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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1965-05-13, Page 15DRIVING RANGE .Highway 21 .cost 13 Mlles. So44 of Gbderich Weather (Permitting 4 Sat., Sun.,ind Ho odays---,1'I.m. to 5 p.m. TIT THE CORE S_IG WIN A FREE CARTON OF COKE By Scorreybreck At the tOn of the century, people in .town, used to"' Walk more, and .one of the points of interest,, was along `the variaua Danks-,: Perh .'tkae t Miter estin�g was the 7 Qatmon Bank, vvlhere there were rnany benches -and-peop1•e ec tr1d t -and-ova ftlhe sun set and the :various activities bel&w the .11.111,,,wi _ _ the odd sailing ship, coming with in Ipded with coal or. grain and leaving with luntber. Today there 4s nothing to see from the° Ganott Bank, for it, iISc0vered with Stacks of trees tihat shut ,off the view, instead of the gra4ns and ,wil„wildroseG buses that used to .be there'. ?trnamedately west • of. the Can, neon Bank- stood the "Rrpokery`-' .and :today, if one loops eloselyr the --•o Cline..-of--•the,..old.' ftaund atio°ns ,and depressions in the round' from the old cisterns can be seen. It was a Pbeautiful old colon- ial mansion, ereoted, - approx- imately in the 1840s. • Built of Clapboard it • was painted white with twelve -pane windows and green shu'ttens and was enclos- ed behind a white picket fence. The verandah was supported by. four large round pillars. $ * _* DATED FROM 1843 The Rookery stood on.,. Lot "E" onthe Cannonbank, lots "F" `and.. "0" , h a v i"n g" been struck off t h e Map later by Judges order. Amount of a mortgage given•. by WM. "Robertsonin.• most certainly indicates pre• Bence of a house, <Subsequent owners' were 'the Bank of Upper Canada, Thomas Galt, Hon. Wm. Cayley, Charles Widder and then, in the 1870's, Anna Crane of Detroit. In 1900 the executors of Wal- ter Crane sold the property to Effie-,NMclvor. The town acquired it 55 years ago, af- ter which the Rookery -was demolished, 'and ' a bylaw was passed prohibiting erection of any building. The place apparently had been built in three stages, for there were three separate up- stairs. The, hall ran the full length of the house, with the rear door opening onto a sma:'1 porch. To the left en entering, were the double parlons, each with a fireplace. These two rooms in turn opened into the dining roam, facing north and its• -entire-- nerbh---wattU-e of glass doors, sliding, With al- ternate panes of blufe and white. This room opened onto am open porch. Upstairs, in the main part of the house, were two large bedrooms, and in bettween, a smaller one, with a small win- dow opening onto the roof, too high up to see out. I wonder if Mrs. J. W. Cra'igie and her sister, M. Fellow aid Mrs. -Malcolm MacDonald remember this room? I shall refer to this soon lamer. In the basement of this por- tion of the house, was' the kit- chen, with its brik floor, well, bake, oven and large fireplace for cooking. To the -east of the J;ivaxy� w'ho Used to know Louise NfacClall of G+ai'ba+ai,d and maty Others. - W;hat stories they told, 'IYieSt-, l+y in Gaelic, about their 'horn,•e+ , in the Highlands of , Sclan i.. Brrhaps t11 y talked, about . e the murder in , th -old log that stood on the Otter proper lay, gross the street, before. Ed. L rsThlait 1<here,"' bo t Drr Shannon when he 1ived in the .hyo "use and his eJlopementt with Hiss Wdtsoan. .1 its hall;-. were two bedrooms, one very -large and to the front of this a sitting room, with fire- place, opening in .turn into a ,conservatory, at the front on the house. Upstairs, in this part, were two more bedrooms. • . Colored Man One day Mr. Gait found a, colored man over the hill, be- low the house, who had escaped from the States., He was sick and frightened and hungry, Mr. Galt brought him into the house and put him into the little room 'upst'airs, that I referred to ear- lier. At 'each meal an extra plate was puny on the table and when the' food Was served, the maid was bold to keep it warm. To the west of the main por- tion of the house was the third wing, with a library at the front, a Very -large kittehen behind, 'opening into various passage- ways and the carriage house. What treasures theeC ield?— Upstairs., in this part, were two more bedrooms. The pro- perty at this time bdlon.ged . to Mrs. Neil Maclvor, who pur- chased it from the Crane Ds - tate, in Detroit. Mrs. Crane used the place in the suansn, entertained elaborately . and- ha accounts all over town. She eventually returned to De'troi't. Mrs. R. B. Smith was looking after ..the place and _ interested Mrs. Maclvor in buying the-pro- 'perty for $650, G.oantp1'etely fur- nished to the last detail. It was a hospitable house, and early an a nice evening one rmight see Mrs. Campbell, from the Liglh!hhauise), making her way to the Rookery, to be join- ede ena'ylbe-=by--MPas --John- Sal - lows, Mrs. Tre'thewey, Mrs. Sutherland, Mrs. Jahn. Nichol- son, Mrs. Alex Lawson, Mas. Wiggins. and her sister, Mrs. Scotty MacIvoa , Mrs. MaieGil Flameless electric heating can't create dust, dirt, film or soot. gentle even heat Room -by -room or zone temperature control. NO draughts, no ehiIii_sR.,n9 sudden blasts of hot air. '�• Iow' cost When Mrs. Galt enquired the reason for the extra plate, She was told it was for a silk dog he was nursing. When the op- portunity presented itself, the food was brought upstairs. I a e ne -know-wh!alt-hapfpe anal) when he got better. Then again, the old friends called to, see the eldest laugh- ter,. atter her -return -from Cali- fornia, where she 'had Spent the winter with one of the At - trill -girths; likely -Mrs. Wright, as her companion. What a view from the look- out at the back of the house,. over the haribor!-'the C.P.R. hadn't, arrived then, and there was considerable activity around the dock: Babb's hotel, barrels -rolling from --the -cooper-...shop.. into the• mill. There were still some whitewashed .chanties be- low the hill and sailing ships coming into port, and the latter part of Jrune was a real gala, when the Greyhound arrived from Detroit, packed w•iti -Hu- ronites.. We had a grandstand view. Attrills' was a mystery, What la"y hidden among the birch and spruce. The Spruce has disappeared to be replace1 y- oohoke✓eherri es. Then the youngest son, Alex Macivor, won the bicycle cham- pionship, with the first prize of an eight -piece parlor suite, with fringe. My it 'was grand, ,and The "ghostly" lines on the site above form an artist's reconstruction of the former Colonial mansion known as the "Rookery" which was situated im.mediat-ly west of the Cannon Bank. _ The house is believed to have been built in the 1840's, ' Photo by W. E. Elliott REG. BRINDLE' Throughout Ontario users prove that in homes insulated to Hydro standards, electric heating costs no more to operate than other heating systems. extra" space Requires nay' bulky fu t-buming egth ment. And electric heating is so quiet. Plastering Contractor R.R. 6 Goderich 524-8069 19-20 out went all the old walnut pieces in the front parlor to make way for the new. May�me, the younger daugh- ter married Harry Megaw. There, were Inv m daughtert, Mary and Isobel and what beautiful youn_s erst'Prey were. owner boner— the property across the street, the Rev. Jos. and Mrs. Elliott and their son Jack: What a house*afnm-ing party, after they were settled. Torn Down In 1910 Mrs. "MncIvor died ci the :property was sold bo town, which wished to. re- tain possession of the banks. Why the council of that time ever permitted the old mansion to be torn down will always re- main a mystery. The house ,f .n s -old -f `}8( one'-of.th- F ulfords, up Leeburn way, to be tarn down. For some, years after certain erne -could -be-identified around the Fulford place, but they have disappeared, or else the memory is dimming. Fultford ,a solid the walnut staircats for $50 and the two Walnut man- tles in the parlors went for $25 each. I believe the late John Galt bought ene. Mrs. Jos. Elliott bought some of the fire- place grates. The old hedge -i _ e ewn-sky gh, but ane -still .discerns the orifi inal height. I wonder how many 'are left `vc'the remember the old Rookery and the people who used to goy there. They were a colorful, good-looking let. 1 {?f +.11 .� - +. '�A'fF:.�SW. �t�aiSi9ansEIX� This message might provide a poysi :Ng answer., FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CALL YOUR QqALIFIED ELECTRIC HEATING CONTRACTOR OR - ask your hydro 64 WEST STREET 524-7371 uricCo. MacDonald - 133 BRITANNIA ROAD WEST 524 7851 189 SOUTH STREET 524-9512 how come a. Renault is by far the lowest -priced 4 -door automatic youcan buy? —Renault t Atom ati c -prices -start at __ (P.O.E.) complete. Yet, each Renault 8 seat has 5" foam rubber in ,it. That's quality. So is a heater that 'melts snow , "'o IT6 T O5f -Arid a n "e n g n -e TFiat f a`rt g " -- - instantly at 30° below. Full anti -rust dipping. 4 -wheel disc brakes. Up to 45 mpg. Renault has them all, yet it offers 'the lowest -priced, 4 -door automatics you can buy. Test one. You'll buy one. Renault 8, votod Car of the Year by TRACK & TRAFFIC. MAGAZINE. 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