lake Huron Parkway Committee made its presentation, to the government in late 1973. The ,,overnment's unfavorable decision was handed doWn in the spring of 1974. The purpose of the proposed parkway was to develop the lakeshore from Sarnia north into a scenic drive route. "The conservation authorities were given authority over the lakeshore and small watersheds into the lake," Waden McKinley said. "They are now in a position to develop the waterfront." They are digging down in Egmondville again. They are a crew from the Royal Ontario Museum who are excavating at the site of the old Huron Pottery in Egmondville for the second year. Under the direction of industrial archeologist David Newlands, of theMuseum's Canadiana Department, the group of volunteers are exc area where the po ery building ce stood. La st su mer the RO dug u the remains of the po ery kil and waiter dumps,wher faulty ieces of pottery were thr n en the I.Rioundv tile Pottery was in 'miss the milk delivery, What Will We Do? Mr. Powell said when people heard he wouldn't be bringing their milk around anymore, many asked him: "What are we going to do? I'm going to miss you somthing awful." Mr. Powell started with Traviss Dairy back in 1948, when horse drawn milk wagons were being used. The dairy changed to delivery by truck in 1960. When he' first started peddling , milk it cost about 17 or 19 cents a quart and was in glass bottles. Now there is no such thing as a glass bottle. Winters are not like they .were. He remembers travelling down Main Street with the horse The Sweep Program is in full swing about now, An eight person crew was working on bridges in, McKillop, township this past week. Wanting to take a couple of pictures of the crew at work, it wasn't too hard to find theni. Jut follow their trail of clean white bridges. The crew has been working together since June 23 under the supervision of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. The MVCA has two other crews, one working in the Fall Reserve and another crew on a 400 acre, farm in Wawanosh. This motley crew had many different plans..Some were high school students, others university and college students. and another breaking a path, and the thermo- meter registering 27 below. "It was so still and cold you could hear the milk bottles cracking in a milk truck at the dairy on the other side of the tracks." he said. "When I first started, I worked seven days a week. People just couldn't live, if I didn't go every single day. "I'd work Christmas, and holidays. Now if people work five days a week, they think they've worked a long time." There were two men delivering milk in those days, and Mr, Powell would get every other Sunday off. "I'd get peddling around six o'clock, I have ilo trouble getting planned to attend nursing school. For the summer, at least, they have a lot in common. They have been working together cutting a forest trail, building a bridge in a conservation ' area, and cutting trails. Each student has his own particular hardship that he dislikes. One mentioned working surrounded by hawthorne bushes, another flies, and bugs. One of the girls said the work was alright until she had to drag logs on her shoulders. They have just finished cutting a half mile trail, and after the bridge painting work, they are to clean up a neglected cemetery and perhaps cut another nature trail. sought, having a minimum of two years' experience in rural planning. The salary range is to -belf51000,to-$17,000 per annum. Mr • McCutcheon noted that was higher than the salary paid to the -previons, planner, but reminded council that when they adVe rtised earlier in the year for a planner, there were "none with the qualifications we asked for, at the 'price we were prepared to pay". W.I.' Morley was, appointed as Executive Committee representative on the Historic Jail Board after chairman Rob in Lawrie- of Blyth found he could' not attend the meetings due to a lack of time. Council agreed to concur with two resolutions - one from the AssociatiOn of Municipalities of Ontario objecting to the rate increases for Ontario Hydro, and one from the County of Hastings opposing the increase in the price of oil and gasoline. The Executive Committee' has arranged a . meeting with ,the municipalities in Huron where public housing exists, is presently under construction or being considered, to discuss a connty-wide housing autl:ority. That meeting is set for Wednesday, August 13 in the Board Room of the County Administration Building in Goderich. Several members of council insisted that the meeting 'would be of interest to all municipalities since public housing may one day, affect all of them. . Council gave permission for a quarter acre of surplus land at Benmiller to be sold to Benmiller Estates Corporation at a cost of $500, The land was originally purchased'from Verne Gledhill to allow construction of the new county bridge in the village. • ''When the County of Huron was purchasing property for the new bridge several years ago, we were forced to Rurchase the entire holdings of Mr Verne Gledhill which contained more land than was required ,for the road allowance," explained Road Chairman Ralph McNichol. The land, it is understood, will be' part of expansion plans for Benmiller Estates Corporation and a swimming pool is expected to be constructed on it in conjunction with the premises (formerly the Pfrimmer Mill) now undergoing renovation. Council also agreed to sell- a parcel of land, (2.5 acres) near Kirkton to Ontario Hydro for the $1. Ontario Hydro will build a new distribution station there, in order to provide Hydro electric operation. Last year the Museum purchased most of the collection of Egmondville Pottery owned by Seaforth collector Bill Hart. David Newlands discovered n photograph of the old Pottery building this winter, something those interested in the Pottery have been looking for for Diggers are living on th'e site in tents and a trailer and will be working there for about two weeks. The pottery is on the property of Mr. and Mrs. William Huggett, across the Bayfield River from the VanEgmond house. TRACK AND FIELD STARS — Legion sports officer Ross Coutts presented ribbons to the Legion sponsored track and field competitors who won prizes in a district meet. They are, John Nielsen, Mr. Cnutts, Linda Dorssers, Gail 'Beuerman, Pat Menheere, Steve and Mark Underwood. (Staff Photo) 'County names deputy clerk, and planner Nick Hill resigns Age of home milk d comes to jo- end in .SOafot up." he said, "For the last 5 years, 1 haYea't babreagOt. just get up, get dressed afid get going. Maybe about 10 o'clock if was down near -a restate rant; I'd sit -down and have a coffee," he said. He'd va 'down' to the dairy, where he had to feed the horse, and load the truck from the cooler, which would take about half an hour. Many people in town will remember Mr. Powells' dog Sandy who was part Spaniel and part collie. "Sanday was everybody's friend," he recalled. Ahead of Truck Sandy would be up ready to go every day, he wouldn't ride but .(Continued on Page 16) The crew had one of the hottest weeks in the summer to paint bridges in McKillop Township Road Superintendent Bill Campbell was directing the crew and brought out refreshments to the thirsty lot. He said the township has about 15 bridges but doesn't expect they will all be done this year. The bridges are being painted not only to improve their looks but to• help keep the moisture out, and prevent chipping. Mr.Campbell said he expects the paint job will last five to ten years. The Sweep students won't be working in Seaforth this year, because the town didn't request any work be done. THEY'RE BACK — David Newlands of the Royal Ontario Museum, with his seVen person crew of volunteer labor is back again this year, excavating the site of the ' Huron Pottery, which operated from 1852 to 1915. The site is located on the property of Mr. and Mrs. William Huggett of Egmondville, and'the Crew shouid be. digging, scrapeing and drawing the remains of the site for two weeks, Th6! triaprity of those at the excavation site are on vacation including from far )efii' Garden Thompson, an electrical draftsman, Peter Turner, 15, of Toronto; Ala6 Kelley,• a worker in the ADM Egyptian department. In the foreground, Susan iiinhatdsod. a technician with the ROM, is uncovering -different layers of soil David Newlands in the far left, is examining the identification of dit.fereht. Nide, in the background, the tents of the crew members can be seer,. Otaff.Phote),