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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1964-09-17, Page 9• F• Staid Coma- A Suitable Memorial The suggestion which was raised at last week's meeting of town.council, that the new bridge be a memorial to the late John Hanna, is one which will meet with the instant approval of this community and district. Deputy Reeve Joe Kerr stated that he was expecting a letter from the Department of Highways which would embody a request that the new span to be erected in place of the present Mc- Kenzie Bridge be known as "The John Hanna Memorial Bridge." The proposal is particularly fitting, for the new bridge project was just about the last item of business that was on Mr. Hanna's mind the day before his death. He had always considered the old bridge a serious detriment to both the appear- ance of the town and the safety of its residents. For months he had been in contact with the Department of High- ways seeking the best possible financial arrangement for Wingham. Certainly a memorial of some kind to Mr. Hanna must be planned. A life- long resident of the community and the last of a family which contributed tre- mendously to our growth in years past, he spent almost two decades as a member of the Legislature—and no member of that body ever worked harder for his constituents. As the John Hanna Memorial Bridge the new span will have infinitely more meaning for the town and district than a mere structure of concrete and steel. Childrer Need Protection It is high time for some sort of per- manent and properly -organized safety patrol to be set up at the busier inter- sections of the main street. Four times a day public school children must cross Josephine Street. Many of them are wee tots, just starting to school and they have little experience with traffic. They tend to become excited and confused. There is very real danger of a fatal accident. With no stop lights on the main thor- oughfare traffic flows without interrup- tion and drivers in this community are NOT trained to take as many precautions as are drivers in the city. In years past the local police have assumed responsibility for the protection of children crossing the street at the five corners (John, Josephine and Diagonal Road) but in the very nature of their duties it is evident that the officers can- not always be there at the times they are needed. They are frequently called away on other tasks when the children have to cross the street. Two improvements, we believe, should be put into effect: "A by-law and proper street markings for pedestrian cross- walks and the employment of two or three men to guard the crossings when the children are on their way to and from school. We can think of several older, semi -retired men who are often on the main street at the required hours who would be quite able to take on the job. This system is employed in many towns in Ontario and it certainly is the least a community can do for the safety of its school children. A Tremendous Century Many churches in this area have been celebrating their 100th anniversaries in recent years and many more will do so shortly. As one reads of the early years of settlement in this area, and contem- plates the tremendous physical effort which must have been required to clear the land and build even the crude homes of the pioneers, the acceleration of -our own times appears the more remarkable. What a century! From log homes and ox -carts right through to nuclear bombs and space travel in less than 100 years. How we have speeded up our pace! Many of Europe's cathedrals were under con- struction for a longer period of time than it has taken us to get from the water wheel to the electronic computer. Talking with an elderly woman recent- ly we were given pause for thought when she said her life had spanned a most in- teresting era. She was eighteen when she saw her first motor car—and if she lives a few years longer she expects to read of the first man to reach the moon. Recently a leader in the field of edu- cation stated that the human race has accumulated more knowledge in the past ten years than the sum total of all know- ledge acquired up to that time from the beginning of human history—and he said we are still only in the dawn of com- plete understanding. The unanswered question, of course is "Can we take it?" Are these tiny brains of ours capable of absorbing all the new facts and still retaining wisdom and good j udgment? Some Mark Is Needed Reminders of the past are in many minds just now, due to the forthcoming Canadian centennial and the urge to suit- ably mark our nation's 100th birthday. There is one spot in our community which should be marked before human memory loses track of its existence—the site of the first home ever built here. The log house was erected by Edward Farley, the town's first settler, after he had float- ed his possessions down the river from Bodmin on a raft, It is believed that he selected his homestead on March 18th, 1858—one hundred and six years ago. Few people living today know where that first crude home was built, even though it stood for over 60 years. It was located on a knoll just north of No, 86 Highway, at the rear of the former Cecil Walpole property on the western out- skirts of Lower Wingham. Some sort of suitable marker should be erected there. It need not be either elaborate or expensive, but the under- brush should be cleared away and the spot marked as a historic site. Mr. Farley, from all accounts, was a simple man, but his ambition and cour- age must have been big indeed. All alone, at 40 years of age, he tackled a task that would have today's strongest men stopped in their tracks. We who live in the town he started have no room to complain about his choice of location. He laid the first rough foundations for many generations to come and we all have good reason to be thankful for the peaceful community of prosperous homes and businesses which has grown up around his first log house. We should take steps to mark the spot on which it stood. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert 0, Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer Member Audit Bureau of Circulation; Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Associ- ation; Member Canadian Community Newspapers Representatives Authorized by the Post Office Department as Second Class Mail and for payment of postage in cash Subscription Rate: One Year, $4.00; Six Months, $2.25, in advance U.S.A., $5.00 per year; Foreign rate, $5.00 per year Advertising Rates on application WINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL Fourth Form students 1913- 14. Back row: Oneida Irwin, Elizabeth Sanderson, Peter Muir, Edith Clark, Mary Ritchie. Third row: Grace Hol- mes, Will Connell (late Dr. W. Connell), Fred Colvin, George Muir, Gordon Young, Wilfred Anderson, George Cruickshank, Verna McLaughlin. Second row: Arthur Shaw, John Hutton, Nellie McKague, Adam McBurney, Carman Stothers, Elizabeth Ferguson, Will Buchanan. Front: Nellie Nicholls, Gordon Rintoul, Wilson Geddes, Earl Johns, Victor Haines, Belle Howe.—Picture loaned by Miss Verna McLaughlin. REMINISCING September 1914 Sir Adam Beck, accompan- ied by Major Scholfield of the British remount department, spent a few hours in Wingham on Tuesday purchasing horses for the imperial forces. A number of the ladies of the town met in the Council Chamber on Wednesday of last week and formed the Ladies' Patriotic Fund Society and the following officers were elected: President, Mr4. (Dr.) Redmond; vice-preside.n , Mrs. J. W. Hibbert; secretary -treasurer, Miss Lewis. Mr. Thos. Bowers, of this town was very successful with his exhibit of bantam fowl at the Toronto Fair . Mr. A. Runstedtle3' has had store on Josephine street, for- merly used by Mr. D. Bell as a garage, fixed up as a barber shop. Mr. Runsted tier is a prac- tical barber, although for some time past has not worked at the trade. On Tuesday evening, a few minutes before six o'clock the fire alarm was rung and the scene of the fire was reported to be at Mr. 13. Merkley's grist mill at the north end of the town. The firemen were soon on the scene, but fortunately their services were not required. On Saturday evening, while Mrs, Thos. E3aker,..of Belmore, and her son were returning home from Wingham, the horse became unmanageable and ran into a wagon on the side cf the road near the 13 line, upsetting the rig and throwing the occu- pants heavily to the ground. An old and esteemed resi- dent of Wingham passed away on Sunday in the person ofJohn Lougheed, in his 82nd year. SEPTEMBER 1928 Rev. W. R. Hawkins, who has been rector of Trinity Church, Blyth, and the Angli- can church, Belgrave, since 1915, received word last week from Archbishop Williams of London, that he had received the appointment to the church at Forest, and it is expected he will make the change about October 1st. Wednesday morning, about eight o'clock, fire destroyed a hank barn about 50x60, a two- storey driving shed about 30x40, the season's crop of grain and a threshing outfit belonging to E. Palmer. Threshing opera- tions had just started, cleaning up a couple of stacks outside, when George Thompson, notic- ed a small blaze in the straw outside, no doubt caused by the wind blowing the straw against the exhaust pipe of a gasoline engine in the stable used for pumping water. By 1, note ime Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Sept. 17, 1904 SECOND SECTION the time he had taken the car out of the garage the flames were roaring over the roof. In less than half an hour the barn roof and sides had fallen in. Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Donag- hy and children of Grand Val- ley, spent Sunday with Mr. anc Mrs. W. R. Hamilton. Miss Edna Henderson left this week for London Normal School Miss Edna Carr of Victoria Hospital, London, is visiting at her home here. Mr. George T. Robertson last week disposed of his garage business to Peter McLeod and Wilfred Arthur --two local men, September 1939 At the drumhead service of Zone 10 of the Canadian Legion, B,E.S,L., held in Victoria Park, Exeter, Sunday afternoon, Major Kenneth Weaver of Wingham branch, who was zone commander for three years, was presented with an Honorary Officer's Badge with Palm by the present Zone Commander, Comrade R. E. Pooley. The first to he accepted for military duty here passed their medical examination at Lis- towel on Tuesday and are now members of the 100th Battery of that town. They are Hugh Curring, Norman Elliott, Clif- ford Taman, Charles Basker- ville, Jim Thompson, brother of Mrs. R. S. Hetherington of town, and a former Wingham boy, is also a recruit in the 100th battery. Lieut. T. W. Platt enlisted in this battery last week. September 1949 Miss Ruth Burgman and Au- drey Henry, graduates of Wing - ham high School, left for To- ronto this week where they will enter Wellesley Hospital as nurses -in -training. Congratulations to Mrs. Tracy Ludington, Leopold St., who celebrated her ninety-fifth birthday on Tuesday, Septem- ber 13th. Her three daughters, Mrs. J. J. Brown, Mrs. W. R. Aird, Montreal and Mrs. Thom of Toronto, were present for the occasion. Mrs. J. E1. Crawford of town is a granddaughter. Mr. and Mrs. John A. Mc- Ewen of Bruce field, Ontario, wish to announce the engage- ment of their only daughter, tvlargarct Lillian, to Russell G. K, Zurbrigg, only son of Mrs. Zurbrigg, and the late Ezra Zur brigg, Winghatn, Ont. The marriage will take place in Brucefield United Church, on Saturday, October 1st, at 2:30 SUGAR AND SPICE Gone With His Guitar By BILL SMILEY This column will be made up, for the most part, of excerpts from letters from my son. The first one was found, in the breadbox, one morning a couple of weeks ago. I'd sat up until midnight with Hugh, convincing him that for financial and political reasons, his ambition to spend a couple of weeks in Quebec, on his own, was foolish. The letter read "Dear family: this is not a suicide note. By the time you read this, I will be sailing along the highway to- wards the midnight sun (or noonday moon). I'm off to where 'the grass grows greener still.' "Don't think that I've run a- way from home. I'm a little too old for that and anyway the idea's revolting. I may be disil lusioned and be back on m doorstep by dinner hour, but i everything goes as I plan, will spend the next two week in Quebec, learning French an discussing crucial topics with fiery French radicals. I knos you think I'm a romanticist an' will probably wind up in jail o hospital, but believe it or not I'm quite capable of handlin myself away from home. "Now, don't dare send the Mounties after me. I'd be so embarrassed I'd run away fro home for good. Besides I have my supply of heroin with me. Have yourselves a swingaroo a the convention." There was more to the letter, but that was the gist of it. Yo can imagine the ensuing scene. His father was ready to horse whip him, or call in the police and charge him with something or -other. His mother was ready to have a good cry. cut him off withou a cent, or run clown the high way in her bare feet, callin after him. Shortly before 9 o'clock on Monday evening residents near the Brown Bros. factory noticed a red glow in the rear third floor windows and notified Da- vid hickey, a fireman . An alarm was sounded. and the lo- cal firemen were soon on the job. The fire originated in the finishing room and was diffi- cult to extinguish when it got into the flooring. The damage caused by the fire, we under- stand, will only amount to a few hundred dollars, while the damage by water to furniture stored on the second floor is ex- tensive. His kid sister was interested but not impressed. Her com- ment was, "What a dope!" Then society intruded, as al- ways. What will the neighbors think if he comes home in a police car? What will the nei- ghors think, and ask, if he does- n't come home at all? Why did he do this to us?Has he no grati- tude for all we've done for him? And so on. Kim merely repea- ted, "What a dope!" People are tough. We cooled off, we realized there wasn't a sensible thing we could do about it, and we went to the conven- tion. But not before we'd done sane checking, and found he'd cleaned out his bank account, taken his guitar, and. to his mother's extreme mortification, absconded with only two clean shirts. Back from the convention. we received two letters. Excerpt: "Two really friendly ladies drove me from Kingston to Ot- tawa and bought me a sandwich and milk -shake. I insisted on paying, of course, but they told me just to do the same for somebody else some time." Excerpt: "I am going to Grand'Mere, Quebec, to spend a couple of weeks with a French family. I met the boy at the sta- tion in Ottawa. He is 19, his name is Michel, and he's going to U. of Montreal in the fall." Excerpt: "I am staying with the Ricards. He is a painter (in houses). Mrs. Ricard is 40 and rather pretty, a bit taller than her husband and doesn't speak a word of English. They are all extremely friendly and hospit- able. At first, I could not under- stand a thing. They have an ac- cent which pronounces mere, mire, and soeur, sire; moi is noee and Toi, Tooee." Page 4 and 5 of this letter are missing. P. 6 begins. "Just like you, Mom," which is driving my wife crazy. There's a lot of other stuff, then: "Last night, Michel and I double -dated with one of his girl -friends and her sister they are both really cute). We went to Shawinigan for a band con- cert. There were about three times as many boys as girls and they all stood 'bumper to bum- per' on each side of the path while the couples walked be- tween then. Soon it started pouring. so we went to a dance." Well, the kid's getting some cense. He knows enough to get in out off the rain. There was a little message on the outside of the envelope of his last letter. It was the least literary thing he'd written. It said, "Please send $10." When the whole thing star- ted. I was ready to send him to jail for 20 years. Instead, I sent him the 10 dollars.