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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1980-07-23, Page 17LOOK OUT,. JOHN TRAVOLTAII program explaining the history of music at Grand Bend Sutherland of Strathroy and Matt Goldhawk of Warwick day morning (Wed, in August) as part of a children's County library System. dancers was /taking part in a Library. Instructors Lorrie to Grand Bend every Thurs- sponsored by the Lambton Staff photo This troupe of disco Public come program problems at Manore Marine, and fill dumping at "For Goodness Sake:'. Of particular concern is the building of a new residence on the river bank on property owned by Harold Amy in Gibbs Park. In a letter to Grand Bend coun- 4 cil, the conservation authori- ty has expressed, concern about the n,ew home Resources manager William Mungall said in the letter that sand' fill has, been dumped on the flood plain, which may increase flooding on the other side of the river. The fill may also erode caus- ing the foundation of the house to be undermined, the letter said, Reeve Robert Sharen said. that the conservation authority was informed when the property was going • to be severed, He said that a copy of the letter should be sent to owner Harold Amy. MOTORCYCLE POLICEMAN — Constable Allan Ferrell visits with the children at Grand Bend Playground and shows them the finer points of his motorcycle, ' Staff photo Dogcatcher back on job 1 BUT WHERE THE OTHER HALF OF HIS BIKE? — Jim Hutchinson,13, only needs one wheel to travel up and down Mgin Street in Grand Bend, The London native, who is spen- ding the summer at the resort said he had 'been riding the unicycle for about three weeks. staff photo Page 1 A JULY 23, 1980 Price Per Copy 35 Cents ollection of old bank notes tells of troubled econom he and two other people collected it in a half hOur en the beach, Langley presented council with a lengthy report on the what he called the "deteroriation" of the beach, Langley had complained about the beach et the last council meeting,' and was asked by councillor Keith Crawford to prepare the report, Langley listed the problems on the beach in three areas: the displacement of sand by wind and water, the build up and loss of fine beach sand onto private property, and the litter and trash on the beach, In the third area, Langley said that the village crew is doing good work, but that a mechanical raking and smoothing machine is needed. In the end of his'report, he made five suggestions. He said that village council should seek funding from the province for the care of the beach. Reeve Robert Sharen said that when the purchase of the north beach from the EccleatOne estate is cona- plete, the village will look into turning the area into a park. Funds may be available to ionk after the beach if it is designated as parkland. Langley auggested to council that they locate and recondition the mechanical machine they own for cleaning the beach. Coun- cillor Harold Green said that village foreman Gary Desjardine had told him that it takes three men to operate the machine and it doesn't do an efficient job. Desjardine felt that they could do better work picking up the litter by hand, Green said. -Asking the Chamber of Commerce to participate in the beach clean-up was another of Langley's recommendations. He said that the Chamber should be asked to establish a fund for beach care. Langley also mentioned the parking problem in his report. He said that council should make a parking area east of the highway to avoid the overcrowding 'of the inadequate streets to handle The traffic: As a last resort, Langley said that a work party of 50 or more concerned businessmen, ratepayers, officials, village councillors and other individuals should be organized to "designate a Saturday morning for beach reclamation." Langley stressed that the ratepayers would not want to do beach clean-up more than once or twice, because the village crew is supposed to look after it, Langley alSo made it clear that he felt the care of the beach was the raw V, responsibility of everyone in the village, Deputy reeve Judy Uniac told Langley she would contact him as .soon as any word was received from the Ministry of Natural Resources regading planting sand grass and trees on the beach. When Langley presented council with the collection of litter, Green said he was a little bit ,upset, preen said he had walked on the beach and he did not think there was a litter problem, "I think our crew keeps Grand Bend super'clean," Green said. He stated that the beach was in better shape than others in the area. don't think our beach is 'a niess." Green added. The parking complaints' were heard again when another delegation appeared before council. Ken Rohrer told council that he is unable ' to find a parking place in front of his cottage and said he would like to put driveways, onto his property. Clerk Louise Clipperton said that an inspector had visited the Rohrer property and said that they could not put in the four driveways they wanted because they would be contrary to, zoning by-laws. Sharen advised the Rohrers to apply to the committee of adjustment for a minor. variance In another difficulty with zoning, representatives of Grand Cove Estates came before council. 'Andrew Orr A special day set aside to ha/lour Eric McIlroy has been postponed until next year. Committee chairmen Mae Morenz and John Aselstyrie said that there is too much to do to have the day ready for August 23 as previously planned. McIlroy, who passed away last year, was 'the owner of . Lakeview Casino and was active in horse racing, He was also involved in several area service clubs. A cardboard box con- taining a rusty barbecue grate arid some wire, and two plastic grocery bags holding paper cups, pop cans The Watershed Manage- ment Board of the Ausable Bayfield' Conservation Authority is planning a special visit to Grand Bend next Wednesday. The board is setting up their plans and budget for 1981. an& want to see what erosion problems still exist in the village, On the agenda for the visit is a look at docking along the sheet steel walls in the Ausable River. As well, they will be examining erosion and bleiten beer bottles were bought before Grand. Send. council Monday night as. evidence of the 'kind of litter that can be found on the running at large, the owner is fined $25. Mrs. Aitken is given $5 and the village receives $20, Mrs. Aitken has the pound north beach, Harold Langley, a summer resident of Centre Street brought the litter to the Council meeting, He said that at her home near Thedford. She is the dog catcher for several other municipalities as well.. Harold Green said he would support the raise because it was estimated that Mrs Aitken was only in the village about four hours a week .anyway. He said that the total.amountfor the jear would not make too much difference, because she is seldom required in the winter. Councillor Keith Crawford was the only one who voted against the raise. Crawford said that he was not against giving her a raise, but that lie thought a dollar an hour was too much, When the resignation from Mrs. Aitken was read, earlier in the meeting, Crawford said that she was the best dog catcher. the village had had in years. I feel cheated. Somewhere along the line, I missed out on dancing at Lakeview Casino. Oh, sure, I was up at the second storey dance floor a couple of times. That was back in the early 70's. One occasion was a concert with a band called "Seadog". We 'just sat on the floor and listened - the louder the music the better. Then another time' we went to a dance at the casino and "The Dublin Corporation" played. But those don't count. Both times I just wore blue jeans (as did everyone else) and the place was filled with teeny-boppers. And now the casino has fallen into disrepair. Health, building and safety in- spectors are pointing out how difficult it would be to revive the once famous dance hall, I've been cheated on two previous occasions, too. When I was a kid spending my summers at Ipperwash, I longed for the day when I'd be able to go to a dance at Ipperwash Casino, Our parents thought we were too young to go upstairs to the dance hall, so my girlfriends and I just stayed down below in the pinball arcade, and listened while the older kids danced to bands like"Major Hoople's Boarding House", Then one night in 1968, after was itt bed, the casino burned to the ground, When I got to university, we heard a lot of talk about reviving the Stork Club in Port Stanley. Since I had often listened to my parents And we think the economy is in bad shape today. A collection of old bank notes currently on display ,at the Toronto-Dominion Bank in Grand Bend tells a story of many economic problems in years past. Fraud and forgery plagued those early days in Upper and Lower Canada if the history of the bank notes is any indication.. For example, The Agricultural Bank of Toronto' fell apart in 1837, due to the talk about all the dances they went to down at Port, I thought it would be nice to go there. But before I ever saw the turning ball of mirrors in the centre of the ceiling, the Stork Club burned down. I just realized how much I missed by never attending a big time dance at Lakeview Casino, when I went over some old photographs with the committee setting up a day to honour Eric Mcllroy. Those must have been the days. Old pictures of the casino dance hall show A hard wood floor so shiny that the camera's flash bulb is reflected in it. The ceiling is covered with a fancy lattice work, and an elaborate stage is set up. In another shot; we see the huge crowds jam-packed onto the beautiful dance floor. The women are wearing lovely long satin gowns. They wear their hair pulled back in soft rolls and graced with fresh flowers. with draping sweetheart necklines. The men are all in the suits and ties. A far cry from the blue jeans we wore about 30 years later. The pictures show huge bands - big brass sections and lots of percussion. One old photograph dating back to the 20's shows an all-black band called "The Cotton Pickers". One sad comment on the those days is that while blacks could perform on the stage, they probably weren't welcome on the' dance floor. I am also told that at one time the casino bore a sign saying "Gentiles Only". Those old days and Lou Rice showed c444,i1 a map of their plans for the mobile home' park, and asked that the portion within the village be zoned as mobile home park for future development,. Orr told council that he would prepare a concept plan for them before new zoning laws are establiShed. The existing development at Grand Cove Estates is in Stephen township, Secretary manager of, the Chamber of Commerce Bob Simpson also' came to the meeting with '.a request from his group. He told council that the Chamber was in the process of buying a public address system to sit on top of a car, which could go up and down the street to announce public events. Siinpson said that they would announce such events as the Bingo at the Legion, or that skydivers were about to land on the beach. He said that the Chamber would loan the PA system to other groups such as the museum or the playhouse to announce events. Simpson stressed that the system would not be used for commercials. He said that they would only announce for non-profit organizations and to promote the village. Council told Simpson that the speaker could be used only between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. and that an- nouncements could be made only once every two hours. dvocate A ,arth lonblonitetelVI depression of '37-38. But the write-up with the display of the old bills continues, "The fact that the partners left the country is significant." Then there was the bank of Prince Edward Island. The general manager absConded and losses of $400,000' were reported when the bank was liquidated in 1881. The commercial bank of Newfoundland failed in 1894. The • directors were prosecuted' and the government of Newfoun- MOWN weren't so good. There are plenty of pic- tures of big bands and bandleaders whose names, I'm sorry to confess, are just names to me. Mart Kenney must have been popular, as was Len Hopkins.. There are also memories of Guy Lombardo and Lionel Thornton. Later years saw stars such as Joan Fairfax and Juliette. Some of the old photographs will also provide a laugh. One shot shows a sign on the dance floor that reads "No Eccentric Dancing," I am told that one time they charged five cents per couple to get on the dance floor. They liked to crowd as many people on the floor as possible to raise lots of money.So they had to outlaw "eccentric" dancing - which I guess, was "jitterbugging" because it took up too much room, when the couples swung each other around. I wonder what they'd say about disco or punk? * * There shouldn't be any kids hanging around the cottage and whining about nothing to do in Grand Bend, In the past two weeks, I've visited a children's theatre workshop at the playhouse, swimming lessons for all levels, summer school clasSes at the public school, crafts and dancing at the library (on Thursday mornings), and games and contests at the playground behind the police station. down they had loaned the city of 'Toronto 10,000 pounds to build wooden sidewalks.. Some of the bills in the display feature attractive pictures. The Niagara Suspension Bridge Bank in Queenston, Upper Canada, has a picture of what else, -- the Niagara Suspension bridge on the bank notes. This bank was only in operation from 1835 to 1840. The oldeSt bill in the collection is from the Quebec Bank which dates back to 1818. They printed notes in both pounds and dollars. They even had a note printed for a half dollar. Some banks, however, did manage to survive. The Bank of Toronto amalgamated with the Dominion Bank and, of course, they still exist today.' It was not until 1934 that the Bank of Canada was created and given sole responsibility for the issue of paper currency in Canada. Mrs, Morenz approached Grand Bend council Monday night to discuss building the cairn to honour MeIlroy. Two sites for the cairn are being considered - one at the turn around at the end of Main Street, the other at Centennial Park near the stoplights. Mrs. Morenz said they were considering building . the cairn on the existing fountain, Council members told her they didn't want the view of the fountain 'ob- structed. Council agreed in principle with the building of the cairn, and asked her to report back to them with a sketch of the plans. Mrs. Moretti said that her committee would like to 'go ahead with the construction of the cairn this summer, and continue making plans for a special day, which she hopes will be next June. er brou tin 'Aland paid 20 cents on the dollar in an attempt to cover the losses. The • Gore Bank of Hamilton never really existed. The bank note in the display is not dated or signed, and the write-up refers to the non-existent bank as a "note-pushing" operation. The directors of , the Consolidated Bank of Canada were prosecuted when it folded in 1879. In 1837, the Commercial Bank of Fort Erie circulated notes in United States, which it had no intention of redeeming. And the list goes on. You may have thought that all $3 bills were phoney, too. Well, it seems that despite all the problems in those days, there were some genuine $3 bills. In the display is a $3 bill from the Farmers Joint Stock Banking Company. Unfortunately this bank folded in the depression of 1848-49. But prior to closing Dogcatcher Donna Aitken is back on the job 'in Grand Bend after receiving a raise of $1 an hour. Mrs. Aitken had sent council her resigna- tion after being refused a raise at the last council Reeve meeting. The request for the raise was lost in a tie vote at that , time. Councillor Bill Baird, vvhisp er s was absent from that meeting. Baird supported the raise at Monday night's meeting. Mrs. Aitken will be receiv- ing $7 an hour rather than $6. Out of that salary she has to maintain and supply a pound, and a vehicle for carrying the dogs. As well, she pays a helper to ride with her. The village pays her 20 cents a mile to cover travelling expenses and she did not receive any increase in the mileage payments. Each time a dog is caught Grand Bend reeve Robert Sharen could barely make himself heard at. Monday night's council meeting. It wasn't because the coun- cillors were creating a din. 'The reeve appeared to, be suffering from a severe case of laryngitis, and could seldom speak above a whisper, The reeve left the meeting early, going home to nurse his sore throat. Deputy reeve Judy Uniac took the chair in his absence. Authority to visit, will look °at erosion Mary's namisinces BY MARY ALDERSON On being cheated In 1935, the first paper notes of the Bank of Canada were issued, with each denomination bilingual for the first time. During the next 15 years the chartered banks were requested to decrease their notes by percentages. By 1950, in accordance with the program, chartered banks paid to the Bank of Canada sufficient funds to redeem the amount of their notes still in the hands of the public -- over $13 million. The last note of the Bank of Toronto •was issued in 1937 and the Dominion Bank issued its final note in 1938. Today few people see anything but Bank of Canada notes except in collections or exhibits, • The bank also has a set of antique scales which Were used to weigh gold deposits on display. Manager Jud Bumstead said that the display of old notes and the scales will be at the bank until August 22. ANTIQUE GOLD WEIGH SCALE — Not too many customers come in to the bank today and want to weigh their gold deposits. This antique gold scale is on display at the Toronto Dominion Bank. Manager Jud Bumstead shows teller Kerni Hill how it works, just in case she Staff photo has to use it. Mcifroy Day postponed