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Village Squire, 1977-07, Page 16chopping mill and cider press where Campbell's Transport business is now. This was the first cider press in the area. Two blacksmith shops owned by Robert Douglas and William Robertson were located side by side across from where Harvey Snell's grocery store is now. Above these two shops was Andy McNally's Carriage Shop. Mr. Douglas later sold his business to Thomas Kelly and Mr. Robertson sold his to Billie Phillips. Hugh McQuarrie's blacksmith shbp was located where the community hall is now. Charles Hamilton had a Massey -Harris implement shop. Dr. John Perdue was a veterinarian who owned a livery stable on the corner where George Radford's repair shop is now located. Mr. Robertson built a bakeshop just to the north of the present Tasker Funeral Home and catered to the railway men. A few years later he sold his business and went back to blacksmithing. Mr. McNally built a machine for making cement blocks the first such machine in this part of the country. Mr. A.H. Wilford worked with him. South of the livery stable was Miss Main's dress shop where local girls learned the trade and next was Herb McElroy's Cooper Shop, making butter tubs and apple barrels. Blyth was well known for the many apple barrels that it turned out in those days. The old flaxmill was at the south end of Blyth and was operated during the First World War by Mr. McMurchie, then Glousher and Collinson took it over and in the Second World War period, T.A.G. Gordon ran it. Around 1900, Thomas Bradnock and William Jenkins made cement tile on Bradnock's farm which was sold and used for ditches. In 1920 the Blyth Memorial Hall was built to honor veterans of the First World War and many happy hours have been spent there by the people of Blyth. In the old days, minstrel shows, vaudeville shows and touring plays were presented at the Hall. Today the Hall is once again being put into good use as the Blyth Summer Festival presents many entertaining plays. Today Blyth still has some of its industries that were started many years ago. One of these is Bainton's Old Mill which was started in 1894 when Allan Bert Bainton, his brother Frank Bainton and their sister Jayne Bainton moved from Wingham to Blyth with their mother, Mrs. Charles Bainton. Bert had been working in a tannery in Wingham and Fred had been working at a woollen mill in Teeswater. The two brothers rented an old tannery building on the north side of the Blyth creek and started a wool pulling operation and tannery under the name Bainton Brothers. Skins were tanned and made into mitts, work gloves and leggings and sold through their factory outlet which was destroyed by fire in 1898. Wool was taken off the sheep and sold to various woollen mills in the area. After fire destroyed their factory outlet the Bainton Brothers then purchased property on the south side of the creek and built where the present Old Mill now stands. Today the factory outlet in Blyth sells 100 per cent pure virgin wool blankets, leather gloves and mitts, leather coats and many more wool and leather products. Another long standing industry in Blyth is Howson's flour mill which has been in operation since the late 1800's and early 1900's. Owners of the mill have included C.H. Beese, the Morrow Cereal Company of Toronto, The Hilborn Milling Company, Mr. Hilborn's son Leslie and a partner Sid Leslie and Irvine Wallace who still lives in Blyth. The production of the mill in early days was 100 barrels a day. The production today is 2300 hundredweights per day for the flour mill and a capacity of 80 tons for the feedmill. Today Blyth is a smaller village with a population of about 850 people. It's not as big a centre of industry as it once was but the people that live there are friendly and the industries that are there continue to serve the needs of the people. PG. 14. VILLAGE SQUIRE/JULY 1977. On entering Bainton's authentic Old Mill, there is the atmosphere of tradition combined with the latest fashions in wool and leather products. Everything is genuine, including the old building and the friendliness of the helpful staff. The Old Mill features one of the largest selections of leather garments, mitts, gloves, pure virgin wool blankets and sheepskin rugs in Canada, at prices you can afford. You Must See It To Believe It. BLYTH CENTENNIAL 1877-1977 Come and Celebrate July 30&31,Aug 1. � ainion THE ORIGINAL OLD MILL IN BLYTH Since 1894 Telephone 523-9666 at the Railway tracks SUMMER HOURS: Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.