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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1973-06-28, Page 123lk e, In le id 12 al in le of ip ,s in a le ip 1, ;e [n )t id 3t a it le g n a e it „w• 'RIDING' FOR LAST TIME — In April Maurice Quance sat astride his stitching horse for one last time. After 67 years as a harness-maker in Exeter, Mr. Quance sold his equipment to Charles Webber, Hensall left. Looking onis Cal Cutting, Exeter. T-A photo Our Number Has Changed From Two Longs and A Short Call 235-1863 For Your INSURANCE and REAL ESTATE Needs John Burke LTD. In The Devon Building MURRAY MOORE Section 1, Page 35 THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE JUNE 28, 1973 T-A, April 26, 1973 Twenty years ago, J.M, South- cott wrote: "Maurice Quance is probably the only true craftsman left in Exeter who single- handedly turns out the finished article from the basic raw materials." Mr. Quance was then celebrating his 47th anniversary as a harness maker. Last week, he did one last small job before selling all the equipment he has gathered in a 67 year career as a harness-maker. He was one of the few, if not the only active harness-maker left in Western Ontario. He finds there is still a demand for harness, even though farm machinery has almost extinguished the work- horse population. He repaired and made harness for race horses, show horses, riding horses and the few work horses that are left. Mr, Quance has lived all his life in Exeter, He started learning his trade at the age of 12 at the harness shops of W.J. Beer and Peter Frayne. There were three men in Mr. Beer's shop, which was located at the present site of b Russell Electric, In those days, harness-making was a big industry. There was enough work to keep four shops busy. Besides those of Mr. Beer Craftsman retires a fter 67 years the business of Mr, Frayne, whose shop was located where Pat's Pet Shop is now. Later, he rejoined Mr. Beer and his suc- cessor, R.E. Russell, until he built a new house on William St, in 1945 and outfitted a shop in the basement. He carried his work on there until last week, Mr, Quance used to make his harness from western steer hides and he used to buy it from McCallums Tannery, beside the river in Exeter, for 25 cents a pound. Twenty years ago it cost $1 per pound in Toronto, and it was very difficult to get because harness leather was not in heavy demand. Today the cost per pound of leather is over $1.90. There are no tanneries in Canada, so all the leather must be imported from England or the United States. Mr. Quance used American track leather. A store in Stratford imports the goods and retails them, and this is where Mr. Quance bought his materials in recent years. It takes 60 pounds of leather to make a single harness. "When I first started, we sold a first-rate, completely finished harness for $13, The same thing today costs $185," said Mr. Quance. The skill in harness-making is knowing how to cut up the hide so that most of the leather is used. Mr. Quance knows by heart the length of every strap that goes into the harness, whether it is for heavy or light horse, a single or double set. He can cut up a side with remarkably small waste. Once the strips are cut, the edges must be trimmed, Mr. Quance could slice his knife through the leather with the speed and finesse of a modern machine. When the trimming in com- pleted, the straps are blackened and holes for sewing punched by hand. Most of the sewing on harness T-A January 24, 1935 The series of recitals and dramatic readings given in James St. United Church each evening last week by Mr. Herbert W. Piercy, of Niagara Falls, drew large and appreciative audiences. Mr. Piercy recited numerous literary masterpieces in a very dramatic manner and these were interspersed with humorous selections. His programs were most impressive and delighted his hearers. Special musical numbers were given each evening. On Monday evening Messrs Kenneth Jones and Lorne Elford gave several selections with guitar and mouthorgan accompaniment. On Tuesday evening Mr. Chas, Godbolt sang. On Wednesday Rev. Mr. Young, of Hensall assisted with It he program. On Thursday evening Miss K. Strang sang several selections and on Friday evening Mr. H. Hoffman and his sister Miss Gertrude of Dashwood, sang solos and a duet. T-A January 31, 1935 It is surprising how many letters are coming in to the Re- union Committee from the Old Boys and Old Girls of Exeter and community. Delight is expressed in every letter that the folks back home have organized a great family meet for next July and the intervening months will be filled with the joy and anticipation for both "fly aways" and "stay at homes," The Great Fenian Raid Dr. John Hyndman was captain of an Infantry Company at the time of the Fenian Raids in 1866, and they were called to Goderich to defend the country. One night while stationed along the cliff a couple of cows attempted to climb to the top and caused a wild scramble "to arms". After a few shots the cows decided to retreat, and on the coming morning there were no signs of the enemy. T-A February 29, 1940 Mr. G.A. Cann who recently purchased the Harvey Bros, mill and also the residence of Mr. John Andrew on William street last week moved his family and household effects from Dunnville to Exeter. We welcome them to our midst. and Mr. Frayne, William Bissett and Thorn Baker conducted similar businesses, Mr. Quance, Ed Snell and Ernest Taylor were apprentices. The busy days were Saturdays when the shops would plan to spend all day working on livery horse harness which had to be ready for the travellers on Mondays. During those busy years, he was "absent from business on a Saturday night on only five occasions. One of those occasions was during World War I. Mr. Quance injured his right hand quite badly. "I got my hand smashed and couldn't go to the front lines," said Mr. Quance. "But they kept me at Aldershot Camp reparing harness and saddles for the troops. I even soled shoes for boys then," he added. He was stationed in Aldershot, England for 14 months. That is really the only time he was away from Exeter. The harness-making industry reached its peak about 60 years ago when hundreds of harness sets, mostly fancy, were shipped out west. The men turned out six sets a week, which is top production when it is considered that, on the average, it is a week's work for one man to turn out a single set of harness. In 1920, Mr. Quance purchased T-A February 7, 1935 Copper coins offered as license payment With the coming of February local motorists beseiged the office of George M. Grant issuer of licenses. At one time on Saturday when the office of Mr. Grant was filled with a long line in waiting a truck driver from the north presented himself with a bag of coppers and those in line had visions of a long wait while the coppers were being counted out, The driver explained that he had been unprepared for the emergency when traffic officer Wm. Robinson had insisted on "1935 plates before leaving town.' An obliging friend came to the rescue and counted the coins which totalled four hundred. The impatient crowd breathed a sigh of relief. Mr. Grant has received his second supply of commercial plates and he has almost exhausted the supply of "BJ" markers and the next lot which he now has in stock will be "BN" starting at 200. T-A February, 1944 The burning of the mortgage and liquidation of the debt of the new Legion Hall was the occasion for a banquet and entertainment of the ladies recently. T-A January 1, 1934 Owing to the gasoline price war fuel sold in Exeter as low as 24 cents a gallon this week. T-A January, 1909 At the inaugural session of the Exeter School Board, P. Frayne was appointed chairman and J. Grigg, secretary. Exeter Advocate, June 23, 1887 We were shown on Tuesday, by Wm. Delve, Exeter, a strawberry of the sharpless variety, which measured eight and a half inches in circumference. T-A February, 1934 A daring masked robber en- tered the home of T.S. Woods, manager of the Bank of Montreal and succeeded in rifling his pockets while he was sleeping. is done by hand and Mr. Quance took pains to do a thorough job. He used to make his own thread, twisting strands of hemp into iron toughness and blackening it with wax, More recently, he used machine thread which he could buy in Stratford. Although demand dwindled with the introduction of power machinery, Mr. Quance always found some harness work to do. _ He has taken other jobs during slack seasons, but never has he given up his trade, until last week. Mr. Quance will be 79 in July. For the past few years, he hasn't worked steadily, but continued doing small jobs, and making his own harness, as he has always done. He sold his equipment to Charles Webber, Hensall. When asked if he was sorry to be losing his machinery, he answered, "Well, it had to come sometime. Charlie's a good friend of mine and he's wanted the equipment for a long time". Mr, Webber is planning on continuing the harness-making. But Maurice Quance is probably the last original member of what was once a flourishing and proud craft, Through the years