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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1953-04-23, Page 2Page 2 THE TIMES-ADVOCATE, EXETER, ONTARIO, THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 23, 1953 This journal sjicyll always fight for progress, reform and public welfare, never he afraid ter at­ tack wrong, never belong to any political party, never be satisfied with merely printing news. THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 23, 1953 Be Carefull The fire which spread through about 300 acres of The Pinery lust Wednesday might have been exceedingly destructive had it not been for the wet condition of the land and the quick work of civilian volunteers and soldiers at Camp Ipperwasli. Although it has not been definitely proven that a match or cigarette tossed from a moving car started the fire, it is known that many fires are caused this way. The Pinery fire should serve as a strong reminder to smokers to be careful. * -x- * * Poor Old George (The Wingham Advance-Times) Sometimes we feel sorry for George. He’s the fellow in the community who, per­ haps without thinking very much about it, has decided that something should be done about something. So, unlike the majority of us, he goes ahead and does it, or tries to. He’s the George in Let George Do It. Every community has a George, if not several. Very often, in fact most of the time, George is on his own. He does not have a service club or a church organization or a benevolent society behind him, or out in front to give him a lead. He’s just an or­ dinary guy with an idea that the town would be better if something were done, and he’s pegging away trying to do just that. He’s laboring under certain disadvan­ tages. After all, if you’re a member of an organization, you’re in with the. crowd. There’s a certain amount of bonhommie about it, and a good time is usually being had by all, even if the goals at which the organization is aiming are the highest ever. Belonging to an organization is often a good way to combine business with pleasure, and good deeds with a good time. And all the while you have that comfortable feeling you’re doing the right thing. Or, if you have no conscience about it, you can be a sitting member who goes along for the ride. The club will sponsor you and your like, just as it sponsors a lot of other things. If you don’t want to work and are reasonably smart about it, you can sit back and let the rest of the members do it. May­ be they’ll grouse about it a little, but the work will reach its objective without your having done a tap to help it along. And you can still bask in the reflected glory of the Dependent Order of Circular Tigers, or whatever it is. But poor, old George, who has taken it upon himself to do something for the town, has no such luck. There’s no George for him to let do it. He just plugs along, doing his best, often without thanks, praise, or even notice. Frankly we don’t know why he does it. But we wish there were more Georges. « * * * Canadian Wit And Wisdom You may stop a man’s mouth by cram- min’ a book down his throat, but you won’t convince him.—T. C. Haliburton, Sam Slick 1836. The things that come to the man who waits are seldom the things he waited for. —Robert C. (Bob) Edwards, Calgary Eye- Opener, January 27, 1912. Family trees are apt to be questionable about the roots.—-Sir William Van Horne to Lady Nicholson, 1909. Canadian girls are so pretty it’s a re­ lief to see a plain one now and then.-—Mark Twain, notebook written on trip to Montreal, November 1881. Exeter taxpayers may grumble at the 20 percent hike their taxes took when coun­ cil set the rate at 60 mills last week but perhaps they can take some consolation in the fact that other communities are in the 70 and 80 brackets. There are two consideratioans which we think should be pointed out in connec­ tion with the town's tax rale. One is, that the $6,000 surplus which the council had last year helped to keep the 1952 rate from increasing above 50 mills. On the year’s actual expenditure, the rate should have been at least 53 mills. Had this been, the, current jump would not have been so high. The second is, that the $60,000 deben­ ture loan which was floated for the renova­ tion of the. arena and installation of arti-" ficial ice was not high enough. Council had to grant the Community Centres Board $4,000 toward the work. This represents an additional two mills on this year's taxes. Since hindsight is so much easier than fore­ sight, it is now generally agreed that it was probably a mistake not to make the deben­ ture loaix higher. Outside of these two factors, it would appear that the increase is normal and justi­ fied according to the increased services de­ manded by the residents of the town. We do not entirely agree with council on the policy of budgeting for a probable deficit to keep the mill rate at 60. This, we believe, is not fair to the 1954 council nor does it set a wise precedent for the future. Juggling the figures on paper to make the 60 mills look possible may have the advan- take of presenting a nice, round figure to the taxpayer but it will not satisfy him if basic services are scimped or a deficit re­ gistered. In view of the fact that public and high school additions are certain to increase the tax burden next year, it appears to us it would be sound to make sure this year’s expenditures are properly met. On the other hand, if council can suc- cuessfully keep its expenditures within the budget, taxpayers will be grateful. ‘ % * * Good Luck, Zurich We wish the Zurich community good luck in its efforts to install artificial ice in the arena. May the campaign be a success. There are some who will doubt whether two artificial ice arenas in this district can both pay operating expenses. We are of the opinion that, with proper management and cooperation, they can easily. The Zurich community boasts a good arena, a contending hockey team in the Flyers and a good sports following. These factors should weigh heavily in favor of the success of an ice plant in Zurich. If the objective is reached, and we feel sure it will be, the new artificial ice centre will augment the recreational facilities in the district and raise the calibre of hockey. «- •» * * Earlier Agreements Sugar, beet, beans, cabbage, carrot and beet prices were settled last week as farm­ ers started to work on their land. At the time of writing, the canning factory has not decided what amount of produce it will han­ dle this year. Leaving these final negotiations so late in the spring must be a disadvantage to the farmer who tries to plan his crops in ad­ vance so that he can make orderly prepara­ tion for his work. It is unfortunate that the parties in­ volved cannot agree to set an early deadline for the settlement of these cases. There would appear to be little advantage in leav­ ing the final talks until this late date. Jottings By J.M.S. Hote/s, Liq uor Were Plentiful Time* Established 1878 Amalgamated 1024 Advocate) Established 1881 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario An Independent Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of the Town of Exeter add District ,lg;$ Authorized m Second Class Mail. Post Office Department, Ottawa Member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association * Member Of the Ontario-Quebec Division Of the OWNA Member Of the Audit Bureau Of Circulation Paid-in-Advance Circulation as of March, 1952 2,534 SUBSCRIPTION rates Csnsda, in advance, $8.00 a >ear — United States, In advance, $4.00 a year Single Copies Bach J. Melvin Southcott a Publishers * Robert Southcott As the "TIMES" Go By it,■■■on, 50 YEARS AGO Mrs. Isaac Carling, one of Exeter’s most highly respected citizens, died April 16 at age of 78 years. She was married in 1846 to the late Isaac Carling. Six daughters and two sons sur­ vive. Winchelsea reports weather has been favorable for seeding and most of the farmers in that district have completed the job. At a meeting of the school board two resolutions were placed in the hands of H. Hus­ ton, delegate to forthcoming convention of public school trus­ tees in Toronto, to be submitted by him to resolutions committee. The first protests the frequent change in text books. The second asks government action to secure bettei’ care for physical welfare of our pupils, who are the country’s wards and Canada’s hope for the future. Odd Fellows will observe the establishment of their Order by attending worship’ in Trivitt Memorial Church, the sermon to be delivered by the Rev. Mr. Perkins. 25 YEARS AGO Tenders are being called for the remodeling of the basement of James Street Church and in­ stallation of a heating system. Mr. Roy Parsons is moving from Usborne to his father’s farm on London Road S. His brother Lloyd is taking over his Usborne Township farm and Mr. and Mrs. Sam Parsons are re­ tiring from farming. The Rev. W. E. Donnelly, of Stratford, a former pastor of James Street Church, conducted anniversary services of the Sun­ day School last Sunday. Mr. James Taylor has taken a position with the Exeter Cream­ ery. 15 YEARS AGO Dr. Margaret Strang Savage has resigned as Presbyterian medical missionary in the Peace Gun Club Meets The annual meeting of the Blue Water Gun Club was held in the Dominion Hotel, Zurich, last Thursday evening with a good attendance. A new execu­ tive was elected as follows: preside.nt, Ferd. Habefer; vice- president, Lennis O’Brien: trea­ surer, Charles Meyers; secretary, Len Sararas. The club is growing arid has close to 100 members at present, with ail objective of 125 members in the near future, Membership buttons will be given shortly, The object of the organ­ ization is conservation of wild life, distribution and conserva­ tion of pheasants, and for a big­ ger and better club, (Zurich Herald) Fun With Figures When over 3004) paid customers witnessed Young Canada Hotkey week at Goderich each team wag fed by the Lions Club after each game and in many eases teams were billeted over night. The teams ate and drank 58 gallons of chocolate milk, 354 loaves of bread, 60 dozen eggs 60 pounds of butter, GOO slices of cold meat, 16 pounds of peanut butter, 25 pounds of jam and nine jars of mayonnaise. There were 32 hockey gatnes in five divisions. Now, how much did each Peewee eat? (Mitchell Advocate) | River district. Dog poisoners have been at work in the community. R. G. Seldon lost a valuable bull dog and Mrs. G. Atkinson, a wire- haired terrier. An attempt to rob the Statton pool room was foiled when night constable William Wareing ap­ peared on the scene and frighten­ ed the would-be robbers away. The splitting of the doorway to gain admittance, attracted Mr. Wareing’s attention. Ruth M. Pearce and William Gaiser, Cfediton, were married at the Main Street parsonage by the Rev. A. E. Elliott, April 16. The wedding dinner was’ served at the home of the bride’s pa­ rents, Mr, and Mrs. W. C. Pearce. The Rev. J. T. Edgar, pastor of the Pentecostal Church, was married to Catherine I. Griffith, returned missionary from India, in the Pentecostal Church. I was asked the other day how many hotels there were.in Exe­ ter in the earty days. The best I can recall is six hotels and two liquor stores. Three of the hotels have been torn down and two others are now being used for other purposes, The Central Hotel, pow owned by Miss Amelia Acheson, who is assisted by her brother Charles, is now the only hotel being operated in Exeter. It was owned and operated for many years by their father, the late Thomas Acheson. Previous to that it was owned by an uncle of mine, James Oke, father of the late Mrs. T. Acheson. Mr. James Acheson, U shoe merchant, father of Thomas, donated Victoria Parle, on Huron street, to the munici­ pality. The Commerical Hotel for many years was operated in turn by Wes. and William Ilawkshaw. The ground floor of the hotel is now occupied by a bakery, a barber shop, an ice cream bar anl the upper floors are converted into apartments. The Commercial barn was situated where Arm­ strong Motors now stands. The lot between the hotel and the barn was a low-lying lot and was vacant until John Taylor built a small building on it and used it for vulcanizing tires. Later it was acquired by Tuckey Trans­ port and the building enlarged. A second building was added for Tuckey Beverages. Running along beside the Com­ mercial Hotel was an open ditch which the late Charles B. Snell persuaded the municipality to cover over, which resulted in the building of the houses on the north side of Ann Street. The Metropolitan Hotel, situat­ ed at the station corner, was at one time a very active hostelry. It has changed hands many times and been used for various pur­ poses. At first it was a licensed hotel and used extensively by the farmers who brought their grain, cattle and produce to market to be shipped by railway. Shipping days, particularly the shipping of cattle and .hogs, were mighty busy days as all shipping was done by train. The farmers would have their meals and feed and water their horses at the •Metropolitan. Meals were 25 cents. Opposite the hotel was what was called “The Market”, It was a large open space where the farmers brought their grain and livestock and bargained with the dealers for the sale of it. Joseph Cobbledick erected the small brick building on the corner now’ occupied and enlarged by Lome Johnston. The grain buyer for many years was William Hard­ ing. I remember as a young lad passing the Canadian Bank of Commerce when Mr. Cobbledick came out with a big roll of bills and handed them to me and paid me a nickle to take them up to Mr, Harding. I -was half-scared to carry so much money. L. Hardy and Robert Spicer -were two other grain buyers. Farmers hauling grain to town were halted on the street, the grain examined and bargained for. At times there was a race by the buyers to be first on the scene. Robert Spicer carried a small revolver for protection as the buyers handled considerable money. Those were the days of prac­ tical Hallowe’en jokes. Kids weren’t entertained in those days to keep them off the streets and out of mischief on Hallowe’en and all of the pranks were not played by kids either, The story is told, and I believe it to be correct, that Lancelot Hardy, one-time reeve of Exeter and a real practical joker in his time, allowed his cow to be placed in the office of Mr. Cobbledick by gaining entrance through , the back door. The animal was given a dose of medi­ cine and in the morning the place was a shambles. Hardy was one of the first on the scene and as the word spread around town practically everybody was up to see what had taken place. Another story is told of Mr, Hardy entering the Met one morning after a slight fall of snow. There were several around and he bet the drinks for t)ie crowd that there were two feet of snow at his place. With a ruler they went up to measure it and Hardy laid the ruler flat on the ground and won the bet. The Mansion House was a hotel situated at the corner of Main and Huron streets, with stables at the rear. In the early days it was run by Squire Lea- thorn, Squire Leathorn could usually be found pn a white horse at the head of any pro­ cession. The building was pur­ chased by Wesley Snell and torn down and a fine brick residence built on the site. The Walper House at the north end of Exeter -was the largest hotel in town, but as I remember it, it was not very active. It was torn down and the Gibson store and garage was built on the site. There was another hotel which used to be known as the Tempe­ rance House. It was a large frame structure situated near the station on what is now the Canadian Canners property. It was first known as the Porter House and had a license. It was run for a time by John Mitchell who later acquired the Metro­ politan hotel. Farmer Bros, used to run a grocery store and a liquor store separate from the grocery on the site now occupied by Clerk C. V. Pickard’s office. The liquor store was the first Bible Christ­ ian Church to be built in Exeter and was the forerunner of the present James St. United Church. When the liquor store was re­ placed it was moved to the rear of the property and used until a few years ago as a storehouse for Jones & May. When the liquor store was outlawed Mr. Farmer said that the time for making money in Exeter was over. The other grocery and liquor store was run by Frank Knight where Simmons’ imple­ ment shop now stands. Students Rap High School Hockey IO YEARS AGO Two flyers from R.C.A.F, Sta­ tion Centralia, who were killed in a plane crash near Dublin, were F/S S. O. Cunningham, of Toronto, an instructor, and LAC G. W. Tarbath, of England, a student. F/O Cunningham’s re­ mains were sent to Toronto for burial. LAC Tarbatli’s funeral was held from Trivitt Memorial Church and burial made in Exe­ ter cemetery. , W. E. Middleton has rebuilt his bake shop which was de­ stroyed by fire January 19 and has installed up-to-date equip­ ment in the new building. At a recent meeting of Leban­ on Forest Masonic Lodge, Wor. Bro. R. N. Creech, 'who has re­ signed as secretary of the lodge, was presented with a pen and pencil set and an address in appreciation of his service to the lodge. Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Traquair attended graduation exercises of Victoria Hospital, London. Their daughter, Dorothy, was one of the class of 61, the largest class to graduate in the history of the hospital. utiiliiiiiiiii...........iufnttiituiitiii"">ninii>iiiii>iii»i>iiiinniinuun<iiu«ii<i News From Our NEIGHBORS ...............................................................................................Hitiiiiiiuit..............Hu dll'll......... . Form Boostei’ Clubs A meeting of interested hockey fans was held on April 8, for the purpose of forming a Forest Hockey Booster Club. The ob­ jective of this club will he to assist the Intermediate Hockey Club in fielding a contending team. It is felt that this will re­ sult in providing a greater re­ venue for the Arena and a pleas­ ing brand of hockey for the fans. There will be an open meet­ ing for the election of officers and a discussion of future plans held on Monday, April 26, at 8 p.m., in the Legion hall. (Forest Free Press) Field Day In Seaforth Annual Field Day of the Hu­ ron County Federation of Agri­ culture will be held ill Seaforth, Saturday, June 20, it was an­ nounced following a meeting last week in Clinton of the Federa­ tion directors. At a later meeting a committee will be named to plah the pro­ gram and arrangements/ Gordon Greig, secretary-fieldthan of the Federation, noted. Directors dis­ cussed the possibility of acquir­ ing Ontario Premier Leslie Frost as guest speaker for the day, but it was later learned that the Premier will be in England dur­ ing June. in the absence of president it. Exeter, Ontario April 16, 19 53 Dear Editor: I am writing to you concern­ ing the editorial in your paper of April 16, 1953. I would like to refute some of your state­ ments and enlighten you on several other facts you seeming­ ly have ignored. First of all you .speak of the excellent facilities which are available to hockey enthusiasts by this year of 1953. But just a minute, where will you find better facilities to play basket­ ball than E.D.H.S.? Comparing the two I think that you will agree with me that the high school does have excellent facili­ ties to play basketball. Secondly, you state the high school discourages high school hockey. On our high school basketball team this year which had 11 men on it, eight of these did not play hockey at all, and the other three openly confessed they preferred .basketball to hockey. By abolishing basket­ ball you have deprived eight boys of playing the only sport they have an opportunity to participate in. The other three would still prefer to play basket­ ball. Thirdly, it is my contention that high school athletes will not attract large crowds no matter what they play. The sport fans in this area are not interested in high school sports. This has been demonstrated many times in the past and no shinny match will bring them in. Now let’s take a look at the spectator appeal of basketball and hockey as a whole. In the U.S. basketball draws more fans than any other sport, even their national game of baseball. I-Ioc- key enthusiasts are dwindling rapidly and several clubs in the N.H.L. are threatening to drop out, namely New York and Boston, plus several A.H.L. ■clubs. Meanwhile basketball is enjoying an upswing in popular­ ity. It’s no secret hockey is rapidly falling in popularity and I don’t think you will refute that statement. Next, why can’t basketball and hockey be played together at the same time. There’s bad planning involved someplace. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a hockey game and I have been a regular attender at the arena this year. I hardly saw good hockey with Exeter icing a pitiful team which, however, does show promise for the future. To see a decent game I was forced to attend RCAF games, and that mob scene the other night (Monday) with Dur­ ham was sickening. Players, referees, cops, fans, all in one wild melee. I can tell you quite frankly that I wasn't planning on attending any future games this year. As to your statement about graduating from school and no sports to participate in. Doesn’t Exeter have a baseball club, a nearby golf course, and formerly there were badminton and basket­ ball clubs which should be and most likely will be revived. In conclusion, I say, quit dis­ couraging basketball. Your edit­ orial will not help to gain any more new followers. Personally I am hoping the two -combine in an efficient, happy and workable agreement by which no athletes will suffer. Yours truly Jim Sturgis S. McKercher, the Federation vice - president, Wilfred Short­ reed, Walton, presided at the meeting. (Huron Expositor) Assist Injured Man Floyd Desjardine, who was in­ jured while working in the bush some-weeks ago is still in St. Jo­ seph's Hospital. Doctors have saved his arm, which it was feared would have to be amputat­ ed, Everyone hopes that his pro­ gress continues and in the mean­ time friends and neighbors are making an all out effort to assist his family in every Way possible. (Parkhill Gazette) To Install “Floor In ArOna Maydr Tom Plnney, who is chairman Of the St. Marys Arena Commission, says he is hopeful of having a new concrete floor laid over and around the freezing pipes in the Arena rink section of the local community centre before the end^f the present summer. If tMjfliappens, much of the credit* Jp be due to the generosity of'SK. X S. H. Lind of the St. Mairjh£Cement Co. Ltd., who has offered to donate the necessary eetfft&t. It is hoped to secure tti^‘ necessary gravel and to have ihuch of the labor needed donated on a voluntary basis, With a' View to reducing the Over-all costs of the project. A representative from an outside contracting firm which has ex­ perience in such work was Id town on Wednesday of this week and he gave the Commission some information on the work involved. (St, Marys JOurnal-Argus) April 20, 1953 Editor of The Times-Advocate, Exeter, Ontario We have read with interest your comments in last week’s paper re sports in the South HuronXDistrict High School. Al­ though we admit“*that the School Board and the Teaching Staff of this school do influence the direction of the pupils’ activities, the actual organization and to a very considerable degree the financing of the spotts’ pro­ gramme is in the hands of the Boys’ and the Girls’ Athletic So- cieties. It is as the President of the Boys’ Athletic 'Society that I should like to make the follow­ ing observations concerning your remarks. In the first place it seems to me that you are misjudging the purpose of this High School. We feel sure the prime objective of the Board and Staff is and should be to provide the pupils with the knowledge and skills necessary to earn a living and with the at­ titudes and training necessary to become good citizens. You would lead one to believe that the high school programme should “be switched to meet the approval and satisfaction of the present generation of sports supporters” so that upon graduation every athlete would be able not only to recreate himself but also “to provide entertainment for the people of his district, to help maintain community centres and to assist his town or village to ice a worthy team in competition with other centres.” We. do not feel that such an aim should be considered at all by Board, teachers or pupils. In the second place, despite your assertions that accommoda­ tions in the arena could be pro­ vided at a “considerate” cost, we believe the word should be "con­ siderable”. Junior and Senior boys each practice for 1% hours weekly during the basketball season in addition to the time spent in games. To pay for ice time comparable to the hours spent in practising and playing basketball would cost a... very minimum of $340, not to mention the additional expenses of hockey sticks. We regard the $300 as a minimum. One London High School lost $600 financing hockey in addition to the cost of equip­ ment in the season of 1951-52; one Northern Ontario School’s teams costs $1200 to operate. We of the Boys’ Athletic So­ ciety do not feel that we could raise this money over and above the expenses of referees and travelling which we at present pay for, in playing basketball. We should like at this point to explain to your readers that the only expense incurred by the Board in connection with basket­ ball is the purchase of basket­ balls which are used both for —Please tul’n to Page 3 Mneleans* Magazine . But, after all, Herbert. This is the third time I’ve been a good sport about it.”