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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-02-19, Page 3EXETER AND DISTRICT HERITAGE FOUNDATION -= Exeter's newest society was formed Tuesday night at a meeting of interested citizens. The first goal of the foundation is to try to save and restore the old town hall. Guest speaker was Mrs. Dorothy Wallace, Goderich, (right). Shown with her is the newly elected presi- dent, Douglas Gould, and Mrs. Nelson Monteith, chairman of the fund raising committee. • Saving Town Hall is prime goal of Heritage Society • • • iii • HOME BUYERS: Phone for your free 1976 Beaver Homes Catalogue and get details about our special Early. Delivery Discount Offer! If you're planning to buy a new home during 1976, phone for a Beaver Homes Catalogue right away. Besides providing you with a free copy of this helpful book, your Beaver Home Consultant will give you com- plete details about our "Early Delivery Discount Offer." An offer that is designed to save you a good deal of money on any home in our catalogue. So don't delay. Pick up your phone and call us now. BRIAN VEALE HOME CONSULTANT P.O. Box 1990, Exeter, Ont. (519) 235-2958 BEAVE HOMES A DIVISION OF BEAVER I JMBFR CO LTD. • II • III • Ill III III 11111 Extra benefits for the over sixty • Standard safety deposit boxes for only $3 a year (A rental reduction of $5 on larger boxes) • Free safe-keeping of your Guaranteed Investment Certificates • Free cheques on regular savings accounts • Monthly interest payments on Guaranteed Investment Certificates of $5,000 or over (minimum term 2 years) • Cost of living Bonus interest on special savings accounts • Free issuance of travellers cheques Register today at Victoria and Grey Serving Ontario since 1889 PiCTORIA and GREY TRUST COMPANY K. V. Bowrnan, Manager 425 Main. St., Exeter Eighty eight years after 90 percent of the citizenry of Exeter voted to erect a town hall, complete with belfry and a clock designed and made by the well known Swiss clockmaker, George Hess, 30 local residents met Tuesday night to form the Exeter and District Heritage Foun- dation. Their first goal is to save from demolition and restore the same town hall, and those attending pledged themselves to do everything possible is this regard even at the seemingly united opposition of town council. Mrs. Dorothy Wallace, Goderich, member of the Huron County branch of the Ontario Architectural Conservancy, and one of the persons instrumental in convincing County Council to save the old Goderich jailhouse as an historical site, told the group, "To become heritage conscious, a community has to be aroused . . . more interest is created if you have to go out and fight." She also said, "if this many people had, turned out to our first meetingve'd have been thrilled." Mrs. Wallace outlined several courses the local citizens could take to organize them- selves. Mayor Bruce Shaw, who put in a brief appearance at the meeting, said it was his feeling that the town council wanted the building torn down but that he personally was in favor of its restoration, He admitted he had originally been one of those in favor of its demolition but that the findings of the citizens' committee had convinced him otherwise. "I wish you well," he said, "and should you organize tonight I want my name to go down as one of your first mem- bers," Doug Gould, chairman of the town hall citizens committee outlined the work the committee had done in the 13 months since they were appointed. He said there has been an average of DUNCAN DRUMMOND Duncan Drummond of Ailsa Craig passed away at Strathroy General Hospital February 14, 1976. in his 82nd year. Husband of Muriel Drummond (Evans), father of Ruth (Mrs. Don Pat- terson) of Harrowsmith, he is also survived by three grand- children and three great- grandchildren. Funeral services were held February 16 from the T. Stephenson and Son Funeral Home in Ailsa Craig. Interment in Nairn cemetery. A masonic service under the auspicies of Craig Lodge No. 574 was held Sunday evening at 8 p.m. EVA KAISER Eva Kaiser, formerly Zapfe, died suddenly at her residence in Hensall February 14, 1976 in her 71st year. Wife of the late Ben Kaiser, sister of Mrs. Roy Consitt of Hensall and Austin Zapfe of London, Also surviving are several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held Tuesday, February 17 from Bonthron Funeral Home in Hensall, . Interment in Bairds Cemetery. LENA (ALDEN) McGAVIN Mrs. Alden McGavin passed away suddenly at the K-W Hospital in Kitchener in her 79th year on February 15,1976. Wife of the late Alden IVIcGavin, mother of Jack, London; Wilmot A. (Bill) of Sarnia and Mrs. Arthur J. (Leona) Wiles of Kitchener. Sister of Mrs, Harold (Hilda) Sellers, Seaforth and Mrs. • Armand (Flora) Kernick of Lucan. hour grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren survive one meeting a week, many hours of research, consultation with several restoration experts and many visits made to view restored buildings in other communities. He also spoke of the frustration of having the committee's findings fall on "the deaf ears of the council". Mrs. loyce Monteith listed a number of ideas suggested for the future use of the hall. She cited one group ,that is showing "keen interest" in renting the upper room several times a month if it can be suitably appointed. She pointed out that the town police force is already using part of the building. Other suggestions for its use included converting the south end into a drop-in centre for senior citizens. Mrs. Monteith said there was a good possibility the up- stairs could be used for travelling art shows and stated there would be a possible $5,000 revenue from the Art Institute of Ontario if the building was used for thisipur- pose. She said the upper room could also be rented for small concerts and meetings and that the building might also house a tourist information bureau and also be used as an arts and crafts centre. Mrs. William Huntley, who has been acting as treasurer for the committee, reported $4,560 has already been received from the total $11,400 LIP grant. She pointed out that under the requirements of the grant only $1,900 can be spent on supplies while the rest has to be paid out in wages. "We must employ people who are registered with Man- power," she said, "and if we go one week without employing anyone we are in grave danger of losing the whole grant." Mrs. Huntley said the group had received its first donation, Tuesday, $2.00 from an Exeter teenager "so now we can open up a bank account!" It was pointed out that many residents have made it known they are willing to her. Funeral services were held Tuesday from the chapel of the Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Home in Kitchener, interment in Maitlandbank Cemetery, Seaforth. ORVILLE T. TAYLOR Orville T. Taylor passed away at South Huron Hospital, February 12, 1976 in his 81st year, Husband of the former Christine Dougall, father of Orville, Brock- ville, Robert, RR 2 Hensall, James, Harriston; Mrs. William (Mae) Butson, RR 2 Staffa and Mrs. Percy (Evelyn) Wright, Kippen. Predeceased by a son, Neil, in November 1972, and one brother and sister. Brother of Mrs. Myrtle Dick, Hensall and Mrs. Irene Harvey, London, Also survived by 14 grandchildren and two great. grandphildren. Funeral services were held from the Bonthron Funeral Home in Hensall February 15. Temporary interment in the Hensall Mausoleum, Hensall Union Cemetery. CARL WILFRED JAQUES Carl Wilfred Jaques passed away in his 51st year i n University Hospital in London, Husband of Norma Robbins of Stratford, father of Wayne at home and Mrs. Gordon (Carolyn) Hopkins of Dundas, Ontario.Brother of Norman Jaques of Exeter and Mrs. William Moore of RR 1 Sebringville and Mrs. Donald Thwaites of Stratford, Funeral services were conducted at the Heinbuck Funeral Home in Stratford, interment in Avondale Cemetery, Stratford. contribute to a save-the-town-hall fund. After some discussion the group unanimously voted to form themselves into a body known as the Exeter and District Heritage Foundation. Officers elected were president, Douglas Gould; vice president, Ben Hoogen- boom ; secretary, Mrs. Robert Fletcher; treasurer, Mrs. William Huntley; Fund raising chairman, Mrs. Nelson Monteith; Public relations chairman, Art Whilsmith; Membership com- mittee chairman, Mrs. Douglas Gould. Memberships of $2.00 per person or $3.00 per family are available from Mrs. Gould. Next meeting of the newly formed Heritage Foundation will be March 3. Where? Where Where else? At the Exeter Town Hall, of course, Authority approves new budget The 1976 budget approved by the Ausable-Bayfield Conserva- tion Authority at the annual meeting Friday, reflects a $100,- 000 decrease from last year's budget of $614,000. Provincial grants have been cut back this year, as the Ministry of Natural Resources has been tagged as one area where expenditures could be lowered by the "restraints" conscious Ontario government. While areas of the budget fund- ed up to 75 percent by the province have been cut back, ad- ministrative expenditures, where revenue comes directly from the municipal levy, will in- crease by some $14,000 due to in- flated costs, rather than expan- sion of service. Because of this situation, the municipal levy will be increased nine percent to $107,732. According to Authority treasurer, Lila Hume, "the ad- ministration budget has been cut to bare bones" for 1976. The in- crease in anticipated ad- ministrative expenditures reflects only increased costs in- volved for essentially the same administrative service provided last year. In her report, Mrs, Hume stated that a larger municipal levy increase was offset by the Authority's eligibili- ty for a 25 percent provincial supplementary grant later in the year. To complete flood-plain map- ping of the watershed, the Authority will ask the provincial government to pick up 75 percent of an additional $23,000 required. The cost to complete the map- ping was underestimated, accor- ding to Martin, because existing municipal mapping turned out to be inadequate. In addition, the Authority made a decision to do the mapping with the metric system. Martin said that this decision would save money in the long run, as the maps would have to be converted to the metric system in the future. anyway. $21,000 was approved for further development of sundry conservation areas, The Clinton conservation area will receive an additional $27,000 for brush clearing and work on a concrete chicken barn, $27,000 will go towards paving of the main road in the Parkhill Conservation area, upgrading other reads and trails, and the camping area, $19,000 will go to the Rock Glen Conservation area, for a new gatehouse, completion of a park- ing area arid grassing. The Crediton Conservation Area will receive development of a six - acre park at the east end, costing $6,000 and Port Blake will receive $11,000 for work on roads, a parking lot, and picnic pavilion. I say yes to this question because of its historical significance, and surely a satisfactory renovation would cost a great deal less than if it were demolished and rebuild a new building, The rumoured suggestion of making it usable for the police, community activity in the up- stairs and perhaps even the old fire hall space fixed up seems very reasonable. It would be nice to see the belfry put back plus the bell of course and if the clock could be made to work would be somewhat of a novelty now. As a citizen of this community, I would like the privilege of contributing towards this project in a monetary way, however small that may be. It is high time the old community spirit was exercised which would give everyone that good old sense of pride back again. The whole country has long ago "granted" itself to death, these grants are like picking your own pocket and yet not having a say as to what they are used for. The money for all these grants does not fall like 'Manna from Heaven' and anyone who thinks so surely is fooling themselves, Just one more thing, how ut- terly astounding it is to read or hear of the exorbitant amounts paid to an architect or whatever, just to put into words, what The descending slopes are designed to relieve gravitational forces out through the bottom. The peak of the arena where most of the stress is located transfers the force down and out of the bottom of the building via the other trusses. The trusses are made of a sort of laminated beam. A laminated beam is planks of wood glued and compressed together to form one large piece. Rather then com- pressing the planks in the trusses, they have been bolted together. Over the passing of the years natural shrinkage in the wood has taken place, causing a loss of tightness in the joints and gaps. The joints were kept in place by compression, but the separa- tion has placed tension on the joints of the trusses and hence, there is a separation in the joints. This has caused the roof to sag, a situation that has seen the roof sink from six to eight inches in places since the building has been constructed, Since downward forces are no longer being transmitted out of the building because of the separation, pressure is now com- ing straight down from the roof. Normal trusses are rarely more then 12 feet apart, usually closer eight feet apart. The ones in the Exeter arena are separated by a distance of 16 feet.. Compounding the separation and distance problems is the fact that the rafters in the arena are only half the strength required under the Industrial Safety Act. Snow on the roof was never really the problem. it was just another symptom that would add to the danger in the arena. In essence then, what has happened to the arena is that it has shrivelled to its present posi- tion. The lack of settling margin is merely another factor in the danger. Naturally, when there is Watershed Continued from front page to carry on, completing as many projects as possible. We realize that some projects will probably have to be held over for future years," Mr, Westcott, who was vice- chairman of the Authority in 1975, replaced Elgin Thompson, who was nominated for a second term, but declined to run. West- cott was elected chairman by acclamation, as was Ivan Hearn who was elected vice-chairman. Westcott's opening comments in his new role as chairman were in response to news from the province that grants to the Authority are down about $100,- 000 from last year, cutting back severely on proposed conserva- tion programs for this year. should be done and how, with a project such as this, before the actual work has even been started, which is where the money is really needed for materials etc. You can not use words for money or supplies. These are my comments for what they are worth. D. SIMPSON Dear Editor: The Old Town Hall in Exeter should be torn down as it serves, and indeed could never serve, any real useful purpose. The proposed restoration can do nothing except foster the egoes of certain pseudo-historians in this town. This is my own opinion as well as that of many local residents to whom I have spoken. In lieu of restoring (and I use that word with certain reser- vations) this decrepit old building the monies allocated could be far more usefully channelled into the proposed South Huron Area Recreation Center. The need for such a facility is particularly acute now in view of the recent developments concerning the arena, The property that the Town Hall sits on now could be put to use in any one of several means. First, I would propose that the area be paved and used for the much needed downtown parking. The 'maintenance costs could be added weight of the snow the problem is increased. Should there be a collapse of one of the sections of the ratters, it would not end there, If a sec- tion of the rafters, even a minor section, gave way, it would create a dominoe effect such as happened in Listowel in February of 1959. There, the first set of rafters fell in, putting undue stress on the set of trusses on either side, causing them to collapse, which started a series of collapses of the remaining roof. The Haas-Ruebsam report recommends that, in the event the arena is to be repaired, metal tie rods forming an "X" pattern be connected from lower to up- per trusses and these in turn be connected to tie rods coming down from the ceiling. Each one of the tie rods would to, At which would allow the ten- sion. on the rod to be increased. In this way the building would be tightened together again, to remake it into a safe structure. No injuries No injuries resulted from a two car collision in the parking lot of Canadian Canners. Drivers of the vehicles involved were John Deelstra, 315 Andrew St., Exeter, and Robert Wiebe, RR 1 Fullarton. Damage was estimated at $190. Cons. Robertson investigated. + + + A Huron Park youth has been charged with dangerous driving and will appear in court at a later date. The youth in question aban- donned his vehicle following a chase through the town streets. Arresting officer was P. C. Kierstead. + + + No injuries resulted from a two car collision between vehicles driven by Frederick Gratton, Grand Bend, and Mrs. Agnes Appleton, 426 Marlborough St., Exeter. Damage was estimated at $325, Cons. Fice investigated. + + + Save U Gas Bar, Main St., Exeter was broken into February 16 during the night and a quintity of money was stolen. P. C. McMeekin is in- vestigating. Pleads guilty Provincial court, traffic and criminal divisions, sat last Tuesday to hear the following cases. Judge Glenn Hays and Justice D. W. Wedlake, presided, Mark Louis Williams, 18, Main Street, Exeter, pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful entry with intent to commit an indictable offense, Williams was arrested following a complaint made by Miss Marie Stevers, Main Street, who had awakened at 2:55 a.m, February 17 to find Williams in, her apartment with a table knife in his hand. Evidence heard in court said the knife was used as a means of entry into Miss Stevers apart- ment. Judge Hays remanded Williams in custody for one week for a pre-sentence report before sentencing. . + + + Michael N. Tupper, Parrsbara, Nova Scotia, was fined $56 for leaving a parking space in- correctly and going through a red light. offet by installing meters which would be enforced during business hours, Others have proposed that the area be landscaped and turned into a park. This would provide, as well as a little much-needed scenery, an ideal place for our senior citizens to sit during the nicer weather. Would it not be far better to provide a facility of use, if not great need, such as a sports centre than to try to extract some usefulness out of a tumble-down eyesore???? Dear Editor: My opinion regarding what course of action should be taken about the future of Exeter's Old Town Hall is as follows: — Go ahead and renovate it as far as any kind of grants, donations, etc. allow. — If the belfry, with clock and bell is left to restore until the last, and money runs out for this, don't give up and forget about this very important part of the building. Save the Belfry, Clock and Bell; even if it can't be fixed right away. — When we moved to Exeter in October 1975, and I heard that Bell each day, it was the most beautiful sound I've heard in any city or town, and every resident of Exeter should be proud of it, and that they have a Very Old Town Hall, with a Beautiful Antique Clock and Bell over it. — It makes one stop for a moment when they hear it and think about peace, tranquility and happiness; rather than greed and unhappiness that usually and eventually comes with the hustle, bustle, noise and traffic of a busy town or city. You'd almost wish the streets had carts drawn by horses, instead of automobiles that cause 1. air-pollution, 2. automobile accidents and. 3. a shortage of gas and oil. — It is a reminder of how things used to be and should have stayed. — The world keeps running ahead to a more new modern world. Why? Look where all this has led? Let's keep the old. — Lets not run away from this issue. Gary Cooper didn't run away at High Noon, and I hope I can see and hear when its High Noon in Exeter, Ontario, once more, and for a long long time! Dear Editor: Perhaps the question "Should the old town hall be saved" is secondary? When the community of Exeter takes the issue of the town hall to a vote, I hope that you can decide the circumstances that are under consideration. As the local newspaper pointed out there are possibly four categories that may influence your decision. One being the building should be renovated due to the fact that grants and private donations may be available. Secondly the building should not be' renovated if Exeter's public funds are used on the project. Thirdly the property could be put to a better use if the building was demolished and lastly the building should be saved for historical and practical purposes, All the above reasons are valid depending upon the citizens point of view upon the issue. We must confront ourselves with the question of whether we are looking at this issue as to how it will benefit ourselves or how it will effect the community as a whole. Looking at our problem in a different aspect of the situation, we have a town council that does not know how to vote on the situation because they do not know how the citizens of Exeter really feel about the town hall. Giving consideration towards the cost of this project they hesitate on giving any commitment of funds at this time. The council is also looking at the practical possibilities of the town hall and they can not see any viable uses for this old building. On the other hand the council has appointed a citizens com- mittee to look into the future of the town hall. They have done an excellent job for the council. They have found the town hall to have some historical significance as well as coming up with some viable uses even though it would be difficult to find such uses when the building looks in its present neglected condition. They have volunteered their time and efforts working on this project with respect to every individual's needs in the community. The town hall committee is willing to take the responsibility upon themselves to financially raise funds to restore the town hall to its historical state and then find practical uses. The town hall committee has to be commended in their continued efforts towards saving this neglected old building and should be recognized in the same. If this committee has the ability and determination of seeing this project through without asking for monies directly through our town council then they should be given the respect to proceed in the restoration of the town hall. Ask yourselves the question are we prepared to give a few citizens the chance to let our town become a city of respect and significance or are we going to neglect our public buildings to the point where they must be demolished. Thank you for your interest in this letter. "A concerned citizen" William Dinney the Stress on trusses reason behind closing The closing of the arena has created a spate of discussion and questions surrounding the reason, particularly with mild weather and the disappearance of snow from the roof. But rot- ting' timbers,andexcesssnow are not the reasons behind the shut down. The timber the building is con- structed of is in top shape. Douglas fir used in the original construction 41 years ago is the next best thing to structural steel. It is the basic design of the roof that is the dangerous point of the building. The roof is constructed in descending slopes incorporating 11 trusses set 16 feet apart. In an engineering report done in 1972 by Hass-Ruebsam of Lon- don, they described the roofing as being created by an "ingenious carpenter" and hav- .ing no engineering basis. -',5.haVe a "turn buckle" connected Times-Advocate, February 19, 1976 Page $ Readers send opinions on Town Hall