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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1966-06-30, Page 1ALONG THE MAIN DRAG By The Pedestrian • 1111111 . 1111111,111113:11 anstoonno an LodiCFp btallter FIRST SFC.Ttrw Single Copy ,Not Over Fifteen Cents. DAMAGE BY FIRE winghamOcintaii4hurdi'unSe"""QUARTER MILLION Two Beaver Lumber Co. Ltd. warehouses and the CNR freight shed were completely wiped out and four railway box cars badly damaged in a fire late Thursday night. The loss is estimated at nearly a quarter- million dollars. Fire of unknown origin start- ed in one of the Beaver ware- houses about eleven o'clock, The blaze spread rapidly and was out of control in a very short time, flames leapinghigh in the air and making their way on to the second warehouse, and later to the CNR shed. Brigades from Teeswater, Blyth and Lucknow were called and assisted the local firemen in fighting the blaze from all sides. The Beaver Lumber store, directly west of the demolished warehouses, was only slightly damaged. Company officials estimate their loss at $80, 000. The loss of doors owned by Lloyd-Truax Ltd. in the freight shed and a box car loaded for shipment amounted to $75,000. Another freight car was load- ed with lumber for the Beaver Lumber Company, one con- 0 tamed material for Mowbray Construction Company and the fourth was empty. The three loaded cars were valued at $25; 000 each. The shipment for Mowbray Construction was sav- ed but the Beaver Lumber and Lloyd-Truax shipments were lost. 1 Gunners Jamie Douglas, Al- lan Carter, Terry Gardner, Doug Elliott, Terry Brooks, Doug Wheeler and Brian For- syth will leave Wingham on Sunday for Camp Niagara. They will go by Army trans- port. The young men are mem- o bers of the 21st Field Regiment RCA (M) and students of Wing- ham District High School. They will be on course for five weeks to obtain bombadier rank. ON DUTY, AS USUAL-- Capt. Albert Ferris of the Salvation Army is one of the best-known fire-chasers in town. When the siren sounds, he's there, and a welcome sight to the firemen too! He was on hand all night at last week's fire. At 6 a.m. he showed up with coffee and doughnuts; at 10 a,m. he was back with apples and choco- late bars; and at noon he dis- pensed hot dogs and coffee. 0--0--0 AND FURTHER THANKS-- To that little band of wom- en, the firemen's wives, who spent the night with more than a little concern for husbands' welfare in a hot situation. A group of these ladies made heaps of sandwiches about 4 a.m. Take Course at Camp Niagara Beaver Lumber Company, C.N.R. Buildings Destroyed The siding rails were warp- ed as much as 18 inches where the heat was most intense. Hy- dro wires in the immediate area were burned and the CNR was without telephone, hydro or wire service until Friday morning. Rev. C. J. Krug, who serv- ed as minister of the Belgrave United Church and was famil- iar to radio and television au- diences in this area, has been named principal of Algoma University College at Sault Ste. Marie. Mr. Krug is at present vice- principal and registrar of Hunt- ingdon College at Laurentian University in Sudbury. Lawrence Brown, chairman and president of the Algoma College Association, said this week that it is hoped to have Algoma College University, an affiliate of Laurentian Univer- The A. C. Adam coal shed, east of the freight building was only slightly damaged when a section of the roof from the freight shed fell on it. SOME INJURIES Local firemen were at the scene for 151 hours, remaining until 2.30 Friday afternoon. The other brigades were here until about 3 a.m. David Crothers Jr. suffered a burn on his right shoulder when a spark burned through his rubber coat and Kenneth Fox- ton received burns to his chest. Both were treated at Wingham and District Hospital and re- leased. Several other firemen suffered minor burns, includ- ing Bob Sinnamon whose arm was burned. Doug Carr injured the instep of his foot when he twisted it on a railway tie. He was also treated in hospital. Robert Hickey was over- come by smoke and heat and had to go home about three o'- clock. Ken Foxton was also overcome by heat. The heat was so intense that the lights on the back of the fire truck parked beside the CNR station melted, and the paint on the truck was scorch- ed. There was also some heat damage to a car owned by Mur- ray Gaunt which had been left at the station when Mr. Gaunt went to Toronto Thursday morn- ing. Sgt. J. McDowell To Head Perth OPP Detachments Enthusiastic Meeting Seeks Construction of Swim Pool FIRE STARTED in the Beaver Lumber Co. Ltd. warehouse last Thursday night and quickly burst into a blaze that wiped out the warehouse and the CNR shed. The roof of the latter fell on the A. C. Adams' coal shed but no great damage was suffer- ed by the coal shed. The Beaver Lumber store was only slightly damaged and is open for business again. —Advance-Times Photo. Main St. Accident Sees Heavy Damage A main street accident near the curling rink at 1.00 a.m. Sunday caused extensive dam- age to two vehicles, but no one was injured. The mishap occurred when Edwin W. King of R. R. 1, Gorrie, was proceeding north on Josephine Street and his ve- hicle went out of control and struck the rear end of a car owned by Walter H. Burgess of Wingham. The Burgess car was parked on the east curb and was unoccupied. The King car, a 1955 Chev, suffered over $200.00 damage and was considered a wreck. The Burgess machine had an estimated $1, 500 damage with the rear frame being badly bent and the trunk completely de- molished. Constable Ron Zimmer of the local police investigated. Charges are pending. GORRIE—John Bennett was awakened by what he thought was thunder at 6 a.m. Saturday and discovered that the upper part of his 110 x 120 foot barn was ablaze. The farm is on the 12th Concession of Howick Township. sity, operating by the fall of next year. Mr. Brown said that Mr. Krug's experience, both as a professor and chairman of the department of philosophy at Huntingdon College and as vice- principal and registrar have giv- en him first-hand knowledge of the problems likely to be fac- ed in building a new university in Northern Ontario, Mr. Krug served in the In- telligence Corps during World War II and following his pas- torate at Belgrave served Unite ed Church appointments at Tor- onto and Hamilton. Sgt. J. W, McDowell of Mount Fdrest has been named Ontario Provincial Police of- ficer. in charge of Perth County OPP detachments, Announcement of the ap- pointment was made Thursday at OPP headquarters in Mount Forest. He will be stationed at the Sebringville detachment. Sgt. McDowell succeeds Sgt. Philip D. Siebert who retired last week. Sgt. McDowell received his promotion to sergeant last No- vember when he was in charge of the Wingham detachment. He was posted to Mount Forest and with Mrs. McDowell and family moved there early in December, a year after coming to Wingham from Walkerton. The Wingham Fire Depart- ment was summoned. Mr. Ben- nett was able to get three pens of cattle from the stable and remove a manure spreader. His plane was also taken from a nearby hanger, which was not damaged. The barn was completely demolished but the firemen were able to save the driving shed, only about 20 feet away, and keep the fire from spread- ing to the rear of the house. Lost in the blaze were 2, - 500 bushels of grain, 800 bales of hay and a large quantity of straw and farm machinery. Completes 2nd Year --Top Standing Tom Powell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward T. Powell, has completed the second year of the degree course in Agricul- tural Engineering at the Univer- sity of Guelph with top standing in his class, Ile is working for Massey-Ferguson Company Ltd. for the summer and is in Ari- zona at present. 530 Served at S.H. Dinner The garden party at Sacred Heart Church on Saturday was one of the most successful ever held, with an excellent ham and turkey dinner served to 530 people. The Catholic Women's League was in charge of the dinner which was held in the parish hall. Guests were received by C.W.L. members, Mrs. C. Desmarais and Mrs. Ron Foxton. The $50.00 door prize was won by Gerald Wilhelm of Wingham. The C.W.L. spon- sored draw for an oil painting, on which tickets had been sold to raise money for missions, was won by Miss Marjorie Kief- fer. There was also an excellent crowd for the games and con- tests held on the church lawn following the dinner. Bingo drew the usual enthusiasts and a penny auction was held. The fish pond was popular with the youngsters. The garden party is a parish effort to raise money for Sacred Heart School. A public meeting in Wing- ham's town hall Monday eve- ning saw about 70 local resi- dents unanimous in their desire to have a swimming pool built in Wingham. Councillor Bud Cruickshank who had arranged the meeting, opened proceedings and im- mediately called for the nom- ination of a presiding officer. Roger West was elected to the position. Mr. Cruickshank ex- plained that the swimming area at the river is polluted and that he felt something should be done about a pool which is not dependent on river water. Mr. West, in taking over, said the first question was whether or not those present felt there should be a permanent pool in Wingham. This was answered in the affirmative and a discussion took place on the type and location of the pro- posed pool. Mr. West introduced Brian Wrigglesworth, assistant direc- tor of recreation in Kitchener, who was able to answer a good many questions about the prob- lems of building and financing pool construction. He explained that the use to which a pool is put determines its size. If it is to be used for competition it must be either 75 feet or 82 feet to be stand- ard. If there is to be diving it Eight amateur radio operat- ors had a lot of fun over the week-end when they congregat- ed for their annual field day at Wingham. Members of the Grey Bruce Amateur Radio Club, the group set up four transmit- ters, and operated three of them simultaneously from 5.00 p.m. Saturday until 5.00p.m. Sunday. The purpose of the field day, which is organized by the 3000 member American Radio Relay League, is to test emergency procedures used by ham sta- tions across the continent. These stations can be indis- pensible in time of emergency. This year the operators were working completely independ- ent from normal power sources will be of different design than if used for swimming instruc- tion and general swimming on- ly. He said the cost will vary, and a pool deep enough for diving costs almost twice as much as one for general swim- ming. Indoor pools, he said, cost a great deal more. In Kitch- ener an indoor pool now costs about $260,000. Kitchener costs show' an outdoor pool at about $100, 000 with full facili ties, but if existing bathhouse facilities can be used this figur could be cut by $60, 000. He said an extra room for pumping and filter equipment would likely be required. The Kitchener man stated that his city is building pools for general swimming that are 40 by 60 feet in size and run from 2' 6" in depth to 5 feet. He recommended that an archi tect be engaged if action on the project is taken. GRANTS It appeared, Chairman West said in reviewing the informa- tion, that about $11,000 is available from outside sources. This would include $5, 000 from the Dept. of Agriculture under its assistance to community centres and $5,800 from the centennial fund. As well, part of the cost could be reduced u der the winter works program. and antennas. The local group rigged their antennas between trees on the prairie, south of town, and operated on power supplied by a generator loaned for the oc- casion by Burke Electric. They used five different frequencies with two sets on voice communication, and two on morse code. During the 24- hour interval the operators were able to confirm over 500 con- tacts with other stations. The club operators came from Gorrie, Stratford, Kin- cardine, Hanover, Mildmay and Wingham, It should be noted that the "hams" are not the same group who use what is known as the citizens' band and periodically have field trials. Further grants on decking and fencing could be arranged un- der the Parks Assistance Act. Mr. Wrigglesworth pointed out that the operation of a pool should be considered. He said adequate staff is required by law and in Kitchener outdoor pools cost about $1,500 an- nually. He went on to say their statistics show only 5 per cent of people using pools use the deep end -- the big job is teaching people to swim. He also stated that the Department of Health has set out regulations which require a high standard for equipment and other facili- ties. Mr. Cruickshank said if the existing bathhouse is not ade- quate for a new pool, the pool probably will not be built be- side the river, which is not an ideal location. He suggested the main street park as a bet- ter site. COMMITTEES NAMED A decision was reached to establish a committee for in- vestigating details of the pro- ject, which will report back to another public meeting in two weeks' time. Roger West will head the committee made up of presidents of the various in- terested organizations which in- clude: Business Association, Lorne McDonald; Kinsmen, Dave Burgess; Lions, DeWitt Miller; Legion, Willis Hall; Parks Board, Harry McArthur; Recreation Committee, Jack Gorbutt. John Brent was named to head a finance committee com- posed of Mrs. Roger West, Mrs. Allan Hafermehi, Ken Wood, Mrs. Monty Bennett, Mrs. Robt. Ahara and Gordon Beard. Publicity committee is Bud Cruickshank, Elwood Irwin and Bob Wenger. During the course of the meeting town clerk William Renwick explained that the town's financial position at the moment precluded raising mon- ey by debenture for the project. The meeting closed on an optimistic note with those tak- ing responsibility obviously feeling the project can be ac- complished. It was pointed out however, that it will not be possible to force the issue and have a pool built this year. Rev. C. Krug Is Appointed Principal of Algoma College Bennett Barn Razed in Morning Fire Saturday 500 Stations Contacted In Ham Field Day Here