HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1954-07-28, Page 33Dominion Day Forty Years Ago *
A Calathumpian parade of 40 years ago passes the old Canada Furni ture Manufacturers’ building on Josephine Street north. The build
ing, formerly owned by .Thomas Bell & Son was torn down in the T wenties, and was situated on the site of what is now the Horticultural
______________________________., park. Alox Crawford leads the parade in his Model T Ford.
VVinghain, Ontario, Wednesday, July 28, 1954
THOS. BELL & SON,
BEDROOM FURNITURE
In 1875 Inglis and Armstrong erect
ed a w.oollen mill on the north side
of Alfred Street (where Brown ’Bros,
factory is today). The main building
------ two
this
and
was of frame construction and
storeys high. In addition to
building there was a boiler room
dye house.
The mill was^equipped by two
of manufacturing cards, 15 Crompton
looms and three jacks containing 640
spindles. The machinery' was driven
by a 40 h.p. engine and the yearly
output of about 200*000 yards was
.manufactured by a staff of forty
ipeople. The buildings were heated
sets
with steam and lighted by gas. „
Walker and Clegg.
C. M. Walker and Richard Clegg
came from Ingersoll in May 1898 and
purchased the above mill for the
purpose of manufacturing upholstered
furniture.
The main building at that time
stood from the present office ldoor to
the east end of the present structure.
About five years later the firm ex
panded, erecting a tlwee-storey ad
dition on the West end of the building,
to its present proportion, a boiler
room and dry kiln. In 1907 a four-
storey brick addition was erected at
Button and Fessant Log Yard
the rear of the factory and a tram- or walnut,
way to the GTR freight sheds install-,
ed, to facilitate loading directly to the
railway cars. «
Damage by Wind and Eire
During a terrific gale on Good Fri
day, 1913, the third storey of the new
building and the entire roof were,
blown from the factory. Damage was
estimated at $10,000.
In December of that year a fire was
discovered in the original section of
the factory and the total loss was
$19,000, when a large stock of finished
furniture and the frame building, were
demolished.
Following the fire Walker and
Clegg rebuilt on the site1 a three-storey
brick structure and replaced the upper
floor .'on the west end, the comple-
ed factory presenting the1 appearance
of Brown. Bros., as we know it today.
Mr. Walker was salesman for the
firm, having no previous: experience
in the furniture manufacturing trade.
Mr. Clegg was competent in all Tines
of manufacture, and following his
death in 1918, Mr. Walker decided to
dispose of the business and' retired
to Grand Bend.
It is interesting to note that at the
time when the Canada Furniture
Manufacturers came' to Wingham and
purchased the other three furniture
factories, this firm refused to sell to
them. As a result the successor, to
Walker and Clegg, Fry and Black
hall Ltd., is now the only furniture
manufacturing .concern in town, the
CFM having failed many years ago.
Gunn-Son-Ola
Wm. Gunn, a phonograph manu
facturer of Saginaw, Mich., purchased
the Walker and Clegg building and
until 1927 operated in one half of the
factory with Fry and Blackhall rent
ing the other portion.
They manufactured talking mach
ines valued from $135" to $400. The
cabinets were made of oak, mahogany
The grand opening was held on
April 9th, 1921, and citizens were in
vited to inspect the factory and show
rooms. While listening to the
they could recline in the easy
made by Fry,and Blackhall.
In 1928 the firm received its
-order from Stromberg-Carlson for 500
cabinets, „
Following the death of Mr. Gunn,
Abraham and Moses Brown, of town,
purchased the building about 1930.
They manufactured small radio novel
ties, radio cabinets' and toilet seats.
music
chairs
initial
Walter Scott and Thomas Bell est
ablished a furniture Industry in Wing
ham in the year 1875, coming from
Seaforth, and operating under the
firm name of Scott and Bell. Original
ly there was a saw mill in connection
with the’ factory but this’ was sold
to MacLean and Son in 1885.
The partnership was dissolved in
1887, due to what might be termed a
political difference, at which time Mr.
Bell purchased Walter Scott's inter
est in the firm, and his son, H. O.
Bell, was then taken into partnership,
the factory going by the name of
Thos. Bell and Son.
The original factory was a three-
storey frame building, 120’x40’ with a
warehouse that'was even larger, and
situated on the west side of Josephine
Street, where we now have the Horti-
culural-Park.
. High grade” furniture, chiefly for
bedrooms, was manufactured by this-
firm. In 1885 a new line was add
ed, a solid mahogany bedroom suite of
what was termed “modern design”
and elaborately mounted and finish
ed. Here we have some indication of
furniture prices in that day, since the
factory produced the more expensive
furnishings, and the price for the en
tire bedroom suite was $50.
A fire, due to" spontaneous combus
tion in the finishing room, created a
heavy loss. ‘ to the firm in 1889, but
the factory was in operation in eight
weeks, a two-storey frame building
replacing the original three-storey one.
The following year Mr. Bell put a
stone foundation under the storeroom
at' the south end of the factory and
; a third storey on the entine establish-
■ ment. He later veneered both build-
• ings with brick to give, the appear-
; ance of one solid structure.
Superintendent of CFM
The Canada Furniture Manufactur-
i ers bought the Thomas Bell and Son
factory in 1901. Mr. Bell became a
shareholder' in the company and Was
appointed president of the association
and superintendent of the factories
taken over by the CFM. His son was
elected to' the position 6f manager
THOS. BELL
Mr. Bell served on the public school
board, acting as chairman for several
terms. He was also a councillor for
some time and was mayor in 1905-06.
Perhaps the industry most import
ant to the growth of Wingham has
been the furniture trade. At one time
there were four furniture factories
in the town, all doing a thriving busi
ness and employing between four and
five hundred men.
Of the families first connected with
this branch of manufacture in Wing
ham, Mrs. N. L,~ Fry and Mrs. John
Pollock, daughters of the late Mr. and
Mrs. Oliver Gilchrist, are the only re
maining links with the past. Their
father was a member of the firm Gil
christ, Green and Company, builders
of the present Fry and Blackball fac
tory.
Even after their father’s death in
1901, these women had a keen interest
in the manufacture of furniture. Mrs.
Pollock worked for some years in the
office of the Walker and Clegg uphol
stering factory and Mrs. Fry’s hus
band, the late Norman L. Fry, with
Charles Blackball, later took over the
business.
<2
Message from Prime Minister Frost
On the 75th Anniversary of Wingham
Wingham Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Was Erected as Chair Factory
One of the thriving furniture fac
tories of the past was erected; on Jose
phine Street, now Wingham Manu
facturing Company Ltd., in the year
1888 by Kincaid Brothers, for the1 pur
pose of making chairs.
The building that was erected at the
time was of brick construction, 100 ft.
by 48 ft., with a drying kiln and en
gine house 52 ft by 36 ft., both struc
tures. being two storeys in height with
a gravel roof.
The location for the factory was;
ideal, being close to the G. T. Rail
way. About thirty people were em
ployed,, with D.’Kincaid as manager
and W.. F. and J. Y. Kincaid, mech
anics..ft
Far- a few months the new industry
seemed, successful, but by November of.
1889. the Kincaid Brothers found it
necessary to cease operations and Wm.
Rutte™ and Wm. Fessant, natives of
Tees,water, took over the chair fac
tory. Mr. Button superintended the
mechanical department and Mr. Fea-
sant looked after office details.
necessary to enlarge' the building to
complete the large1 orders that were
received.
The Button and Fessant chair fac
tory was sold to the- Canada Furni
ture Manufacturers in 1901, with the
former owners retaining stock in the
new company. Wm. Button moved to
California, while Mr. Fessant contin
ued to live in Wingham.
In less than ten years, the C.F.M.
cjosed the chair factory and it re
mained vacant for some time.
Fertilizer Plant
In 1918, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Parker
of Ingersoll, purchased the dormant
Button and Fessant factory and; start
ed what was called the Wingham Fer
tilizer Company,
Later, a portion of the building was
removed and the Wingham Manufac-
over the three Wingham factories,
Bell’s, Button and Fessant, and Union,
Business seemed to prosper for a
few years but slackened off and by
1907, some thirty men were laid off
while Walker and Clegg expanded and
increased their staff.
H. O. Bell resigned his position as
Wingham manager in 1904 and moved
to Fort Francis. Thomas Bell severed
his connections with the CFM in 1907
and located in Southampton, where he
purchased a large furniture factory
and again went Into business for him
self. 5
The Bell fs-M'^ry, as it was always
known in VLoyham, finally ceased
operations and obtained idle for some
time. It was t< anc^0™ in' the 1920’s
and many of th dispeople thought
back to the “goo------( lays” with long
ing, and rememb , I . that at one
time the factory hau’ employed about
100 men.
turing Company was formed about
1928 with Charles Cook as superinten
dent. Mr. Cook manufactured toys and
toilet seats. Following a disastrous
fire he remodelled the building in or
der to carry on in a limited capacity.
Wingham Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
DeWitt Miller, James Hamilton,
Harry Spry and Robert Casemore pur
chased the factory in 1951 and con
tinued to make toilet seats.
This firm started operations with
eleven men and are now employing
eighteen, With a night shift in opera
tion. Production has been increased
to four times what .it was in 1951,
but with increased production, the
firm has maintained the high quality
of its product, characteristic of the
Wingham Manufacturing Company for
many years.
Of four toilet seat concerns in the
Province of Ontario, the local plant
is now sole producer. About 1,000 seats
are shipped to Quebec alone, each
month.
MANY WEEKS NEEDED
TO PRODUCE EDITION
With the mailing of this historical
edition of The Advance-Times the en
tire staff of the newspaper heaves a
weary sigh of relief.
Work was commenced at the first
of March gathering material for the
stories which appear in the issue. This
phase of the work alone required
somewhat over 1300 hours, before any
type was set. After the actual pro
duction of the issue was started an
other 1500 man hours wgre needed to
finish the task of type setting, press
running, folding, assembling and mail
ing.
Printing alone has been going on
for four .weeks. Total weight of type
metal required for the pages was more
than 2400 pounds. The issue consumed
almost a ton and a half of newsprint
and ’40 pounds of ink. The pressman
fed 40,000 sheets, of paper into the
press and the folding machine opera
tor handled 20,000 sheets.
All of this adds up to the biggest
single edition of the newspaper ever
produced—which does not necessarily
indicate that it is the best. However,
the publishers and the staff have made
every effort to see that it is the best
and sincerely hope that you will find
it SO1.. :•
Production of this special edition
has demanded many, many hours of
extra work on the part of the techni
cal and editorial staff of The Advance-
Times, and we would like to express
publicly our appreciation of the will
ing and valued assistance the publish
ers have been given by their employ
ees. That is the type of help we can
not pay for in dollars and cents. If
you enjoy the historical edition we
know that everyone at The Advance*
Times will be more than pleased.
An extensive saw mill was operated
in conjunction with the factory and
by 1893 there was a staff of 60, men
employed .full time. Wood, cane and
perforated chairs were manufactured,
which were shipped to all paarts of
Ontario and the Northwest. The firm
also made wooden rollers for'mangles,
to supply the British market. In later
years between 100 and 150.. worked at
the chair factory and in 1896 it was
Prime Minister St. Laurent Sends
Greetings to Town of Wingham
It gives me much pleasure to join with the people*
of Wingham through your newspaper, the Ad
vance-Times, in the celebrations marking the
75 th anniversary of the incorporation of your
town. ’
A - r' $•
* w
I s ft ; A; V*? j
1
Throughout this grand province, the municipali
ties who, during this year, are celebrating anni
versaries ha,ve much .upon which they base these
historic occasions. In a century we have attained
great progress for the betterment of all our
people, and I am sure our civic or local govern
ments may take just pride in their operations
to wad'd improvement*
On behalf Of the government of the Province of
Ontario I extend best wishes to the people of
Wingham and I believe that future years hold
much more for you all*
LESLIE M. FROST
11
till||||Illi|(X J,;,
1 H
IHH4 4?
W. FESSAbf’T
A native of Tecswater, Mr. Fessant
camo to Wingham With his partner,
Wm. Button, In 1889 and took over
the Kincaid chair factory. Air, Fes
sant was for many years treasurer
of, the Trustee Boat'd Of the Whigham
Methodist Church.
LOUIS S. ST.
I am pleased to have this opportunity to extend
congratulations and best wishes, through the
pages., of the Wingham Advance-Times, to the
residents of Wingham on the occasion of the
Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the incorporation
of their Town,
During the past three-quarters of a century
Wingham and the surrounding area have shared
in the rapid development of Canada and today
they continue to form .an integral part of the
nation's expanding economy, By the application
of the energy and initiative which they have
shown in the past, residents of this part of our
country can look forward to still greater accom
plishments in the Canada of the future.
LAURENT