The Goderich Signal-Star, 1957-07-11, Page 1110th Yeas --No. 20
SEE WATER
W. A. Culbert, right, surveys
the heavy damage caused by a
cyclone that demolished the
large, modern implement shed
on his farm at R.R. 1, Dun-
gannon. At left is a cousin,
Tom Culbert, one of many
neighbors who volunteered
help in cleaning up the wreck
age.. Below is a vjew of the
smashed building, which was
120' by 28'. In foreground is
a section of roof ripped off
by the freak twister.
S -S Photo by P.H.
freak Twister- Hits Farm
Damage ;Nearly $8,000
D'UNGANNON. ,-- Strik'ng with
tremendous force, a pint-size cyc-
lone ripped apart a large imple-
ment shed • and tore the doors off
the main barn. on the farm of W.
A. Culbert, of R.R. 1, Dungannon,
Thursday night.
Then as suddenly as it had
.eornte, the mysterious twister leap-
ed (back into the clouds aga:u.
Mr. Culbert estimated the dam-
age at $7,000 to $8,000. He said
he did not believe that his insur-
ance covered wind damage.
The ferocious •winds were felt
din a few other nearby farms, but
only serious s..a ate .seemed
vn the . � a `" t
addition to the damag "i. •' T gfitd;
the implements and the barn, an-
other small building was ripped to
pieces when the twister struck the
'Culbert farm.
The farmhouse and some other
,buildings were miraculously un-
touched.
Not far away, a hydro trans-
.,iormer blew down, limbs were
/broken off trees and some hydro
poles were pushed partly over.
The implement shed, 120' by 28',
was built of pine with concrete
foundation and metal roof. There
was a spacious loft over part of the
•building. The shed was .construct-
ed (nly about half a dozen years
ago.
j "I had no idea this had happened
until the lads came home," said
Mr. ,C rlbert. . He said he was in
the h•�use and heard the unusually
I high winds, but he didta't hear
anything that Suggested that the
buildings had been damaged.
He believes the shed was blown
down around 9.30 p.m.' The wreck-
age was discovered about half In
hour later when Mr. Culbert's sons,
Bill and Howard, arrived at the
farm.
Friday morning, Mr. 'Culbert, his
sons and the neighbors started at
the unpleasant task of clearing
t,,;' 'eekage and dismantlin
ret ?Yred -af the building.
shed had .beui so thoroughly
wrecked by the twister that it was
difficult to know where to start
the clean-up job, Mr. Culbert ob-
served.
The neighbors really pitched in
to help in a big way, said the
veteran farmer appreciatively.
Among ,those who were helping
clean up when The Signal -Star
visited the scene were Charles
Petrie, Gordon Congram, Tom Cul-
bert, Cecil Culbert, Donald McKen-
zie, Earl Sherwood, Len. Weaver
and Nelson Pearson. Numerous
others called et at other times_ to
offer their help, too. ati
It is planned to construct a new
implement shed and workshop on
the same site.
Surveying the damage, everyone
agreed on one thing. It was lucky
no one had been in the implement
shed at the time 'rf the blow. Mr.
Culbert said his sons had some-
times welded in the building" until
late at night.
A considerable amount of equip-
ment suffered damage when the
shed collapsed, but other equip-
ment wa.s saved by being outside.
A binder was broken, a posthole
digger was practically ruined and
the steering gear on a tractor was
amaged. There was a consider -
t of lubber and tools
in tf as well as imple•
rnen•ts: , = 'es. .
A threshing epa-rator camel
through with no apparent damage.,
A baler, a trunk zed two more
tractors were saved because they
had not been put inside.
The Culberts maintain one of
the largest herds of purebred Short-
horns in Ontario, and the imple-
ment shed used to be pressed into
special service when the annual
Shorthorn sales were held at Maple
Emblem Farms. •'' Cattle were par-
aded •, st the ground floor while
dinners were served upstairs to
the people who attended the sales.
ONE WAY TO GET ACTION
4
Sggest Load Limit
•
e Enforc�d Bridge
Goderich Town Council
intends
to keep the heat on the Ontario
Department of Highways until de-
finite action is taken to replace
the narrow, 75 -year-old Saltforei
bridge with a new structure.
Meeting Friday, Council gave
authority to Reeve E. C. Fisher and
Deputy -Reeve James Donnelly to
organize a delegation to go to
Toronto ail. see Highways Minister
James Allan if necessary.
Council received letters from
Thomas Pryde, MPP for Huron,
and Jolui W. Hanna, MPP for
Huron -Bruce, advising that both
were Contacting the minister to
=emphasize the nepessity of build-
ing a new bridge and approaches
right away.
Ilf the minister does not come
through with a satisfactoryy answer
within the next couple of weeks,
it is expected that a delegation
will he organized from Goderich
and the Townships of Colborne,
Asiluield and West Wawanos•h.
One Way To Get Action
One possiible method of getting
• last action was suggested at i'ri-
A g, day night's Council meeting. The
tom' rbridge has a 10 -ton load limit,
though itis common knowledge
that this law is ,broken many times
daily by trucks cartying loads in
excess of 10 tons.
If the law was enforced, it was
ucggeSte•d, there would be such
an outcry from truckers that the
trucking association would bring
heavy pressure to bear on Queen's
Park to build a new bridge right
away. While truckers might not
like it. this method would be legal
and would be almost sure-4ire, it
was suggested to Council.
Mayor John II. Graham said that,
in his op irinn, many of the grain
truck wing the bridge definitely
HON. JAMES N. ALLAN,
mtvtant, Minister of Highways.
Are carrying more weight than 10
tons.
At Council's previous meeting
two weeks earlier it hada been
decided to preas the 'two district
VIPP .s to see if they could supply
my definite information as to
when the Department of Highways
plans to begat construction of a
hew bride/se and approaches to re-
place "Accident Alley."
"I will be pleased to contact the
Minister of Highways and get a
first-hand and un to -date report
from him," said Mr. ,Pryde in his
°eply. He agreed that most re
ports heard so far concerning the
p start of a new bridge have been
"conjecture."
He Mated, "1 th iik it would be
better if the minister wrote Coun-
cil direct so that you would have
something with authority behind it,
and if you plan any further action
please be assured that I will do all
I can to help.
"I might point out that last
summer when I was in Goderich,
I took him over this road to see the
situation for himself and he was
very much impressed with the
necessity for action.
"On 'Planning Beards"
•Mr. Pryde added, "Only within
the past week or so, I again talked
to him about this and he assured
me that the project 'vas on the
planning boards and that there
would be no delay.
"However, if I ask him to write
you direct and send me a copy of
his letter, I feel that this would
avoid any 'second-hand' message
reaching your Council."
Mayor Graham said he had been
talking to Mr. Pryde in person a
few days ago, and the MTP had
agreed to go to Queen's Park with
a district delegation if deemed
necessary.
Mr. Hanna wrote Council as fol-
lows:
"Replying to your letter, might
say that I am forwarding same on
to Hon. James All�n, Minister of
tli"hways, and hope to get a de-
finite reply regarding this bridge
as I am very anxious to have the
matter taken .care of, and would
ask the Goderich Toorn Council to
Out a great deal of pressure in the
minister to start this job next
year.
"I would he very pleased," he
udded. "to go along with any dele
(Continued on page .5)
f
GODERICH,
NTARIO, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1957
i POP
tpbSefiPtiOri fN 6 A", 'PA $a.QQ
RATES D ULE
OLD UPPER DENTURE PRODUCES Up By 811
EVIDENCE TO CASH A CHEQUE
Have you ever been caught
wanting. in the matter of pro-
ducing identification papers?
An elderly farmed had a
close call at the Goderich Post
Office in this respect.
Living some distance from
town, he found he waf short
of money when he suddenly
remembered a cheque which
he could cash. He presented
the cheque at the Post Office
wicket and was asked by Doug
Madam of the Post .ORace staff,
who did not know him, if he
had any identification.
The ekterly man fumbled
around a bit but seemed un-
able to locate any papers of
identification. Then a broad
smile came over his face as
his hand dug dawn into a back
pocket of his trousers. Gut
came an old upper. plate.
He handed the denture over
to Mr.. Madge and pointed out
that his name was plainly
stamped on the palate of the
denture.
"That good enough for
you?" asked the elderly farm-
er.
A brief inspection of the
imprinted name on the den-
ture was made. The cheque
was cashed.
Attendance at the Huron
County Pioneer Museum was
811 ahead of last year up to
Tuesday of this ween.
On July 9th, the attendance
figure was 4,468 whereas it was
3,657 cn the same date- a year
ago.
The register shows visitors
from all parts of Cauada and
the United States. Some reg-
istrations were from London,
England, and Zweibrueeken,
Germany.
English Visitor
Addresses Guild
The St. George's Church Wo-
men's Guild held the regular meet-
ing on Tuesday afternoon. The
president, Mrs. B. R. Munday, open-
ed the meeting with prayer and
Mrs. "`H. Tichborne gave an inter-
esting report. Mrs. D. Patterson,
treasurer, presented an encourag-
ing financial report. Twenty-four
(Goderich 1O3omembers answered the roll call.
Mrs. H. Dodd read many thank
you notes from the recipients of
Than other Towns?get well cards, flowers and fruit.
Final arrr s.7gements wet
the garden party.
Is Goderich 10 per cent better
than any other town in Huron
County?
That's the $12,000 question that
Town Council is asking a ,county
judge to answer.
Decision to appeal a $186,385
jump in town assessment figures
was made at the regular July meet-
ing of Council after some members
openly wondered if the county had
tried to "slip one over" on the
town.
It was revealed that the county
assesses Goderich 10 per cent
higher than any other, town in the
county., If the 10 per cent was
taken off, local taxpayers would
save abot $12,Q00 a year, estim-
ated Deputy -Reeve James Donnel-
ly, chairman of finance eommittee.
On motion of the deputy -reeve,
seconded by Councillor. James Bis-
set, the town solicitor was author-
ized to proceed with an appeal
against the 10 per cent difference
between Goderich aner the other
towns.
Later, there was a recorded vote
which showed that, every member
of Council, including Mayor J. H.
Graham, favored the appeal.
Sought Explanation
The matter Was brought to Town
Council's attention a few weeks
ago when the county sent over a
copy of the by-law to establish
assessments of municipalities for
tax purposes in 1958. When it
was noticed that the Goderich
figures were up $186,385, it was
decided to see the county assessor.
A. A. Alexander, for an explan-
ation.
The figures form the basis on
which Goderich pays taxes to the
county and also affect the share
of GDCI expenses paid by the
•
Deputy -Reeve Donnelly and
Reeve E. C. Fisher said that noth-
ing had been said or put in the
official minutes at the last County
Council session about the increase.
Council was told that, as a re-
sult of an interview with the
county assessor, it had been learn-
ed that five per cent had been
"knocked off" the town's tax bill
a few years ago and was now being
re -imposed, making Goderich 1'0
per cent above other towns in the
county.
It was said that the county
assessor felt that instructions in
hi provincial manual left him no
course except to assess Goderich
10 per cent higher than Clinton,
Exeter, Seaforth ot• Winghiam.
Real Estate Better?
"For what reason is this a better
town to live in?" asked Mayor
Graham. J. K. Hunter, town sol-
icitor, suggested that the 10 per
cent difference might be due to
higher real estate values in Gode-
rich.
The mayor said he doubted this
since Goderich is "cut off" by
Lake Huron.
"What do you get out of thelake
for six months of the year?" he
asked.
"Cold wind!" he said. answering
his own question.
It was pointed out that the
county equalization committee
must have known that the Goderich
assessment was being increased
but Town Council was not advised.
The , equalization committee is
headed by Reeve Roy Adair, of
Wingham. Other committee mem-
bers are Clayton Smith, reeve of
Usborne Township; .1. Deeves, reeve
of Goderich Township: O. Taylor.
reeve of East Wawanosh Township.
and I. Forsyth, reeve of Tucker -
smith Township•
The Guild waP favored with a
very interesting talk by Miss
Smith, a visitor from Rye, England,
on how they conduct affairs in her
church at hdme.
Tea was .served by Mrs. Harrison,
Mrs. Mcllwain, Mrs. Kneeshaw and
Mrs. Martin.
•
9
re Laid Up
The John Ericsson arrived on
Saturday towing the Barge 137
with grain from the Lakehead.
The barge was laid up and the
r -crew paid off for a time. at least.
This marks the second barge to
be laid up temporarily, the Alex-
ander Holley having been idle for
a few weeks now.
On Sunday the Iiudson came in
with grain and on Wednesday the
Starbuck and Superior. '
The Snofari is still undergoing
trial runs and engine adjustments
'before setting off on its long trip
to Hudson's Bay, via the St. Law-
rence River.
Hydro crews continue work on
the power lines on the North
Shore Road which will provide
power for the Rock Salt plant when
work starts on it.
The heavy blow Tuesday even-
ing sent the Mir, a large yacht
from the Royal Canadian Yacht
Club. Toronto. into Goderich har--
burr for protection.
The lighthouse supply boat. St.
Heliers, arrived here last Thurs-
day evening, and has been in and
out of the harbor in the course
of its duties
•
h1 lte ev2es 7e
Build Special Fund To
Finance Water Plant?
Early Next Week
Next week's Signal -Star will
be the last one before annual
staff holidays. $out it will be
appearing cue day earlier than
usual—that is on Wednesday,
July 17, instead of on Thurs-
day. Rural correspondents are
asked to have all copy in the
Signal -Star office no later than
Monday next week. Early ads
vertising copy is also solicited.
Staff holidays run from
Thursday, July 18, to Saturday,
July 27, inclusive.
0 0 0
GIRLS CREATION
CLUB MEETS
The July meeting of the Gode-
.rich Girl's Creation 4-H Club was
held at the home of Miss Lois
Campbell, assistant leader.
Miss Shirley Squire, president,
presided. Miss Blanche Allison
read the minutes of the last fleet
ing. The treasurer's report was
read by Mrs. Clairmont in the
absence of Geraldine Sherratt.
Members and leaders received
an :iivitation to join other 411
clubs---rn a special train trip to
Detroit, July 18.
Weed control, in.y-ects and dis-
ease were discussed and also the
picking of vegetables and their
preparation for family meals. A
demonstration - of a tossed salad
and fancy garnishes for the salad
were given' by Mrs. A. Straughc.u.
Next meeting is to be held on
August 12, at the home of Mis.s
Shirley Squire, Mill road. The
meeting is to be followed by a
wiener --roast.
( _ - 0 -
(Transfers Here
From Matheson
Provincial Constable J. B. John-
ston arrived here Tuesday to join
the Gocferich detachment of OPP.
Now in his seventh year of service-
with the force, he was trzeisferred
here from Mathesoh Mr Northern
Ontario. His wife and three ehild-
ren will join him as .00n as living
quarters can be located here_
MORE TOURISTS SEEKING
iNFORMATION THIS YEAR
The num-het-xi' t'rurists serking
information at the Tourist Infoi or-
ation Booth was 143 for the period
from .Tuly 1 to 6 this' -year in com-
parisc e to a trltal of RS for the
July 2-7 period last year Can-
adian visitors predominate. Last
Saturday was one of the busiest
days for the 'booth attendant. :4l;ss
Pea Bradford, :n sealyea
rs.
R - .TRAIN CRAS'H 'ILLS E
DERICH 'NEW CANAD
In cne tragic instant, dreains of • that they would be unwise to leave
a bright future in a new land
ended for three New Canadians
from Goderich when their car was
hit by the 80 -mph CPR "Dominion"
passenger train at Craighurst, 12
miles north of Barrie, early Satur-
day.
Death came instantly to the
driver, Gyorgy Baranyai, 23, and
his two companions, Lajos Gaz
dag, 40, and Istvan Furstenzeller,
21.
The crash widowed two women
and left five children fatherless.
Mr
. Baranyai is expecting another
chd.
Angry Craightlrst residents said
that wig -wag signals for the cros-
sing had been delivered last March
but had never been installed.
When the fatal crash occurred.
the signals were still in the nearby
freight shed.
It was the second accident at
the Craighurst crossing within a
matter of hours. The night be
fore, residents helped pull Lloyd
Morton, 38, of Lakeview, from his
car when it was in collision with
a fres'ght train. Morton was not
seriously hurt.
In Hungary, from which the
three victims fled to Canada fol-
lowing the recent revolution, there
are no unprotected level crossings.
There are either gates at the cros-
sings or tunnels under the -tracks.
• Freedom Fighters
All three men were said to have
been freedom fighters during the
Hungarian revolution. Mr. Gaz,-
dag had been in Canada about
seven weeks and the others had
been here about three months.
All had been sent to Goderich as
soon as they arrived in this coun-
try.
A friend said that he believed
the three men had obtained jobs
near Barrie and were to start at'
,eight o'clock Saturday morning.
There were bush tools in the car,
suggesting that they might have
accepted employment at a sawmill
in the Barrie area.
Earlier, the meal had been ad-
vised by J. R. Mitchinson, local
immigration officer, and others
the Goderich -district. However,
they left at 3 a.m. Saturday in the
18 -year-old' ar owned by Mr. Bar
anyai's mother-in-]aw, Mrs. Anna rallied to offer any assistance pos- Tuesday at 9 a.m. ,Ret'. J. P.
Czimbaimos, of Caledonia Terrace, sible. Gleeson officiated. Interment was
Goderich. Many Attend Funeral in Colborne Roman ('atholic come -
As soon as news of the tragedy ' A large number of citizens were tery. -
Earlier, the bodies rested at the
Stiles funeral home in a room
banked with flowers. A large
number of bouquets, came -frorii
townspeople including the Maple
Leaf ('hal -',er, I.0.1) E.
1
S"
reached Goderich, neighbors and in attendance when requiem high
other citizens. touched by the mass was celebrated for the three
plight of the bereaved families so I accident victims at St- Peter's
far away from their homeland, t Roman ('atholic Church here on
Sweet Pea", "Bingo", Motheress
Baby Skunks From Toronto tyre On
Holiday Outing At Pt. Albert Beach
Proof that not all "wild life"
is in downtown Toronto but is to
be found north of East Danforth
avenue also was brought to the
Signal -Star office on 'Tuesday by
Norval Anderson, of 'Toronto.
formerly of Goderich.
They were "Sweet Pea" and
"Bingo," . two motherless baby
skunks found in the Dentonia Park
area of Toronto and brought to
nearby Port Albert beach for their
first holiday in the country. Mr.
Andersonsaid it was surprising
the amount of wild life there was
in that area of Tortsito-
When the mother skunk was kill-
ed by a car on a Toronto street
there were six baby skunks sur-
viving her. They were found under
the verandah of the residence of
a neighbor of the Andersons. The
Andersons decided to adopt- two
of the baby skunks as pets and
brought them along from Toronto
to Port Albert for a holiday outing.
When Mr. Anderson brought
them into the Signal -Star office
we apprehensively asked him if
there was any danger of them
using their well-known weapcn of
.self defence as we reached over
to pet them. We were assured
there was no danger --that this
would occur only if a dog rushed
in and barked at them. After
making sure there were no dogs
around, we proceeded to pet the
baby skunks who seemed to enjoy
the attention. Mr. Anderson plans
to have them deodtk1Ped in the
near future, however, so that there
will be no danger of them having
to resort to using their well-known
defence weapon.
in the meantime, "Sweet I'ea"
anA "Bingo" are popular summer
holiday visitors at the Port Albert ,
beach.
The 24 -car, double .diesel pas-
senger train was two hours late
sahen the accident occurred at
('raighurst. It was delayed ono -
they two hours as a result of the
fatal collision.
The accident happened at 7.20
a M. Robert Prince- 55, ('PR sec-
tion foreman, sitnesseid the acci-
dent He said, "I had just started
(Continued on page 5)
in order to raise money to 1n
ance a much-needed new waters
plant, Town Council may act with-
in a matter of days to increase
local water rates ---perhaps 'by as
much as 100 peacent or more.
This course of action appear,(
likely following . a special joie
meeting the xe
Utilities Cemof mi,ssionCouncil Tuesdayad .Public
With no money on hand to help
finance the proposed ' $522,760
plant, an increase in rates ha,
seemed inevitable for some time,
The increase may be hurried upD
judging by the opinions expressed
Eby Council members at the speciall
me
Brieflyeting., instead of borrowing the
entire cost of the project, the ma-
jority of Council members pre-
I'erred the idea of increasing rated
immediately and 'building up a
large reserve fund before turning
the first sod. This latter approach
to the 'problem could save the
town hundreds of thousands of
dollars in interest payments.
While PUC members have warn-
ed of the possibility of a serious
breakdown occurring in the pre-
serlt "antiquated, obsolete" pump- -
ing station and supply pipe, De-
puty -Reeve James Donnelly observ-
ed that this risk does not seem to
have become dny more serious in
the past few years.
And, as ` Commissioner Thomas
Taylor pointed out, a -breakdown
could happen even in a- brand new
plant.
Phe probability of a serious
breakdown and its effect were dis-
cussed Extensively as Council mem-
bers sought to ascertain whether
a start (11 a new plant could
safely be delayed a few more
years while the town scrapes up a
good part of the money that will
be needed.
illost Council members seemedto feel` that the risk et a -Thous
breaks ewn is not so eery great
in relation to the lar. a amount
of money that can be sacred; on
interest payments by delaying 'they
project for, say. half a cozen years -
while the town saves en, some
money.
Heavy interest Charges
An alternative pian eeld be
to order an immediate start on the
new plant, with the government-
sponsored Ontario Water Re-
sources C'ommi,ssion finaneaag and
administering the project. tinder
this plan, the town wa..ruld pay
about $1500.000 to the OWRC
over a 30 -year period. Ti -at meals
that the town would he paying
t around $900,000 in interest alone
on ,i p1:lit that could lea.:::t for
3582750 cash.
:Metering of water .'.-,i: a.- A dis
cussed at the meeting. anJ ,t was -
generally agreed that - ells ;tion
of meters in all house ` ;, would
probably result in a c :--id,erable
reduction in water ,imption
here. -
Outeome of '1'uled. _:icons
was jhat Council will h' .+: ;i:,ather
special meeting at which some re-
eommendiat on will pr abably e
made to 10 will
('01' re..ng e-
tinite action to settle 'h•' water
situation.
Water now costs tilt nerage
Goderich household aheu` wl•6 per
year. Council had been t,R,1,1 earlier
that this charge would sely be at
least- doubled if the of "a project
was given to the OWR(' to 'inrnce
Ontario Hydro will not permit
the town to use the su-t .tantial
surplus in the electric tit eartment
here to help, finance ?h� wate.� -
piant.
By doubling the water r<.1es, the
Flit' could raise,, about 350,000
more each year than it nir -s now.
Present at the mectir. _ were
Mayr .1. II. Graham, Roes e E. C
Fisher, Deputy -Reeve -Jett s Don-
nelly. (':suncillors 'W. A Tipple,..
C. M. Robertson, Peter S 1,- cEwer
and Frank \Valkom: Commissioners'
R. G- Johnston. George `(1 c'Ewaet
W .1. Mills and Thomas -l'. - 1or., of
the 1'I0'. Elmer weaver_ r ;mages
of the P1`C. and 5 H P;,r' tovim
clerk 1rasUrcr_
Reel ecFi- hc'r, acting - chair
mrsn. said that the spr:ceil jg in,
meeting of Council anti the PlJC
had been railed "to . see if vop
I('ontinued on page 4,+
{
Now in the thick of the h lying season,^
district farmers have their fingers Crossed
that better )weather will prevail from here
on in. In above picture taken on the farm
of Benson Meagan, of RR I, Goderieb, Mr.
Frragai3 is seen Chatting with Ido fa+tYler,
George Feign, who-' is at 'tht' wheri gyri' a
tr'a•ctoi' hauling baler. )tr) bas. 4– ' urt. •,
at=e being loaded on truck fry 1).onu 11 4,7,311
and Ion McAllister. Ron, witowf'40ii s
Toronto. is on top of the load.
•