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
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'ather�'�
IffiX3
'til ARly
i00%' cowzz
o Easy Payments
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4 to ana i
.tee `rod .
0e .o.
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co • TAZ I FAY co
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7f;D
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�,�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