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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1963-01-24, Page 14Page 14 — Wingham Advance -Times, Thursday, Jan. 24, 1UU13 WROXETER COUPLE WITNESSES DAMAGE BY FROST TO FLORIDA FRUIT GROVES .f Close-up of a citrus tree coated by sprinkler. This owner spent $150,000 on his sprinkler equipment —A costly sheet of ice! WROXETER—Mrs. Walter Davisson, who, with her hus- band, is at Ilaynes City, Flori- da, sends information and the accompanying pictures of the tragic results of the freeze in Florida last December. Mrs. Davisson says that with no leaves on the trees, grubs are dying, and in turn some species of birds are suffering. You seldom hear birds singing in the morning now, perhaps because many have died or mirgrated to an unfrozen area. Unemployed fruit pickers and negroes are seen tramping the highways, which is a pathe- tic sight. There is no parking problem uptown, as business has fallen off and houses and apartments are for rent by the dozen. Mrs. Davisson reports that the coldest recorded where they are was 17 degrees. The houses are not constructed for that kind of weather, and peo- ple with oil and electric heat- ing were uncomfortable. Mr. and Mrs. Davisson were warm- er than their neighbors, as they had a wood stove. Mrs. Davisson sends several quotes from newspaper items that give some indication of how bad the freeze was. "In Polk County where a sizable portion of Florida's citrus normally grows, field reports indicate that not a single grove escaped without some frozen fruit on the nights of December 12th and 13th, ranking this as one of the severest freezes in the industry's history". (Lakeland Ledger) One of the bitterest ironies in the recent invasion in what the experts term 'the worst freeze of the past half - century' in the 'Sunshine State', is the fact that the following stories made the same front page (Orlando Sentinel) Dec- ember 12, headlines: (1) — The U.S. Agriculture Dept., in Washington yesterday esti- mated the Florida 1962-63 orange crop at 120.5 million • Banking young trees. Women and children had to help. Note: dressed woman in 'The Sunshine State'," (on right). • "Best- ;,�r�'- t ,� -:- -i- - '.-�:: : r�i-��• -:-o' r i•'r 'r-?- I-'ri-t-r°r'r'ri- :::: ServiceStation Lease Tor Excellent Opportunity to be in Business for Yourself —Limited Capital Investment —Training available if required —Immediate Possession FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CALL Mr. R. ROWE, Stratford, 211-5392 or B -A OIL, WINGHAM r ' :L 's. Institute Met On Thursday Citizenship and education was the theme for the regular meeting of the Wingham Wo- men's Institute held on January 17th. Program conveners were Miss Irene Paton and Mrs. Leslie Fortune. Miss Paton gave a paper on the 'Indians" and their customs. Mrs. L. Fortune gave the motto" Under- standing nderstanding is the pathway to tolerance". Mrs. McLaughlin read two poems. Miss Betty Ann Lapp and Miss Mary Joan Lapp sang two duets accompanied by Miss Hilda Tiffin at the piano. Hostesses were Miss 1. Murray, Mrs. G. Elastic, Mrs. J. Finni- gan and Mrs. H. Aitchison. boxes — an increase of 1,8 million boxes over the October estimate, (Flare headline: USDA Sees 120.5 Million Boxes — Orange Estimate Hiked); and (2) -- Florida's coldest weather of the winter is due tonight and tomorrow morning. Yesterday morning's freeze ruined millions of dol- lars' worth of the state's veget- able crop. Citrus came through with little significant damage. It could be much worse tonight. Temperatures plunged to the low twenties in Central Florida. (Flare headline: Freeze Deci- mates Vegetable Crops — Cit- rus Suffers Little). The Florida 'hard freeze' was proving a bonanza to Texas farmers in the Rio Grande Valley. They swarmed into their fields yesterday to harvest a crop that will now bring inflated prices. Cabbage was in particularly heavy de- mand. Buyers were willing to pay $60 and $70 in the field for cabbage that was selling for $15 and $20 a ton a few days ago....(News Item). Official surveys indicated the overall damage to be much heavier than in the bad winter 1957-58, when 30,000,000 boxes of fruit froze on the trees, (Sentinel News). W.K. Price Jr., Orlando citrus grower spent $150, 000 for installation of the new- fangled overhead sprinkler sys- tem for prevention of cold damage to citrus, on a 300 - acre young grove south of Lees- burg. He figures that he lost more than 40 percent of the trees, but hasn't lost faith in the system. He figures that all the immature trees would have been killed without the protection, and is convinced that if the sprinkler heads had not frozen, from 80 to 90 per- cent of the young trees would have weathered the freeze. An AP story datelined from McAllen, Texas, quotes Fred Doutel, an executive of the Texas Citrus and Vegetable Growers & Shippers Ass'n., thus: "We haven't heard for sure how much damage has been done by the subnormal weather in Florida, but shippers here are reluctant to quote prices until they know. Calls have been coming in from all over the nation trying to order. Florida vegetable growers were driving Cadillacs last season because of the lack of Texas produce. I sure hope Texas growers will be driving Cadil- lacs in 1963." Says the Tampa Tribune: "Cattlemen the state over, must dig down into their wal- lets and buy feed, or face the prospect of losing many calves, and cows, too. Pastures are burned — ruined for grazing this winter...(Milton Plumb, Farm Editor). From a state-wide picture, titled "In The Wake Of The Freeze": "Those who grow, process and pack citrus and vegetables in our 'Sunshine State' have been hit hard. But especially pathetic is the plight of many thousands of persons in the common labor category... Suddenly there is no vegetable crop, and bill- ions of oranges, grapefruit, limes and tangerines are ground- ed by the frost king — in what has been called 'a veritable yellow carpet of disaster'. Overnight, the life-giving jobs have vanished, upon which thousands of migrant workers relied, to buy the common necessities.... Florida's plant life has been frozen, but not Florida's spirit!" The F.C.C. (Florida Citrus Commission) directed Robert Stuart (Comptroller) to assume that approximately one-half of the remaining orange crop was wiped out by the freeze. That would leave only 54.6 million boxes to harvest, con- trasted to an estimated 112 million boxes a few days ago. The Commission operates on a per -box tax of marketed citrus — getting 10 cents per box of oranges; 6 cents for grapefruit, and a nickel per box of tanger- Most groves looked like this in the morning. ines. The Commission's revenues will be $5 million to $6 million less than they would have been without a freeze... Seventy-five percent gets dedi- cated to advertising. Budget revision is a must. 35th Anniversary GORRIE—Mr. and Mrs. Oli- ver Stewart were honoured by their family on their 35th wed- ding anniversary, with a sur- prise party. They were pre- sented with a platform rocker. Those attending were Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Hudson and fam- ily, Hanover; Mr. and Mrs. John Stewart and family, Osha- wa; Mr. and Mrs. Robt. May - burry and Cheryl of Mitchell; Mr. and Mrs. Roy Stewart and Michael, Durham; Mr. and Mrs. Carl Stewart, Mr. Ray and Mr. Clifford Stewart all of Listowel; Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Stewart, Fordwich. Goderich Township Reeve Is Elected Huron Warden GODERICH—Owing to the retirement or the defeat in township elections of some seven members of last year's county council, a general over- hauling verhauling of committees was early on the agenda of the new body. Member of all will be Reeve Walter J. Forbes of God- erich Township, elected war- den in a contest with Reeve Cliff Dunbar of Grey. Includ- ing the two extra votes of God- erich town members, the re- sult was 27 to 10. Collar, symbolic key and warden's gavel were presented to the warden -elect by his im- mediate predecessor, George McCutcheon of Brussels. Mr. Forbes, borninGoderich, attended school in Hullett and . Goderich Townships, later was employed in industrial plants in Detroit and Windsor, and in 1933 took up farming in the 16th concession of Goderich Twp. He was with Huron Co- operative Medical Services for 10 years, six as member of Goderich Twp. area school board. He has been eight years member of township council, including four as reeve. For the past three years he has been on the county home committee. At the opening of council, Clerk -treasurer John Berry wel- comed the members and visi- tors, and administered the oath of office to the members. The warden was sworn by Magistrate Glenn Hays, who congratulated him upon the honor attained and spoke brief- ly of the responsibilities involv- ed in civic service. Rev. G. Lockhart Royal, Live pedestrians and success- ful men always think fast on their feet. minister of Knox church, con- ducted a brief devotional per- iod. "Authority and power come from God", he said. "They are not so much a right as a responsibility, to be exer- cised continually as in the sight of God and God alone. When this authority is exercised as unto God, it cannot help but benefit men. There has been running in my mind for some days, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself', and I can- not think where it would be more appropriate then in the government of our land." Reeve Harvey Culbert of West Wawanosh defeated Reeve George Frayne of Usborne, 25 to 12, for a five-year place on the roads committee. Reeve Frayne was elected for one year over Reeve Stewart Procter of Morris. Other members of the 1963 committee are Reeve Dan Beuerman of McKillop (two years); deputy reeve Joseph Kerr, Wingham (three years), and deputy reeve Grant Stirling, Goderich Township (four years). On the 1962 HuronvieW com- mittee were Mr. Forbes and Alvin Rau, defeated in Stanley, The new committee comprises Cliff Dunbar (1), James Hayter of Stephen (2), Norman Jones, reeve of Hensall (2), deputy reeve J. A. Sutter, Clinton (3) and Reeve Elgin Thompson of Tuckersmith (3). The board of health last year included Scott Fairser- vice of Blyth and Karl Haberer of Hay, who retired. It now comprises deputy reeve Robert Gibson, Howick (3), deputy reeve D. Geiger of Hay (1), Warden Forbes (1), reeve Glenn Fisher, Exeter (2) and J. Mor- rissey as provincial representa- tive. Miss M.J. Simpson Buried Friday WHITECHURCH—Fred Mc- Gee and Mrs. John McGee were called to London last week because of the sudden passing of her niece, Miss Mar- garet Jean Simpson, daughter of the late Dugald Simpson and Jennie McGee. Death occurred at her home, 253 High Park Ave., Toronto, on Tuesday, following a heart seizure. The funeral was held on Friday from the A. Millard George funeral home, London., . with interment in the Carlisle Cemetery, near Ailsa Craig. Mr, and Mrs. Gilbert Bee- croft and Mrs. Gordon Mc- Burney attended the funeral, and Mrs. McGee and Mr. John Simpson of Toronto, spent a few days in London with her nieces, Mrs. Isabel Forsyth and Mrs. Olive Stubbington. Miss Simpson was a member of First Sr. Andrew's United Church, London, and High Park United Church, Toronto. Shouldn't.we be saving you tax dollars ? Wide-awake people, right now, are making substantial savings on their income tax. They do it by putting money into a registered retirement plan and deducting the con- tributions from taxable income. They can look forward to carefree retirement, aided by income tax deductible dol- lars. INVESTORS has such a tax -saving Plan. Shouldn't we be telling you about it? Just write or call: THOMAS JARDIN �/ _, a d U o a lt District Manager ii r Dial 357-3661 - Box 394 WINGHAM, ONT. Head 01 ke, WInntpep . Office' to Principal Investors OP CANADA, e l M11 LD r to, •MAIL THIS COUPON TODAY, THOMAS JARDIN Isox 394, %VINGIIAM, ONTARIO Name Address City Prov. 1 1 19