The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1973-06-28, Page 117We've made a few changes
in the past 38 years
All to help us improve our service
GRAHAM
ARTHUR
MOTORS
• Texaco Products
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Snowmobiles
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GRAHAM ARTHUR
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Exeter's Only Camper Dealer
MOTORIZED OR TOWING UNITS FOR SALE OR RENT
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Malcolm Campbell Fletcher
graduated from the University of
Western Ontario Medical School
in May 1923. He taught in the
Department of Pathology there
after interning for two years at
Victoria Hospital, London.
On the morning of March 6,
1926 he received a telephone call
from the late Dr. Ross Dougall,
Hensall, asking him to come to
Exeter and take charge of Dr.
* Hugh Hyndman's practice. He
had just passed away that
morning.
Dr. Fletcher arrived in Exeter
on the evening train that same
day and was met at the station by
Ernie Appleton driving a Grey
Dorte car.
He took over Dr. Hyndman's
practice and also conducted a
private hospital upstairs in his
office building from the Fall of '26
till the Fall of '48.
Managing in the hospital
during those years were Mrs.
Snell, (aunt of Bob Dinney and
Mildred Allison) Mrs. Pollen,
(the mother of the late Mr.
Harvey Pollen) and Miss
Ballantyne of Exeter.
The hospital was chiefly for
maternity cases but tonsils were
removed and some other surgery
was done.
The first three maternity cases
Dr. Fletcher attended there were
Mack Hodgert, March 25, 1926;
T-A January, 3, 1935
The Times Advocate are giving
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— Continued from page 27
about $10.00 lower than when
Ontario Hydro first began sup-
plying electricity in 1916.
Even after the war very little
hydro work was done by the
Commission aside from a few
new services and some line
replacement. The largest
number of services installed
would have been in 1947 when the
war time housing area was
serviced. This minimal amount
of work in the hydro department
was characteristic actually until
1958. It should be remembered
however, that the Commission
did not have a staff until 1958. The
only employees the Commission
had were two office staff and Mr.
K. L. Lampman who was the
Ontario Hydro divisional
manager; he doubled as Com-
mission manager until 1958, Mr.
Leo Hennessey was an Ontario
Hydro employee as well, who was
on what amounted to permanent
loan to the Commission.
In 1958 a major step was taken
by the Commission, The present
manager Mr. Hugh Davis was
hired and a staff of linemen and
ground men were engaged. Mr.
M. Keating was taken on as
foreman in 1958 as well. Thus the
bulk of the work done in the hydro
department during the last
twenty-five years has been done
since 1958. This work includes a
very large amount of line and
pole replacement; the Com-
mission now has almost $200,000
invested in this part of its plant.
Transformers were added, the
water heater control unit costing
$13,000 was installed in an effort
to control peak load. The office
procedure was modernized and
generally speaking under Mr.
Davis' management the Com-
mission has moved to modernize
its operations.
In street lighting, too, con-
siderable progress has been
made since 1958. In 1958 there
were 247 street lights in Exeter
with a load of about 33 kilowatts;
the late Bill Elliott, April 11, 1926
and Jack Coates, April 12, 1926.
On one particularly busy day in
1926 five babies arrived at the
small hospital in one 24 hour
period, The fee for delivering
babies in those days was $12 to
$15. But many times it was paid
for in cords of wood, ducks,apples
or geese.
Dr. Fletcher used to make 14 to
15 housecalls a • day covering
territory from Cromarty, Staffa,
Kirkton, Russeldale, Centralia
and Shipka. Most of his calls were
made in a horse and cutter in the
wintertime with Frank Taylor,
who owned a livery stable behind
Jones and May's store
driving him. The bill for a winter
of driving would often be as much
as $800.
During the war the only doctors
left in town were Dr. Fletcher Dr.
Dunlop and Dr. Browning. Since
Dr. Browning was only able to
see a few office patients at this
time, that left the other two
covering the housecalls for a total
of five practices. Since this was
next to impossible, the patients
had to come to the doctors' of-
fices. Dr. Fletcher found that he
was putting in many 24 hour
days, seven days a week during
that period.
The first two patients that Dr.
Fletcher saw in Exeter were
Jean Creech and Barb Dinney
(Bob Dinney's sister). His last
maternity case was David Cann,
delivered June 11, 1961.
He has remained in practice
here since 1926 and in the original
office building occupied by his
predecessor, Dr. Hugh Hynd-
man. This same office was also
used by Hugh's father, Dr. John
Hyndman.
the investment was something
over $5,000. There are now 331
street lights with a kilowattage of
58.24 and the street light plant is
valued at $25,000; this figure, it
should be noted, does not include
the new fluorescent street lights
on Main Street which were in-
stalled by the Commission at the
request of the Council in 1966.
These replaced the ornamental
standards that had been installed
in 1935. It is interesting to recall
that in 1915 the village of Exeter
had paid the Electric Light
Company some $1,550 for lighting
55 street lights of very low
illumination. In 1965 the Town
paid the Commission $6,500 for
lighting 330 lights of much
greater illumination.
In addition to modernization of
the hydro plant the commission
also modernized its equipment
and storage facilities since 1958.
New vehicles were purchased
and a new warehouse was
erected behind the Commission's
building on Main Street. This
building occupied by the Com-
mission on Main Street was,
incidentally, acquired by the
Commission on July 31, 1943 when
it was purchased from the Bank
of Montreal.
There, then, is a brief history of
the work of the Commission and
of the provision of water and
electricity to the Town of Exeter.
However, the story is, of course,
not finished. Considerable work
in both hydro •and water awaits
the Commission over the next few
years and this work will be done
by Commissions made up of men
who will conscientiously devote
their time and energy to this area
of public service. They will do
this just as the men who made up
the Commissions in the past
performed their tasks devotedly
and well. Clearly in technical
fields like water and electricity
skilled management is needed
and the Exeter Commission has
indeed been fortunate over the
years in having good managers
skilled in the utility field.
(photo by Doerr)
DR. M. C. FLETCHER
July 25, 1963
Exeter's south-end pillars
came down this week after
providing a gateway to the town
for the past 28 years.
The pillars, which honor the
first family to settle here and the
first council of the municipality,
have given way to the new high-
way entrance which will be in-
stalled this fall,
The pillars were removed this
week by Fred Bischoff, local
mason. The marble plaques have
been saved and will be reerected
at Riverview Park when plans for
development there are com-
pleted.
The cairns were erected in 1935
to herald the old boys reunion of
that year which marked roughly
a century after the first log cabin
in the community was built at the
corner of Main and Simcoe
Streets.
They were erected by the late
Robert McClellan, of London who
also built the pillars to the en-
trance to Riverview Park for the
horticultural society,
The stones in the pillars were
gathered from the farms cleared
by pioneers of the section.
Because of cost, however, they
are not being preserved.
Section 1, Page 29 THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE JUNE 28, 1973
Erected for reunion,
pillars given new site
PUC history