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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1954-07-28, Page 28Page Twenty-eight The Wingham Advance-Times, Wednesday, July 28, 1P54, Frederick Rodents Travelled On Railways' Maiden Trips One of Wingham’s early shoemakers (and Mr. W. H. Willis later recalled was Frederick H. Roderus, who came that he and his father had journeyed to Wingham with his parents from from Seaforth to see the pew store. Sebringville. At the age of twelve, his father put him on the bench to learn the trade and he carried on this cupation until a short time before death. Mr. Roderus was married to former Mary Ann Moore, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Moore. Mr. Moore was a well-known figure of the early days, and was the first per­ son to ring the town bell after it was installed. Mr. Roderus first met his future bride at Zetland, where he had gone to measure her brother for a pair of shoes. Later, in April, 1869, they were married at the home of her sister, Mrs. Richard Kinsman, of Mitchell. His first place of business was on John Street, where Mrs. Graham now lives. Later he built the present Mitchell Meat Market building on the southwest corner of Patrick and Josephine Street, having to clear the property of trees. This building oc- his the I Mrs. Roderus used to pick berries and wild flowers in the bush across 'the street from her home, now the ^location of Crawford Motors. Frederick Roderus operated a thriv­ ing shoe business, manufacturing cus­ tom-made shoes which were not 'only sold in Wingham and district jbut were ordered from the West and north of Toronto. He also made spec­ ial shoes for those with crippled feet and from six to ten men were employ­ ed in his shop. Tennis Court and Bowling Green I REMEMBER * i By Leon Cantelpn milkman delivering cans using a quart he would empty into the townspeople’s cows being The open which cher; driyen to the prairie pastures each morning and back again in the even­ ing; Weir Elliott’s Shetland pony; Jack Swarts’ race horses training on the race track; the canoes gliding across the water above the Upper Dam; Uriah Sherk’s stutter; Frank Hill’s basso profundo; acting as re­ lief pumper of the Methodist Church organ; the Sunday-School excursions to Kincardine, via the C.N.R, special trains: milk in measure your pit* of St. Paul’s assisted in the He was was used as a business and residence combined. He was a member Anglican Church and erection of both churches, fond of music and sang in the church choir, as did members of his family of nine children. He was also ive member of the Loyal Lodge. Mr. Roderus served on the and was a member of that body when both the CPR and the L H & B railways made their first trips from Wingham, at which time the council­ lors were passengers as guests of the companies. . Mr. Roderus passed away in Sept­ ember 1925 in his 80th year and his wife, the following year in October, in her 83rd. year. Four members of the Roderus fam­ ily survive. Three daughters, Mrs. J. E. Crandall (Sophie); Mrs. Geo. Mc­ Millan /Hattie); and Mrs, K. A. Stan­ ford (Ada), all of Wingham and Wm. F. Roderus, of Laguna Beach, Cali­ fornia. an act- Or an ge council Jim McKelvie had his ice cream sign out on Good Friday and sold quite a lot of that article that day. This looks very much like forcing the season. —News item 1887. Still later, he moved the building south and erected on the same site the brick block now owned by Mr. Crompton. This was the first brick' shoe shop in this part of the country Pharmacy. —Ad 1886. Chewing tobacco, absolutely pure from chemicals, only 40c per lb; at T. A. Mills. —Ad 1886. Buffalo robe for sale. Apply at the Lawn Bowling Lawn bowling has been one of the favorite sports in town since 1901, at which time a club was formed with Dr. Peter Macdonald as president, E. L. Dickinson, vice-president and Mr, Corbould, secretary. At the organization meeting the president, secretary and A. H. Mus­ grove were delegated to contact the council for the lease of the grounds on the north east corner of Minnie and Alfred Streets. A tennis club was organized at the same time and these two clubs took up a subscription for the erection of a club house and preparation of the grounds. The first tournament the local bow­ lers attended was at Clinton where two rinks put forth a good showing. The rink composed of Dudley Holmes, R. Vanstone, Dr. Holloway and A. M. Crawford were in the game until the semi-finals. , Two rinks went to Ottawa in 1933 when Art Wilson, H. C. MacLean, Bert Porter and W. A. Miller put Windsor out for the provincial cham­ pionship. The second rink composed of C. P. Smith, Andy Taylor, Rev. John Pollock and A. M. Crawford won sec­ ond prize in the Premier Henry trophy event. When the tennis club disbanded and the court became overgrown with weeds, council asked the bowling club to take over the grounds. The club house, which had formerly been in the ceptre of the lot with access to both the tennis court and the bowling green, was moved back on the pro­ perty and the green extended to north. Tennis Club Until the present bowling green was leased from the town by the bowling and tennis clubs in 1901, tennis was played on several lawn courts about town. Benjamin Willson had one of the finest courts on his beautiful ter­ raced lawn where the post office now stands. George Allen, John Clegg and Mr. Smith also offered accommoda­ tion to those interested in the sport. Mrs. R.-Vanstone, Miss M. Macdon­ ald, Miss Norma Dinsley, M, Homuth and H. Wightman were elected as a managing committee when the club was organized in 1901. Two turf courts were prepared and funds were raised through Saturday afternoon teas when 50 to 60 people would be served. Two Wingham players, Miss Norma Dinsley and Miss Gretta Corbould, at­ tended a tournament in' Toronto in 1904. In the ladies’ handicap both ladies won so that they played to­ gether in the finals, when Miss Cor­ bould won from Miss Dinsley, but in the ladies’ invitation singles the latter won from the former. Some years later the interest in ten­ nis seemed to dwindle and it was a sore touch to the original enthusiasts of the club, several having left town, to see the tennis court overgrown with weeds and finally disbanded. Collecting white water lilies and frogs’ legs which found ready buyers; looking under stones for leeches which were used as fish bait; picking rasp­ berries and strawberries in season; sampling apple orchards; enjoying corn roasts; picnicking at the 10th line bridge; gathering early wild flowers each spring; using leeks to camou­ flage the smell of smoke on ■ my breath; trading pigeons and rabbits; taking long Sunday afternoon strolls along the railroad tracks and rivers; open air skating on the Mill Pond and “Flats": was five cents a loaf and liver was thrown in gratis; the sight of brass rails through swinging barroom doors; working a ten-hour day pulling flax for eighty cents when a boy; sucking raw eggs for lunch; milking a cow into a small pail, or can, for a drink when visiting a farm: The young and old people who used to use their legs for healthy walks; the sight of lovers strolling along the river banks or on the railroad tracks; the day when people still smiled and gave you cheery greetings; the neigh­ bours who were neighbours and not just the people next door; when'there were some things reserved for “men only" and “women only"; when the words “gentleman" and “lady” meant something; when Sunday was a “Holy Day” and not a “holiday": When children obeyed their parents and were “seen but not heard" when there was company or their elders were talking; when children showed respect for their elders and strangers; when each home had a parlor; the family gatherings and parties at which those present participated in the singing, playing of musical instru­ ments, etc., instead of dummy-like listening and watching radio and TV: CITIZENS BOTE THROUGH NEWSPAPERS Many battles were fought in the early days through letters to the local papers. One such wordy war was be­ ing carried on between J, M. Leet and Thomas Holmes through the col­ umns of the two papers. The Times was ready to go to press with a column article in it from one of the writers. The publisher decided that the letters were getting too perr sonal and removed the letter, with the intention of having more type set to fill the space the following morn­ ing. t The word somehow got to the auth­ or of the letter, Mr. Leet, and by some mysterious means The Times was run off during the night, containing the- letter. When the boss got around in (Please turn to page 29) > the Watching boats go to the rescue of people marooned on roofs in Lower Town during a bad flood; seeing the body of an accidentally killed work­ man recovered from a deep sewer trench on Edward Street; riding in a child’s wagon down the sidewalks of Victoria Street; sleighriding down the steepest hills in town; cutter riding through drifts and pitch holes; climb­ ing the stand pipe; running across the top girders of the bridges; playing about in bare feet, spurting powdery dust up through my toes in dry weath­ er or sloshing through mini puddles when the roads had been soaked with rain: When people really believed that the world was getting better; when it was safe to walk on the sidewalks and to cross the road; when men and women had reasonable expectations of being alive to a ripe old age instead of the present-day fear that each moment may be the last due to an atomic bomb; when men wore the pants; when home was a home and not a filling station or motel: When a steak was something ate and tasted like meat; when air was not contaminated with gaso­ line fumes and jet aircraft; when the family went you dressed was a long when letter stamps didn’t cost a fortune; when I left writing to those who knew how to write, and it is time for me to write “finis". to church together and up on Sunday; when it way across the ocean; writing was an art and JOHN JOYNT Eating turkey and lemon pie at garden parties; swimming in swim­ ming holes in both branches of the Maitland River; boating on both branches of the stream; when a cent was a piece of money and five cents would buy a lot of candy; when bread James A. Cline & Co. sell the best Canadian coil oil at 15c per gallon. — Ad 1,886. Mr, Joynt was a man of many lines of business. He purchased wood ashes, which he sold in the United States to be used as fertilizer and sometimes had as many as 100 teams hauling ashes to storehouses and trains. He operated apple evaporators in Luck­ now, Teeswater and Walkerton, and at one time was publisher of The Wingham Advance. He later took up politics and was elected to the Legis­ lature in 1926. back former residents anb ■ take time out to toelcome 3t is toitfj pleasure toe Visitors; to Wimrfjanfs; iterr. $ Prescription JBrugatet Wingham Marksmen Won Many Prizes It would be almost impossible date to recall the earliest rifle Apparently the at this club in Wingham. Apparently the town has been well supplied with marksmen since early years. Pioneer settlers, of their skill to fill the larder and to protect their stock from the wild ani­ mals of the bush, deer and wild turkeys in the 60’s and before churches many of the tion spent the Sabbath game. As land was cleared and the settle­ ment grew, target practice became one of the favorite sports. Tom Hender­ son’s farm on the Bluevale road was a popular range at one time, glass balls being used for targets. At the opening of a new rifle range in Goderich in 1905, A. M. Crawford captured first prize for the best of ten men in the 33 rd Regiment an.d Sam Elliott won second place for the best of ten men-in the Huron County League, being only one point behind the winner. course, used Wild, cats, bears, were plentiful the advent of male popula- shooting such John W, Hession, a native of Wing­ ham who later went to the United States, became World’s Champion rifle shot in 1919, and secured the famour Wimebledon Cup at Caldwell, N.Y. This trophy of solid silver and valued at $1,000, was presented by Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria. There were over 1000 com­ petitors in the event and Hession had a score of 99 out of a possible 100 at 1000 yards. ■ About 1935 or 36, a rifle club was organized with 30 or 40 members. The club used a range in the basement of Sturdy’s pool room, and the ladies' club of about 20 members, had a range in the basement of the town hall. Activities came to a halt during the early war years when ammunition became scarce. There was also a revolver club in Wingham and on several occasions a team from here won competitions at United States revolver matches. A Wingham team also won the Canadian Team Championship at Ottawa. Chief Bert Platt, at the annual Guelph re* volver mOet in 1936, scored 202 out of a possible 240 and the Same year won a silver cup for high score in the an* ftual revolver meet at Stratford, The rifle and revolver clubs amal­ gamated and became khown as Wing­ ham Rifle ahd Revolver Club after the war years. About four years ago the club became less active and dud to lack of accommodation here, most of the club's activities were carried oft In Teeswater. There is at present a membership of from 30 to 40. We are happy to have served Wingham for close on half a century and look forward to continuing THE CANADIAN R. R» HOBDEN, Manager The present court was built in re­ cent years, but tennis is not the active sport it was in days gone by. its 75th Anniversary! A prominent figure in Wingham’s earlier years Was Dr. A. J. Irwin, who practised dentistry here for many years. our service to this community through the years ahead. to Wingham on Qur warmest congratulations s Son of Richard Irwin, he was born in 1864 and received his early educa­ tion at the Auburn public school, gra­ duating from the Goderich Collegiate in 1883. He taught school for several years before commencing his course in dentistry. He graduated from the Pennsylvania Dental College in 1894 and from the R.O.S.C. at Toronto in 1895. Coming to Wingham in 1896, Dr. Irwin .entered partnership with Dr. MacDonald, who died the following year. The office was located at that time above the Dominion Bank but was later moved to the Macdonald block. In 1928 Dr. Irwin was joined in partnership by his son, Dr. A. W. Irwin. Dr. Irwin Sr. served the community for several years as councillor, ..reeve and mayor. In 1910 he was named warden of Huron County, the first time in the town’s history that a war­ den had been selected from Wingham. In 1911 the doctor attended the coron­ ation of George V. Dr. Irwin also was a member of the public school board and became the first Chairman of the high school board. He was the first treasurer of the hospital and remained in that office for 22 years. In addition he was an elder in the Presbyterian Church and superintendent of its Sun­ day School, a past master of the Ma­ sonic Lodge, a member of the Cana­ dian Order of Chosen Friends, Mait­ land Lodge and the Canadian Order Of KotestefS. Keenly interested in sports, the doc­ tor Was connected With the soccer organization and Was known aS a bi­ cycle racer. > Bank of Commerce Wingham Branch