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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1954-07-28, Page 31(Continued from page 30) Memories of Wingham On the Maitland left all the flats or prairies south of town covered by a sheet of glare ice. While playing a game of “Honk-Ho” on skates one evening on this ice, the writer chose the old fair buildings, at the race track on Arthur Street, as a hiding place. He skated to the grand­ stand and found the ticket window about a foot above ice level. So he decided to crawl in through the ticket window and hide in the ticket office, expecting it to be high and dry in there. 4 Something Western Foundry chosen, just across the Railway bridge (now $17,000) for ten years of taxes for the same OESO!XOE3O spokes- Western Foundry Produces Range of Heating Equipment MOFFAT Electric and Gas Ranges CROSLEY BURKE ELECTRIC dis- im- not city Happy Anniversary! APPLIANCES However, when he climbed through the window, he landed on thin ice, which immediately broke, and he found himself in water above his waist. He’struggled over to the door of the ticket office and tried to force it open, without success. He used all his strength but he couldn’t force the door open and he was getting badly chilled in the icy water, so he waded back to the window again, It had been an easy job climbing in, but it was a different matter getting out. After a desperate struggle he finally did get out and then raced for home. It is doubtful if he ever skated as fast in all his hockey career as he did that night, with his clothes freezing into a solid mass. Luckily, he had a clear^sheet of ice all the way ! CROW About! 75 Years And Still Going Strong! JACK ORVIS Sports And Auto Supply in MODERN Shelvador Refrigerators and Home Freezers BENDIX Automatic Laundry Appliances ELECTRICAL CONTRACTING AND REPAIR A COMPLETE ELECTRICAL SERVICE home, across the race track grounds, over Patterson’s Prairie, across the river and the back part of his home lot. Then up the hill, across the gar­ den and a warm house and a quick change into dry clothes; and another little incident had ended.iBefore leaving the Maitland River and things acquatic, mention should be made that our bathing suits forty- five years ago consisted of one-piece suits—birthday suits. Town Constable George Allen and County Constable George' Phippen supposedly tried to catch us breaking the law when we bathed in the nude, but I often think they didn’t try very hard. Of course we were as nimble as rabbits and ^ould run like deer, so maybe we were a bit too hard to catch. Much Commotion at Opening water- be the At one time it was believed that Wingham was to become the great industrial centre of Western Ontario. About 1900 the town fathers adver­ tised the town In cjty papers., with the result that several communications were received from industrial con­ cerns to see what inducements Wing­ ham would offer, should they locate here. The inquiry from John Galt and William Bullock, two men who wanted to establish an iron and brass foundry and general machine shop, making a specialty of manufacturing works supplies, appeared to most interesting. Mr. Bullock, who was the _ man, and from all accounts the "busi­ ness head’’, stated that they would organize a company with a capital stock of $50,000, erect buildings and install a plant at a cost of $30,000, and employ from 75 to 100 men. The town was asked for-a_loan of $20,000 (of which it gave and exemption period. The site was Grand Trunk Western Foundry). By the time Mr. Bullock completed his plans the build­ ings alone cost $13,000, slightly higher than first anticipated. These were sit­ uated to face the town and the three buildings were the present office, the moulding shop, 70 feet in length and the mounting shop, 100 feet, occupy­ ing in all about 15,000 square feet. The front of the grounds facing the river bank was to be terraced and boulevarded so as to present a pleas­ ing appearance from the town. In April, 1901, the first sod was turned for the new National Iron Works Limited, the ceremony being performed by Mayor Clegg with sev­ eral dignitaries making speeches. Mr. Galt was the' president of the new industry and Mr. Bullock managing director. Shares were sold and Mr. Bullock, not to let any grass grow under his feet, set up an office in the Meyer Block/while the buildings were being completed. Grand Opening An important day for Wingham was the official opening of the National Iron Works,, the latter part of July, 1901, with Mr. Bullock as the genial host. The celebrations started with luncheon for the council. Mr. Bullock had hired the Lucknow Brass Band and following the luncheon, it headed the parade to the new establishment with the mayor, councillors and their wives, as well as other important citi­ zens, following the band in carriages. The townspeople thronged the streets and on arrival at the new foundry the - rect the error the following week. I They were pure gold. Before leaving the. platform, Dr. i Macdonald, ,on behalf of the mar.ysf friends of Mr. Bullock, to show their appreciation of his energy and tact| lin bringing this enterprize about, seated him with a gold watch Mrs, Bullock with a silver tea vice.The guests then visited the mould- • ding shop and witnessed the comple­ tion of the first cast.| In the evening there was fire works, j band music and a balloon ascension, i Fanfare Dies __ ___________ ___„ In a few short weeks some Of the nal, the whistle blew and the mach- citizens seemed a little disgruntled inery was thrown into operation. The about the new industry and it was Misses Bullock presented a flag to i felt that the big boom was not getting the Works and it was hoisted amid j ~' the booming of cannon crackers and cheers, and the band played "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow". Numerous speakers addressed the gathering and letters were read, in­ cluding one from Sir Wilfrid Laurier, regretting his inability to attend. Al­ though the machinery made a great deal of din, the master of ceremonies explained that the first cast was now in the cupola and must be completed. He also stated that all the machinery was not yet installed but would be ar­ riving,any day. One of these machines was designed by a young Canadian especially for the Wingham National Iron Works and was the only mach­ ine of its kind in the world. It was capable of turning a screw on a bar of iron 28 feet long. Orders had al­ ready been booked amounting to near­ ly $9,000. Those Gold Badges! Following the speeches Mrs. Bullock was called to the platform and gra­ ciously performed the ceremony of placing gold pins on the coats of the councillors, each inscribed with the date of the opening and the coun­ cillor’s name. The Advance made the horrible error of reporting that these were gold plate and hastened to cor- procession was greeted with cheers by those already gathered for the special occasion. There was an inspection of the plant, after which the town officials and other invited guests took their places on a platform. Mr. Bullock was of course, master of ceremonies and ably carried out his duties in his very pleasant manner. His two-year-old son gave the sig- pre- and ser- sufficiently under way. These were probably the people who had bought stock in the company and many had invested every cent they could. The town, as a whole, was still encouraged but by November of that year a change had been made. Mr. Bullock resigned his position as managing director and there was no mention of Mr. Galt. The difficul­ ty was lack of capital. At a meeting of the shareholders Dr. Irwin was named president and John Murray secretary. Other mem­ bers on the board of management were J. MacLean, A. E. Smith, Geo. Mason and George Newton. These citizens were left with the situation dumped in their laps. Mr. Bullock had generously left to the town $30,000 assets and liabilities of $21,000, but apparently not the office furniture. For several months the council en­ deavored to interest an industry in their newly-acquired establishment. It was not until the following year, in August 1902, that they finally succeed­ ed and the Western Foundry came into existence. What was by this time known as Bullock’s Monument need­ ed a new roof in the year’s interval and was reported to have been sold for $8,500. . The commencement of the Western Foundry was a great deal less color­ ful than that of the National Iron Works, in fact few details were made public during the time agreements were being made. The Western Foun­ dry, however, remained a good deal longer. Three men who had been connected with the Gurney Stove Company took over the three buildings erected by Mr. Bullock. J. J. Cunningham was the manager, Mr. Taylor, the business manager and Mr. Maddin, foreman. A Mr. Doesbury was put on the road as salesman for the firm. Mr. William Varey joined Mr. Cunningham the following year. The nearest stove foundry at that time was in London, consequently there was no skilled help in this trict and employees had to be ported from the cities. This was completely satisfactory as the people became dissatisfied with rural life and there was also the problem of insufficient accommodation. Later the foundry was completely staffed by local citizens. Additional buildings were erected and new machinery installed, among the latter a dynamo for electric plat­ ing. The firm concentrated on pro­ ducing ranges for domestic use, their first line being known as the Crown Huron. The first range from the Western Foundry was on display at the Wingham Fair that year and was sold to the town clerk, J. B. Fergu­ son. This range proved popular and was manufactured for many years. Later they went into the production of furnaces, steel ranges, hotel ranges, heaters, etc., all under the name of Huron. The main outlet was through the T. Eaton Co., Ltd., Toronto. Continue Enlarging Western Foundry continued to new buildings until such time land on the south side of the The erect as he tracks was fully occupied. In 1911 they purchased an additional eight acres and on the north side of the tracks erected new buildings the following year: mounting shop, mould­ ing shop, warehouse, power- plant, etc. The power plant was Capable of sup­ plying the entire town With pdWer. The total floor space then represented about 90,000 square feet. Mr, Cunningham had been with the Gurney Foundry Company for 22 years prior to his venture in Wing­ ham and had graduated from every branch of the foundry business. He was a capable manager and in 1918 over 18,000 stoves and ranges were produced by a staff of over 150 men. When the foundry first opened in 1902, 20 men were employed. J. J. Cunningham died in 1921 and H, C. MaCLeah Was appointed general manager, holding the position Until | 1937. He was followed by F, W. Spry,' who had also been with the Gurney l____ __ .Foundry, He managed the plant here salt block. The Wingham Advance-Times, Wednesday, July 28, IBM. Page TWO RUBBER FACTORIES OPERATED HERE The Aero Cushion Inner Tira and Rubber Company operated a plant in San Jose, California, and one in Sagi­ naw, Michigan. Two of the Western Foundry build­ ings were taken over by this firm, north of the railway tracks, in 1919. Stock was sold and the Aero Cushion Inner Tire and Rubber Company Ltd., of Ontario was formed. E. L. Sherbondy had a connection with the B. F. Goodrich Rubber Co., of Akron Ohio, and was manager of the Wingham branch. C. E, Judson, also from the United States, acted as sales manager and secretary-treasurer, with H. L. Sherbondy as assistant. The new firm commenced operations in March, 1920, manufacturing inner tubes and outer casings. The follow­ ing year Mr. Judson and tire repair shop Block. Mr. Judson retired pany in 1925 and Jesse Button was elected secretary-treasurer, when the original firm was liquidated and the following year the Aero Cushion Tire Company was formed. Federal Manufacturing Co., Ltd. For a short time there were two rubber factories in Wingham. In 1926 the Federal Manufacturing Company Ltd., purchased the carriage works on the south east corner of Josephine and Victoria Streets. W. F. Willis was ap­ pointed manager. In 1928, G. L. Griffith of Stratford, bought the Federal Rubber Company and moved the industry to that city. opened a tire in the Morton from the com.- SALT BLOCK WAS BUSY INDUSTRY IN WINGHAM It was reported in the 1880’s that the Onandaga geological formation in the County of Huron, in which salt deposits are present, was fifty miles in length by ten miles wide. Salt' had been found in several of the locations nearby, Goderich having several wells. About 1886 a bonus of $1,500 was given by the Town of Wingham to develop this prospective industry here. This original venture was a failure and a joint stock company was form­ ed. It succeeded in finding an abun- danb| supply of excellent brine on the farm of Thos. Walker, 12th concession of East Wawanosh, about two miles south of Wingham. This company sold out to Grey, Young and Sparling, of Seaforth, who began operations in May, 1887. The well on the Walker farm was 1200 feet deep with a three-inch pipe leading to the plant in town. Capacity for pumping brine was twelve pails per minute. When drilling a well, a twelve inch casing was used to the rock bed. At this point a six-inch casing was used inside the twelve, to the bottom of the salt bed. A supply of fresh water was pumped down, the brine settling on the bottom and the water rising to the top. Three-inch tubing to the bot­ tom of the salt bed picked up the strong brine and it was pumped through tubing to the salt block or evaporating plant. The salt block was situated at the terminus of the CPR track on Victoria Street. A storage tank on the river bank on the south side of the street, was 30 feet long, 20 feet wide and 7 feet high. The frame building which housed the equipment was 15O’x84’, the evaporating pan 144’x24’, with a boiling capacity of 180 barrels in 24 hours. Four fires were kept burning under the pan, with the brine about eight inches to a foot in depth in the pan. The salt settled to the bottom and was raked out on each side of the evaporator, shovelled into the drying bins, later to be put in sacks or bar­ rels. Sometimes the salt was shovell­ ed right into the cars in bulk. About fifteen hands were employed manufacturing both coarse and me­ dium grades of salt. About 3500 cords of green wood were consumed yearly to provide the necessary heat. In 1891, nearly 40,000 barrels of salt . were manufactured and early the fol- : lowing year the salt block was forced to close down for a few weeks due , to lack of storage space. ; Production by 1904 reached a car of salt per day. Other wells were i drilled on the farms of Wm. Arbuckle, * Please turn to page 32 from 1937 until he was forced to re­ tire because of ill health in 1947. At this time C. A. Roberts of Toronto, was named general manager and serv­ ed until his death in 1952. Present Officials The president of the Western Foun­ dry Company is W. E. Levan of Arn- prior, a son-in-law of a former part owner, Richard Vanstone. T. A. Cur­ rie, who started in the office of the firm in 1920, became general manager in 1952. G. W. Tiffin, an employee on che office staff since 1928, has been secretar}r-treasurer of the firm since 1946. Coal, wood and oil furnaces and coal and wood heaters are produced at the foundry, the latter mainly for the Quebec market. At the present time the firm is expanding in a line of modern design furnaces and sheet metal specialties are also manufactur­ ed. The foundry is doing an extensive trade in job casting for other com­ panies, turning out between five and six tons weekly. Western Foundry is looking to the future. At the time of interview a Western Foundry design gas-burning furnace was in the testing laboratory. { Predictions are that gas will soon be ! cheaper than oil and with this pros- ; pect in mind, Western Foundry hopes to be ready for the new trend. Through the years the trade names of Western Foundry products have been known to the public, Huron, Red Hot, Maitland, Clipper and Classic being the most common. Salt Block > > . ... \ L •' r -, J 1 Wingham salt block on Victoria Street West. The main buildings Wore on the north side of Victoria, while the office, the small structure on '‘stilts”, Was on the river bank. The lower building to the right was the old Presby­ terian Church shod, used at the time the picture was taken as a part of the