HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-01-02, Page 21A
e
SHIPPING AND WARE
the workmen have an
company has just compl
extensions, new offices an
eliminate the plant's wood
HOUSING facilities have been expanded at Lloyd -Truax Ltd. and
additional 60,000 square feet of space to move around in. The
eted a massive expansion project which included warehousing
d the installation of a new boiler system which will completely
waste material. (Staff PhotO)
SOMETIME THIS YEAR Lloyd -Truax Ltd. kwi
i• Wingham or Walkerton plant. The company, whic
Western Ontario towns, hes grown with the in'cre
That demand compelled the company to ungertak
Wingham plant which was completed this year.
Iproduce its 12 millionth door at its
h as long been associated with the two
asi g demand for its quality products.
e a major expansion program at the
(Sfaff"Photo)
HODGIN
cDONAL
s
D
RIVERVIEW DRIVE:IN on Josephine, lust south of the Hanna Brldbe, has undergone
extensive improvements during the past few months. Qwner Don Delmage has added a
permanent enclosed dining area to what was for}anerI7 a drive-in refreshment booth.
Wingham has progressive
•
.. .
"It's in the blood ! " That is how
Dave Crothers, Wingham's fire
chief since April of 1967, des-
cribes his feelings toward fire
fighting. This spirit of caring ap-
pears to be characteristic of his
whole group for, according to Mr.
Crothers, he has "one of the most
enthusiastic fire departments in
the county". This attitude in-
spires a comforting feeling for
the rest of us, since fire fighting is
one of the most important serv-
ices to the community.
Mr. Crothers also assumed
,another important duty upon his
appointment as fire co-ordinator
for this area in 1973. This ap-
pohitment is made by the solici-
tor general's office. It is now his
responsibility to organize all fire
departments in the county if an
emergency situation should
arise. -He recently spent a week at
a Fire Co-ordinators' Conference
in Gravenhurst where the Onta-
rio Fire College is situated. It is \
to this school that potential of-
ficer material is sent.
One of the major problems dis-
cussed at this conference was
what to do in case of a high-rise
fire. Since ladders can reach only
seven stories high the only
possible course of action is fast
eyacuatio�dividuals die of
smoke inha tion and heat, says
Mr. Crothers, before the fire ever
reaches them. In our modern.
homes, with such products as
plastics, nylons and many other
synthetics, including all the •
known combustibles such as
wood, paper and . textiles,. thec
gases emitted are deadly. It is for
this reason that the firemen must
have self-contained air masks('
Mutual Aid
A very significant step m com-
munity fire fighting was the in-
stitution of the Mutual . Aid Fire
Association in 1952. Since then,
the Lucknow, Teeswater, Blyth
and Wingham fire departments
can call on each pther for ass'
tante when it is needed. A Mutual
Aid meeting is held once a month,
rotating among each fire depart-
ment in the county. "It is very
educational," says Mr. Crothers.
It gives everyone an opportunity
to familiarize himself with using
the .equipment of each depart-
ment and with getting to know
everyone else. It gives Mr. Croth-
ers a chance to meet all the fire
chiefs in the area, know what
equipment is available and where
to send for it if an emergency
arises. , Different speakers and
training programs are an impor-
tant part of these meetings. This
type of mutual assistance is or-
ganized for all\departments
throughout Ontario.
Additionally, the Wingham
Fire Department holds a practice
period every month to keep m
shape. Each month the firemen
spend the entire practice. concen-
trating on one or two phases of
training. One month -might be
ladder practice, or manning the
pump, the hose or the nozzle;
another month could be an air
pack 'drill in which the firemen
practise breathing or climbing
stairs wearing the pack. In this
way they will always" be'pre-
parednd, surprisingly enough,
more accidents happen at a drill
than at an actual fire. As well as
holding this practice' session, a
general meeting is ease held ence
�,y month.
At this time the Wingham Fire
Department has four vehicles,
t.pumpers anda tanker. One
of the pumpers belongs to the
town and must remain in
Wingham at all times. The other
three are owned jointly by the
rural area and the town. The area
of responsibility for this depart-
ment is East Wawanosh, Morris,
Howick and Turnberry Town-
ships.
In December an addition in
equipment enhanced the fire hall.
A new water tank truck with a
capacity of 1;600 gallons and
costing. about $27,000 was deliv-
ered. Mr. Crothers feels that this
improvement is essential for
fighting rural fires. The old
tanker, which holds 1,200 gallons,
has been patched up for too long.
It is expected that it will be sold
to a farmer to haul water.
In September of 1972 the trucks
were equipped with radios, a
service which Mr. Crothers can-
not imagine how they did without.
If the police or an ambulance are
needed they oan be contacted im-
mediately. He remembers a time
when it was different ... A, few
years ago- at a fire inA� Morris
Township they had to drive five
or six miles to Jamestown to
reach a phone to get in touch with
1111111111111111.111111
BUILLL
ASSOCIATE STORE
North Street, Wingham
PANELING
AVER 40 ROLLS OF CARPET
KITCHEN CUPBOARDS
By three leading manefacterers
357-3650
The home of a
well-established
business which
has " served the
town of Wingham
and surrounding
area for 14 years
* PLUMBING DEPARTMENT
* ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT
* ALL BUILDER'S SUPPLIES
* BUILDERS
HARDWA
"Let's Build Together"
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1
1
1
1
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1
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RE DEPARTMENT
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the police and coroner. because
all the lines were down from the
fire.
First in Province
The fire chief can proudly say
that he has a progressive fire
department. His department was
the first to have auxiliary mem-
bers in Ontario; it was also. the
first in Ontario to have joint pom-
munity ownership of a pumper.
Long gone are the days of hand -
pulled equipment, a ladder
wagon and a sleigh in- winter. In
the.1930's and 1940's the depart-
ment consisted of 16 men; in the
last years it has increased to 25.
These firemen are paid $5 an
hour and the fire chief, deputy
chief, captains and secretary -
treasurer receive annual sti-
pends.
In 1971, three members of the
Wingham Fire Department re
•ceived "The Fire Services Long
Service Medal" for serving 30
years as fire fighters. The recipi-
ents were Harvey Aitchison, who
has been a fire fighter since 1940;
Deputy -Chief Jim Carr, who has
served since 1930, and Fire Chief
Dave Crothers who has been a
member of the department since
1941. The investiture was held at
Gravenhurst, and the medal
itself was just instituted in April
of 1971.
Inspections
One of the major duties of the
fire department is to check public
places for. fire hazards - schools,
hotels. businesses, etc. Farm
dwellings will .be ,checked upon
request. The fire chief points out
that he .is not allowed, to go into a
home unless asked to do so. The
last ,Municipal Fire Protection
Survey was in 1969. At this time
all fire protection services in the
town were checked thoroughly.
The fire department also car-
ries out mapy public relations
programs to keep people aware
of fire prevention. Mr. Crothers
instructed two classes of staff at
the hospital on fire prevention
and fire extinguishing methods
and showed films from the fire
marshall's office. In addition;
fire prevention lessons are given
at schools, pamphlets are handed
out and tours of the fire hall are
conducted. There is a lot of public
demand for phone stickers which
include the telephone numbers of
the fire department, the police
department and ambulance serv-
ice. Mr. Crothers is pleased at the
increased response and the
turnout to their public relations
programs.
The chief feels that although
most people are fire conscious,
they don't think too much about it
unt' it reaches close to home.
Unfortunately, he adds, "About
90 per cent of the people don't
know how to use a fire extinguish-
er." He also gets a little disturbed
Lloyd -Truax .. .
Continued from Page 8
13oth , ,the temperature and the
moisture must be carefully con-
trolled for moisture is required to
insure that the cells will not
collapse during the drying pro-
cess. Flush doors will often warp
after installation if the moisture
and temperature of wood compo-
nents are not carefully controlled
at the time of manufacture. Be-
cause of the harsh Canadian cli-
mate exterior doors must be able
to withstand great variations in
moisture and temperature. "For
this reason we are very careful of
how the wood is kiln dried," said
Mr. Lloyd.
Lloyd -Truax Limitedis a
national manufacturer which
participates in virtually all the
markets in Canada and also ex-
ports to the United Kingdom. In
Ontario the company does its own
sales and promotion with seven
sales representatives. Ware-_
houses are located in Toronto and
Ottawa. In the Atlantic provinces
and Western Canada, Lloyd Door
products are marketed through
building material distributors.
Finished products are shipped by
both truck and rail.
The plant engages about 225
people. Fifty of these employees
are located in Walkerton. Women
constitute 30 per cent of the work
force in the Wingham plant and
45 per cent in the' Walkerton
plant. About half of the employ-
ees in Wingham live within the
town and the remainder come
from as far as 15 to 20 miles
away.
• Mr. Lloyd defines residential
construction as a cyclical indus-
try vuhich is in a downtrend at the
present time. He says, "We are
very conscious of government
policy because of the high corre-
lation between interest and mort-
gage rates and house building ac=
tivity. Right now mortgage
money is very expensive., and
hard to obtain. The high interest
rates hurt all manufacturers of
building materials," says Mr.
Lloyd, "but we are early into a
recession and also early coming
out of it."
The president of Lloyd -Truax
feels that the industries in Wing -
ham have made excellent pro-
gress in the last two years. How-
ever, he contends that the Bruce
nuclear power plant at Douglas
Point has been a major factor in
creating a very tight labour pool
in the area.
"We are glad to see new indus-
try locate in Wingham," asserts
Mr. Lloyd. "Naturally we are al-
ways interested in the growth of
the house building industry."
with .the "sidewalk ,s t *
mate who cannot
why the firemen ell',
irate the roof, As
els ventga is a very
important P. Tio men cannot
Just rush ihwith water, they must
locate theme by 0101114ting the
gas and smoke. He also notes that
people always react with, "Are
they ever comet' but feels that
this is a typical response to an
emergency situation.
Come is Groups
Mr. ,Crothers senses that fires
go in cycles. The department
may go for mouths without any.
alarms, then suddenly, they
start, Wingham bad a relatively
good summer but in the last sic
months there has been an hi -
crease in the number of fires, es -
Chris GosIhug
Chev-OIds now
has two ktatius
There have been many deve-
lopments within the town of
Wingham in the last two years
but Chris Gosling has a success
story all of his own. Mr. Gosling
began his dealership in 1972,
starting from scratch. At the
present time the Chev-Olds
dealer has builthis-sales up to 250
-new cars a year.
Increased sales have required
additional space, so Mr. Gosling
recently opened up in the former
Texaco station, corner of Jose-
phine and Victoria, as an addi-
tional sales and service outlet. He
Sells and services both new
automobiles and trucks and has
his own body shop and leasing
operation.
At the present time Mr. Gosling
employs nine full-time personnel
fro) the surrounding area. For
the past year his parts manager
has been Mrs. Margaret Farmer,
the wife of his service manager.
• Wire roft*** adamant about
one partiOilar Woe. In SOW`
kaeatitiesi there has iiiseuP
sion of Ways in which to a
mate police, foe's ambulance
services. lie WOO thatthese
+
three different emergencY ,ser'-
ices whie h must be segreg#tedp
What would *Kim if all these
calls were c piing 18 at the -MOO
timet A. tape r+ cor+ n$ 00
answer a fire aiarm,
chief sets A Plime
months in .advance .so
men will know whit
are on phone duty -
In his own, words, "Itare
'
i'nul t be dune right"
Hodgius!McD.uI
speadii$40,000 t
esilaript facilhuss
:
In 1974 the Hodgins-MitCDonald
Buildall store has undergone
many renovations, Mr. Hudgins
has' added 7,000 square fid
warehouse storage spare and
another 4,000 square feet of new
showroom area at an estimated
cost of $50,000. Floor coverinpit
prefinished panelling and face
tory-built cupboards are on dis-
play in the new showroom.
The entire area around the
building has been paved with
asphalt to facilitate parking and
provide better efficiency of
operation.
An addition of two new trucks
in 1974 has increased the number
of Mr. Hodgins' fleet to seven
trucks, one of which is used ,for.
carpet installation. There are 12
employees on his payroll, two of.
whom'have been hired this year.'
We Were APact of the •
Expansion At J
Riverview Drive -In
Electrical
Contracting
by
BURKE ELECTRIC:
Electrical Contractors
Household Appliances
Motor Sales and Service
WINGHAM
357-2450
BIGGER...
To Serve You Better
During the past year, we've expanded our
facilities, and now offer you a choice of "table"
or "take-out" service.
Our food is still scrumptious, our service court-
eous and friendly.
ALONG WITH OUR REGULAR
MENU OF HAMBURGERS, HOT
DOGS, FRENCH FRIES,
CHICKEN., ETC.,
..1
We Now Offer
Hot Sandwiches
Cold Sandwiches
Char -Broiled Hamburgers
- And For Dessert -
Pie
When you thinis of food....think
of "delicious food" from
RIVERVIEW
DRIVE-IN
WINGHAM 357-1360