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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-11-02, Page 3,a. People in Pro by Shelley McPhee How much wood does a woodchuck chuck? Well, Mr. Woodchuck, also known as Alex Shevchuk has chucked enough wooden toys to set up a business in Bayfield, "The Old Same Place." Here he sells his toys and "neat stuff". Alex, a 27 -year-old Toronto native originally started out studying to be an architect at the University of Toronto. He left school and ended up in Winnipeg and there with five other people got a LIP grant from the government. With this they made wooden toys to give day care centres, nurseries and hospitals for children's use. "I just thought of doing this one day. I have no formal training I just took shop classes as an option in high ah school," Alex explained. "I'll stick with it for a few years anyway. I enjoy working for myself. I keep my own hours and make my own decisions." Earlier this year, Alex moved to • Employees... • from page 1 Under the ownership of Heintzman Limitted during the past 11 years, the Sherlock -Manning plants specialized in the manufacture of modern upright pianos, making about 800 instruments a year. Although it was the smallest piano manufacturing company in Canada it produced a high quality product. Throughout its 109 year history, the Clinton piano factory has endured many changes and difficulties. However the business remained steadfast and has always rebounded to meet its former quality of standards. If these past experiences are a fixed trait of Clinton's oldest industry, then the company may take the amalgamation in its stride and within i few weeks the former employees will have picked up the leftover pieces and have a new business in operation.. CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2. 1978—PAGE 3 le: Mr. Woo�ch,ucl� Z 40 toys Bayfield and put Mr. Woodchuck into business in a house just off Main Street. "I like to live in the country. I was tired of the cities and I liked this area so much," he said about his move. Alex has easily adapted to the way of life in the small village and has no desire at the present time to move back to the city. "Everyone has the same understanding in Bayfield, they don't want to see anything ruined." Mr. Woodchuck creates his toys in a shop, back of the store. Using small pieces of wood he makes a variety of toys ranging from $2 to $20 in price. His creations are made entirely of wood. They have no nails or screws. Only glue and dowels. "I overbuild the toys in a sense. I make them for day care use. They get thrown around." He tries to use a variety of woods, from cedar, redwood to pine. "I like to work in some color and nice things like knots in the wood to spice them up." Each toy is covered in an oil finish to bring out the color and the grain and then waterproofed and protected with a verathane finish. He claims that un- finished toys may be unsanitary since they could pick up food stains and other particles. "Plastics have their place too, but there's a place for wood. You don't have to go through a tot to get it. Wood is a nice thing to touch, feel and look at." A distinguishing trait in Mr. Woodchucks work is the rounded corners and moving parts, like wheels and propellers. ---�-'" "Kids like to be imaginative. Moving parts, blocks that can be taken apart, shapes, colors and textures help this," he claims. Mr. Woodchuck watches to see how children react to his toys. He keeps the shelves in his store at a low level so young browsers are free to pick up and try some of his airplanes, trucks, blocks, Arc cars and an assortment of other toys. He has even found that his toys can serve as dual purpose instrumpits, for parents and kids. The arc car forlin- stance, a half -circle with wheels, also makes good back massagers he has accidentally discovered. Along with preparing for the • Christmas 4season in the store, Mr.. Woodchuck is also busy doing custom work. As well, he is presently working on a catalogue and plans to sell some of his work to other stores, locally and kit Toronto. "I'd like to keep the business here, so I'm not going to go hog wild on the other," he said. Mr. Woodchuck is also trying to control another facet of his business that has gone hog wild. A number of orders have arrived and are still arriving for him to make large wooden initials. Undoubtedly he will get more orders and sell more toys and "neat stuff" as he makes himself known around the country. At the end of November Mr. Woodchuck will be setting up a display at the University of Guelph. He has had a booth at the Owen Sound Folk Fetival and he is hoping to get a spot Ott the Mariposa Folk Festival in Toronto next year. "It's just nice to be there," he remembered, from the days when he had x booth set up at the Winnipeg Summer Folk Festival. "I've got some dreams," he ad- mitted. "I'd like to expand and get a few more people involved. But it's up in the air right now ." After the Christmas, rush he also hopes to renovate his business and living quarters in the store which he rents. In the meantime, Mr. Woodchuck is chucking about as many toys as a woodchuck could chuck. County grant keeps Homemakers going another year BY JEFF SEDDON Huron County Council agreed Friday to pick up a $5,100 tab to keep a county homemaker service operating for families in the county in need of domestic assistance because of illness, old age or handicaps. The service has been operating for almost a year under a Canada Works grant but to continue operating the service must be self- supporting by January 1, 1979 and needs county . help to meet that ob- jective. Jean Young, administrator of the service, appealed to council Friday explaining that the service is $5,099 away from being self supporting with the clients it now serves. She said the budget for the homemaker service has been drawn up for 1979 and after ex- penses is that much short of paying for itself, She said the service needed assurance that the funds would be made available to plan operation in the coming year adding that any fund raising held in 1979 would earn funds that could be used for clients that qualify for assistance by the Alex Shevchuk makes his living with toys. Also known as Mr. Woodchuck, he makes wooden toys at his Bayfield home and store the Old Same Place. (News - Record photo) 4 ttg WWI ;RIF lk • 16 • sa vma SU, 9.9.5ainr 40. NOW FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICES Of Huron County (Children's Aid Society) Requests your support for the annual CHRISTMAS BUREAU CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!!! F.A.C.$. are planning for the needs of families & children in Huron County. pietist, support this annual community project with your '410tlrsrt,t find gifts. the Agency is planning to spend '9,000 --a11 from private ddnations. INCOME tAX worm for all financial donations. Registration No. 09114192-09-93. • FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICES 44,4toucliffitteititAtt t oDERiOi1 OW. 1,17A 1W3 homemakers but are being turned away because of a shortage of money. Young told council that the reaction to the homemakers service when it began operation proved that there was a need for the service in Huron County. She said homemaker needs in the county were going unanswered and that homemakers were unemployed. The administrator said she and Betty Cardno, nursing administrator for the county health .unit, applied for start up funds from Canada Works a year ago and began to organize a homemaker service. She said the service was designed to co-ordinate a homemaking service for the elderly, chronically ill, disabled, handicapped and for single parent families with children providing full-time, part-time, overnight and live in homemaking service. The Canada Works grant enabled the homemaking service to establish itself and plans were made to make the agency self-supporting selling its service on a fee for service basis and seeking support from community service clubs and municipal govern- ments in the county. Young said the fee for service enables the agency to sell its services to Children's Aid, the cancer society and to priyate individuals. She said the fees are established on an ability to pay basis meaning that a client's income is determined and based on that income the fee they will be charged is deter- mined. She told council that the homemaking service has been in- strumental in allowing many people in the county to leave institutions and return to their homes to live with the assistance of a homemaker. She said the cost to taxpayers is dramatically less if a service is offered in the home rather than in an institution such as a hospital or senior citizens home. She explained that clients in the past year had purchased $71,135 worth of services from the homemaker agency and that if those people had been in nursing homes the cost would have been $102,755 and if they had been in hospital it would have totalled $564,487. "The difference in tax dollars saved is $596,107," she said. "As you can see we are not only a vital employment agency throughout Huron County but an economical member of the whole health service team." Young said the service has 71 people on staff and has sold 10,229 hours of service to 1.00 different private clients. She said the rate charged health and social agencies is $4.20 in a town and $4.60 for out of town clients. She added that live in and overnight rates differ according to qualifications of the worker and the work required by the client. She told council that 14 percent of the population of Huron County ,is over 65 and that very few, of those people need to be in institutions. She said govern- ment and private concerns are strongly suggesting that home based services be established to help people of all I've been to a lot of concerts. I've `rocked and rolled to the aggressive sounds of "The Who", I've related to the moving lyrics of "John Prine" and "Gordon Lightfoot". I've en- joyed the talent of "`Harry Belafonte" and tried to develop some culture through the sounds of the classical guitarist "Liona Boyd" and the grace of the "National Ballet": I've enjoyed the harmony of "The Hollies" the voice of Neil Diamond and the instrumentals of Genesis. I've thoroughly enjoyed all these sometimes costly performances for the professionalism and their ex- cellent quality. But for all the times I have been spoiled with the big, big league concerts, I still enjoy the small stuff too. Granted, local shows don't have the superior touches, the spec- tacular lighting or the super sound equipment, but little league concerts have a special quality all of their own. Area variety nights are sparked vith warmth and happiness. Mom and dad, a dozen aunts and uncles along with all the neighbors along the concession eagerly and proudly watch the performers stumble onto the stage and with nervous con- fidence, get the microphone working again, cue the pianist and begin their carefully arranged number. Unlike the thousands, upon thousands of people who cram into the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the public school auditorium, the church or the hall, has a personal intimate feeling amongst the maximum of a few hundred people who enjoy a night out. For a couple of bucks that usually go to some worthy cause, nothing can beat the real, unspoiled pleasure of a Grade 3 class singing a Christmas carol; or a bit of a girl struggling to keep the oversized accordion on her lap as she makes her first public performance playing "The Beer Barrel Polka" ; the elderly couple favoring the audience with duet numbers of their favorite hymns; or the young ballet class performing their rendition of "Swan Lake". We Give Garmsnts "Speetar Cant Got expert dry cleaning .and pressing et reasonable rates. How's the time to get all your winter clothing ready...and, all the drapes in your helm, too. We now offer PROFESSIONAL SUEDE Se LEATHER CLEANING with the new "srter" cleaning process CLINTON DRY CLEANIRS ISSEcN ST: 41.2.7064 OATH AGINCYOMw011114.1 C40TMMiti economic backgrounds remain in their home and out of costly facilities such as hospitals. She pointed out that some of the direct benefits of the homemaker agency is that it permits single parent families to stay together freeing the parent to go out to work and enabling the children to continue their schooling. It eliminates - the- psychological problems of people about to enter in- stitutions and frees needed hospital beds for the acutely ill and is a source of employment for thousands of educationally disadvantaged men and women. Paul Steckle, Stanley township deputy -reeve, said he was surprised senior levels of government were not giving this type of service more con- sideration. Ht said the "tax savings ere staggering and if they were in- cative of fact government should s w more interest in this type of se vice rather than institutions that were so costly." betty Cardno advised council that consideration was being given homemaker agencies to expand them. She said governments were concerned about ,possible abuse of the service on a provincial basis and wanted to tighten Ftp adrninistration of it before im- plementing any programs. Cardno explained that the homemaking agency provides only 80 hours of service using government funds and then the client receiving the service must pay for any additional time. She said one of the concerns of government was that doctors may recommend that a patient receive homemaker services rather than have that patient placed , in an institution. She said at present the doctors' recommendation may mean the ser- vice would be paid for by government and that type of possibility had to be removed before government would sanction the service. Seaforth to join radio dispatch After a serious debate the Seaforth Council decided to take part in the countywide police radio system. However they want a say in how it is operated. The Huron. Expositor reported that Seaforth was the last of the five towns participating in the system to give approval for the purchase. Seaforth's part of the share of equipment to be purchased by General Electric at a cost of $99,829.54 would be $4,242.06 based on a per capita rate. Deputy Reeve William Dale stated, "I would like to know about the ad- ministration and the costs." The Mayor suggested that Councillor Irwin Johnston should go back to county committee and get some points worked out and have an ad- ministration set-up worked out and a budget drawn up. Wingham: few elections The Wingham Advance -Times reported that voters in town will be going to the polls this month but there won't be much for thein to decide. The only races on.in.the municipal elections are for the position of deputy reelre and school board seats. Lloyd Gilroy, a salesman and former manager of the Canadian Tire Store in Wingham is r challenging incumbent Harold W.oild for the deputy reeve's seat. There is a four way race for the two seats on the county board of education. Both in- • cumbents,- . Jack Alexander of Wingham and Murray. Mulvey of Howick Township are • running, as are Rev. John Swan and Bert Morin also from Wingham. M favourite thin@s. his season The Raintree presents an imaginative collection of beautiful gift suggestions. Interesting and unusual examples of quality and design awareness, make this our most treasured showing. Each item has been chosen to reflect our new country am- bience, and to satisfy a desire for luxury. Visit us soon and share in the excitement The Raintree radiates this festive season. Come discover our magic. THE RAINTREE 1l)RNITUM.II(,HTIN(,,L( \h1 ( I\1ti One Twenty Eight Albert, Clinton 482 1871 1• VOTE FOR HARVEY HAMMOND for Tuckersinitb Township Council Harvey Hammond stimik ter— * RURAL LAND DEVELOPMENT * ANIMAL CONTROL * COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT * NO TAX INCREASES * LOCAL PROBLEMS SOLVED BY LOCAL PEOPLE Put a wrr'karr on council tO work for you! 0 ere •