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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1962-02-15, Page 11a exefer iStvcafe Livestock fee... ers. defeat vote on. corn 5loP9114.. $ectlora EXETER, ONTARIO ,FEBRUARY 15, 19152. fags Nine • :•• 77, • - TELEPHONE STAFF IN 1938—George W, Lawson was the well-known branch man- ager of Exeter's telephone office when this picture was snapped of him with two members of his local staff early in 1938. His daughter, Olive, is seated at the switchboard with his chief operator, Mary McKaig, standing beside him, Don't risk disappointment, get your tractor overhauled now,. while there's no wait What can we do? The spring rush is on, and there's just too much work piled up; it'll be at least another week. Don't risk repeating this scene yourself, Bring in your overhaul work now, while there's no heavy work schedule staring either of usrn the face. We'll be able to take care of your work quickly, efficiently, economically. Our John Deere-trained personnel have the latest, tools, the John Deere know-how, and the genuine John Deere parts to do the job well, Make a service date soon. Huron Tractor and Equipment Phone 965 North Exeter TELEPHONE NUMBER IS 235-1115 OUR NEW BARN CLEANER SILO UNLOADER i & BUNK FEEDER , YOU'LL GET BETTER PER. FORMANCE AND LONGER WEAR FROM A BADGER i ll SALES SERVICE 114STAUKTION John Beane '111111 -tiatembitteb mei FORINIArt See Us Now For Contracts MONTCALM OR PARKLAND BARLEY WANTED SUITABLE FOR SEED ORDER YOUR SEED GRAIN FROM OUR CHOICE GRADES RUSSELL MIXED GRAIN $7.00 CWT, (Herta and Selkirk) RODNEY OR GARRY MIXED $475 (VT, (Herta and Selkirk) ASK FOR OTHER, PRICES ASK FOR OUR PRICES OF GRASS SEEDS. You'll be surprised at the low cost. GRAIN - FEED -SEED E1ER 73735 ••WHALEN CORNERS ?gym-KIRKTONI501 THIS IS THE TRACTOR, Gives Things Away ! NUFFIELD 3.CYLINDER DIESEL TRACTOR Which •Pays For Its • Own Fuol 566 if Now At Exeter Farm Equipment 508V rt, D, JERMYN EXETER Our New Dial Number 23s1350 First Service began :here, in 1 .89 with 11 phones on 4irst exchange It was a rugged life for tele- Allowe crews raising trails of wire along Ontario's by-ways, A novice on the move with one of these hard-working groups would "expect to get on the train with baggage and make the trip by rail," Ile was quickly disillusioned, however, for more than likely "the baggage, tools and equip- ment were all crowded onto sleighs, and then the gang worked out one way, dinners being sent out, and when the day's work was finished, the move had been made on foot while covering work between two places." n e such w e t I-seasoned crew worked its way to Exeter on a fateful day in 1889, and telephone lines determinedly made a path to the popular jewellery store on Main street. There, in a specially reserved spot at the rear of the shop, appeared an unfamiliar switch- board. With connections quicklY completed, the first 11 custo- niers were soon proudly ,crank- ing their brand new Blake tele- phones: Acheson, Thos. ' Cen- tral Hotel, Main St.; Bissell. Bros., Hardware, Main St.; Christie, Ed„ Livery, William St.; Gillespie, T. A., Drayman, Carling St. Elliott & Law Office, Main St. Hawk- sha w, F. W., Commercial Ho- tel, Main St.; Hicks, Ii„ Jewel- ler, Main Se; Levett & Hutch- ins, Grain Merchants, Market Sq,; London Huron and Bruce Wy, Station; Pickard, Jas., General Merchant, Main St.; Verity, W. H. & Son, Foundry- men, Station St. Fascinating machine Those, who had no telephone of their own to try, lost no time scurrying clown to Robert. Hicks' store for an extended inspection. Friends met there to evaluate the merits of the 13-year-old apparatus, which was fast becoming a by-word in homes and offices. While the men turned their attention to a more technical inquiry, the ladies cast long- ing glances towards the attrac- tive displays of jewels and necklaces. Perhaps the enthu- siasm of their men-folk for Mr, Bell's invention could be passed along to these tempting counters, A new gem brooch would add a delightful touch to a favo- rite. dress, or make the wearer an intriguing subject, indeed, for the amateur photographer trying his skill with Kodak's new snap-shooting device—the hand camera: Fully convinced of the tele- phones usefulness, villagers began taking advantage of its availability from the hours of a.m. to 8 p.m. on week days, 2 to 4 p.m, on Sundays, and from 10 to 12 a.m. and 2 Lo 4 p.m. on holidays. Mr. Hicks served them well as local man- ager for the next 15 years. Exeter prospered and moved into the 20th century with 19 telephones and a renovated ex- change. Telephone linemen were still dotting the countryside in their continuous efforts to expand- telephone 'facilities. One of these men was Wilfred. 5. Ro- den, who did much work in the Exeter Office in years to conic. Recalled Mr. Roden, "just as was going to climb the pole, I happened to see a large snake at the, bottom, I put three sections of pruners to- gether and made a noose. When Mr. Snake rose its head up, .1 lassoed him, and hung him from the latter behind the truck ...it turned out to be a blowing adder." Mr. Hicks decided to retire, from business towards the close of 1905, and sold his in- terests to another jeweller, Ar- nold Marchand. Long-familiar with the intricacies of tele- phone affairs from his years as manager of Port Elgin's ex- change, Mr. Marchand willing- ly took over Exeter's switch- board along with the jewellery business, His daughter, Mrs. Ida 51, Sanders, now living in London, Ontario, remembers well these early days,. helping her father in time of emergencies at the telephone offite. As She rentin isced, "I grew up with it." Doctor builds line The n a in b'er of :farmers' lines were steadily increasing; by 1908, the Thames Road Te- ephone Company, 'Organized by Dr. It K. tlyndthan, began BRUCEFIELD Phenol'Ella 2.9230 defiled SECOND MANAGER — Arnold Marchand became Exeter's second telephone manager when he bought Robert Hick's jewel- lery business towards the close of 1905. .He had previously been in charge of telephone affairs in Port Elgin since 1895. connecting with the Exeter ex- change, The following year, the Kirkton and Exeter Tele- phone Company also made con- nections here as well as at SI. Marys, Mitchell and. Gran- ton, Sir, Marchand's duties were becoming more arduous, espe- cially since lie began provid- ing 24-hour service in June, 1911. Under Ids direction, also, Exeter's 100111 telephone was installed in 1912, and a third independent, company, the Hay Township Municipal Telephone System, was connected to his switchboard. Early in 1914, the local jew- ellery business changed hands for a third time when Mr, Mar- chand retired, and James Law- son took over both the jewel- lery business and telephone managership. Shortly after- wards, he bought the Carling block from George Bedford, and moved the telephone -office exclusively for the telephone business" located one door south on Main street, Mr. Lawson's cousin, George W, Lawson, had been. in Exe- ter for a year now, having re- turned from Saskatchewan af- ter a varied career as home- steader, schoolteacher and te- lephone official. He was asked .by his cousin "to come into the telephone of- fice and learn the operating as he was having difficulty get- ting help. "Sir. Lawson had one ern• ployee at this time, Miss Ruth Andrews, who gave me all the instructions I ever received as to operating a switchboard. I worked my trick with this lady and took every other night on the hoard as night opera- tor — Mrs. James Lawson per- forming the night, operator's duti5 on the nights I was off duty"" Family helps out The responsibilities of man- agership were officially turned. over to George Lawson in Aug- ust, 1928. He ran the office with the help of one operator, but soon recruited. assistance from his daughter, Olive, Mrs. Hicks, and his wife, Uneasy times were approach- ing with the far-reaching crash of the New York stock ex- change. It did not take long for its critical effects to be The story is told of a farm worker named Ole, After being hired he. worked three weeks and then didn't show up for five straight clays. Finally, in desperation the farm manager went through the country look- ing for Ole, Going past the in- sane asylum he saw Ole sit- ting on the lawn in the shade of a big On tree. He stopped and asked, "Ole, what in the world are you doing here?" Old replied, "I'm insane, Try it sometime, it sure has farming heat." HARCO ORCHARDS Started t's Pulleti I Chicks The kuOe16 loollitiOt of tint Feline art Oh* al work prOdudInt !hi tornot3 HMO OtthArds black 560.Linhs the linutum layer that h'a't Wok hkalltiki for egg iitoduttiori and all-fithe farm 06tfONnOritt for over 20 ytart, Order as dayiblet, or ea 'started pullets front weeks of ana light ud to tOOdy.464iy every ohe hatohed And tOrirOd uncle nod FOAMS' quality program. Stock It first intent fibril the brattier. TO tieORM leitt Fiftlee fa! 6r'At. Okruffitk obdtioing the 'Wet eletten Otfildik and day-Old Olillate Old ehinlie that OW tio bought Other tssiotis Atkin' Afed available' as nai-old and stifled tests, Write ,toih,16.114rei. Meet. ROE FARMS tiMiltity Aiwa -64, OW, phana 145.4111 reflected in the daily life of every home and Exeter felt the blow, too, in its telephone way of life. Mr. Lawson sadly recalls these days, "My duties in the office as time went on became, if anything, more exacting, par ticularly so in the collections when the subscribers were un- able to pay .their, bills .each month, 'Po show you how an- xious they were to keep their telephone, they brought in cop- pers and postage stamps to help pay their rental. However, our office lost quite a few tele- phones despite my most stre- nuous efforts to retain them," An upward swing exerted it- self towards the close of the thirties, with over 300 tele- phones in constant use by the time of the Second World War. In 1942, the Bell erected, lines to provide telephone ser- vice from the Exeter exchange to the RCAF flying training school at Centralia, and also provided direct connection be- tween Centralia and the asso- ciated landing field at Grand Bend. Towards the war's end, Exe- ter became a company-ope- rated office with Mrs. W. R. Chambers as local representa- tive, and George Lawson con- tinuing as night operator until his retirement in December, 1946, Crank eliminated On December 10, 1952, the common. battery system of operation was introduced. No longer was it necessary to turn a crank to notify the ope- rator that one wished to place a call, but simply to lift the receiver from the hook. Exeter was boasting of over 1,000 customers for a year now, Mrs. Willa Wuerth was in charge of the office follow- ing several changes in super- vision since the days of Mrs. Chambers, including successive- ly Miss D,D, Morrion, Miss A, W. Whitten, Miss W, Wood, Miss M, L. Hodgert, and, Mrs. M. B. Holtzman, Miss Al'. E. Wells, the pre- sent chief operator, has been in charge of Exeter's telephone life for the past eight years, and has been working in the office since 1948, She will soon be witnessing another vital improvement in her local telephone exchange, for on February 18, the most. modern of dial systems will go into operation, bringing the world to her customers' finger- tips and the whirl of a dial a way. A long path had, indeed, been traversed since Robert Hicks was the local jeweller and welcomed Exeter's 'first switchboard into his store. Long distance advancements have been equally startling since these growing-pain days, when a distance of 200 miles was the absolute limit for sat- isfactory telephone conversa- tions, weather conditions per- ay J, CARL HEMINGWAY I expect most of you, by now, have heard, that the vote on the corn marketing plan Was leg. Since there are pros- pects of other votes on market- In plans this year we would do well to consider the reasons that defeated the corn market- log plan and thereby overcome the obstacles that may defeat other plans, Since 7..am not a "grain corn producer", I can only report to you what I have been told from various sources. if my statements are not correct I would appreciate correction. Three opponents There were three fields of opposition—the grain handlers, grain truckers and the large feeders of cattle and hogs. The grain handlers objected obviously because an organi- zation of producers would cre- ate at least some pressure to higher prices. If nothing else this would mean that these dealers in grain would require more capital. There would also be the possibility that this in- creased cost could not be passed on because of the threat of imports, In the great ma- jority of cases, if not all, these people did not have a vote and could only oppose to the ex- tent that they could influence producers around them, The truckers apparently had built up a good business in buy- ing corn in the corn belt and trucking it into livestock feed- ing areas outside the corn area, The marketing plan would have interfered with their business considerably and since many of these were also producers they did have a vote and close contact and strong influence on the producers they dealt with. highest livestock feeding was by for the most profitable within, my experience of the past 20 years as livestock feeder. I have heard it stated many times that cheap grain never produces high priced meat, It may easily prove a costly effort on the part of these farmers Equal opportunity in the marketing place as is provided under marketing plans seems. to have prevented torperations from entering the hog produc- tion field as they 'hoe in broiler growing, This is of vital importance to farmers. Ready for 'separates Two-day schools for leaders for the forthcoming 4-H Home. making Club project "Sepa- rates for Summer" were held at three centres in Huron, Hensel", Brussels and Clinton last week. The last day of the liensall school for South Huron lead- ers was so stormy that it was cancelled and the ladies at- tended the Clinton school last Tuesday. In Huron County there are 41 clubs and a total enrollment of 500 girls is expected. Leaders for Grand Bend club are Mrs, Willis Walper and Miss Karen Taylor; Dash- wood, Mrs. Leonard Schenk and Mrs. Eden Weigand: KIP- pen, Mrs. William Bell and Mrs. Verne Alderdice; Huron- dale, Mrs, Alvin Moir and Mrs, Roylance Westcott; Elimville, Mrs, Delmer Skinner, Mrs, Al lan Johns and Mrs. Norman ,Jaques; Crediton, Mrs. Lorna Hodge and Mrs, Alfred Smith. Forums like teletype Farm Forum 'members In discussing the teletype system of marketing hogs, which has been operating for the past year were quite in favor of the plan declaring it to be "fir, best, type of selling yet", While this system has worked very well with hogs, members did not think it would work as well with some other commo- dities. Fairfield. Forum felt it MOVED TELEPHONE OFFICE —James Lawson was photographed in front of his jewellery store one winter clay during his 14 years as Exeter's telephone manager. He bought Arnold. Marchand's jewellery business early in 1914, at the same time he took charge of telephone affairs. When he purchased the Carling block from George Bedford, shortly afterwards, he moved the telephone office to the rear of his new store. By the turn of the century the range had been . increased to 1,000 miles Further exten- sions followed, until 1915, when a great improvement in qual- ity and scope resulted from the introduction of repeater sta- tions at intervals along the long distance lines to renew the voice currents, By 1920, calls could be made to any point in Canada and the United States, though service to places' outside Ontario and Quebec was still only avail- able over United States lines. mitting calling at all, The first all Canadian trans- continental route was Maugu- rated in 1932 with the opening of the Trans-Canada Telephone System. In the meantime, overseas radiotelephone service between New York and London, opened in 1927, was gradually ex- tended to other centres on both sides of the Atlantic. The opening of the first transatlantic telephone cable in 1956 greatly improved over- seas telephone service. Today, Exeter customers can reach almost every country in the world by telephone, rI.L. SE THE. FELLOW WHO WRITES THOSE SWEET VERSES ON VALENTINES FORGETS TO SEND I-11S WIFE ONE Reduced own income? The livestock feeders were. also producers in the vast ma- jority of cases. Many of these, I have been told, made a prac- tice of buying large quantities of corn at harvest time at low prices while they stored their own crop, some of which they were able to sell, at much higher prices later. However they purchased so much more corn than they sold they pre- ferred low prices for corn and they were fearful that a mar- keting plan would raise prices. From what I have been told it would seem that it was largely this group that was responsible for the defeat of 'the plan. From going over 'figures of the Ontario Department of Ag- riculture, it seems to me that these feeders did a very effec- tive job of reducing their own incomes- During the years 1950.51-52 could not be applied to beef when grain prices were at their —Please turn to page 10 I. Barley Contracts Barley prices are the highest they have been for years. With the west- ern crop prospects very questionable, there could be a real good price for barley this year. Oat Contracts We expect oats to be a good price, too. We. have a choice of high yielding Rodney or Garry. Mixed Grain Contracts We require acreage for good heavy mixed grain for feed, Priced on the same basis as oats, this should give you a good yield return, Our mixture will be Rodney or Garry oats mixed with Herta barley and. Selkirk wheat, ADVANTAGES OF OUR CONTRACTS 1. GRADE I TREATED SEED SUPPLIED 2. FERTILIZER SUPPLIED 3, GUARANTEED MINIMUM PRICE 4, DELIVERY TAKEN WHEN THRESHED 5. EXCELLENT UNLOADING FACILITIES 6. DRYING FACILITIES AVAILABLE IF REQUIRED