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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1967-06-29, Page 34• Oodpright $ gpal-$ta', Th a 1`Jtln* i967 Sill Grinding., f` The mill in The Hollow has been grinding now for more than a 'century and, little changed by the years, is as. busy as ever. The Hollow . is- the name that elder people.in Colborne Town. 'ship haiie for Benmiller, pic- turesque hamlet on the Maitland River about five miles •east<of Goderich. Ben Miller, an Epglishman, founded the settlement in 1848; that is the date of his land grant from 'Ithe Canada Come pany, Michael Fisher, first set. tier in 'the area, had bought his". 5,000 acres in the, early 183'gs and built his house - still standing- in 1836, but Ben Miller's 'bridge and .mill gave -. life 'to the village wtrieh bears his name. In - -Sutherland' s County of Huron "Gazetteer" (1863) alist of Colborne residents, includes David Rodges (spelledRodgers) described -as miller. He is not found, however, in registry of. face records until 1866, when Daniel Miller, . tavern keeper and; brother of Ben, conveyed' proPerty to Rodg-2s. The mill passed in .1873, according to . the record, to Michael Pfrim. mer, and about.1910 to his son " Ernest. In 1945 Ernest sold out to two of his sons, Russell and Elwyn, who operate the mill today. Dap Miller kept the Benmii- ler Hotel, across the roadfrom the mill; assisted by his wife, Mary, and son Jonathan. In later years, Jonathan operated this hotel, and successively oth. ers at Seaforth, Goderich and Carlow. He was famous for his girth, weighing Sinally 486 .pounds; Huron Pioneer Museum in Goderich has a photograph . of the Benmiller tavern, with a two -horse stage in front, but few persons will remember far- ther back than Billy Moore's one-horse conveyance. • He drove between. Goderich and Benmiller, guiding his horse with one arm, having lost the other in the sawmill. NEAR RIVER • The chopping mill was first erected at the edge of the river, and the sawmill. was im:ned, lately north of it, at Main street. The Pfrimmers moved it . up • enera.tions of Family Had. mill a' the end of the _r•). nd can be seen m:_' at Benmiller. downhill ,•road in fore- Pfrimmer's chopping It 'has been in the the creek to its present site. Michael Pfrimmer came to Canada with his parents from Germany at the age of 13, in 1857. About, this time or a little later there were in Huron, according to the Gazetteer, 1,052 natives of Germany. Michael Pfrimmer 'farmed for a few years before operating the m ill. He was not by training a miller., but went away and . learned the trade, and evidently .learned it well. The record °,seems to indicate that he held 24 acres from 1877 on a lease, but got his deed to this land from James Walters in 1883. The Miller tavern' has long gone, but a pump marks the well that belonged to it. In part of :the former hotel, Michael Pfr.irrmer family for three generations. The mill is powered by Sharp's. Creek, hich°S flows in -to "'the Maitland hi�•�r. Pfrimmer lived, and later his widow, Mary Williams Pfrim• mer, • but the big white ,house west of the hotel site has al• ways been the "mill. house" from the time of David Rodges; A White house across the road to the north, in which Elwyn Pfrim ner. lives, was formerly Henry Gledhill's, and in it, when David Rodges operated•the mill, lived William' Elliott, whoabout 1863 -worked for Rodges. The names survive hereabouts among descendants of all, four. 'families. - The roller process was intro. • duced at the mill in 1890, but the old stones were used some time longer for grinding grain. The Pfrimmer flour, milled from Ontario wheat, has been in use for many years over a large area of Western Ontario. arid during the Second World War the firm was called upon for accelerated production. At that time a diesel unit was in- stalled, butSharp's Creek which rises up near the Bruce bor. der, continues to be the nor: mal source of power, and • it is two or three years since the diesel was -used. The mill pro. duces livestock feed and con. centrates and handles four or five different brands... '"',. d Ernest Pfriminer, after with. drawing from the mill business in favor of his sons, continued to lead an active life; farm. ing some of his land and busy in fraternal and church circles. 3 He died at the mill house May 5, 1963, in his 78th year, : id the busy mill lay -silent w ile hue was laid away in Colbor e ce etery, not far from t e la resting place of M .eha:1. r• Pfrimmer ,was surviveby his wife, the former Louis- Hoag. °son; five sons, two da ghters and a brother, Willia J., in Los Angeles. The Hollow, its street names found only on an ancie�rt reap and almost forgotten, once boasted many small industrites: tanneries, a ,cooper.."sh»p, "forge", a maker of gr •n cra.d. les, a sawmill andwooll nm. ihe- chopping mill has utlivedll all except the Gledhill wollen mill up the stream operlatedby , great+grandsons of the ielinder, The Stewart Nurseries, for - many years a thriving Concern of widespread .reach, dwindled and finally passed ° out with the death' of Joseph at 84. Blacksmiths years ago were called upon° to make many things now sold to stores. Jamesaew. ell (his name appears in the 1803 Gazetteer) made a heavy iron loch still on Russell Pfrint. mer's house door. In place of the last blaoksma th shop, and 'prep,. almost on the .site, is a buffo gars a and machine, shop sy. 1004. of Pie changes broug tt b ' the years since the.Canac Com. pan), ytelded ots.1 d 2 con. cession 1, Colborne, :bast Div« isiea. West Wekor QLD Street: Laundromat e You To Goderich HOME WEEK Make this Week a, real holiday. Do your laundry the easy way r,. at the Laundromat on West Street. • Our new addition is complete. We think you'll like the new 154b. Westinghouse top -loaders. 35c GOOD FOR ONE 35c LOAD WA-SIHNG r• w �� Or ONE 25c LOAD AND A 10c LOAD DRYING Or 1 LB. OF DRYCLEANING One Coupon Per Family Please 35c JULY 3 - 4 or 5 35c 35c Drop in Monday, Tuesday or. Wednesday to our open house — Bring. this free coupon and enjoy a cup of coffee with .us. STAFF ON HAND 9:00 A.M. to ° 6:00 .P.M DAILY See Our 1847 Laundry Room Toa HAPPY CENTENNIAL 0 ,i, ct. d 'ather�'� IffiX3 'til ARly i00%' cowzz o Easy Payments .5r 4 to ana i .tee `rod . 0e .o. v co • TAZ I FAY co . . 7f;D o A, ea �,�e de e /e Conf ders�No 8 EH I N D his whiskers, grandfather knew how to outsmart everybody on a business deal,, Grandfather waited until he had saved the money. . Then he paid 100% CASH,•an.d carried his-1511r- chase ispar-chase home. , No papers, no pay- metits, no troubles. ome- :.On Out .-And, Get Acquainted Four years make us mere babes in the woods but we have many years of experience combined in our sales and service. staff. If you have a service .problem or youwant to deal while you_ .are back in town, , come out and see ,ps. You'll find we are friendly people just like Goderich itself• ; between visits. 4fou Borrow. 1,11/14i ELPFUL as credit can be, your credit union. believes grandfather had a great idea there. If you are willing to, try grandfather's - CASH and CARRY PLAN, the credit union will, help you save any amount you name. Practice some of grandfather's old- fashioned ' thrift. And enjoy the old-fashioned pride that goes with it. With your own CASH and CARRY PLAN, you won't have to pay a penny for credit when you buy. Not even to the credit union l A You are Netter off, even if you need to horrovt• ' from the credit -union. The cash, discount and your saving on_.e e'financ.e-costs will make the • • credit union's small_ Interest rate look lower still!. Even grandfather borrowed money when necessary. He would be the first to say you should borrow where •it costs you less — the credit union! •••'""`•► We welcome you back for the big week. Next time don't make it so longc„.2.7 ) GODERICH COMMUNITY 39 St. David St. CREDIT- UNION r 524-7931