Village Squire, 1976-11, Page 40PEOPLE
You might say that Jack Thompson
started at the bottom in business and never
really worked his way up.
Last month the 70 -year-old Blyth native
retired from the business he'd run on
Seaforth's main street since 1944. He
learned the shoe repair business from his
father in Blyth, then later moved to
Seaforth. In the earlier years he used to
repair shoes and even make them for
people with hard -to -fit feet or the
handicapped but in recent years he's pretty
much just sold work boots and men's
shoes. He hasn't made a pair of boots since
the early forties and even repair that many
shoes since they just don't make shoes the
way they used to. The cheap materials
used just don't repair well.
"If you seek an elected office, you must
be prepared to listen to complaints," says
Don Symons, retiring mayor of the town of
Clinton. Obviously listening to complaints
can't bother Don too much because he is
retiring after 12 consecutive years in the
mayor's chair, one of the longest terms in
any municipality in recent years.
But the bright spots far outnumber the
bad• ones, he says, even though he was
sitting in the mayor's chair through such
tough times in the town as the closing of
the Canadian Forces Base with a loss of
thopsands of jobs and the threatened
closure of the Clinton Hospital. During his
long term as if running the town and
carrying on his regular job with Ontario
Hydro wasn't enough, he also served a
term as president of the Town and Village
section of the Ontario Municipal Associa-
tion in 1972.
It could be a blow to the ego of a Jesse:
star, but people in London found they
couldn't sell tickets at a reduced rate for a
concert by singer Catharine McKinnon in
London so they had to cancel the concert
planned for this month at Centennial Hall.
The concert had been planned to give
special entertainment for senior citizens
and special reduced ticket prices were
offered to that age group. But after two
weeks of promotion only 300 seats in the
1800 seat hall were sold and the show in
which Miss McKinnon was to be backed by
the London Symphony was cancelled. C'est
La Vie.
Like lying on the sand at Grand Bend,
basking in the hot summer sun? Sounds
heavenly in November doesn't it? Well
part of that famous Bend beach 2000 feet
long and 600 feet deep may be private
property and just might have beach
houses, not bathing beauties on it in the
years to come. A London businessman, F.
Don Ross says he has reached agreement
with Harold Gibbs of Parkhill to buy the
land on the beach and wants the land
rezoned to let him build houses on the area
south of the Grand Bend main street to the
pier.
The beach has always been felt to be
public property by most people but Mr.
Gibbs claims his family acquired the beach
along with other property in Grand Bend
from the Canada Company around the turn
of the century. The rest of the land has
already been subdivided and developed.
Grand Bend Reeve Robert Sharen has
turned the whole matter over to the
Provincial government and no doubt will
breathe easier if the government finds the
claim is not valid. Could you imagine
Grand Bend without the beach?
SALES HELP
hWFor modern publish -
1.1 ing business. Full or
part-time.
Interesting position
selling retail advert-
ising. Must have own
transportation.
Apply to:
The Blyth Standard
Box 10, Blyth.
523-9646
For over forty years
Welcome Wagon hostesses
have been making calls
on newcomers - whether they
be within our own nation or
in a foreign country.
If you are a newcomer,
know of one, or are a businessman
desiring representation
in the newcomer's home, call
your local representative listed below
for WELCOME WAGON LIMITED.
17e -r
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Call your Welcome
Wagon Hostess now.
WINGHAM 357-3275
EXETER 335-2870
MITCHELL 348-8925
GODERICH 524-6654
STRATFORD 271-5856
IS, Village Squire/November 1976