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Home My WebLink AboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1959-11-19, Page 9.From Tweedsmuir history ensall rinks date back to (Waken from the Women's Insti- tute Tweedsmuir Book) •Sometime in the 18$0's Jaiees Coxworth, who owned the Com- mercial Hotel on the north-west corner of Qucea and Wellington streets, erecter: a skating rink cast of his property. In those days these buildings were not referred to as arenas, but, humble as they were they provided winter fun for the young and old. If the ice, which was home - nn -de, were fit you would find the rink occupied every night by skaters, hockey players or curl- ers. The first rink was burned clown and Mr. Coxworth built a second one on the principle of the modern quonset buildings. Unfortunately it collapsed from the weight of snow in winter of 1891-92. For several years Hensall had to depend on outdoor skating but in 1896 Joseph Ellis and, Fred Sin allacombe erecters another rink on the north side of North 'Rich- mond just east of Wellington street. The builders were John Coulter, John Patrick and Ber- nard Thompson. The skat}ng surface was about two-thirds that of our present arena and it was no srhall job after the nights' fun was over, to scrape and sprinkle the ice in preparation for the following day. Several carnivals were held each winter and most of the skat- ers went in costume. Very hotly contested races of various kinds followed the judging of costumes. There were many fine skaters and a few, Charles McDonnel, Cornelius Cook, Edna (Neelands) King and others excelled in figure skating. For special nights and often for Saturday nights, music was pro- vided. Sometimes an outside band would be brought in, more often the music was provided by a mouth organ band, a horn being attached to each harmonica in order to increase the volume of sound. On ordinary nights a phonograph provided. the music. Usually on Saturday nights and always after a carnival the grand march would conclude the night's fun. There were several hockey teams and quite a large curling club. Some homes in Hensall still display trophies won by the curlers of that time. As the usual fee was only a dime or nickel, according to age, the rink was well patronized and served the skating public for over 20 years. About 1919 the property was sold and soon the rink was torn down. Again for a number of years, we had no rink, but finally the board of trade, as it was called, bought a piece of land behind the town hall from Alex Mur- dcek. Here an open air rink, en- closed by a high board fence was made. Two small dressing rooms were built at the south end of the enclosure and here the youth, and sometimes the exyouth proceeded to spend many happy hours on the ice. In 1937 it was decided to make a more spacious open air rink in the park which had beendo- nated to the town by Dr. Alex Moir. To this end a well was dug and having secured an ample supply -of water, the Chamber of Commerce built waiting rooms and a fence to enclose the ice. For 13 year this rink was kept in operation and was well patronized, In 1949 the .,dream of, a better arena began to take shape and the ,Chamber of Commerce pro- ceeded to carry out their plans. David Sangster, who was the architect and contractor of the building, gave this report when asked, "who built the arena? "The idea for the erection of a memorial arena had its birth in the minds of the late T. C.1 Joynt and the late Scott Welsh, who each gave active support to the project until their pass. ing. "The venture was truly an example of what can be ac- t coniplished by community .ef- fort. "Monies for the original struc- tures were raised through pub- lic donations, canvassing for which was organized by the Chamber of Commerce under the leadership of R. H. Middle- ton. The canvass was carried out and supported by every chari- table organization in the com- munity and met with great sue- , cess. "Designing of the building was• entrusted to myself and the pres- ent' plan was accepted by the building committee. Construction proceeded under the supervision of my brother James and my- ` self; most of the labor being supplied by interested persons at no cost. "Concrete work was carried out by Earl Dick assisted by more free labor from the com- munity. Raising of the trusses was engineered by Alex Mous- seau. Plumbing and sheet metal work was done by Edward Fink and company. Electrical work was completed by Clark and Fuss, contractors, assisted by the Hensall volunteer . fire bri- gade. The painting was done by E, It. Shaddick, B. Kyle and Edward Little, Building mate- rials were supplied by A. Spen- lfonittli111111iin IlIOilemilti111fIf111i11R11R1i1Ri111imbl CANADIAN S , 0 1769, LexFwtvra Sradwly fnc, N' _. 1' 1-9 ^ � Gr.fi,� "Please do not feed the animals!" o Q *► nn h 1✓J� 1 ^ „,h" DOD 0 �. 0I f\O o i'. Fme Feature Smdiute, Inc., World ri. is reserved. "Junior?... Junior? ... That you, Junior? .. 4" cer and Son, Drysdale's Limited and Brown's Hardware. "In honesty, answering your question 'who built the Hensel] memorial arena?' I will have to say, 'We, the citizens of Hen- sall and community, built the arena.' After reading the above para- graph we realize that it was in- deed a community venture. The' cost of erecting this memorial was $20,000 and certainly would have been much more were it not for the labor so freely given. It is impossible to name all those who helped, but our village truly owes a debt of gratitude to them and also to the Chamber of Com- merce for sponsoring the project. Mr. Laskley of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, Toronto, and Mr. Thos. Pryde, MLA for south Huron officially opened the Arena on February 17, 1950. 'Fred Smallacombe, one of our oldest citizens, was given the honor of cutting the ribbon. In 1954, dissatisfied begause surrounding arenas were instal- ling artificial ice and because weather conditions were making it almost impossible to provide I skating for the young folk, 'the i Chamber o f Commerce and PROPANE GAS £ APPLIANCES GRATTON & HOTSON Phone 156 Grand Send .Iumulfu1lumuuRlnrnnunlaunllllrnuuuunlalt parks board felt that Hensall, too should have artificial ice. This idea did not prove quite so popular with the public, as many felt it was too expensi–e an en- terprise. However, the enthusiasts won the day, and the plant was in- stalled by the Creamery Pack- age Refrigeration Co. at a cost of $35,000. Part of this was paid by donations from both individu- als and organizations and the re- mainder assumed by the tax - !payers. It has been a successful undertaking in that it has pro- vided recreation in skating, hockey and curling for. a longer season and regardless of weath- er condition. Under the sponsorship of Hen- , sall Kinsmen, a cement pad was; laid over the ice area, with Earl Dick as supervisor. In 1957 the auditorium on the . second floor was completed un- der the sponsorship of the parks, board at a cost of 88,000 of which $5,000 was paid by the govern- ment. Today we have a memorial arena of which we may be proud. It has a seating capacity of about 1,000 and an ice sur- face of 70'x170'. There are wait- ing rooms, two washrooms, a kitchen equipped for serving snacks and a splendid auditorium all comfortably heated by a fur- nace. Besides the regular . skat rs, five hockey teams, pee wees, bantams, midgets, juveniles and intermediates make use of the ice. Twice a week, public school children are given free skating periods. A curling club consist- ing of 16 local rinks and 16 rinks from Centralia enjoy weekly contests and each year at least one bonspiel is held. Badminton and shuffleboard clubs were also organized after the auditorium was completed. The arena is used for the seed show, spring show, school 'fair • and many other gatherings and has proved a real asset to our village. Again we should be grateful to the various organiza- tions that, by their enthusiasm and hard work, made it possible. 01•1111 lllllllll 111111111M lllllllllllllllll Main•414b O•Ol••IIIA,lIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII,l141014111tII IIIIIII111 MIII1Il I11111l NO SALE Just Reasonable Prices '55 PONTIAC DELUXE—V8, 28,000 miles .... $1,185 '55 DODGE SEDAN $ 875 '54 CHEVROLET BEL - AIR •— power glide, radio, power steering, 33,900 miles .... .. $ 925 '54 FORD CUSTOMLINE COACH—automatic $ 875 '54 FORD MAINLINE COACH $ 785 '53 PONTIAC SEDAN—sharp! $ . 635 '52 METEOR COACH (I think!—average $ 375 '58 \YOLKS PICKUP—with tarp $1,500 '59 VOLKS VAN $1,850 A Second Car. For The Family '55 AUSTIN ,CONVERTIBLE Engine completely rebuilt. No Reasonable Offer Refused Hunter-Duvar Ltd. PHONE 38 EXETER milli'111if1i'YIIIIIIRYIiiYIRI'Ylllillllliiitl'flh(It1RRli•Ilrlly�lllli1111YY(i1lYfllYliffi(1'filll•IIYIRI f111�11i'IYi 11111i11IIti�ifl111f11It111'1� 0 ,r. 1( EMT -..ihi rte"" -e, ET 7 P .� � � ern'•. l0 2t „.e / n 1959, Xing Features $yndleate, .n ., \ a li rirhts reserved. "i'm getting awfully hungry'!" • ( .•.�. nc f'r.tor,, Syndlatr,Inu, *,cid lights rammed, 11-13 oevS "Boo -o -o -o -o -o!!" ,111111111••••❑O111I1111❑11111111II Ib,Htl41111111111111I111t•Misulis MMIHMMUMHIMMUM lllllll M 111 ••111111111 G. Worrell & Son INTERIOI<. — EXTERIOR Painting & Decorating Paper Hanging 40 Years' Experience REASONABLE RATES All Work Guaranteed FOR FRE ESTIMATES PHONE EXETER' 488-J OR APPLY 506 WILLIAM ST., EXETER IIllll 11•1110101111•1••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• lllll 1••l1I111111/111U 14111414llI11111 •41U1I1111411414111411111111II441114U4111IlltIlH1Ult11O141t144IlI 144IlI1nIlI4l illlIIIID•1l1Ill •IIIIlIIIlIlIIIIIIIlI•t1tlpnsill,, SAVE 0 or get an extrro pair of pants FREE in W. R. Johnston's special made -to -measure SUIT SALE. Choose from ALL the fine cloths imported by Johnston's. Your suit will be expertly tailored by John. ston's fine craftsmen, BUT choose now. This offer is limited. PS—LADIES MAY GET THE SAME VALUE, TOO! SPECIAL 11 Boys' Windbreakers Size 8 to 18. Sturdy Corduroy with knitted collar and sleeves. Regular $8.50 valise. SPECIAL CLEARANCE $3.98 Waiper's' Phone 81 Men's & Eoys' Wear Exeter blllillRi➢i1111111111Y11fillllillYlil111111111i11111III IIIIIRilillllllll111111i1111i11i1f1i111II11 g7ii1111111111i111I411II11RIfYit11R„ Sorority prex.y chosen queen Beta $igma Ilii. Sorority se. 1000 its president as sweet- heart; for the coming year Fri- day .tight.. Mrs, Melvin Gaiser, Shipka,, was crowned at the local chap-- ter's annual ball in the Legion hall b3 Mrs. R. W. head, the vice-president. The announcement was made by Mrs. William Schlegel, Grand Bend, last year's sweetheart, and flowers were presented by Mfrs, M. C. Fletcher, sponsor of the group, The sweetheart is chosen by the members in a secret ballot • preceding the dance on the basis of her contribution to the work of the chapter. A native of London, Mrs.,. Gaiser graduated with a nursing degree front UWO and St, Jo- sep.h's 1-Iospital. She and her, husband have three children— Joanne, five; John, four, and Kelly, six months. One hundred couples danced to the music of Bill Dennis and his band from London. The hall was decorated in an autumn motif. Co -convenors of the dance com- mittee. were Mrs. Read and Mrs. Taal Hooke. Members included Miss Jean Taylor, Mrs. Walter Bentley, Mrs. Harry Reid, Mrs. Joseph Wooden. With an area of more than 3.8 million square' miles, Can- ada is the world's second larg- est country, but has a popula- tion of less than five persons per square mile. tt1114141111HMI U„I,11, t1g111111411I1111111••••WI141R Garage Sunday And Evening Service Open this Sunday, Wednes- day afternoon, and during the evening throughout the week. Exeter Motor Sales - Tho Timms-Advecat*, November 19, 1959 Pays IP t11111R111.I use tier 111111t1111t111R11 A1,t1111/l111lem...I•I I III 1111111111111 R it! mIt1 I MII111111111 UII. It1111111111111111111111111 Winter • FOOTWEAR Women's SNO-BOOTS Cosy Lined Boots To Keep Your Feet Warm And Dry i T All Winter Long. Modern Leather, Rubber Or Corduroy. ti Children's OVERSHOES Rubber, Fleece Lined, At All Prices. Men's • OVERSHOES In Rubber, Nylon or Plastic. Exceptionally 1�rarm Boots. And Priced Right. s Smyth'sShoeStore3 EXETER 111lI1l14l4111111141411 I4444444144441441441111111111111111141141111111111111114/.I/1111141tI11111111111111111111111111111111t14411.111110J PHONE 376 1 Your food dollar looks so much larger here! Bick's YUM YUM Pickles Catelli Cooked Spaghetti Maxwell House Coffee Stokely's Peas Kellogg's Rice Krispies Pet Instant Milk Fluffo Shortening 3C OFI Stokely's Tomato Juic Yummy P`Nut Butter Chocolate Chipits Kraft Spaghetti Dinner HONEY POD AP 32-D 23- GRIND 15.0Z. 4 -OT, SIZE 2 91/2-0Z. z. Oz. L e 4C -OFF 16 -DZ, 7C OFF 6 -DZ, PKG. FANCY 20 -Oz. New Low Price! Donald Duck Juices Orange 39c Blended 48.OZ. TINS 37c FROZEN FOOD FEATURES French Fried potatoes 2-3 5c Fraser•Vale Large Pkg. Fsh'n Chips 59c Frozen York Peas 12 OZ. p17LY 19c 7 -OZ. MEAT VALUES LB, FOR 43c 23c 69c 29c 27c 35c 29c 2-25c 31c 24c 2-25` JAR Fresh Killed Eviscerated Boiling Fowl 4-5 L6. AV, 29 Fresh Pork — Boned and Rolled Shoulders4-0LB.45` V Headcheese 3 5c FRUITS & VEGETABLES, Sunkist, Real Juicy and Sweet Oranges 163'S DOZ. 29c Emperor Red Grapes 2 25c Louisiana Yams 2 LE, 19c Sweet, Tender Carrots' 3 LE, POLY 21c A H MARKET Phone 532 SUPERIOR .FOOD MARKETS.] Free Delivery OPEN FRIDAY 'TIL 9 O'CLOCK, SATURDAYS UNTIL IR 4 J