HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1949-09-08, Page 2Page 2 .THE TIMES-ADVOCATE, EXETER, ONTARIO, THURSDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 8, 1949
Times Established 1873 Amalgamated November 1924 Advocate Established 1881
Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario
An Independent Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of the Village of Exeter and District
Authorized as Second Glass Mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa
Member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association
Member of the Ontario-Quebec Division of the QWNA
Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation
Paid-In-Advance Circulation As Of September 30, 1948
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Canada, in advance, 8*2.50 a year United States, in advance, $3.00
Single Copies 6 Cento Each
•. PublishersJ. Melvin Southcott Robert Southcott
.THURSDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 8, 1949
Not A Square Peal
Are Canadians playing the game with
many of the persons coming to Canada?
We fear that they are not and only loss
will follow. Many of the newcomers have
fled from oppression in their homeland.
Owing to conditions of social and political
life these people could not control and
which they could not long endure, they
came to Canada in the hope of finding
freedom. They were desparately poor in
this world’s external goods and, very pro
perly, accepted such'jobs as came to them.
It must be remembered that many of these
people -were high grade men in the various
vocations from which they came. They were
high spirited folk who dared any hardship
and any danger to engage in the blessed
privilege afforded them in Canada of living
a man’s life. It> must be added that many
of these new arrivals were and are first
class workmen. They had learned their
trades or their professions under the most
exacting and the best informed teachers the
shops and schools of the old land afforded.
This fact has been demonstrated again and
again. What they needed was the oppor
tunity of showing what they could do. They
very often proved themselves to be real
masters of their craft whether the craft was
the working in wood or brass or iron or
any other line with which they were fami
liar. Their skill as farmers and as gardiners
is known to everyone. But, for the most
part, they were poor financially. They did
not know the English language. They were
not familiar with Canadian ways. They did
not know that indefinable thing, Canadian
"life”. And in. this defect was their danger.
This danger showed itself in various ways.
The mischief-maker got among them and
told them that they were not being well
enough paid. These. people, be it remem
bered, were, gradually and through exper
ience, fitting themselves into our ways, into
our shopping, into our social life, and into
our church and school life. If let alone, in
a generation they would have been alto-
g’ether at home in Canada. The exploiter
proved too much for them and in many in
stances separated them from their hard won
cash. Others influenced them to cultivate
tastes that proved then’ tormentors socially
and their ruin financially. The right sort of
newcomer met the wrong sort of Canadian
and disaster was the result. The newcomer
who
now well to do socially and every other
way. The newcomer has been lured into the
city where he has been obliged to begin
all over again amid conditions that often
proved his degradation socially and his
enemy financially. He has found out in the
hard w'av that It is not what one earns but
what one saves that makes him rich in this
land of freedom. The crafty and the cun
ning and the greedy have a free scope that
bodes ill for the man unacquainted with
our life. Interference on the part of the
best informed and the best intentioned of
Canadians is an extremely difficult matter*
What is needed is friendliness to the new
comer. Neighborliness will go a long way
in this important matter that is of the
gravest concern. The newcomer is a brother
of the dust sharing with the best of Cana
dians the feelings and the hopes that, well
guided, will make us men. We simply can
not afford to stand by and see splendid
men exploited to their and to Canada’s de
triment,
time you were looking after the garden”.
The boss has sniffed as we have come to
the job shine what late. All in all, things
are returning to what President Wilson
used to call normalcy, whatever that is. The
children are back to school and we are
listening to the usual demands for new
dresses and bats and balls and such things.
We are glad that it is all over and are
looking forward to that fine new cheque,
even if considerable part of it must go to
square up after the summer’s dissipation,
Some of us are squaring up to the good old
job and are making resolutions that we‘11
show ’em this year of grace. September and
October will clear uj> the gray matter in
our brains. It will add beef to our some
what skinny bones and life and mettle into
our heels. We wish our readers a delightful
autumn and hope that all their dreams will
come true. Here’s hoping anyway.*£*•T
Should Exeter Have A Kindergarten?
A properly equipped kindergarten—
under the guidance of a fully qualified
teacher who has aptitudes for that work—
is a real boon to a community and to every
child who has the opportunity of attending
the classes of the kindergarten. The proper
sort of kindergarten teacher is of primary'
importance. A well meaning person without
training for the work of the kindergarten
does not suffice for any such work. Such
a person may do very well for a private
kindergarten but will not suffice for a
regular kindergarten such as the govern
ment approves of. Such a teacher must
have the equipment such a class requires.
It is a mistake to attempt work of this sort
without equipment. Such a qualified teacher
costs real money. The children are to be
considered, though we know of several citi
zens who have got along very nicely with
out the advantages of a kindergarten. Be
fore a municipality undertakes a kinder
garten it will do well to consider the whole
matter from a number of angles.# * *
Note and Comment
The lordly hog may soon find his price
above rubies.
As in Avar, so in
have the last word..
•2*"r
farming: the gods
has been patient for a generation is # *
So they’ve been having snow in Ottawa.
Due to last summer’s landslide; do you
suppose ?
r
We Have Been Fortunate
Folk returning from their holidays tell
of pastures that have been grazed to the
bone, and of meadows that still are brown
and sere. How the cattle come to be look
ing so well is beyond the observer’s com
prehension. This region has been singularly
fortunate in having green fields and good
gardens and plenty of fruit. As we say this
we keep our fingers crossed as there is a
long fall ahead of us*
«
The Beginning
Those who follow the calendar tell us
that the first month of the year is January.
In reality, the first month of the year for
most of its is September, At that period
most of us are pretty well recovered from
the effect of our holidays. The mosquito
bites are well on the way to being healed.
The Misters are leaving our hands and the
liniment is getting the stiffness out of
hones and sinews. Most of the holiday bills
are arranged for. We are picking up the
shreds and tatters of our religious practices.
Our digestion is crawling back to normal.
The fishing stories have been retold. We
have heard the old command, "Tom, it’s
* * *
We agree with our English friend who
said that our Canadian climate is severe
and subject to unaccountable changes.
X: xs
Is a person who persistently breaks a
law, even when he has’ been fined for so
doing, liable for action for contempt of
court? What says the crown?
Johnny and Mary are back to school
and gravely asking about the new high
school accommodations. They may have
their wonderings quieted about Christmas
time. Santa Claus does not forget.
# « * *
Those at-Jarge politicians up there in
Northern Ontario will be regretting that
they did not restrict their wardrobe to
summer clothing. We wonder if the mos
quitoes and the sand flies behaved them*
selves in a seemly fashion.
* 4-' £ $
The Tarzan Society is soon to reorgan
ize. The organization sees no hope of an
unmolested use of our sidewalks and is con*
templating special facilities that will enable
everyday pedestrians to swing safely to and
from their places of business and social and
other responsibilities.♦ * # #
A down trend in real estate sales in
the year ahead is forecast by The Finan*
centres,
are de
af new
or mov-
ci al Post. Except in the larger
prices of old residential property
clining coast to coast. But prices
residential property are unchanged
ing slightly downward.
They had been listening to an unusually
fine number from the bag pipes *“* “The
Cock o* the North” of imperishable mem
ory. "Highland Laddie” and <<Bonny Dun
dee” came on the air in. the finest Scottish
style. The Highlander could not contain
himself and shouted as only a
can shout: "Hooh! They’ll be
thing like that in heaven!” "I
devoutly added a mere Anglo
riot squad was requisitioned*
Highlander
having no
hope not/*
Saxon. The
SPEAKING OF RELIEF fROM THE HEAT!
to tip
Rev.
is
50 YEARS AGO
(The Exeter Advocate 1899)
The Winohelsea creamery
butter was awarded first, third,
and fourth prizes at the Indust
rial Fair. This speaks well of our
little creamery.
The recent rains have greatly
stayed the swamp fires west of
the town but not before con
siderable damage was done. Mr.
James Beer, of this place, who
lost his shanty and a lot of valu
able timber last year, has again
suffered considerable loss. His
shanty, valued at about $100
having been burned.
A game of tennis was played
here on Wednesday afternoon
between the Exeter and Hensail
teams, the home team scoring a
victory. The participants were:
Dr, Ferguson, William Elder,
Dr. Sillery, H. ’C. Berry, Hensall
and Rev. Milyard, Rev. Ten
Eyck, R. O. C. Tremaine,
Martin, Exeter.
Reprinted from the Ausable Valley Conservation Report, this is the
story of the development of the area served by The Times-Advocate.
This history is not only autlioritive, but it also contains many interest
ing features never before published for public consumption, The nar
rative will be produced in a series.
Roads And Improvements
It was also in 183 3 that the i
first permanent occupant vent
ured into the western wilderness ]
of Bosanquet; one sale had been
made there the year before, but
this was shortly abandoned. Bos
anquet generally remained little
settled until the early 1850's; it
was too far from road, stores and
other settlers. Only eighteen
sales had been made there by
the end of 1S40, and of these,
eleven were either abandoned or
resold within a few years. A
village did grow up around
Brewster’s .Mill, but this dis
appeared later, Williams .West had a similar history of ’late
settlement.
The surveys of the Huron
Tract were completed in 1839,
with the exception of about 8,000
acres along the lower Ausable
in McGillivray, Stephen and Bos
anquet, which were too swampy
to lay out. By that date, nearly
60,00'0 acres had been taken up.
Some settlers, notably the Hod
gins and Balkwills in Biddulpli
and Stephen, and the Scottish
group in Williams East, were ex
panding their farms, or buying
new lots for sons, indicating that
there was already a prosperous
group of farmers in the area.
With more than £48,000 to be
spent by the Canada Company on
improvements, it was expected
that the development of the
Huron Tract would be rapid.
However, it appears that much
i
•J
25 YEARS AGO
(The Exeter Times 1924)
Fire, caused by a spaik from
the threshing engine igniting
some loose straw at .the side of
the barn, from thence spreading
up to the straw stack, totally
destroyed the fine bank barn of
Milne Rader, north of Dash
wood.Win, McDougall Jr., residing
a couple of miles southwest of
I-Iensall, caught a bald-headed
eagle making off with one of his
chickens. The bird measured six
feet, six inches from tip
of the wings.
Misses M a b e 1 and
Austin .were both married
same afternoon, one in
the other
Violet
on the
Caven
church, the other at Thames
Road Church to Charles Little
and Mansford Cooper.
out meaning to phrase it, I must i road from an Imperial Govern-
say it was by far the best and I meat Loan. However, the road
-----was- not kept up, and the Public
Works annual report for IS47
states that “nothing has been
done on this road since its com
pletion, and for want -of mere
ordinary repairs, it is becoming,
in many places, impassable.”
This state of affairs continued
for some time; by 1860, how
ever, six mies of the portion of
the road passing through Ade
laide Township had been gravel
led, and further gravelling took
place during the next ten years.
Roads in, London and Lobo
were constructed under similar
condition, with the exception of
the “Proof Line Road” (present
Highway No. 4) in London. This
seems to have been a better than
average road from its opening
in the early IS 20’s, probably be
cause of the Talbot methods. In
184 9, Freeman Talbot proposed
and carried through the forma
tion of a joint stock company
under a new act just passed by
the Assembly; its shareholders
were the residents
road, and its capital
smoothest portion of the Gode
rich roads. The roots progestins
from the stumps — kept the
wheels and axles of the wagon
moving up and down with the
regularity of the beam of a
steam engine, and were alike an
noying to us, .and fatiguing to
the horses, and more especially
when travelling between Van Eg-
mont’s tavern (between Clinton
and Seaforth) and London.”
This was written in August
1833, just seven months after
the first opening of the road had
been completed and before the
.‘‘turnpiking.” There is no doubt
that a Canadian would have been
much less horrified than'was the
English farmer, since the de
scription would fit almost any
1 newly "opened” road in "Upper
1 Canada, and usually the interval
between "opening” and "turn
piking” was much longer. How
ever, it was reasonably felt that
the large sums expended, might
have 'produced better results.
Smaller roads were opened by
settlers, hut these do not appear
in the Canada Company’s records.
In 1839, a main road was con
structed along the boundary be
tween Hay and Stephen town
ships, including a. bridge across
the Ausable*"at a cost of £505.
Further repairs were necessary
on the London Road fom 1840 to
| 1842, and at this time it was
' In the lS40’s
along the
(£32,000 1
However, it appears that mucn .partly planked. 1.....................
of this sum was at least unwise- t]le La^e ROad (the present Blue
ly expended. A large proportion ^ya|6r Highway) was opened,
of the total sum was used ,up on
the harbour at Goderich, and on
bridges, which required replace
ment after only a few .years of
use. The company, rarely if ever,
called for tenders for work* the
fact that it preferred ,to make
payment largely in laud made
contractors demand higher
•prices.
In the case of the .London
Road, the contract was let in
two sections, on estimates ap
proved by the Executive Council
in February 1830, to William
McConnel and Janies Ingersoll.
The work was completed in De
cember
reeded
Thomas
pany’s
the
ever,
and the company was credited
with £3,215 against Its improve
ment account. %
In less than two years it was
necessary to take up the corduroy
So expensively installed, since it
was already in very bad condi
tion, and "tiirnpile” the road.
This consisted of removing tlie
stumps and throwing the earth
up from the sides of the road to
tlie centre, thus .forming a crown.
For this work, a large group of
settlers was employed during
1834, and the company was
credited With a further £3,268
Is Gd,
A contemporary account, by
Patrick SMrreft, gives an idea of
the state .of the roads: "Tlie
roads formed by the Canada Co.
in the Huron Tract have been
styled good by the Backwoods
man, and so puffed ol£ in every
British newspaper, that English
men may he apt to imagine they
are Macadamized. They are
simply straight lines formed ,by
felling trees, the branches and
trunks of which have been burn
ed, or formed into corduroy, and.
the stumps, from two to three
feet in height/ left standing. I
have already alluded to the ex-
j tent of corduroy, a description of
I roads which most travellers
’speak of with horror, and, with-
18321, and greatly ex-
the estimates in cost.
Mercer Jones, the com-
commissioner.
excess satisfactorily,
to the Executive Council
explained
how-
the work being finished in 1849.
Roads were constructed in Mc
Gillivray and Bosauquet ,in the
1850’s and the Thames Road
through Usborne was opened In
1851.
In the
Company
meats to
ed patents for the whole of the
Huron Tract (unsurveyed por
tions excepted). There remained
in 1847 some £4,'0'00 to be ex
pended on improvements; the
company posted a bond of £6,000
which was to revert to it on
satisfactory evidence that
full sum of £45,383 8s 4d
been spent, and wound up
contract with the Crown, By
time a District of , Huron
been set up, and the Canada Co.
1850, under the municipal organ,
ary taxpayer—or rather an ex
traordinary one, since its in
fluence was very great. After
1850, .under the municipal organ
isation of the United Counties of
Huron, Perth and Bruce, the re
maining sum of £1,179 was
gradually exhausted, and in 1856
appears the first entry noting
the company’s ."proportion
the cost” of a bridge over
Ausable in Bosanquet. In
same year, the county issued
bentures for road improvements,
and the London Road was gravel
led under normal municipal ar
rangements. By 1855, 150 miles
of road in Huron County had
been gravelled.
in the southern portion of the
watershed, outside the control of
the Canada Gompany, the prin
cipal highway was the Egre-
mount road, built during the
early days .of settlement, Rose
well MountA account for this
and other roads, already re
ferred to, indicates that the Gov
ernment undertook its construct
ion leaving the settlers to open
the side roads as part of their
settlement duties, although the
miiitary grants required some
road work oven from settlers on
the main road
In 1841, a grant of £15,-000
was allotted for planking the
.meantime, the Canada
had completed its pay*
the Crown, and receiv-
the
had
its
this
had
of
the
the
de
,15 YEARS AGO
(The Times-Advocate 1934)
Mr. R. E, Pooley, Winchelsea,
to be congratulated on win
ning the sweepstakes , prize at
the Canadian National Exhibi
tion for producers eggs.
,A well-represented and enthus
iastic meeting was held in the
town hall n Friday evening of
last week to discuss the reorgan
ization of a band. Fifty-four
have already signified their in
tention to join the new organiza
tion which, it is hoped, will be
in shape for next year’s old boys
reunion.
James Bowey has
the coal and coke
Mrs. E. J. Christie.
W. O. Goodwin,
thron, Alt Clark and Allen Mc
Donnell, Hensall, captured first
prize in the Stratford Bowling
tournament last week.
The beer parlor at the Hensall
hotel opened last Saturday and
aid a big. business.
taken over
business of .
Fred Bon-
was entirely .devoted to gravel- history ,------tlie high | ovei.ling and improving 1
road, which was for several
years the best in the region. Al-
the
the
and
the
the
though it did , not cross
Ausable watershed, it was
principal approach to it,
this improvement increased
tendency of the settlers in
southern portion of the water
shed to buy and sell in London
rather than in Goderich.
Other improvement financed
by the Canada Company included
churches and schools; consider
able sums, then by the standards
of .the times, were expended on
these, including nearly £600 in
1849. In one or two cases, where
settlers were impatient, a church
or school appears to .have been
built by the farmers, after Which
they sought payment^ from the
company.
Churches were scarce in the
watershed in the early days, and
schools were not very plentiful.
An Anglican church had formed
part of the plan for .Adelaide
village and the Rev. Benjamin
Cronyn was appointed in 1832.
He was, however, forced to break
his journey from Ireland at Lon
don, Ontario, and was persuaded
by the inhabitants to remain and
start a church there. His place
at Adelaide was later taken by
the Rev. Dominick Biake, Who
had been appointed to the rec
tory of Cairngorm, south of
Strathroy. By . 1835, services
were being held in a schoolhouse
at or near Adelaide. A church
was built and a glebe reserved
in 1836* Settlers in Williams and
Biddulph, as well as those in
Adelaide, Warwick and Lobo at
tended services in Adelaide Vil
lage, which still had .only this
one church in 1851. A glebe Was
set aside in 1835 on the London
road just north of the Hay-
Stephen line, but there Was no
church in Hay Township until
after 1855. It was well into the
forties before other denomina
tions got buildings under way,
after settlement had greatly In*
creased. The Presbyterian High
landers of Williams East had at
first to range far afield. The
nearest Presbyterian -church was
in Embno, and it was there that
they went on some Sundays at
least, about forty miles by road.
In 1846, the only resident
clergyman In the Ausable water
shed seems to have been the
Anglican rector of .Adelaide and
the Free Church Presbyterian
minister in Williams East, The
rest of tile area, until about
IO YEARS AGO
(The Times-Advocate 1939)
Wai* is declared!
With the outbreak of war,
there has been a rush for sugar
not only in Exeter but through
out the community, and mer
chants were unable to meet the
demand.
Several from town have been
in London and signed up for
service.
■ Mr. and Mrs. K. J. Sims, have
disposed of their house and lot
on Sanders street to Mr. and
Mrs. Frank Horton.
Under the leadership of Ang
lican and United Church clergy
men and under the inspiration of
the Citadel Salvation Army Band
of London, the annual cemetery
Decoration service at old St,
James Church, Clandeboye, was
turned into one of dedication to
"Peace through Patriotism”.
Eyes filled with tears through
out the largest gathering in the
,* of the community as
a thousand voices j oined
with ardent singing “God Save
the King.”
...... . . .g
LETTER BOX
«l—-------—----
To the Editor:
We regret the printing in the
last week’s edition that some
anonymous person took in writ
ing our wedding ceremony. We
consider it a very cheap and
false account of the • ceremony.
(Signed by),
Muriel and Irving Snider,
relatives and several
friends.
1
1850, depended on the .services
of clergymen who lived outside
the watershed, although some
churches were built in the late
forties.
Schools were m u c h more
numerous than churches and as
in the case of the Adelaide
school, they were often .used for
church services as well. The date
1838 is given on a monument as
that of the building .of the first
schoolhouse in Adelaide Town
ship, but it seems that there was
a schoolhouse hear Adelaide Vil
lage in 1835. Similarly, the first
schoolhouse built in Stephen
(lot 15, concession 1) and used
for services for some years must
have been in existence .before
1848, for two schools are listed
for "Hay ana Stephen” in 1846,
and a school in Stephen received
a Government Grant of £9 7s lid
1847* The first school in Us-
borne is said to have been at
Francis town (north Eke ter) and
this may be one of the two just
mentioned, as a school in "Hay
and Usborne” received a grant
in 1847. Two common schools
are listed In McGillivray In 1845
ana three in Williams and these
also received grants M .the fol
lowing year The total number of
"common” schools in the area at
this time, seems to have been
about ten or twelve, A teacher’s
salary averaged about £53 a
year, which ’probably had the
purchasing .power of at least
$350 at the present time. Teach
ers were usually men and often
boarded themselves. Some, at
least, were married and had
families.
(To be •oontlmiicd next week)