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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-04-07, Page 5Pictorial memoir brings back many memories for this LucknoNviOAdy imissiamwomommismommiamme heading to the home of her TI0daughter (my mother). Mrs. Stuart THE EDITOR Collyer now lives in that home. Grandma's calls wakened mother and she recognized the voice. A Mr. 'Matheson, who operated the electrical plant, had just reached his home, where Wagners live today, when he heard the cry "fire." He alerted . the operator of the 'water works', the brick building on the west bank of the river south of Hwy. 86. Steamwas kept up all the time in order to blow the 'fire whistle'. The cause of the fire was never determined, but Mr. Matheson told that when he passed a dress making shop he had seen a faint light. One of the girls who worked there was heard to say, "I wonder what I did with that charcoal iron?" The block was rebuilt in 1906 and named the Beaver Block. Grandma started a business again in the store owned by Thos. Treleaven - Luck- now's local photographer. ' Yours sincerely, Helen Thompson. To the editor: The March 31 edition of the Sentinel had many things of interest. Of most interest to me was the picture of the remains of the Campbell block, destroyed by fire in October 1905. This was of par- ticular interest as my Grandmother Campbell and her daughter Loran, age 13, just escaped with their lives. There are many who will remem- ber Mrs. N.L. Campbell, who operated a restaurant business, where Mrs. Jessie Johnston now lives, from shortly after the fire until August of 1933, when at age 77 she retired. She was renowned for her many sundaes, made for many years from her own ice-cream made with real cream supplied by the late Phillip MacMillan, grandfather of Bruce Willits. The. "freezer" was turned by her little grandson, the late Campbell Thompson. But that is a story in itself! She was assisted • in later years by her daughter Lorna; who gave up as teller in the Bank of Montreal to do so. Lorna had joined the staff of the Molson's Bank about 1920. She was the first female to do so. Grandpa Campbell had been a private banker in partnership with a Mr. Cameron. In the mid 80s, due to conditions I won't explain, the business failed. • In. 1888 along with their two daughters, Louise and Isabelle (my mother) then age six, they left to homestead near Crystal City m southern Manitoba, Grandma used to tell how they freighted her piano out and used it during winter blizzards to keep the door of their home shut. They spent four years out there; years filled with disaster after disaster. A crop failure each year, their team of horses poisoned, to name but a few. In December of 1892 they returned to Lucknow and shortly after opened a restaurant probably about where Beckers is today. They dived upstairs. On January 1, 1897, Grandpa Campbell died. It was on a cold October night in 1905 that Grandma awakened, about midnight, smelling smoke. Realizing that there was a fire somewhere, she wakened Lorna, put a woolen skirt hanging on the stair• bannister over Lorna's head and holding a lighted lamp, started down the stairs. Before they reached the door, the smoke was so thick she couldn't see. Barefooted and in their night clothes they started up the street with Grandma calling "fire." She probably was still holding the lamp, as the electricity generated inthe building where Gibson's seed cleaning plant is now, was shut down at mie!night. They were Queen's Bush Ministry is close as your telephone To the editor: Winter is "thinking time" in the rural community, We're thinking about sharpening our pencils to tackle those income tax forms, thinking about the seed varieties for spring planting, thinking about changes and challen- ges in our lives and on our, farms. Sometimes thinking turns to wor- rying and grinds us down worse than a stuck vehicle in heavy snow. Worrying can be like spinning your wheels - the more you spin, the deeper you go. One thing is for sure this winter - just as common as stuck vehicles so are farmers wor- rying about where the money will come from for spring planting, how long will their spouse's off -farm job last and can they make it one more -season? We can't always get that vehicle out without help - we can't always solve our problems without help, either. Helping people solve problems and putting them into perspective is something we practice every day. If we can be of help to you just give us a call at (519) 392-6090. We are the Queen's Bush Rural Ministries - helping you to survive the rural crisis. Judith Trimble, QBRM Sarah Mann and Steve Mann presented the Stewart Mann Memorial trophy for Leading scorer to Clint Murray during the winter sports banquet on Friday evening. (Pat Livingston photo) HAVE AN OPINION? Express it by sending a letter to the editor of the Lucknow Sentinel. It ,must be signed and accompanied by a telephone number, should we need to clarify any information. The Sentinel also reserves the right to edit letters. . Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, April 7, 1993 — Page 5 Implemented an `affordable budget' says Serre Those variations range from a school tax drop of $271 to an increase of as much as $198 for separate ratepayers. Instruction costs, which include salaries and benefits, account for 61.5 per cent of the total budget, an increase of 2.7 per cern from last year. "Everything else is down 2.3 per cent," Serre said. "A key fact is that the .4 per cent increase in expen- diture per pupil goes to instruction. That's the way it should be." Serre pointed to a -3.9 per cent increase in assessment growth and decreased costs for capital projects and transportation as factors that allowed the board to keep the mil rate unchanged in spite of decreased provincial grants and enrolment growth. Noting that tax arrears in Hanover rose from $67,000 in 1991 to $330,000 in 1992, Serre said trustees had incentive to limit the budget. . "The board was quite aware there were a lot of people out there hur- •turn to page 11 •from page 1 to meet (the province's and the board's) goals and also maintains the established foundation for the 1994 operation budget." In his comments to trustees, Business superintendent Paul Serre said the Ministry of Education ordered boards to "reduce expen- ditures." "It's a very key statement," Serre said. "We said we will implement 'affordable budgets'." The province's goals also include finding more efficient ways to provide services. For its part, the board aimed to maintain programs and staff, set a budget that is within its financial resources, and develop a flexible multi-year plan to meet the "changing conditions" of provincial and ministry plans. While the net mill rate is unchanged from last year, Serre warned there will be significant variations from one municipality and even one household to another, thanks to equalized assessment and Bruce County's switch to Market Value Assessment. ATTENTION LOT OWNERS The New Haven ,fyyy - .• r irri/ r�f�r'/,'�Y/yiY/.. rry!!ir lrF.,/%"�i�r�'? �ysr_ //... %r ✓ .,,i �� /.,. „i i!10a4Ai%//l//. The Vista Spring� Cash Back Of fe-r Ends April 3 The Champlain ROYAL HOMES Your Lot. Your Dream. Custom Built.® • Free site inspections at your lot • Custom design --your plan or ours • Full basement with full height insulation • Forced air heating • Maintenance free eavestroughs • 10 year warranty • Fresh air systems THE WINGHAM MODEL HOME AND DESIGN CENTRE EAST ON HWY. 86 1-800-265-3040 OR (519) 357-2444