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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1955-11-30, Page 1Ji 'Subscription $3.00 per year, 7c per copy With which i« amalgamated the Gorrie Vidette and Wroxeter News WINGHAM, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1955 7 —WtkM— ALONG THE MAIN DRAG By The Pedestrian TIMELY AND SEASONAL—Assist­ ant Scoutmaster Alton Adams trudged through a typical howling Wingham blizzard on Monday to pick up a parcel at the local order office. What was in it? A pair of Boy Scout shorts ordered 'way back last summer, 0 - 0 - o EVEN THE TOWN DUMP—Harold Wild got off a good one at the nomi­ nation meeting which might give some of us pause to think. Telling one of the travellers in town all about how Wingham is the only small town In North America to have a television station, he got this reply: “And it’s probably the only town in either North or South America to have its town dump located on the main street.” So maybe we’re not as pro­ gressive as we’d like to think. HOCKEY 0-0-0 SEASON OPENS—We have the weather mow, and sure enough the hockey season opens this week. First game at the arena will be on Friday night when those mighty mites, the juveniles, tangle with Kin­ cardine. Judging from Coach Vic w Loughlean’s build-up, there should be i some pretty f ir hockey coming from W that quarter, what with the new blood that’s been added to the old standbys. 0-0-0 TRYING HARD, ANYHOW—Coun­ cillor Bill Burgman came up with a statement that Wingham had the highest average snowfall on the North American continent, at the nomi­ nation meeting on Friday. One of the highlights of an otherwise dull meet­ ing. Bill’s remarks brought almost as much applause as if the mayor had announced a ten mill reduction in taxes. We don’t know where Bill gets his statistics, but since the meeting the weather has been doing its level best to live up to its reputation. 0-0-0 DOESN’T WORK SOMEHOW— Councillor Elmer Wilkinson has a novel idea which apparently has never before occurred to anyone serving on any body which levies taxes. He told the nomination meeting that taxes should not have to be increased be­ cause natural growth of the communi­ ty should provide increases in rev­ enue without raising the mill rate. Suf­ fering taxpayers will thank Elmer for those kind words, and will regret that tax-levying bodies are unable to get some practice into the theory. ST, ANDREW’S TEA The Ladies’ Aid of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church is holding its Christmas tea and bazaar on Satur­ day, December 10th, at 3 p.m. in the church. Everybody welcome. F30b ST. PAUL’S TEA AND BAZAAR The Ladies’ Guild of St. Paul’s Anglican Church is holding its Christmas tea and bazaar on Wed­ nesday November 30th (today). There will be aprons for sale, Christmas gifts and novelties. F30b HOSPITAL AUXILIARY TO MEET FRIDAY The regular meeting of the Ladies’ Auxiliary to Wingham General Hos­ pital will be held in the council cham­ ber on Friday afternoon, December 2, at 3 o’clock. F30b EUCHRE AT WROXETER The Wroxeter Women’s Institute will hold a progressive euchre, in the town hall, Friday, December 2nd, at 8.30 p.m. sharp. Admission 25 cents. Ladies please bring lunch. Come and bring your friends. F30* CHRISTMAS CONCERT. Don’t miss the Christmas Tree and Concert at Gilmour's School, Wednes­ day, December 7th, at 8.15. Admis­ sion 35c and 15c. Lunch will be served and Santa Claus will be in attendance. F30b HOWICK LIONS BINGO Howick Lions “Share the Wealth” bingo, Wroxeter Community Hall on Wednesday, December 7th. You take half—we take half. Fifteen games for $1.00; extra white cards 25c. Three specials for “Share the Wealth, Half and Half.” Doors open 7.30, games start at 8.30. The greater the crowd the greater the profit. F30b ODDFELLOWS ANNUAL FOWL, BINGO The Oddfelldws’ annual fowl bingo will be held on Thursday, December 8, in the Oddfellows Hall on Alfred Street. Prizes will be chickens and turkeys. There will be a turkey given for a door prize and for one free bingo. Everyone wel­ come, Proceeds in aid of C.P,T. Fund. F30:7b Town Council Returned by Acclamation As Few Attended Nomination SANTA ARRIVES IN WINGHAM Only about forty people, including members of the present town council, were on hand at the town hall on Fri­ day for the nomination meeting, one of -the most quiet nominations of re­ cent years. Although a number of per­ sons were nominated for offices on the council, all but those already in office withdrew their names, leaving the original council in office. The following were nominated: For mayor, Mayor R. E. McKinney, Roy Adair, Elmer Wilkinson; for reeve, Roy Adair, W. B. Conron; for deputy­ reeve, Joe Kerr, Earl Hamilton; utili­ ties commissioner, R. H. Lloyd; coun­ cil, Earl Hamilton, W. B. Conron, W. F. Burgman, Jack Alexander, Jack Gorbutt, Elmer Wilkinson, Calvin Burke,, Wilfred White and Robert Chettleburgh. The present council consisting of Mayor R. E. McKinney, Reeve Roy Adair, Deputy-Reeve Joe Kerr and Councillors Earl Hamilton, W. B. Con- Trailer Home Fire Causes $1200 Damage Approximately $1,200 damage was done to a trailer owned by Nathaniel Thomson in the village of White­ church on Wednesday morning last when flames, caused by an explosion, gutted the interior of the structure. Mr. Thomson, who was away in Luck­ now at the time of the fire, had been living in the trailer for the past year. First intimation that something was wrong came when villagers in the general stores across the street heard an'explosion in the trailer. They came running across the road and Tom Morrison managed to tear off the propane gas cylinders on the out­ side of the trailer before they were able to explode from the heat inside. A call was put in to the Wingham Fire Department which arrived short­ ly after to find dense smoke issuing from the trailer. Firemen quickly got the blaze under control, but not before a good deal of damage was done to the interior. It is thought that the fire was caused by an explosion in the propane heating equipment. Mr. Thomson has been staying at the home of Mr. F. McK, Paterson during the past week. There was no insurance on the trailer. Expect Big Things From Juves As Old Reliables Are Reinforced A bigger and better juvenile team than the one which last year reached the Ontario semi-finals is expected this season by Vic Loughlean, who, during the past three years has coach­ ed the boys into two Ontario Champ­ ionships. Surveying the line-up of players who have signed for juvenile hockey this year, Vic estimates that the team should stand a very good chance of bringing home the trophy which the Wingham kids missed out on last year. This year’s roster of players will be just like old times. Gary Storey, who tended nets for the juveniles last year, will be back at the old stand, along with sub-goalie Jimmy Dennis, from Lower Wingham. Kinettes to Furnish Room at Hospital The regular meeting of the Kihette Club was held at the home of Mrs. Jack Bateson on Monday evening, The motion was proposed and accept­ ed that the Kinette Club furnish a semi-private room in the new wing of the Wingham General Hospital. The usual Christmas donation was sent to the Salvation Army. Mrs. John Currie was presented with her 300 per cent pin. Mrs. Len Crawford collected the completed articles for the hospital tuck shop. After the business session, the re­ mainder of the evening was spent making Christmas corsages. The next meeting will be a dinner meeting at the Queens Hotel, " December 12, at 7 p.m., followed by the Christmas party at the home of the Hostess, Mrs. Vic Loughlean. EUCHRE PARTY A euchre party will be held in the Sacred Heart parish hall; on Thursday evening, December 1, Good prizes, lunch served, admission .50c. Everyone welcome. F30b ron, W. F. Burgman, Jack Alexander, Jack Gorbutt and Elmer Wilkinson, were returned to office for 1956. Named Chairman Herb Fuller was named chairman of the meeting, and in accordance with practice, called upon Mayor R. E. McKinney to address the meeting. In a review of the work of this year's council, Mr. McKinney thanked the council for “a splendid job”.dur­ ing 1955. He complimented chairmen of the various committees on their work, and said that relations within the council had been very harmonious, “Working together as a council is very important,” the mayor said. The mayor touched upon the achievements of the town during the year, citing the new district high school, the new hospital wing and the new television station as proof that the town is progressing. He said that there is little unemployment in town, but that the council should do every- APPOINTED WELFARE CHIEF IN LONDON H. Russell Dignam, who has been in charge of the Ontario Department of Welfare office in Wingham for the past year, has been appointed dis­ trict welfare officer for Middlesex, Oxford, Elgin and Norfolk counties, with headquarters in London. An­ nouncement of the appointment was made on Saturday by Welfare Minis­ ter Louis Cecile through G. Ernest Jackson and John Robarts, who rep­ resent London in the legislature. Mr. Dignam succeeds William Ber­ nie, who has been transferred to the department’s Kingston office. He has already assumed his new duties in London. The London office is one of 17 in the province which handles applica­ tions for mothers’ allowances, blind persons’, disabled persons’, and old- age pensions. The offices also check municipal relief accounts to determine provincial subsidies. Born in Niagara Falls, Mr. Dignam spent most of his life in Toronto, where he received his university "de­ gree. Before coming to Wingham he worked with the welfare department in its Toronto office. No announcement has been made about a successor to Mr. Dignam in the department’s office here. Jim Bain, the sixty-minute man of long standing, will be back on defence, faster than ever, and Red Houghton, who strayed from the fold momentar­ ily as an export, has been re-imported and will do duty in the back forty with Bain. Big, burly Bobby Carter, who did yeoman service on last year’s short-handed defence force, will be back, bigger and burlier than’ ever, and a newcomer, Jack Tyreman, of Blyth, who last year played for the Clinton juveniles, will make up the fourth on defence. Instead of having a couple of 60-minute men on defence as in the past couple of years, the team will have four stalwarts, which should relieve Coach Vic of a lot of headaches. Things in the forward department are looking up, too. Jimmy Campbell, the mighty mite of the past three seasons, will be centering the • first line, flanked ,by Doug Murray, the stick-handling wizard. Speed mer­ chant Kenny Hodgkinson, fresh from a successful year with the St. Mike’s Buzzers, will be back with the old team to make the first line one of the most powerful ever. Man Mountain Dean Bill Foster will centre the second line. Rookie Barry Fry, who has showed a lot of improve­ ment in the early practices, will play right wing, and a newcomer’ Telford Struthers, formerly of Minden, will play left wing. The third line will consist of Don Gray and Danny Stuckey, who last year played with the midgets, and another newcomer, Don Jardine, son of the groat Tommy Jardine, former Wingham softball pitcher. With most of the team in their sec­ ond year as juveniles, hopes are high that the team will go a long way in juvenile hockey. The first game of the season will be in Wingham arena oh Friday; wheh the locals will moot Kincardine, thing in its power to attract industry. He mentioned a town brochure and the new town planning set-up, which he felt would aid the town in securing additional industry. . “No Intention of Running” Reeve Roy Adair opened his re­ marks by saying that he had no in­ tention of runfling foy mayor. He said that he liked the worje as town repre­ sentative on the coupty council, and spoke of the fine support he had re­ ceived from Deputy-Reeve Joe Kerr. Mr. Adair told the meeting that action from the urban municipalities on county council had brought about (Continued on page twelve.) LONDON COUPLE HURT AS CAR TURNS OVER Leslie Anderson, 105 Glenwood Ave., London was treated at; Wingham Gen­ eral Hospital last We$|iesday, follow­ ing an accident on No. 4 Highway near Teeswater, when; the car he was driving failed to make a turn and turned over. Mr. Anderson was brought to the hospital unconscious and his wife, a passenger in the car, received a bruis­ ed jaw as a result of the accident. After treatment at the hospital the couple were allowed to continue their journey to Owen Sound. . TLions to Undertake Peanut Drive Wingham Lions Club will be hold­ ing its traditional Peanut Drive dur­ ing the next two (weeks, it was- announced at the regular meeting of the Lions Club last Friday. Citizens are urged to support this effort, and to purchase peanuts from mem­ bers of the club when they canvass the town. Proceeds of the drive will be used to assist in furnishing a room at the Wingham Gehefal Hospital. FINGERPRINTS MAY BE CLUE IN THEFT CASE Fingerprints on a cash box at the Campbell & Gorbutt plant may pro­ vide a clue to the identity <?f thieves who made off with $297 from the plant during working hours last Wednes­ day, Police Chief Bert Platt said yes­ terday. Local police, who have been working on the case since last week, were able to get a set of prints from the cash box, and have sent them away to Provincial Police headquar­ ters to be checked with their files. Inquiries are also being made at other towns in the district for possible clues in the case. According to police the theft is thought to have occurred last Wed­ nesday morning when two strangers were discovered in the office by Stan Campbell, one of the partners in the firm. According to Mr. Campbell, he was working in the rear of the plant when he noticed the front door open, and going to close it found two men in the office. They inquired about cedar shingles and paint, but -left, saying they would be back. Later the money was found to be missing from the cash box. About a week previous the plant had been broken into and the cash box jimmied, and it is now thought that the thieves were reconnoitering before returning in the daytime, when they could expect to find more money there. Mr. Gorbutt said that there had been a much larger sum in the cash box that morning, before he had gone to the bank. A description of the two men has been broadcast, and Provincial Police are co-operating with town police on the case. Visiting Brother At Chilliwack Misses Minnie and Florence Bar­ ber, of Wingham and Toronto respec­ tively, are visiting with their brother, Charles Barbel', of Chilliwack, B.C., who has been seriolisly ill for some months. Latest word received is that Charlie is somewhat improved. The Advance-Times hopes to heat of his ultimate recovery, as he started his printing career in the office of The Wingham Advance. Mr. Barber rose to be president of the Candaian Weekly Newspaper As­ sociation and at one time was the Association’s representative to South Africa. Children of all ages turned out on Saturday to wel­ come Santa Claus at the CNR station and to watch the parade down Josephine Street. In a fenced-off area on John Street treats were dispensed to hundreds of children, who afterwards had an opportunity to confer with the old gentleman. Here some of the kiddies tell Santa of their needs for Christmas. —Staff Photo PLENTY OF DEER LEFT AFTER OPEN SEASON Last week’s four-day deer season won’t have too much effect on the deer population in the district, according to Ross Wormworth, local conservation officer. Mr. Wormworth estimates that while perhaps 50 to 75 deer were taken out during the hunting season, there are still plenty left in the Wingham district. Exact number of deer taken in the district last week is not known, although Department of Lands and Forests officials estimate that ap­ proximately 10% of the hunters were able to bag a trophy. Mr. Worm­ worth said that a check of 100 hunters on Saturday showed a 10% bag, while checks on other days re­ vealed slightly higher totals. Ap­ proximately 500 licenses were issued in the district and 30 deer were checked by conservation officers. Weather during the four-day season was not too favorable to hunting, with a heavy rain on the opening day. A Snowfall on Saturday inade things a little better for the hunters. Many of the deer were bagged in the Whitechurch area, where three parties were reported to have taken four or five animals each. Other favored spots were in Kinloss, West Wawa- nosh and Howick townships. ■ A number of game law infractions were reported by conservation of­ ficers, most of them involving loaded guns in cars and hunting without a license. A good percentage of the hunters were from such outside points as London, Hamilton and Chatham, with a sprinkling of non-residents. THIS WEEK AT THE ARENA WEDNESDAY, Nov. 30— 2.00-4.00—Public Skating 4.00-5.30—Public School Hockey 8.00-10.00—Hockey Practice THURSDAY, Dec. 1— 4.00-5.30—Public School Skating 6.00-10.00—Hockey Practice FRIDAY, Dec. 2— 4.00-5.30—Public School Skating 8.00-9.00—Squirt Hockey 9.00-Kincardine vs. Wingham Juvelines SATURDAY, Dec. 3— 7.00-12.00—Figure Skating 12.30-1.30—Squirt Hockey Game 3^0-5.30-L.public Skating Country Children Welcome! 8.00-10.00—Public Skating NOTICE — EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT WILL BE SKATING NIGHT IN WINGHAM MONDAY, Dec. 5— 4.00-5.30—Public School Skating 6.00-10.00—Hockey Practice TUESDAY, Dec; 6— 4.00-5.30—Ptiblic School Skating 8.00-10.00—Public Skating WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7— 2.00-4.00—-Public Skating 4.00-5.30—Public School Hockey 6.00-8.00—Figure Skating 8.00-10.00—Hockey Practice New Hospital Wing Opening Next Week The official opening of the new chronic wing of the Wingham General Hospital will be held on Wednesday, December 7th, at 3 p.m. Hon. MacKin­ non Phillips, Ontario Minister of Health, will officiate at the opening ceremonies. The opening will follow a luncheon to be held for members of the muni­ cipal councils of the district, at which Dr. Phillips will be present. During the afternoon the new wing will be open to the public for inspec­ tion between 3 and 5 o’clock, and dur­ ing the ' evening between 7 and 9. Members of the hospital staff will conduct visitors around the new build­ ing. Ladies of the Hospital Auxiliary­ will serve tea in the hospital dining room during the afternoon. Successful Year Reported At Recreation Council Meeting Only a handful of people attended the annual meeting of the Wingham Recreation Council, held in the coun­ cil chambers last Tuesday night, to hear reports of recreational activities in town during the past year. Chairman Bill Conron reported that approximately $1,500 had been spent on recreation during the year, and said that Wingham’s recreation pro­ gram had been comparable to that of many other towns spending much more. Mr. Conron estimated that re­ creation had cost the taxpayers “less than a mill,” and said that in his estimation they had received good value for the money spent. He report­ ed that the council’s finances were in “a healthy state.” Ball and Hockey Activities Vic Loughlean, part time recreation director, reported on ball and hockey activities during the year. He said that about 70 boys between the ages of 7% and 12 had taken part in a town league, organized into four teams, and playing two games a week. The best players amongst these teams were chosen to represent Wingham in the Young Canada Hockey Week, held in Goderich at Easter, where they gave a good account of themselves. Mr. Loughlean also gave a favorable report on the bantam, midget and juvenile hockey teams, all of which played through the entire season. He said that the midgets disbanded to­ wards the end of the season to enable the juveniles to carry on in the play­ offs. The juveniles went to the Ont­ ario semi-finals before being defeated. In his report on the ball teams in town, Mr. Loughlean mentioned six teams in operation during the sum­ mer. A bantam hardball team won group honors and went to the WOAA finals, and the juvenile softball team went to the all-Ontario finals before being defeated. Two girls’ softball teams had a successful year, and other teams included the peewee hard­ ball and the midget Softball teams. Mr. Loughlean paid tribute to Mrs< Fred Saint, Lome Gardner, Andy Lunn, Merv. King, Hugh Carmichael, Don Breckenridge, Ivan Gardner, Bill Plenty of Help To Bag Candy * Ed. Edighoffer, chairman of the committee which took charge of the bagging of candy on the evening pre­ vious to Santa’s visit has asked The Advance-Times to extend thanks to all who turned out to help with the job- There were about 35 men on hand to complete what had all too often been a long and irksome task when less help was available in other years. Little Boy Swallows Kerosene Rudy Jensen, 2-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Jan Jensen, R.R. 3, Wing­ ham, was treated at the Wingham General Hospital after swallowing a quantity of kerosene at his home on Sunday. His condition yesterday was describ­ ed as satisfactory. Grover, members of the Wingham Softball Association and others who had assisted with the ball program. Summer Program Report A summer program report from Marlene McKenzie, program super­ visor, was read by Mr. Conron. In her report, Miss McKenzie said that the swimming periods at Teeswater were the most popular events on the pro­ gram with an average of between 95 and 98 children taking part. About 100 of the smaller children attended the sessions at the local Kinsmen wading pool. Miss McKenzie said that the intense heat last summer had an adverse ef­ fect on the summer program, and that some of the events planned were not ' able to be held because of the weath­ er. She suggested that in view of the fact that summer recreational pro­ grams were also being held in some of the churches, it might only be necessary to have a three-week pro­ gram next year, Reviews Progress In a review of the progress during the past year, Mr. Conron said that a good deal had been accomplished in capital improvements to the recreat­ ional set-up. In co-operation with the Kinsmen Club a fence had been erect­ ed around the wading pool and town men had graded and gravelled the ground around it. The Softball As­ sociation had assisted in levelling the ball diamond and swings and teeters had been erected at the town park and in Hillcrest. A total of $630 had been spent on these improvements. It was decided at the meeting that the work of the secretary and the treasurer would be combined, and that an honorarium of $100 would be paid to the holder of the office. It was also decided that the organiza­ tions in town would bo asked to ap­ point representatives to the. council. Officers elected were: Chairman, Bill Conron; secrotary-treasurer, Charles Perrott; directors, Mrs. Har­ old Burrell, Mrs. Fred Saint, Len Crawford, Earl Hamilton and Jack Gorbutt Jr., the latter two being rep­ resentatives of the town council.