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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-01-12, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012.Goderich makes Hockeyville bid, needs support Vodden clarifies myths about early Blyth school Writer reflects on ‘gifts’ from provincial government NH Food Share looks to new year THE EDITOR, There are several persistent myths about early Blyth schools. Here are three examples: • It is said that the first school in Blyth was located on Dinsley Street in what later became the Orange Hall. • It is written in some accounts that Joshua Tennant was one of the teachers in the brick school which was built in 1877 on the south east corner of Queen Street and North Street. • Blyth students in some of the early days had to go “out into Morris or East Wawanosh townships for schooling.” The first two statements are untrue. The third one is based on a misunderstanding, incorrect, but with an element of truth. First schools? There was never a school located on Dinsley Street in Blyth. The McDonald survey shows the ownership of all properties on Dinsley east of Queen and none of them held a school. Furthermore the Orange Lodge purchased their property (part of Lot 24 McDonald Survey) in 1902, more than five years after children began attending the old school built in 1896 on the present school location on Mill Street between King and Wellington. However, there may be a connection between that Orange Hall building and the school. It is rumoured that the Orange Hall building was originally built as a two-room school on Queen Street south of North Street some time before 1868 and before Blyth was incorporated as a village. The story is that the lodge bought the old building in 1902 and moved it down to their property on Dinsley for their lodge meetings. Joshua Tennant Joshua came from Lanark County to this area about 1863. He taught in this area to about 1871. He was listed in the 1871 census as living in Hullett Twp. He and James Scott were reported as very early teachers, in the school that may have been moved to Dinsley Street by the Orange Lodge. However, Joshua graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbour in 1872. So he could not have been teaching in this community in 1877. Joshua was apprenticing with Dr. William Sloan while he was still teaching in the community. Location of Schools Blyth was incorporated in 1877 as a village. Before that everything east of Queen Street was part of Morris Township, and everything west of Queen Street was part of East Wawanosh Township. The old school building, which now serves as an apartment building on Queen Street south of North Street, was built on one of two lots purchased by the Public School Trustees in 1868. Those lots were in Morris Township until 1877 when the village was incorporated. So when people read about Blyth children going to a school in Morris or East Wawanosh prior to 1877, the school is most likely within the current boundaries of Blyth – not out on a distant concession road. Reference: The Ontario Land Registration Records Index for Blyth, available for examination by appointment at the Archives, Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol. Brock Vodden. THE EDITOR, You may know Goderich as “Canada’s Prettiest Town”; a picturesque community on the shores of Lake Huron which swells with tourists during the summer months. You may have seen Goderich on the national news this summer when a devastating tornado ripped through the heart of our community, cutting a swathe through our historic downtown and destroying many homes. What you may not know is that every fall, when the tourists have departed and the beaches close, this town of 8,000 becomes Hockeyville. After the F3 tornado landed on a quiet Sunday afternoon in late August, Goderich was in shock. It was the worst tornado to hit Ontario in 16 years, causing an estimated $100 million in damage. The arenas became command posts and emergency shelters. Hundreds were homeless, a majority of the local businesses were damaged or destroyed and many found themselves instantly unemployed. The minor hockey executive wondered…should we delay tryouts? Absolutely not, was the unanimous response of the town’s residents. Despite the destruction, the state of emergency and the clean- up efforts, within days the children of Goderich were on the ice preparing for the upcoming season. And the children gave back, donning their hockey jerseys to canvass homes in a bottle drive that raised over $5,000 for the Goderich and Area Disaster Relief Fund. Goderich has a major claim to fame in minor hockey history. It is here that the first-ever PeeWee hockey tournament in the world, Young Canada Week (YCW), was played in 1950. Each spring since, YCW has attracted teams from across North America and many young players have travelled through Goderich on their way to the NHL. It is still the premier PeeWee hockey tournament in Ontario and 48 teams compete annually in multiple divisions. For one week each March, the population of Goderich doubles as thousands of people are welcomed into our small town to participate in or witness the competition. The entire community supports this event which is organized by the Lions Club. For 62 years, the people of Goderich have volunteered long hours, billeted players, provided hot meals and filled the stands at every game to cheer on all the children. Remember to thank Goderich for starting it all the next time your young player enjoys participating in a minor hockey tournament. During the winter months Goderich is hockey mad. The Kinsmen sponsor a hockey pool to raise funds for minor hockey and the town eagerly scans the newspaper each week to see who is leading in the standings. Everyone seems to support a different NHL team and talk is often a friendly ribbing about whose favourite won the last game. Every business supports the minor hockey organization in some fashion: with arena advertising, as a team sponsor or with prize donations for the annual fundraising raffle. Our arenas are packed each weekend as fans come out to watch the town’s biggest entertainment draws: the Senior A Pirates, the Junior C Sailors or the minor hockey Sailors and Sailorettes. Living in isolated, small town Ontario, our minor hockey teams travel long distances, through some wicked winter weather, in their quest to play the game. Everyone has stories of blindly navigating through one of the inevitable white-outs that blow in off the lake. Still, it doesn’t matter what the Weather Network is predicting; if the roads are open the game will go on. Players, coaches, parents and fans will risk getting snow-stayed far from home but they won’t miss their hockey! When our PeeWee AE team recently won a coveted regional Silver Stick competition word spread quickly. By the time the team arrived home a few hours later, businesses had posted signs of congratulations and the town’s fire truck was on hand, ready to take the players on a victory lap around the town square. Perhaps this is why the Ontario Minor Hockey Association ranked Goderich as one of the top 10 centres in which to play minor hockey. Goderich loves its hockey and epitomizes community spirit. GODERICH IS HOCKEYVILLE! Please consider supporting our bid for Hockeyville glory by going to the krafthockeyville.ca site and joining us under Maitland Recreation Centre. Monique Sykes, Goderich. THE EDITOR, As we start a new year, the board of the North Huron Community Food Share would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support of the Food Share. Hardly a week goes by that a picture and a write-up doesn’t appear in the newspaper of donations to the Food Share. We have been overwhelmed with the donations of both non- perishable food and monetary donations through the fall and Christmas seasons. In one instance, the local Wingham merchants had a promotion leading up to Christmas and some merchants were a little THE EDITOR, As I lie here in bed at 3 a.m. enjoying the flicker of red lights while listening to the whooshing of wind turbines and the roar of jets overhead as some Liberal politician rushes to plunder some under- plundered parts of rural Ontario, I thought I should write to thank Toronto McGuinty for the blessings he has bestowed upon rural Ontario this year. This being the “festive season” (Toronto says we can’t say Merry Christmas anymore), I’m sure Toronto McGuinty and his ‘Fiberal’ gang are wondering what perfect holiday gift they can force upon us this year. The unsustainable red energy gift would be a hard one to top. Let’s face it folks, there is nothing “sustainable” or “green” about a policy that gifts billions of taxpayers’ dollars to mega- corporations, not to mention the billions for infrastructure spending to deliver this red energy to Toronto, or the thousands of acres of agricultural land doomed to be riddled with wind turbines and solar farms. Perhaps some whiz Toronto chef could pass on a recipe for “solar panel soufflé”. We in rural Ontario reflect on past gifts such as: • The gun registry (Toronto seems to have most of Ontario’s gun problems) • The depopulation of rural Ontario by planning policies was a good one, less population means it is easier to bully the remaining few. With so many bullies on Team Toronto it’s no wonder they can’t win anything. • Papa Mapleleaf’s corporate intensive livestock factory farms that provide Hogtown with antibiotic, hormone-enhanced meat products was almost as good as Momma Wonderbread’s GMO enhanced sliced bread gift. “Never bite the hand that feeds you” comes to mind. • Staggering debt, high unemployment – the list goes on and on. We in rural Ontario can’t wait to see what gift Toronto McGuinty will force upon us this festive season. Perhaps a world class nuclear waste disposal site (sorry folks that’s already in the works). How about a mega corporate waste disposal facility? (Nope it’s already been given). Come to think of it, perhaps Toronto should save their gifts and bestow them upon their abundant homeless and bullet-riddled neighbourhoods. I think rural Ontario can manage fine without any more gifts. Perhaps if you insist on giving us a gift this year, an anti-bullying policy would be good. Yours with anticipation, George Hoy, Dungannon. Need a Family Doctor? Wingham & Area Health Professionals Recruitment North Huron Family Health Team Wingham & District Hospital WELCOMES DR. STEPHEN VANDER KLIPPE Dr. Vander Klippe will be accepting patients at the Wingham & District Health Centre** To become a patient of Dr. Vander Klippe’s, please register with Healthcare Connect: 1.800.445.1822 www.ontario.ca/healthcareconnect Welcome/Information sessions will be planned in Jan./Feb. 2012 **Initial priority will be given to patients without a local family physician Letters to the Editor Continued on page 18