Village Squire, 1975-02, Page 18heard all sorts of things about people being
against the expenditure, but no one would
ever come forward to voice their opposition,
save one lone member of council. When a
ballot was inserted in the local • paper for
people to fill whether they supported or were
against renovation of the hall, 33 were
returned in favour and only one against.
Several of those in favour promised donations
if the work was undertaken. No opposing
party ever showed up at the council meetings
though supporters did. Yet still the rumour of
a large part of the population being against
the project flew leaving the supporters in the
frustrating position of not knowing who they
were fighting.
One councillor was vocal in his opposition
to renovating the building. He would have
preferred the building be torn down and a
Wanted a dance hall
• new one constructed that would have
provided a better dance hall than the cramped
downstairs of the hall. He reasoned the only
use for the building was for dances. Not one
of the councillors would come out in support
of renovating the hall. Most sat quietly,
mulling over the cost estimates and keeping
their thoughts to themselves. Finally in
spring an engineer was appointed to draw up
plans for the new roof. 'ie estimated the cost
of the project at under $30,000 which again
set council to consider whether to go ahead or
not. Council decided at least to call tenders.
But when the tenders were opened in June,
the lowest legal tender was for nearly
550,000. The council balked at the cost.
Despite badgering from the local paper,
council held fast to its decision. Luckily, for
both sides, the publicity surrounding the
decision attracted the attention of two other
companies, both of whom felt they could do
the job much more inexpensively. One
Two new plans
wanted to strengthen the old roof. The other
would remove the roof as had been planned
and replac..,it with a new roof.
The decision on whether or not to go ahead
with the project was not made until
September and then with much discussion.
But in the end, all members of the council
agreed to go ahead. And so work began in
October and was completed except for a few
details by Christmas. In January the building
passed both the wiring and fire inspection.
All signs seem to be good, although
supporters of the project are still holding their
breath a little waiting for some new tragedy to
befell them. When the Little Theatre group
steps on stage the sigh of relief may be so
hard and long that people will miss the first
few lines of dialogue.
Oh the building is still no threat to the
Festival Theatre. Thousands could still be
spent in the inside of the building. The
lighting is much the same as it was in the
1920's. The old roll curtain is gone but its
expensive replacement has not been bought.
Dressing rooms are cramped and lack
running water. The balcony still can't be used
because it requires a separate fire escape
which requires more money which just can't
be justified at present.
C FEBRUARY 14th
• WATCHES
• WALLETS
• RAI)NOR CHINA FLORAL
• ROYAL DOULTON 17GURIN1:
• DIAMOND RINGS
• COSTUME JEWELLERY
w iLxAP-xar.�r
SCHMID'S
JEWELLER1
AND CHINA
LUCKNOW OWNEkS — W. JOS. and DEAN E. AGNEW
16, VILLAGE SQUIRE/FEBRUARY 1975
The Little Theatre is hoping to be able to
raise enough money to right many of the
inadequacies of the building over the next few
years. Some supporters hope someday to see
a summer theatre installed in the building
and others would like to see the building as
sort of a central cutural centre to serve Huron
county with the kind of quality professional
theatre that has had no place to play in the
past. The first of hopefully many such
evenings will be held at the Hall on February
27 when Dave Broadfoot brings his popular
hit to the stage;
It's hard to tell just what's in the future,
but considering what's been in the past,
anything's got to be an improvement.
If ;your heart
cant do the job
who fills in
for it?
Paar/C/Pacrivn
Fitness. In)'our hear c,u know it's right.
YaIeUtI
WEEK SPECIALS
FEB. 12 TO 19
• Chesterfields
• Sleeper lounges
• Recliners
• Swivel and Rockers
Other store wide specials
VISIT OUR DISPLAY ON MAIN ST.
G.A. Whitney
FURNITURE
SEAFORTH ONT. 527-1390