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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1976-06-03, Page 1,?k WILLING WALKERS,, 7- MarkJones, 8, and his friend Dwayne Achilles, 6, were enthusiastic walkers in Saturday's Walkathon at Walton. Money from the Walkathon sponsored by the Walton Area Sports Association will 'be used to i.mprove the baseball park. The boys had covered 12 of the miles from Walton to Blyth an,d back. • (Staff Photo) I A TYPICAL IND?— No It isn't, diggers who ended their -third season at the Huron Pottery site in Egmondville say. But this base, lid and jug were photographed exactly as they were found under layers of assorted refuse at the dig this summer. Oth er finds this summer included two Colbert Brewery bottles and a John Dodds' ginger beer bottle. •-(ROM photo) RAISING THE RAFTERS — Volunteer workers with the help:of at Crane quickly raised the rafters for the Dublin Lions Club pavilion at the work bee Saturday. L.Qts of strong arms and a few Intent spectators were'on hand for the occasion. The LlOhs hbpe to have the pavilion finished r their Dublinfest In July. (Staff Phi:tt6) Seaforth residents will be paying more for less as the Public Utilities Commission has received ii verbal approval for an increase in the hydro rates, but failed to get approval for a $40,000 capital expenditUre. In a special "emergency" meeting Tuesday night:, of which the press were not notified, the PUC received approval to increase hydro charges to Seaforth customers by Ontario Hydro and only„, awaits final confirmation from Toronto head office. The PUC had originally applied for a 15 percent increase, but were cut back to 8.3 percent because of the Anti Inflation Board, according to Watler Scott, PUC manager. The PUC jumped their hydro rates by 14 percent only last August.. Mr. Scott said that because the PUC received approval for only a $22',600 capital expenditure and not $40,000 as applied for, there would be "an awful effect on services”. "We hate to be 'Casty to customers, but we just can't cater to them anymore," he said. Mr.Scott said that the PUC would be much more rigid about disconnections of hydro services •' after a' customer has received '44 notice for payment, and' that the PUC would be charging for a lot they uses, to do for free. With the budget cutback, the PUC may' now have 'to lay off employees. They hired a new Ii ne man earlier this year. "We will have to 'play it by ear and see how we can transfer men bark and forth," said the PUC manager,-but there will likely be 14 one man'released from the hydro ( department." The PUC originally applied for a hydro ' rate increase last February after Ontario Hydro upped its rates to the PUC by 22 percent. PUC chairman, Ed Daly feels that this rate increase was illegal when the PUC wasn't allowed to immediately raise its rates. "I can't see how it is legal for them to charge us 22 percent, more and not allow us to raise our rates." he said. "It is like a car manufacturer telling dealers the cost of cars will go up $1,000, but not allowing the dealer to add five cents to the list price. I don't see 40' of special services an xander supervisory officer or a Easton, superintejident of superin'tendent . of special programs have beth resigned services. Finally in A recorded ,-, effective July 31 'vote asked for by Howard Shantz' For almost , o hours in of ,Stratford,.. on a motion- to committee of thilwhole the board (Continned on'Page.5) f ••• •"•••,•• • ,;,#). .1.••• • • Ontario Cabinet Minister Lorne Henderson Whole No.5650 117th Year SEAFORTH, ONTARIO 'Tlikni$DAY,,JUNE 3, 1976 — 20 PAGES MOP 4 reap Advance • Single copy Xs ceAts A , • though' regionalized school boards "weren't my fault" but, were part of a province wide 4ine'it,'11.eeve Thompson says. At `any rate, he won that election and hasn't face a challenger since. Tuckersmith's deputy reeve, Erwin Sillery,. has been on council, for 15 years and Reeve Thompson says he'd like to see him move up to the reeve's job. • The work load of a rural council has increase "terrifically" Reeve Thompson says, shaking his head. But he doesn't think bigger councils are the answer. "When one councillor resigned, we got along fine with three councillors for a year. It just means that you, and the clerk spend more time." , Reeve Thompson says he didn't think he had the capacity to go as far as he has in municipal politics., "I've struggled, but I've had a good clerk",' the late Edwin Chesney in the early years , and Jim McIntosh more recently. "Couneil has achieved so many things, it's hard to finger one over another" as his' most proud achievement after 15 years as reeve, Mr. Thompson says. But he admits that Vanastra must rank near the top. "I drove through there after we took it over and it was discour- aging - rows and rows of empty houses," Now "he points to "amazing growth", with most houses filled and new housing units being built. Reeve Thompson is proud of rural Tuckersmith too. "If you can make a hying anywhere, you can make it in'Tuckersmith", he says. "There's very little land that isn't good for farming in Tuckersmith." 'He says he thinks the present (Continued on Page 20) Why would a crew of archeolo- gists and volunteer diggers spent part of three summers digging up bists of pottery at the old Huron Pottery site in Egmondville? Archeological digs in Egypt or China have a certain, glamour about them, but Ontario? Who in their right mind would want to laun,ch a dig Egmondville? -- Royal Onta-rio Museum Arche- ologist David Newlafids, who's been in charge Of the dikfor a few weeks each summer since 1974, is, used to that reaction from many of the people who stop "to see what's going on at the site, just over the Egmondville bridge and on the old mill road to Brucefield. Perhaps it's the Canadian tendency to think that what's how it • can be done." Ontario Hydro, according to 'Mr. Daly, suggested that the PUC float a debenture if it wanted to keep its level of service high and not lay off any men. "That's talking like the federal government," said 'Mr. Daly. "You just go further in debt all the time. The PUC rejected the idea of floating a debenture and instead will try to cut where possible, said Mr. Daly. The PUC has also decided to raise the water connection fee on all pre-registered vacant lots effective June 1, 1976.. • B of E may nriove pupils The Huron county Board ,of Eduction is sending out a letter to parents of school students living in Tuckersmith and Stanley townships regarding the possible changes in school boundaries in the county. The letter reads as follows: . "A committee studying school boundaries in the county is attempting to inform residents of enrolment problems that exist. The, board says that no arbitrary decision: is being made at this (Continued on ,Page 5) • It was with. reluctance that Elgin Thompson first got involved in local politics 30 years ago and it's• reluctantly. that-^Are"..,tas-- 'decided' not to stand again for reeve 'of Tuckersmith Township in this fall's elections. Tuckersmith reeve for 15 years. Mr. Thompson's career started when he was named a trustee' at S.S. #3 school in the township. "I was, put on at a meeting that I didn't even attend," the 70 year' old reeve remembers. • After about ten years on the school board, he was approached to stand for election to council., "They said they needed me in order to get a full slate. Then close at hand isnt't Very interest- ing. "While archeology is high adventure in the mid east, it's low, very low here", he says. Canadian's are fascinated by other cultures or by digs at Indian sites but we're not very interested in our own history and early institu- tions, David Newlands says. "To know the past is to live longer", at til d farmer who worked as a volunteer on a dig in England told Dvid, 'and• he offers that as a partial e?,rplanation _as to why the .E..gniondville dig is important. The Huron Pottery is the only early pottery that has ever been fully excavated in Canada. Ks a German style pottery begun by Valentine ttoehler in 1852 and shut down by Ferdinand Burgard about 1910 - one of the longest lasting of the many independent Ontario potteries. If an early potter's shop and kiln are ever to be added to an Upper Canada village some- where, or even to be restored on the Egmondville site, the infor• illation that the ROM has gotten during the three- summers of digging will provide the ' blue- prints for the reconstruction. • The diggers packed up and filled in the site after what they think will be their last season here last week and the Expositor asked , them about the importance of what they found. All three years of the dig have given the museum information the women at Conservation and • Association of Municipalities of Ontario conferences. Reeve Thompson is' a • former vice ••' chairman of the AMO. • "I've gone back to farming," the reeve says, proud that he is more involved than ever on the 550 acres near Kippen that he shares with his two sons. His sons aren't interested in getting involved in politires "I guess -they figure their, •dad's spent enough, time at it now", Reeve Thompson says. He adds that he would like ,to have seen a son continue his involvement. Reeve and Mrs. Thompson have five grandchildren. "I've seen ,councils come and go,". the reeve says and there have been many Tuckersmith elections. He's proud that he's been acclaimed to office every term as reeve except one. That was in 1961 when the regional schools were a hot issue in the Tuckersmith election, even REEVE ELGIN THOMPSON ' about what kinds of pottery were made at Egmondville. Probably _hundreds of different styles, from basic yellow glazed cream and butter pots to mottled brown and burgundy glazed water coolers can now be called Egmondville products. As any collecter knows, the price of crocks that, though unsigned or marked,- can be identified ,,,as Egmordville, has "skyrocketed. A's an experiment, Mr. Newlands had clay from pots from Egmondville, tiolmesville and a New York State pottery analysed chemically to see if they could be identified that way. There was no difference in the three clays. Several four gallon crocks are priced at $35 each in a London "The' People of Ontario are not losing agricultural land at the rate of 26 acres per hour, but in fact are gaining more,1' Lorne Henderson, minister . without portfolio in the Ontario Govern- ment and MPP for Lambton told the annual meeting of the Huron-Middlesex Progressive Conservative Association in Dashwood last Wednesday night. In a speech reviewing the reasons behind , the PC's poor 'stowing last election , Mr. Henderson attacked election claims by the NDP that Ontario was losing farm land. "Those claims • paid big dividends for the NDP in Toronto," he said. "Now that we have the • facts, we have challenged the NDP to a debate on the matter, but they have not accepted the challenge." "It would appear they have found out the true facts on what is happening in the agricultural industry." Mr. Henderson claimed that in 1965 Huron County had a total producing farm acreage of 377,470 acres with a total value of $79,066,700. He said that the increase in, the ten year period from 1965 to 1,975 represented an increase of 123.2% in the total field crop acreage. Actually the increase, according to Mr. Henderson's ,figures, ' is less than 30 percent.' Mr. Henderson, further stated that, contrary to opposition claims, the' total field crops in Ontario have increased from 7,488,000 acres in 1965 to 7,665,200 in 1975, an increase of over 200,000 acres. Mr. Henderson also attacked the Liberals pointing out that last election Robert Nixon suggested that health costs were $300 million too high. , "Well you 'see what a '$30 million cut-back in health spending does to our hospitals." Mr. Henderson said he could not see why the PC's failed to elect a PC member in Huron last election. "I was most •disappointed last election night to find out that Jim Hayter was not the new member for Huron-Middlesex," he said. "We had great expectations for this riding and we were disappointed. Why we lost I don't know." While Mr. Henderson was "disappointed over the last election results, he was confident the future would be brighter. "The Progressive-Conserva- tives of Huron Middlesex, there is a bright future for you. When you look across the House and seethe leader of the NDP caucus and the group, he heads and see the Liberal leader and his caucus, you know there is not a very bright future for the people of this province if either of these men become Premier." Mrs. Betty Ca rdno , Mayor of Seaforth, thanked Mr. Hendetion for his speech saying she was quite impressed with the farm facts and figures. "When you do drive around the countryside and see all the new houses go up, you do think we are losing land, but I am glad to hear, another side to the story," she said. Just b fore 10 p.m. the boai jd went-into a general meeting and the-idie press representative was allgwed into the board room, The heated debate' centred around whether to advertise for a • Second jump this year Sedforth:hydro rates u p 8.3% re gaining farm land, minister says area antique shop and it is reported that fancier items are being sold for hundreds of dollars. What's more important than inflating 'the prices of Egmond- ville products, the dig should add to our information about what pioneer life was like, Mr. Newlands says. Very little is 'known about the potteries which kept our grey 'grandmothers supplied with household containers. The patters didn't write about what they did • they . just worked hard making and selling earthenware pots. 'Occasional references to the pottery and, its various owners had been found in old issues of •(Continued on Page 5) After 30 years it's reluctantly that Reeve Elgin. Thompson retires Three seasons at the pottery answer: Why dig in Egmondville? when we ,got to the nomination meeting, there were too many of us and we drew lots," The -retiringcreeve-got -ontkifihe long, straws and went on the council by aerlamation. He had agreed to serve for 'a year or two and to fill up the slate, but once he got onto township council "you get interested," Mr. Thompson says. "I dont even know what I get paid; you do it for the• community." The Ausable Bayfield Conser- vation Authority, of which he was chairman for three 'years. "has practically been, my life for the past 18 years", he says. Being chairman and reeve at the same time "took up my full time," he says. Reeve Thompson hopes the township will continue to name him its authority representative even when he is no longer reeve. He cherishes the friendships he's made with conservation authority people all over the province. He has served as vice /Chairman of the conservation authorities branch of the ministry of natural resources and still sits on' the chairman's committee that makes policy and meets, every month with the minister and his deputies. Being named vice chairman was', probably the most exciting time in his career. "I came home that day in a cloud. Being reeve is something you aspire to, but that I didn't try for. It was an honour." While his wife used to- say years ago that he'd be rich if he worked as hard at home as he did for the public, Reeve Thompson says he thinks she's a little disappointed' that he's finally retiring. "She goes with' me" to meetings away from home, the reeve say,s, and knows many of Se, arate board to replace superintendents (By Wilma Oke) members thrashed out Zhe Faced with the loss of two problem of_replacing the officers. supervisory officers in two month's time the Huron-Perth County Roman Catholic Separate School Board debated the problem at a special meeting of the board Monday 'night.. Joseph Tokar, super'