The Huron Expositor, 1997-11-12, Page 7Coin toss decides future of two men
I got to thinking about his- <: way he could announce that a
tory... the more recent kind keel would be laid at once -
that only goes back a genera- guaranteeing two more years
tion or two. work for the ship builders at
...And how fascinating it is , _ the yard. I have a large
to speculate on what might i' signed and numbered print of
have taken place in any of the f this second ship, autographed
countless incidents and situa a by the man whose name the
tions in our past if things had �' ship bears...and of course, it
not happened as they f; is the "John B. Aird."
did...then I got to thinking A lifelong Liberal and a
about the history of my own good friend of A.Y. McLean,
family. then owner of The Expositor
Although more apocryphal ; - his law partner and close
than factual, the story I like ,,:. friend Doug berlis was a
to tell is about my grandfa- staunch Conservative who
ther, William Westcott and l: l�' raised money for the Tories.
,�i „= Over the years as one of the
his friend John. In fact I told i till ..ii..i' ` aI �1.:
this story two or three times key "bagmen" for the Liberal
in the 1970s while making a Guest Column by party John Aird raised mil -
speech. The grandson of (ions and millions of dol -
grandpa Westcott's friend Clare Westcott tars... In fact he once told me
John was in the audience and a rather funny story. T\vo or
I knew he would appreciate A dead heat equal has to be three weeks before election
it. Lincoln Alexander, the day he would get together in
Again...parts of this story Conservative, for like Aird, the Arcadian Court restaurant
are questionable and not the he brought dignity and great with Harry Price, the Tory
complete truth, but telling it depth of character to post in bagman...and they would
is fun. the province both men distin- exchangenames. Those who
It seems my grandfather guished themselves, not refused to give money to
Westcott and his young through the power and pres- Aird were turned over to
friend had finished school tige they held...but by their Harry Price - and the names
and were hoping to find a humility. of those who turned down the
job. There were two jobs About two days after he Tories were passed on to Aird
open in town, one was tailing was appointed and ensconced to see if he could get them to
a rip saw in the Broadfoot in his suite in the legislature cough up for the Liberals.
and Box Furniture factory building John Aird called my My sailor daughter Brigitte
down Market Street...and the second floor office at the was the first female deckhand
other was a position in the opposite end of the build- in North America in the
Canadian Bank of Commerce in and asked if he could Seafarer's International
on Main Street, as an appren- g Union. She sailed the Great
PP come to see me.
tice junior clerk. My answer was simple - Lakes and the oceans for
As the story goes, a coin "John, you are the Lieutenant years. She wanted to move
was tossed to decide which Governor now, you represent up and become an officer but
one of them would apply for the Queen and I have to this required an appointment
one or the other of the jobs. address you as 'Your as an officer cadet to work on
My grandpa lost the toss and Honour'...and you don't the bridge of an operating
applied for and got the job at come to see me, I have to go whp. het hadg for John Aird
the furniture factory. His to see you...Even the Premier Central and he took a fatherly
friend John was hired by the must go to see you." liking to her and respected
hank as an apprentice clerk. Sounding a bit surprised he the grit and tenacity she
John went on to be knight- said something like, "O.K. showed in working her way
ed by the Queen and became You know where I am...rap up in what was a male domi
Sir John Aird, President of three times so I know it's you
nated industry. With his help
the Canadian Bank of and I'll answer the door...and
Commerce...And the grandfa- do you want coffee or tea. I she became a cadet on
ther of Ontario's Lieutenant haven't found out yet if we Algoma's largest ship, "The
Governor. You may recall keep beer." Glossbrenner."
seeing Sir John's picture in John Aird was many things. Four years ago she got her
the Expositor as one of the He was one of the few masters papers. She has
town folk from the 1800's Canadians to resign from the sailed to Russia with grain, to
who went on to fame and for- senate - a major shareholder, Venezuela, to Cape Town and
tune. along with Hal Jackman Durban, to New Orleans and
Some years ago I was a (who succeeded him as New York...and almost every
platform guest, representing Lieutenant Governor) in port in the Great Lakes. She
the premier, at the opening of Algoma Central Railroad and is now Captain Westcott -
the new Salvation Army Algoma Central Marine - a thanks in part to John Aird.
building on Bayview Avenue. Patron to many philanthropic When I returned to my
As John Aird was the main organizations and the senior office after lunch one day,
speaker I thought I'd have a partner of one of Canada's there was a phone slip sayipg
bit of fun. I told the story of major law firms, Aird and the Lieutenant Governor
the two young men - and sug- Berlis. would like to know if you are
gested if that darn coin had More than anything else, going to the OPP formal din
come up heads instead of for me, words like thought- Her at the officers mess at the
tails I would have been the ful, shy and modest sum up downsview base. When I
Lieutenant Governor of what was John Aird...and at called back to confirm that I
Ontario and John Aird would the same time he was a direc was, I was made an offer.
be assistant to Premier Davis. tor of many major corpora "Why don't you come with
Of course this is myth...or tions. I saw him huddle in a me. I'll pick you up in the big
maybe wishful thinking. corner at a reception follow- black limo and it will impress
The real truth is, with very ing the christening and the hell out of your neigh
few exceptions, for over 100 launching of a giant 730 -foot hours." And he did.
years, Ontario has been ship at Collingwood ship -There were rear speakers in
blessed with the country's yards...with Paul Martin and the spacious back seat with
best, as representatives of the the president of a major country music that reminded
Queen at Queen's Park. My Canadian bank...and in a few me of square dances in the
pick of the lot would be John minutes come way smiling GWVA hall in Seaforth.
Aird, the Liberal, for he was for he had talked the bank Almost shouting over the
a friend of many years and I into $40 million dollars to noise of the music, while tap
was there for his whole term. finance another ship. That ping his feet together, His
Honour said, "Do you like
Display on radar history opens in Vanastra
BY DAViD EMSLIE
SSP News Staff
A world class display of
radar history has recently
opened to the public in
Vanastra in the first phase of
plans to have a permanent
museum founded in honor of
this area's former radar base.
Phil Malcolm is the secre-
tary -treasurer for thc Airforce
Radornc Museum of
Electronics, which honours
the thousands of military per-
sonnel who served at thc for-
mer CFB Clinton, and the
work they carried out.
He explained that while
plans have been in thc works
to start thc museum for some
time now, a donation has
enabled organizers to begin
phase one of the plans, which
will see a display set up in the
Village Flea Market in
Vanastra. The flea market is
housed in what was once the
Non-Commissioncd Officers'
(NCO's) Mess.
"We've been fortunate
enough to be donated the
World War II Radar
Technicians reunion display
from their reunion in
Ottawa," Malcolm stated.
"The majority of thc techni-
cians trained here in Clinton."
The display features histori-
cal information and photos
from World War II, and it will
be set up in the dining room
of the former NCO's Mess,
located upstairs in the flea
market.
"It is a world class display
that nobody wants to miss,"
Malcolm stated.
He noted that world maps
are marked with little maple
leaf pins showing where
Canadians served during the
war. Those who served else-
where, although not necessar-
ily during the war, will be
invited to add their pins to the
map.
Malcolm also has military
uniforms, and he is hoping to
find mannequins to help dis-
play these uniforms to the
fullest.
"Hopefully we will have the
first working robot built in
1954 returned here in the near
future," Malcolm added. "As
other equipment and memora-
bilia comes in, we'll get it on
display."
This first phase of making a
permanent museum a reality
will begin with 500 square
feet of space. As fundraising
continues, plans for the muse-
um will proceed.
The museum's secretary -
treasurer explained that mem-
berships to the museum can
be purchased, and for those
not seeking a membership,
donations towards the
Radome Museum of
Electronics will be accepted.
"It will be necessary for us to
raise approximately
$200,000," he said.
in an effort to meet this
fundraising goal, businesses
across Huron County will be
approached for donations, as
will large electronics busi-
nesses across the country.
Tom T. Hall?...Hc's my
favourite." I answered
yes...and off and on he
hummed along with the
music, tapping his toes
against the back of the dri-
ver's seat - all the way to the
dinner.
On the return trip the driver
dropped him off at his home
and then continued on to
Scarborough to take me
home. As we drove away
from the Aird residence the
driver turned around and
asked, "Do you like Tom T.
Hall?" When I answered that
he wasn't my favourite he
yanked out the tape and for
the next 20 minutes we lis-
tened to opera...Beverly Sills
accompanied by Andre
Kostelonitz.
I thought...only in Ontario.
The Queen's representative
loves listening to Tom T. Hall
and his chauffer is an opera
buff.
My memory of the hon-
ourable John B. Aird is that
he carried wealth and posi-
tion with great dignity...and
this was more than matched
by his friendliness and humil-
ity.
Although when I first told
him the story about my
grandpa and the coin toss he
laughed and said, "Westcott...
you're a damn liar."
STUDIO 75
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Ladies - Wash, Cut $10.
Men - Wash,Cut $10.
Children 1-7 $5. 8-10 $8.
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Save 10% on Perms
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Perms $45. Cut & Style incl.
Colour $24.
Highlights $35.
Painless Highlights for long
hair $45.
Ear Piercing - $7.
includes studs
WAXING AVAILABLE
NEW HOURS
Tues. 9 to 9
Wed.to Fri. 9 to7
Sat. 9 to
No appointment
necessary
nnnnnumt>r17 40
We wish to draw your attention
to the following In our current
'Shop Early and Save' oyer.
Page 8. The illustrations
should be transposed for
binoculars, Item 10 76-
1009-6 and item 12, 76-
1061-8.
Page 9. There are no boys'
8-16, 2 -pc snowsuits, only
1 -pc snowsuits are
available.
Page 26. Revitalizer
cushion, 32-1470-8. Copy
should read: 4 massaging
motors, NOT 5.
ALSO...
We wish to draw your attention
to the following in our 'GREAT
GIFT IDEAS' flyer.
Page 10. Scrunch'n Wear,
50-3524-6. The illustration
is incorrect showing Hair
Wraps'n Braids.
Page 19. Sanyo ultra-thin
stereo with remote, 44-
1884-0 is not available.
Rainchecks will be issued.
Page 27. The illustrations
for item 10, Hood repair kit,
26-0190-8 and item 11,
Survival Kit, 26-0012-2
should be transposed.
We sincerely regret any
inconvenience we may have
caused you.
cno s34M4697 toms: 0
TNN HURON EXPOS/TOR, Novombor 12, 1227-7
CHRISTMAS BAZAAR
& TEA
ST. THOMAS ANGLICAN CHURCH
Seaforth, Ont.
Saturday, November 15, 1997
2 - 4 p.m.
Featuring: Country Store, Mincemeat,
Knitting and Crafts, Christmas Pudding,
Home Baking, Deli, Candy,
Tea Room and
Special Feature for Children:
"Santa Up The Chimney"
A Show of Support
Lorraine Noakes Val Poisson Terry Wilhelm Aima Westlake
Val Poisson, President of C.U.P.E. LOCAL 2704
and member Lorraine Noakes present a $200.00
donation to Terry Wilhelm representative of the
Ontarion English Catholic Teachers Association
and Alma Westlake representative of the Huron
Women Teachers Assoction.
Sims Clement Eastman
BARRISTERS ■ SOLICITORS ■ TRADEMARK AGENT
Brad G. Beuttenmiller
The Partners of Sims Clement Eastman, are pleased to
announce that Brad G. Beuttenmiller has joined
the firm.
Brad received an Honours Bachelors of Business
Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University
in 1992. Three years later Brad obtained his law degree
as well as his M.B.A. at the University of Windsor.: Born
and raised in Seaforth, Ontario he is keenly inigrsted
in the Big Brothers Association. With his experience in
taxes at Deloitte Touche, Brad will be practicing law in
our Tax, Corporate Commercial and Real Estate groups.
Sims Clement Eastman kfablisbed in 1858 is
Waterloo Regions largest local law firm.
Contact Brad at
E-mail:. bbetittes5glaw.com
T4: (;10 V9 '36{60
,•
•
ou are invited to atte
14' e area churches , r
St. Thomas
Anglican Church
Jarvis St. Seaforth
Rev. Robert Hlscox
482-7861
Service of
HOLY COMMUNION
9:30 AM
First Presbyterian
Church
Goderich St. W.
Seaforth
11:15 AM
Sunday School
during Church Service
Minister:
Rev. Nicholas Vandermey
CAVAN UNITED
CHURCH
9:30 AM
Winthrop
NORTHSIDE UNITED
CHURCH
11 AM
Seaforth
Sunday School during
Church Service
Seaforth Community
Church
(meeting at Bethel Bible Church
48 Water St. Egmondville)
Sun. 11AM Praise & Worship
Thurs. 7:30 P.M.
(at 146 Jarvis S. Res.)
a church with a prrrtecostal message.
Bethel Bible Church
Meeting at Seaforth High
9:45 a.m. S.S. 7:00 p.m.
11:00 Worship Evening
Bible Study
Small Group meetings Weekly
An Associated Gospel Church
St.. James
Catholic Church
Victoria St., Seaforth
SUNDAY
MASS 11:00 A.M.
Father Dino Salvador
•
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•
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO PUT IT ASIDE 'FOR YOU!
:NA CALL TODAY 1-800-899-5849
Goderich
Hi.hw. 8, Goderich
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