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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1953-11-26, Page 2PAc;EFI TWQ 70717.7,,77. G.* INION 1"MWS-RECORD THURSDAY, NOVENB3gR. 26, 1.933 Cftito 1ev.s4Iecc.rd THE CLINTON NEW ERA 1Fir8t issue Janes 6 1865 ,\i, 7 THE CLINTON NEWS -RECORD ►J; First.iaque (Huron News -Record) ' -,; ,; /.7,3 ; " January L$$1 Amalgamated 1924 , An .independent Newspaper devoted to the interests of the Town of Clinton and Surrounding District Population, 2,543;, Trading Area, 10,000; , Retail Market, $2,000,000; Rate, 4,5c per line flat Sworn Circulation --t 2,126 Home ...Of Clinton. RCAF Station and Adastral Park (residential) MEMBER: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association; Ontario -Quebec Division, CWNA; Wosta'11 Ontario Counties Press Association SUBSCRIPTION RATES Payable in advance --Canada and Great Britain: $2.50 a Year! United States acid Foreign: $3,50; Single Copies Six Cents. Delivered by carrier to RCAF Station and Adastral Park. -25 cents a month; seven cents a copy Authorized' as second class mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa Paiblisbed EVERY THURSDAY at CIJNTON, Ontario, Canada, in the Heart of Huron County 'Thursday, November 26, 1953 Don't Walk Yourself to Death NOW IS THE TIME, of ;the'. year, for all pedestrians to watch their steps mare. care- fully than ever, Especially •dangerous for the person on foot is the evening rush hour because of early darknessandreduced visibility. Motor- ists and pedestrians alike take too many cha es in their hurry to get home. as quickly as possible. This is very noticeable at the main intersection in town. Last •November in: • Ontario,. there were 419 traffic accidents involving pedestrians. Thirty- eight died of their injuries.' There were 13 killed at intersections and 13 more lost their lives at- tempting .to cross streets in mid -block. One of the most dangerous of pedestrian habits, that of coming from behind parked vehicles or other objects, caused 51 accidents. ' Anyone who must ' walk on the highways in rural areas should' always walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic, and be sure to ' step off the pavement when vehicles approach. During the hours of dusk or darkness this is • THE NOMINATION METING in the town hall was a surprise ,to • us in more ways than one. ' In the first place„ we had thought there would be more citizenson hand. Things began well in this respect. . •By eight o'clock there were over 80 persons present and 'by`,the time nominations closed there were • upwards. of 100. They could probably., all have ,squeezed into a classroom at the • oil). • nubile. school, however, the stage in the hall •was of. use to the speakers, and the audience could.see .,aed hear• well. Our surprise came, when not one .of the candidates• was moved to rhetoric and an exclamation such;. as, "Just see the plaster falling down off the back wall! and you asks: us". to move our offices back into this old building?" Again we were rather ••: surprised, to find that the hall versus schools question was useyt as a talking point ° by' any of the speakers. After all, the councillors' have • decided to prey sent the whole matter to the electors for de- cision, so anything they May have to say en the subject is of no matter... As far as aspiringee councilmen are concerned the question means especially important. Even if the good advice of carrying, or wearing something white is being followed, step off the pavement. Pedestrians can see oncoming vehicles rnuch sooner and more clearly than the drivers can see the pedestrians. There were 87 ascidents• during November of last year involving people walking on or crossing highways, Nine people were killed. Pedestrian accidents can be avoided by everyone obeying common sense rules and de veloping safe walking and driving habits. When visibility is poorest, between dusk and dark, make sure the motorist sees you, or do not venture into his path. The right to live is sur- ely more important than the right of way. Don't walk yourself to death. And one more thing, please don't send children on messages after sun- down, when the errand involves crossing busy streets . . they can't be harmed by traffic if they are kept away from it, A Surprise To Us nothing to them, until after they have accepted office with the new year and are faced with another problem: that of how to make use of the building the electors desire them to use. The citizens of Clinton are faced with the expense of another nomination meeting, and a second election if more than one -candidate is nominated for the remaining seat on council. Probably a good many, of the people of the town will somehow manage to fix the blame for this expense on the 1953 council. If so, it will not be the correct place for the blame. Any extra expense incurred is a direct result of not enough interest by the townspeople in providing suitable candidates for the position. Of • the elevenmen nominated for the six positions in council, two were unable to stand legally, because they are members of the Fire Brigade; two were members of the 1953 council who' had definitely decided not to stand, and could conceivably have been consulted previous to the meeting. Of the seven remaining, two refused to stand, and the five who qualified became members of the 1954 council auto- matically. This Mauer of "Thought" ONE OF THE BEAUTIES of writing edit-. oriels is this: that it gives the writer an opportunity to reply- immediately to letters to the editor, while his questioner must wait it out for another week.' Concerning the "thought provoker" letter published on this page, (having to do with "The Question", we would suggest that if that same thought provoker had put a bit more thought into the writing of his letter, it would have been more apt to provoke thoughts. As it is, it tends to provide only vague conceptions of the good ideas he is trying to present. We believe that the suggestion he makes in the last paragraph concerning a consolida- tion of the public offices bears some merit. It is doubtful that it would ever be considered wise to tear down the library, nor to join its services too closely with that of the administra- tion offices. However, the idea of a modern town hall, to house the police department, the PUC, the clerk and assessor's offices, and per- haps some others, with a good large auditorium, on the site where the old town hall now stands, we believe merits consideration . Also, we would suggest, that before the council of future years decides to proceed with any plan of major dimensions, that they get competent advice, and spend some time consid- ering before action is taken. Without doubt, the Town of Clinton is a good, progressive town, and deserves the best. Perhaps it would be of worth if the councillors could manage to visit other neighbouring towns and inspect their rnunicipal buildings, with a view to seeing the best, and then planning an administration centre worthy of our town. What Town Does Not Need a Hall? MORE AND MORE these days we hear the opinion that Clinton does• no longer need a town hall. A lot of folk seem to think that the town can get along without an auditorium in which to hold -public riieetings. Our contention is this: There never was a town yet that could nota benefit by a public meeting place. Old European towns were built around their market place, and there was the centre for public meetings , and gatherings of all sorts. In Canada the custom has been continued (from necessity) by the building of central 'halls for the same purpose. Locally, Clinton has* need, even more than sonhe of her sister towns,`..idrhaps, for an ade- quate meeting hall.. For instance, just to -night', the auditorium at Clinton District Collegiate Institute is being crowded to the doors for an excellent program which will be re -presented to -morrow night. But the total accommodation You Tell Us (St, Marys Journa" Argus) - (NE OF THE BEST!, editorial writers of the more than 600 rural weeklies across Canada is Jim Greenblatt• editor of the Swift current (Sask.) Sun. In a recent issue Jim handed out the following brutally :frank and timely advice to crackpots;% chronic. grouchers, seif••appointed uplifters, .,.anbnymous' Weaklings and others who have an axe to grind or have a pet theory to pass on to ere innocent or ignorant public by sending their brainstorm to the editor to publish it just as it is written, Here is the Sun's comment, which more. modest editors might hesitate to publish.. ' "Every once in a while we get a contributed piece of news along with a notation by the free-lance reporter to; , Please print as Writ- ten," or wording to that effect. And it never fails to raise the hackles*' on the back of our neck. Sometimes we eVelfi; get bawled out over• the telephone by these reporters for "tampering' with their brain•childs before we send them to the linotype. "We" admit that We ,tyir tamper with them Oft' MAIN SIRFETT far the 'two nights amounts. to 544 seats. With 314 students attending the collegiate, this means only 230 other persons will have seats. Besides the need for a large auditorium for the presentation of the annual CDCI Com- mencement,arenumerous other meetings mencement, there nu o held in town that would benefit from a large auditorium. Consider the agricultural organiza- tion meetings, which would be held in Clinton as the natural place in. Huron, since Clinton is at the "hub" of the county. Consider a possible little theatre group which Clinton could have, if there were adequate accommodation for one, thO gj� for u t towns - This is a matterby the towns- people. Of what use is a promotion of our town, and encouragement of growth, industry, and greater business, if we are not prepared to grow with it, and provide the community with some of these needs? e'li Write but have no apology to make to the writers for taking that privilege. What they don't realize is that newspaper copy must have a stylized form and that all "personalities" must be left out. Writing it is far different than sitting down and penning a letter to Aunt Maud. When you do that, it's okay to insert "we", "every- body enjoyed themselves", and such descriptive phrases as "a lovely lunch", "speedy recovery", etc., but they have no place in newspaper reporting, Reporting must be objective, not personalized opinion, "And that's why we reserve the right to use the editorial pencil. If you had a tooth- ache, you wouldn't take it to a butcher; nor would you think• of going to a doctor for a knock in your motor. Our business is just as specialized, and yet it's the one business that most people seem to know better than the folks who ate eating from it. "Don't get sore when the piece you send in comes out in print hardly recognizable with the original copy. Just remember we have doc- tored it up in more presentable form, After all, that's what we're herd for." Old Photo of Clinton's Town Halt This old picture of the town hall on Albert Street, Clinton, was taken a good many years ago, when the decorative metal railings still were in position around the belfry, and around the flat part of the roof. Other than these de- tails the hall looks pretty much the same to -day. Letters to the Editor CITIZENS' REPORT ON TOWN HALL AND SCHOOL Clinton News -Record Clinton, Ontario DEAR SIR: On November 9 a citizens' com- mittee was formed for the express purpose of inspecting the town hall and school and to give an unbiased report to the citizens on same. The Committee consists of N. W. Trewartha (ex -mayor) ; Bert .Gliddon (ex -councillor); Don C, Colquhoun (building contract- or) ; W. Perdue (plumbing and electrical contractor) ; T. R. Thompson (business man) ; How- ard Brunsdon (machine agent); Grant Rath (painter, and fire chief) and F. W. Andrews (farm- er). We examined these buildings, giving the town hall particular at- tention both inside and out and report as follows: 1. We found that the founda- tion of the town hall was in first class condition with the exception of the extreme east end; we found a slight fault there which did not amount to much. This was caused by the weight of the east tower which put a lot of strain on the foundation at that point. This could be completely remedied by removal of tower. Material in tower• could then be used to build garage for the trucks, etc.; this would considerably lower cost of this building. As far as the re- port goes that the building is sinking in the quick sand, we could not see this as we found the walls were standing perfectly. The outer brick walls are standing straight and in excellent condition and will out -last any person living in Clinton today. There is an ex- cellent slate roof on the building that is practically indestructable. The heating equipment can be put in first class condition for $500 or less. (Not 34,000 as stated previously) . Sometimes consider- able water collects in the base- ment and into the bottom of the furnace. This can be entirely remedied by installing a sump pump; this is automatic and will take care of this trouble entirely, The ends of some of the joist in the north and south sides are starting to 'decay; this can be tuken care of by building a retain- ing wall in the basement on each aide and no further trouble can be expected there. The floors in council chamber and clerk's office need some at- tention as they are a little rough. These could be sanded over and a covering of some kind put on. We find that all repairs to town hall and heating system can be made for about $15,000. This price includes new garage for trucks and other equipment. We understand that the town has been offered 318,000 for the school and that the five lots belonging to the school can be sold for 32,000. This will total 320,000 for this prop- erty. After repairing town hall there will be a balance of 35,000 left over for the town treasury. We would suggest that some of this balance be used to sand blast the brick walls and paint the wood work. This would give the place the appearance of. a new building and add greatly to the attraction of the business section of the tcwn. The town hall can be put in first class condition and not cost the taxpayer one penny. We believe that the upper part of the hall can be divided into i:en offices, five on the north side and five on the south side and rentals frorn these will almost pay for beating the entire building. These offices could be used by in- surance agents, hair dressers, real estate, etc. We would recommend that dancing be abolished as this has a tendency of shaking the floor. The Legion Hall can take care of all these crowds and we believe the people would rather go there. If the hall was not used for offices, itcould still be used as a public meeting place as crowds of that nature would do the building no harm. For the safety of the town and security of the public it is imper- ative that the Police Office and :Fire Hall be Iocated in the centre of the town on the main street. The Police Department and the Fire Department are unanimous on this resolution, The building is there, why not make use of it? We came to the conclusion that after the hall is repaired it will then be worth to the Town of Clinton as a place for public of- fices, etc., the sum of $100,000, ,Gus,tHE Pool.. kip, , id' .SHOWING O>+P FORyTJ4E PRETTY I -1'l,. GIRtr f,' SNE woN`T PAY "A $ti OF 'TENTION TO HIM! :i• KNOWI: DID "THAI' WHritWA A KID a-uSt TO IMPRESS A PRETTY LItTLf= GIRL./.°'. SHE CALLED ME A 'SHOW-OFF' AND SHE' NEVER SPQKE' TOME AGAIN! HEI-HEH/ Poo1z US/ By JOE DENNEIT 11 and to wreck such a fine building would greatly detract from the dignity of our town. It is doubtful if the town hall can be sold as it would cost more to get the place torn down and get the brick and lumber salvag- ed than we could get for the ma- terial. One 'contractor stated he would want 310,000 to wreck the building and get . the material ready for sale. We feel sure the material would not sell for that amount. We feel that by selling the school and using the money to repair the hall would be doing the taxpayer a great favor by keeping their tax bill from going higher. We understand that the school could be sold for a light manufac- turing plant and that already a biscuit company would like to lo- cate there. We would recommend that the school be sold for that purpose. This would then draw considerable revenue for the town in the shape of taxes. In its Pres.- ent state the town gets nothing for it. On the other hand if we retain the school for town offices a lot of adjustments to the building will have to be done, Nearly half of the plaster will have to be re- newed, also a lot of decorating, and painting, floors are rough and will need sanding: A vault will have to be installed, Cells will also have to be installed. A new fire hall will have to be built, this includes space for fire trucks, a heating plant, a hose drier, and a good sized room for firemen to hold meetings, etc. A garage will have to be built for the town trucks, grader and other equipment. This building will also have to be heated. We figured that this project will cost over $20,000 and needless to say the money for this will have to come out of the taxpayers' pockets. In conclusion — THIS IS NO LOCATION FOR THE TOWN OFFICES. STORM OF 1913 Clinton News -Record Clinton, Ontario GENTLEMEN: Two or three years ago we started having your paper mailed to us here. Mr. Ford was born in Clinton almost 60 years ago and gets back to the old home town just as often as he can. He enjoys, I think most of all, reading your column called "Forty Years Ago" or heading to that ef- fect. Having been away from there for so many years (35), 39 in- cluding World, War I, he doesn't know much ,of the present inhabi- tants or goings on. He has been watching the afore- mentioned column for mention of what I would think was a high- light of that week, November 13, namely the going down of so many freighters in Lake Superior a- round Jack Fish, I think he said it was. He was, at the time wheelsman on the "Midland King". If I remember his story correctly, there were 13 boats Iost that night and Mr. Ford's boat was also con- sidered lost with all hands, but fortunately the "Midland King" was one that h t ro de out the storm. Everyone thought him lost with his ship and were surprised when he came back into town again. He has not been able to keep contact with much that goes on there and does very much enjoy reading the "Forty Year" column. Mr. Ford has a sister, Elizabeth, who taught school in Clinton for several years and is now teaching in Oshawa. For several weeks Mr, Ford has been watching the col- umn for mention of that terrible storm on the lakes. It was a ter- rible catastrophe, I remember, bat must of course bring nostalgic memories of those days sailing on, the lakes (four years), Last week there was no mention of this dis- aster in your paper and it did indeed tend to give the feeling that one is cut off from all home ties and forgotten, so would you look up whatever data you can on the disaster and print in your pap- er in the near future, as I know Mr. Ford has been watching for mention of 4.t, I know he would like to see it. His father was John Ford. Thanking you in advance, I am, Respectfully .yours, MRS. FRED L. FORD 102 Ruskin Ave., Algonac, Mich. November 19, 1953 (Editor's Note: We are glad to hear from you on this mat- ter, Mrs. Ford. Check your papers of November 12, page 2, and November 19, page 8 for references to this storm.) THE QUESTION Clinton News -Record Clinton, Ontario DEAD EDITOR;. Let us not deceive ourselves. Who aniong tis is qualified to say which is the better building as far as the masonry is concerned? 'Which building will last the long- est with the least outlay for up- keep'? Neither you nor I icor any from whont we have heard grand- standing is an ENGINEER qual- ified to State facts. Let us put this "question" in its From Our .... Early Jiles 1 40 YEARS AGOis now qualified toset on cases; He will ta1Ke Police Magistrate .Andrew's duties in the latter's absence, On Saturday afternoon, Mrs. A. J. Gregg, met with a painful, ac- cident at her home. While en- gaged in hanging a picture, and standing on a shall table, the table slipped,. throwing her to the floorthewris, breaking her left arm above t. At the regular meeting of the IOOF on Tuesday night the fol- lowing officers were elected: N.G., George Webber; V.G,, Edward Hall; recording secretary, H. Alex- ander; financial secretary, J. Wise m1 ,anIe; treasurer,llH. B. Chant; trus- tees H. B .Chant, J. W. Moore, W. yar, James Finch, Sr., has purchased the house on Bond Street owned by D. Livermore. The Clinton News Record Thursday, November 27, 1913 Charles F. Libby, the new man- ager of the Knitting Company, has rented S. S. Cooper's fine resi- dence on Orange Street and Mrs. Libby will come over very shortly from Lowell, Mass., to join him. Mr, Rowe, who came from Exe- ter to accept a position with Ball and Atkinson, rias leased from W. J. Miller his fine •house on Ontario Streetof which he takes posses- sion this week. T. T. Murphy was on Monday evening chosen people's warden of St. Paul's Church, It is due to the exertions of A. F. Cudmore that a juvenile branch of the Ancient Order of Foresters has been organized in Clinton and he certainly has been indefatigue- able in his endeavours. Harry Twitchell, Jarnes Twit- ehell, Misses Ida and Clara Twit- shed and Miss Lulu Howe enjoyed an outing to Hensall on Tuesday, Frank Hutchings, while handling express at the station on Monday, dropped a trunk on his foot which laid him off work for a day or so. The Clinton New Ero Thursday, November 27, 1913 W. B. McTaggart, Clinton, a graduate of RMC was given a com- mission as lieutenant in the new 31st Battery, CFA., which has its headquarters at Goderich." Major H. T. Ranee has been ap- pointed a justice of the peace and true light. Sentiment: an idea conditioned entirely by feeling in- stead of reason. Tradition: a custom so long continued that it has almost the force of a law. Revolution: an extensive change in ideas, These people who desire to have the Town Hall on the Main Street, business street would be clearer, I wonder how many times they or you go to the Building to do busi- ness? Think! I said business, not just to pass the time of Day. Is it change that we are afraid of? No, it cannot be. Something far more important than the place that the Town's business is car- ried on has been changed. Look at the new faces on the Town Council for '54. In the Town Hall: We have heard from the grandstanders that we should patch up the burn- ed -out, rusted -out and acid eaten furnace. Would you in your home, waste fuel each year for five years, if the savings involved would pay for a new heating system at the outset? This is guaranteed. In the Old School: We have heard it is just a school not a Town Hall. Granted, but could it be a Municipal Building when we no longer need a hall? I have heard that clothes make the man and I certainly know that they make the woman so maybe a dres- sing up would do the job. If it is money we are afraid of spending then why in the world did we build a new school? All we really needed was a small school of four rooms. You say that it would cost too much for heating and janitor service with two buildings? Then kindly tell me why the Town's Offices are in so many places? I would strongly suggest to our Town Fathers to investigate the possibilities of a building for the CounciI's offices, the Public Util- ities offices, the Library, Fire Hall and all the work shops necessary. It the new public school is not extravagant then let us sell the old school, and the PUC Buildings and tear down the Town Hall and the Library and BUILD with to- day's ideas and to -day's needs. —A THOUGHT PROVOKER November 24th, 1954 (Editor's Note: This letter is printed exactly as received from the writer, except for several punctuation and spel- ling corrections.) rr^+v+wvaer rs. Quality 25 YEARS AGO The Clinton ,News -Record Thursday, November 22, 1928 David Cantelon, one of Clinton's best known citizens who, although you wouldn't think it to look at him, • will next week celebrate his 80th birthday, Mrs, W. H. Ball, who recently sold her house, has purchased the Moffatt cottage, High Street. The board of managers of the Presbyterian Church have purch- ased the residence of Mrs. M.• Beadle, Huron Street, for a manse and will get possession. soon. Professor W. A. Anderton, who has been residing in London, has purchased the residence of the late Rev, T. J. Snowden, Ontario St., and will take possession very shortly. Miss Amy Andrews and Miss M. MacDonald spent Sunday with Woodstock friends. W. J, Nediger motored up to Burwash this week to visit his daughter, Miss Linnie, who is principal of the Burwash school, and is spending a few days as the guest of Gobernor and Mrs. Fair - full. Mr: and Mrs. John Wiseman vis- ited the latter's mother, Mrs. Grant of St. Marys, this week. 10 YEARS AGO Clinton News -Record Thursday, November 25, 1943 LAC Francis Evans, Centralia, was a visitor at his home in town this week. Pilot Officer Jim Broadfoot "of Seaforth took part in the bombing raid on Berlin, as reported in newspapers last Saturday. Gnr. Harold Fremlin, who has been with the RCA in. Newfound- land for the past year, has return- ed to Canada, and is a visitor at his home in town. Mrs. Carman McPherson and Mrs. Orval Gardiner and son John, Stratford, spent the weekend with the former's parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Hoggart. Misses Jean Cameron and Helen Levis, Reg.N.'s, from St. Thomas, are visitors at their respective homes in `town. Misses Gladys and Wilma Rad- ford, London, were weekend visit- ors with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Radford. Miss Cecilia Denomme, Brant- ford, spent the weekend with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Denomme. Miss Shirley Henri is spending a few days in Brantford this week. Miss Greta Taylor, London, was a weekend visitor at her home in. town. Mr. and Mrs. B. J. Gibbings have returned from visiting friends in Akron, Ohio; Detroit and Le - peer, Mich. Miss Irene Snider, London, spent the weekend in town with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Snider, LAC Bob Hanley left yesterday after spending a short leave with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hanley. Bob has finished his init- ial training, which he took at Ed- monton, Alta., and will be station- ed at Abbottsford, B.C., for ele- mentary training. 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