HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-05-29, Page 13by .dud Sturgeon
There Was always a certain Mystique about Main
Street* For a few years in the late '60's the park gave
up its status as the meeting placeand an enigma ca me
about downtown, .
,After the last chicken had turned on the spit and the
final" hete-In-one had been shot the building and.
property lay dormant for a few years. h •
Out of the blue, new o> tiers moved in and began
fixing it up. Back then when somebody new -came to
town it was known quickly.
. We cased the joint ,and `watched them hack down
weeds, rake leaves, hammer nails and paint, paint ane
afternoon, •
13e that as it inay we never really did anything about
it (except talk) until ,a few nights later.'
It so happened we were walking down the Main drag
one evening (late evening or early late, late evening).
while Handy Randy wasbusy crowing like a rooster.
Everything . on the street was closed tighter than a
drum, but passing we noticed a light, so in we went.
Well the building was still undergoing a tremendous
renovation .of Gargantuan size, but amongst—the
rubble we found a table and a .few chairs: Lurking__;
--- —7 — hetw, etn the golf—ornaments that were receiving
facelifts and transplants lay a pop roller and a'rack of
potato chips.
I can't remember whether we drank the cooler dry
and ate all the rnunchies that night., but we settled in
for a long chat. The owners were in stitches laughing
as we conflabbed everything from the dragraces on
Mai: Street, Old Leak, Cow Bag and schooldays. It
was hardly sporting to make fun of the high sch01
teachers, but they weren't much good for anything
else.
By and,. by that spot became thefocal point of
Bayfield. After that night there were few that the
crowd didn't show up for a "bullsession
One,summer evening everybody got together and
painted. the floor `cause it needed painting. A gray
floor is, just plain dull so we traced our footprints (one
per .prsori) from the front door to the rear and painted
themia'a multitude of colors. It was ace.
Over the years many important' visitors like the
Frito Banditti came. The building housed chess
tournaments, euchre tdurnaments, the model car club
and°many sporting activities like quarter foot ball' and
ping..pong. '
It was a refuge from everything. Even in winter it
was, a' favorite spot: On — snowy days the crowd would
skip down for a coffee while waiting, for the bus. The
drivers soon learned where to look when no-one was at
the bus stop but that didn't mean anyone was going.
Good old Ponderosa Bus Lines !
It Wasn't that we all grew a little older in this case, .
but the legend faded away in its own time.
The.ownership changed and that was the first spike
in the coffin. Each successive owner only succeeded in
diggingthe grave a little deeper.
The building was to Bayfield what Arnold's was to
Happy Days. It's gone now though, and it was never
even partially replaced. Maybe there will be one
around the corner, you never know.
No' other spot , has ever been able to captivate the
populous in such -a -manner in my time. In fact it is
almost a crime that a historical plaque was never
erected in honor of Paul West's Cluster.
Eight Clinton girls, took. part in a special ceremony
last Tuesday night as they were' enrolled into
Tweenles, the youngest group in Girl Guides. The
leaders of the group are Janet Cameron, left and
Shirley Snell, •right, and the eager new Tweenies
an Gregor- a
by Bud Sturgeon
Clan Gregor Square,
one of the village of
Bayfield's greatest
natural assets, for many
years a well -kept popular
picnic area, but as late as
last Monday the park
looked disgraceful.
Orchard grass and
dandelions were knee
deep height in most of the
easterly half of the park.
To say that, village
residents, visitors and
tourists are "disgusted"
with the condition the
park is in, would be an
understatement. In in-
terviewing • many people
over the past week many
stronger expletives' have
been directed towards the
local governing bodies.
A brief historyof Clan
Gregor Square rings to
light many interesting
facts. Since. the 1800's the
park has been used for
many sporting and
recreational activities.
Bayfield teams tried
their luck at baseball,
football, soccer, and
cricket to name a few. A
ball ' screen and
homeplate were
established in the nor-
theast corner of the park
and in the 1940's was
moved to its present
location (the diagonal
corner) due ,to an in-
crease of traffic on the
highway and the
disruption of Sunday
Church Services by
picnickers enjoying the
diamond.
In the early days axoad -
ranathrough the middle of
the, square and later a
fence with turnstile en-
trances was erected
arouhe perimiter.
This was an effective
method of restraining the
cows that roamed"
Bayfield freely in those
days, from enter -i -ng
thereby. allowing
pedestrians safe walking.
By February of 1878.
weigh scales had been
installed in the square by
order of . the village
include, front row, left to tight, Margaret Sneli,
Julie Haslam, Barbara Jane Ouse and Pebble
Draper. Back row, Sharon Hollingshead, Megan
Hodgins, Paula MacDonald and Debbie Crich.
(News-Recardphoto)
Tfig CLI NTOI " NEWS -
.the d.u,o,uL.
• fro m page 1;
evening.
Thursday night the
Hayfield, Babes outlasted.
the .Blue Shadows, 17 to 9,
in an exhibition game at
Clan, Gregor Square,
Last Monday it was: the
ECGR.D THURSDAY, May.20, i98 PGE 13
battle for first place and Bluaewatler Lades:
the Babes poured it on in: StandinP
the late innings downing Team :. w
the Varna ladies 17 n,.
0 at
the Var'nadiamond to, .Babes
extend their record to two Varna
wins and no losses... G -Times
B14e-5
° Stanley
Gardeners plan raft`��
Pleasant gestures
continue to be offered to
the. hayfield Garden
Club. Mr. and Mrs. Paul
West of the Woollen
Sheppe in town will give
us a miniature shadow-
box filled with their
exquisite tiny flower
arrangements all hand-
crafted by :one of the
artisans whose creations
the Wests are pleased to
park or a hayfield?
council, being located'.
between E. Elliott's and
Struther's (where the
flower bed on. the west
side is now). Tariff rates
set for the scales that
year were: a load of hay,
straw or anything
weighed in a wagon or
vehicle, each 20 cents;
horses, cattle (horned)
and all other drafts 10
cents. The scales were
later used to weigh wagon
loads of grain before it
was shipped by boatload.
out of the harbor.
In the early 1930's Alf
Westlake 'purchased the
scales.and moved them to
the,,, farm of- Gladwin
Westlake.
Also. in the year 1878 a
road was constructed and
gravelled around the
outside of the square.
In 1882, at a cost,of $10
F.A. Edwards was hired
by the village to plant 20
shade trees in the park.
In 1914 cedar posts
were placed around the
square (with turnstiles)
and the park was seeded.
Villagers were hired to
mow the grass and spud
the weeds.
In August of the same
year there was lighting in
the park and E. Ward was
paid $4.25 .for lighting the
lights .and supplying the
coal oil. .
-By 1918 tenders were
called for the rem®'vi`""
posts and fencing around
the park and a motion
was passed to stop
anyone from erecting a
booth in the Square or on.
- the streets, except. the
Patriotic. Society- of
Bayfield. A flag pole was
erected and the cannon.
which had been situated
at the Signal Point was
moved -to the park.
World War I trophies
(two German guns),
seats, benches, swings
and teeter-totters all
found their way to the
park by the late 1940's.
Walter Westlake built
the "Bluewater Booth" in
1927 on the highway and
4.1
later placed a picnic table
in Clan Gregor Square for
patrons. The next year it
had proved so popular he
added three more tables.
It took another four years
for the village to catch on
but finally they added
their own picnic tables as
well.
In 1924 the park was the
site of the annual Ford
Motor Company picnic.
Clan Gregor has also
housed the Fall Fair, 12th
of' July celebrations,
horse races, school
picnics, and more
recently in 1976. the
village centennial
celebrations.
The pyramid cairn was
erected in 1933 as a
memorial to the men who
fought and died in W.W.I.
A plaque bearing the
names of those that
fought and died in W.W.
II was added in 1963. As
well a sidewalk and chain
fence were constructed
Tuan to page 20
MARKET,
WE LIKE TO SERVE YOU A .LITTLE BIT 'BETTER.
Flowerdale
TEA BAGS
Pkg. of 50
1.29
Elm Grove
SOFT
MARGARINE
1 Ib. Tub .59
market. The Garden
Walk on June 1 will have
Uttited news...
'from page 12
Beigrave. Friends of all
denominations are in-
,vited.
On Thursday, June 5,
Unit 1 of the UCW will
meet at the home of Carol
P.enhale,—Tile UCW _dab
teas have been cancelled
until September but a
2 0 4.�
1 4
0 1 0
a raffle for this lovely
gift;
very successful bake sale
was held last Saturday at.
the home of , Mrs. Grace
Duggan.
The junior choir of the
Kingsway Lambtort
United Church, Toronto,
will be guests of St.
o Andrew's fox tie, warning
service on Sunday, June
8.
look
For
different new Father's Day
Gift ideas. From
A nstetf-:1 ewel I e rs ;
Clinton, Exeter, Seaforth,
Walkerton.
V111.1i F:S. VkF1), 4-bl, til.
1111 RS. & FRI. 4 -')P.M.
SATURDAI
Prices effecti'e
until Sulurdu,.
Ma. t1. 1980.
128 oz. Jug
Case of
24 x 10 oz. Tins
1 CHILD'S
PORTRAITS
FRIDAY & SATURDAY
Royale
White,Pink"dr Yellow
BATHRoom
TISSUE
4 Roll Pkg.
1,•19
Maple Leaf
Sweet Pickled
COTTAGE
ROLLS
Maple leaf
BRE.AKFAST BACON
1Ib. Pkg.
Westons
Raspberry
JELLY
ROLL
12 oz. Pkg.
'Schneiders
MINI DELI
4 Varieties 250 Gr.
1.39
I'riccs trfcellsr until Suturdu.. '1u% :11, 1980.
Fresh frowthe Tropics --
Prod of Honduras
Canada No 1
CHIQUITA -
BANANAS
albs. /1.00
Carnival
4 Flavours
DRINK
CRYSTALS
660 Gr. Tin
1.29 •
FOR THE FREEZER
PORK LOINS
12 - 14 lbs.
1.29 1b.
Ontario Grown Can No 1
Seedless
ENGLISH
CUCUMBERS
.59
1.5 Kg. Jar
Prod USA
Canada No 1
NEW
POTATOES
5 Ib. Bag
1.09
Utility Grade Fresh
ROASTING
CHICKENS
5 lbs.° and Up
r ■ e1/�Ib.
RING BO
SchneLOiders
GNA
11.49 Ib.
FREE SAMPLE ICE CREAM CONES
IN THE DELI
FRESH SALADS
Potato, Macaroni or Cole Slaw
a59 Ib.
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