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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-07-31, Page 1yo+ r'1ab .L 10416 Jul; scrIptlof is now T SSC xt two Wee Subscribers, correspondents and: advertisers.are,asked to bear in mind that there will be no is sues of The Advanee"e* for the next twomeeks. bloat Jamie Of 41 the paper will be Aug. 21, The business office Will be closed . from Aug. 4 to 16 inclusive. Our country correspondents are asked to report any events of importance during that period, but it will not be necessary to seek out and write the usual per- , sonal items of news , Sales and news staffs will recommence their duties about - at Aug, 14 in order to prepare for the edition of the 21st. It has been a busy year, during which we provided our readers with 1,164 pages of local news and information. That total of pro- duction has meant that every one of our staff members has richly earned a two week vacation. We hope they enjoy it! pamages of $450 in two accidents St Turning a hobby intoa 4111 -time . business may !Iotas easy, but it's riot. For Wing! businessman ;Om Pattison, the road' was 40 years long. It ends this. week, with his retirement and the sale Of what is almost an institution is Wingham: Pattison Radio and Electric. • Mr. Pattison's interest in radio ,repair work started back in high sthool, building erystal sets, ,short-wave receivers afd$iis own telephone lines, "I went to .school ,as long as I could," he remem- bers, "because I didn't know 'what else to do. There were no jobs." When school ended, however, Mr, Pattison took a corres- pondence course with the Radio college of Canada. In the fall of 4935 he started the business that has later to become Pattison Radio and Electric, "I hung out my shingle just ut 40 years ago. I started like lot of radio servicemen — in my parents' house. They were quite In favor ... anything to get me •started." Since times were • hard and money even harder, he was hforced to innovate and be crea- tive, even to the point of making his own test instruments. Because he had no capital he rned a little extra by working ,a is a projectionist at the Lyceum eatre. This part-time . job led him eventually to Ottawa, where Ville travelled to write tests to ;'obtain an A,-licence;•:required to Dampges were estimated at $450, in two motor vehicle ac- • 'cidents which occurred in town last week and were investigated by the Wingham Police Depart- ment. On Wednesday of last week, a vehicle driven by Lois Martin of RR 1, Fordwich, struck a parked A separation of 53 years is a vehicle owned by Dr. J. Ping of long time, but fdr Mrs. George Wingham. Estimated damage Currie and sister Mrs. Gorge was $30Q. Gray it justmade the reunion Damages of $150 were sustain- more exciting and much sweeter. v ed on Friday when a vehicle Mrs. Annie Gray last saw her driven by Bud Dodds of Wingham oldest sister when she was 10 . struck a westbound vehicle driv- Years old. Today she is 62 years en•by Marilyn Lapp of Wingham, old, but to sister Mrs. Sarah Cur - on Boland Street. rie, still the young girl She said gdod-bye to in Ireland. The two • • During the week, the Wingham were finally reunited when 'Mrs. Police Department answered Gray 'arrived several weeks ago three disturbance complaints and from Portadown, Ireland, to visit laid one disturbance , charge Mrs. Currie on her farm at RR 5, under the Criminal Code Act. One Wingham: *Liquor Control Act charge' was 11s. Gray said' she had been. laid and two charges were laid ���' tri g t 9 �fi ,tex a l ong ,ti me drtNeI�g gyproio"keto.4EverYtime 1 ot s lettee TH E R AND at Mr. Mrs. George Currie of RR 5, Wingham last week when a long-awaited visitor finally arrived. The very weicofl e.;' guest was Mrs. George (Annie) Gray of Portadown, Ireland, Mrs. Sarah Currie's youngest sister. The two had not seen each other for 53 years, singe Mrs. Currie, then 22 had left Ireland for Canada, saying goodbye to her 10 -year-old sister. E WE RE LAUGHTE R T EARS the home of and Sisters are reuni after 53 ii,YOUth If attendance at Monday eve- ning's general meeting can be a guide, the young people of Wing - ham are anything but apathetic. Close to 50 teenagers turned out for the meeting to discuss the possibility of establishing a youth centre in town. Although sugges- tions were slow in coming at the start, the balance of the almost - two -hour-long "rap" session gave the new youth committee and the adult representatives more than enough to think about . and plan. Elected to serve on the com- mittee that must start the ball rolling were: Susan Burke, John Henderson, Tom Lee, Penny Hay, Karlene Nevery, Keith Cameron, Greg Brandon and Angela Lockridge. The eight rep- resentatives will have the job of reviewing, implementing and co- ordinating the many suggestions and proposals brought forth at the meeting. One of u the first .decisions awaited from the executive is the choice of a building for the pro- posed "drop-in centre". °Among the suggested sites were the Armouries, the R2yal T and the old Berean Chapel building. Councillors Al Harrison and Bill Harris explained that although the Armouries are town property and, as such, available for vari- ous activities, the use of the premises would be limited to, certain hours' and days because of senior citizen activities presently located there. ' Since one of the majority opinions at the. meeting was the need for a permanent and full- time youth centre, the Armouries could prove unsuitable. The disadvantages of the Royal T, as outlined at the meeting, in- cluded the distance from the centre of town and structural de- ficiencies. The old Berean Chapel, there- fore, remains the most viable suggestion. Steven Trapp ex- plained that the building was now up for sale and suggested it would be ideal for the centre since it is on the main street, near all town activities and easily accessible. He also offered his help to the committee in finding funds to operate the ,center: "if you're really serious, there's money for you." Council • representatives, obviously approving the idea, r • 1 d -yr. sep from her, I would want to come for a visit." But plans were always postponed 'or changed, and it has taken all this time for that dream visit to finally come true. Mrs. Gray said her children and family, who had been to visit Mrs. Currie several years pre- viously, finally held her to the visit: "They talked me into it." Now that she's here, Mrs. Gray says Canada is everything she could have expected: "I love it." And ` there are no words to ex- press her joy at finally seeing her sister aggh , They speak and�joke .witheach other as if only three" y n ted oration them. To Mrs. Gray, "Sarah" is still the adored older sister; to Mrs Currie "Annie" is the CIS "P to kQtill kept on coifing and my fathrr helld�/!his� 1 �.�/�w,"�� r. Pattisonexplained, .but added, "Sometimes: he had to send me an air triad, letter to find out what was wrong. with someone's radio." ' The expanding, .businese was moved in 1944 to a rented store on Josephine Street, what is now Don Holst Real Estate. While his father was still in chaff, Mr. Pattison, stationed in Clinton, managed to get home during his off-duty hours to help keep the store going. in December of 1945 he was discharged from the RCAF. That same year Pattison Radio and Electric was awarded the Westinghouse dealership. Al- • . t1l►ough husinesw was very slow just after the war, and compe- tition was sti/X—"there Were 19 places you► eo> M get waw in Wingham just after the war— the ar" -the° business soon grew to point were the, feinted failitlies were just too small, In 19550 the Pattisons, father and son, bbouight the lot across the street, the site: of the present store, and erected a warehouse on the land. , The plans for the new store, however, were not 4o be com- pleted lurtil 1953. Mr. Pattison's father developed heart, , trOuble and was no longer able to work. The grand opening of poison Radio and Electric took place on October 1, 1953. Since Mr. 1'atti- son's father was still . unable to youngster to be teased and affix. ••operate the film projector. tionately scolded: There is no,,,,,,';',‘ His career was interrupted in , generation gap between. the two; A942 by the war. Mr. Pattison although almost 13 years Pined the Royal Canadian Air separates them. And the gap of53Force and was sent to the Univer- year's is almost as if it had never~'°..sity of Toronto for practical radio been. ,, courses and training in radar. He ;was posted to Van-, Mrs. Gray will be soon return-*,couver Island on the west coast, ing to Ireland, along with hus- then returned to Clinton as an in - band George and grandson Got- , structor in radar electronics. don King. They will visit with; „.; The business he had started in relatives near Toronto prior to • its parents' home on Minnie their return, Hopefully, it won't .; treet,,., however, continued as tale as longto get them over for.a� ''' `L``�dd .••his„ hli '� waders �' ., � ,: ��� � ' n lid visit .next tide. Jtedii'�ctioii ' of his . father. i' stead of 53 yeais°�aseprated` committee suggested that it might be pos- sible for the town to take an option on the building to keep it available until the committee made the final decision. The executive will also be faced with establishing the range of activities at the centre, the hours of use and the necessary rules help with the ri! gel,' Mr.Patt "then to save on wa ,, 1 married her in 1054."The. "gal" be bred, then inarrfed, was Amelia Willert ' Dash The story., r� secret. The store d grew. Mr. Pattison foundtime,, between raising a fairy' running the °bt with the Royal and to conimuni affaii was president ' R the Legion, the'sone 9d' o executive a sepretary- urerfor thed t t{Hca :spent five years on Plate Utilities elected at general meetin and regulations. Proposals for activities in- cluded pool, ping-pong, pin -ball machines and ,dances. A basic disagreement among the young people themselves was the ques- tion of structured versus un- structured programs. "I don't think kids want a • structured activity;" Greg Bran- don explained, "we just want a place to go to talk and socialize." He said he felt dances were a good idea, but were not the main issue. "Loitering is the main is- sue ... and we need a place to go every day, a place to drop into." Susan Burke suggested that an organized dance might serve as a starting point to establish genuine interest: "I'm . still in doubt that the kids are in- terested," she said. Miss Burke's doubts were answered, at least temporarily, when the young people present indicated their interest almost unanimously • in THERE WAS NO LACk OF INTEREST as close to 50 teen- agers gathered at the Wingham Town Hall Monday evening to discuss the possibility of establishing a youth centre in the town.' The young people met with a group of concerned adults who called the meeting to discuss solutions to the loitering problem in town. all and any activities in the plan- ning. The question of adult super- vision and responsibility was also widely discussed. The need for rules and regulations was undis- puted. "We need to have them," Tom Lee said. He suggested, however, that supervision on the premises of the centre be left ,with the young people. Doug Lay- ton, supported by several other speakers, agreed with the suggestion: "We have as many responsible young people in our town as there are responsible adults." Council representatives agreed that the decision be left up to the central committee but asked that the group not hesitate to call on adults for advice or in case of trouble. Lee Grove sug- gested that adult help and super- vision were especially essential at the start: "the kids need some- one to lean on when they first get going." The major concensus, how- ever, was that the centre could be effective only under the primary leadership and supervision of the young people themselves. "It will, work only if the kids themselves generate enough respect for the centre," Mr. Brandon said. Additional'questions posed the young people concerned the age limit, if any, to be set and the hours of operation at the centre. The. ultimate decisions will be made by the group committee in consultation with all those inter- ested. Although some mention was made of previous attempts at establishing a youth centre and of various "flops" at organized ac- tivities, the predominant attitude was "let's start from now." Sup- ported by most of the young people at the meeting, the youth committee will now try to or- ganize general support from the teenagers in town and get things started. Members of the com- mittee will meet with the town council to discuss further sugges- tions and ways of implementa- tion. Two animals are killed in separate accidents Being in the wrong place at the wrong time proved disastrous for two animals who figured promi- nently in two accidents which happened in the area last week. On Tuesday of last week, Wil- liam A. Tiffin struck and killed a deer while driving southbound on Sideroad 25-26, north of Con- cession 10-11 in Turnberry Town- ship. Damage to the Tiffin vehicle was estimated at $150. The same day, James H. Dar- ling of RR 1, Clifford was north- bound on Sideroad 5-6, south of Howick Township Concession 18, when he struck and killed a sheep owned by Walter Renwick of RR 1, Clifford. There were no dam- ages to the vehicle involved. Approximately $650 worth of damage was sustained by a vehicle owned by Larry J. Ruttan of Wroxeter when he swerved onto the shoulder and struck a telephone pole on Mill Street, Wroxeter, on Saturday. The above mishaps were in- vestigated by the Wingham detachment of the Ontario Pro- vincial Police who also, on Satur- day, investigated an incident in which Donald Thacker of Tees - water was apparently walking his bicycle along the road when( he was accidentally ',it on the neck by a pellet. Mr. Thacker was brought to the Wingham and District Hospital where he was examined. He was later released. During last week, the Wingham OPP detachment also charged 12 persons under the Liquor Control Act. Twelve charges were laid under the Highway Traffic Act and one charge was laid under the Criminal Code. —Mr. and Mrs. Rowland Bal- lagh attended the Wolfe family reunion on Sunday at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alex Jeffrey, near Denfield. More than 40 family members, from several points in Ontario, attended the annual get- together. , In 1965, attizon Radio and Electric c+el ! : t it5`h anm� ° versatr�y. Shorily after that, " 1968 Mr. Pattiso �m n su#`eared a severe heart .attack. the. work and t volved : "I used to ,w " * tea o'clock in tits .mo ,ruing- thnes"- -Mr. Pattison finally' cided to, start thinking _ a retirement. This Saturday *Olin be' day on the job, Mr. Pattison he loans forward to a .rest: " sort of a latitharaeter with," said, childrent,he Kathy and"J university, -Mr. and will be openfir! their. cottage:,'Mr. Pat also have more tune 'to, lade another' of ` hls hobbies: W working and building.; ; ° Looking ;back on a career; of 40 years Mr. Pattison, every reason for pride in his `a+ comp' lishments. Hie 'biggest .pride, however, is in hila family. ith out my wife, the biisi s2'wo d never have such, "but our biggest success:has been raising thetwo kids,°"lbey're my greatest source . of pride." Kath. has completed her first year at ,the University of Waterloo with t class honors, whle'Jim, who will :jou her at "the u*Versi a •. �e� �sr,te� v t w o �sar� e,Yt.,;,y✓� •u. a .9r.4x C Bart t3t�: O He has also . been accepted in the Co-op Mathematical Pro- gramme. Miss Ruth -Ellen Currie, graduate of Victoria Hospital Cr mpus, Fanshawe College. Ceremonies were held at Alumni Hall, Western Uni- versity, on July 29, 1975.,Miss Currie has accepted a posi- tion on the staff of the Wing- ham and District Hospital. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Currie, RR 3, Wingham. PC's choose Goderich man The Progressive Conservatives of the new riding of Huron - Middlesex chose James Hayter, an automobile dealer from Goderich, to represent them in the next provincial election. The nomination meeting was held Monday evening in Exeter. Mr. Hayter was chosen on the second ballot. He defeated the clerk of McGillivray Township, William Amos, and the reeve of Lucan, Ivan Hearn, CIVIC HOLIDAY POSTAL SERVICE There will be no wicket service at the post office, nor will there be rural delivery on Civic Holi- day, August 4. A street letter box collection will be made, starting at 1:45 p.m. Mail posted in the red receiver in front of the post office will be despatched at 3 p.m. There will be no receipt of mail.