HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1967-06-29, Page 37Sco}'reybreck,,
panAt the turn of the century,
els in
town used to. walk
more, and one of the points of
interest was along the various'.
banks, Perhaps the most inter.
esting was the Cannon Bank,
whore there were many benches
and people could sit acid watch
the sun set and the various
activities below • the hill, with'
the odd sailing"ship coming in
loaded with .coal or grain and.
leaving with lumber.
Today there is nothing to
see from the Cannon Bank, for,
it 'is covered with sticks of
trees -that shut off the' view,
instead. of • the grass and wild
w rose bushesthat' used to be
there. Immediately west of
the " Cannon Bank stood the
"Rookery” and today, if ane
'looks closely, the ()Wine of the'
old• foundations anddepressions
in ,the ,ground from the old
cisterns can be seen,
' It was a beautifulold colon.
Jai, •mansion, 'erected, approx.
.mately in the 1840s. Built of
clapboard, it . was painted White •
with twelve -pane .vindows and
green shutters and was enclos.
ed behind a white picket fence.
The verandah was supported by
four large round pillars.
.The place apparently had been
built in three stages, for there
were three separate upstairs.
The hall ran the full length of
the house, with the rear door
opening onto a small porch.
To the left on entering, were
the double parlors, each with a
fireplace. These two rooms
in turn opened into the dining
room, facing north and its en.
tire north wall consisted of
glass doors, sliding, with al.
ternate panes of blue and white
This room opened onto an open
porch.
Upstairs, in the main part
of , the house, were two large
bedrooms, and in tretween, a
smaller one, with a small win.
dow opening onto tie roof, too
high up to see otlt, 1 wonder,.
if. Mrs. J.W. Cralgie and her
sister Mrs. Pellow and Mrs,
Malcolm MacDonald remember
this room? I shall refer to
this room later.
In the basement of this nor.,
tion of the house Was the kit.
chea, °with its brick floor, well,
bake oven and large fireplace
for . cooking. , To the east of
the hall, were two bedrooms,
one very, large and to the front
of this a svitting.room, withfire•
place,- opening in turn int a
• conservatory, at the front of
the house. Upstairs, in this
part, were two morebedrooms.
yo the west of the main par.
tion 'of the house was the third
wing, with a library at the front,
a, very large kitchen 'behind,
opening into various passage.
ways And the carriage house.
What treasures these held!
Upstairs, in this part, were
two more bedrooms. The pro.
perty at this tithe belonged to
Mrs. `Neil Maclvor, who, put.
chased it from the Crane Es-
tate in Detroit. Mrs. Crane
used the place in the summer,
entertained elaborately and had
accounts all over town. She
eventually returned. to Detroit.
Mrs. R. B. Smith was look.
ing after the place and.. inter.
ested Mrs. Maclvor in buying
the property for $650, com.
pletely furnished to the last
detail. It ' was a hospitable
house, and early on a nice
evening' one might see Mrs.
Campbell from the Lighthouse
making her.way to the Rookery,
to be joined maybe by Mrs.
John Sallows, Mrs. Trethewey,
Mrs: Sutherland,Mrs. JohnNic.
holsori; Mrs. Alex Lawson, Mrs.
Wiggins and her sister, Mrs.
Scotty MacIvor, Mrs. MacGil.
livery, who used.toknowLouise
MacCall of Gairbraid and many
others. ,
What stories they told, most.
ly In Gaelic, about their homes
lir the Btghlaands of Scotland,
'Perhaps they talked •about .the
murder in.' the old log house
that stood on the Otter pro.
perty, across , he street, before
Ed: Lewis built there, or about
`Dr. Shannon when he lived in
the house and., his elopement
with Miss Watson.
(ane day Mr. Galt found a
colored man over the hill, be
low the house,, who had escaped
,from the States. Ile was -sick
and frightened and hungry. Mr. -
Galt brought him into the house
and put him into the little room
upstairs, that I referred to ear.
icer. At each meal an extra
plate was put on the table and
when the food was served, the
maid was' told to keep it warm.
When Mrs. Galt enquired the
reason for the extra plate, she
was told it was for a sick dog
he ' was nursing. When the op.
portunity presented itself, the
food *as brought upstairs. I
do not know what happened to
the Than when he got better. 'U
Then again, the old friends
called to see the 'eldest laugh.
• ter, after her return Yro`m Cali.
forma, wfiere she had spent
the winter with one of the At.
trill girls, likely Mrs. Wright
as her companion.
What a view from the look.
out at the pack of the house,
over .the harbor! - the C.P.R.
hadn't arrived then, and there
was considerable activity ar.
oupd the dock: Babb's hotel,
barrels rolling from the cooper
shop into ' the mill. There were
still some whitewashed shanties
below the hill and sailing ships
coming into port, and the lat.
ter part of June was a real
gala, when the Greyhound ar.
rived from Detroit, packed with
Huronites. We had a grand.
stand t1e4N.. 4ttriUs"WO; a ii '
stery,what lay hidden araolag�',
the irch "' and sPrlce . The.
• spruce has disappeared to be
replaced by choke: -cherries,
Then the youngest Son, Alex
Maclvor,, won the bicycle•cham•
pionship, with the " first prize
of an eight -.piece, parlor suite,
with fringe. My it was grand,
and out went all the old .walnut.
plates in the front parlor to
make way for the new.
Mayme,, the younger (laugh*
terVrmarried Harry Megaw.
There were two 'daughters,
Mary' and Isobel and what beauti.
ful youngsters they were. A
new owner, bought the propertV'
across the street, the. Rev. Jos.
and Mrs. Elliott and their son
Jack.- What a housewarming
party, after they were settled.
In 1910 Mrs. Maclvor died
and ' the property , was sold to
the town, which to retain pos.
session of the banks. Why the
council of that time . ieirer per.
mi,tted the old ' mansion- to be
torn down will always remain
a inystery. The house was
sold for $200. to one of the
Fvlfords, up Leeburd way, ,to
be torn down.
For some years after,certaln
items could be identified around
the Fulford place, but they have
disappeared, or else the mem.
ory is dimming. Fulford sold
the walnut staircase for $50.
and the two walnut mantles in
the parlors went for $25. each.
I believe the late John Galt
bought ' one, Mrs. Jos. Elliott
bought some of the fireplace
grates. The old hedge is still
there, grown sky high, but one
• still discerns the original ,
height:
I wonder how many are left.
who remember the old Rookery
'and the people who used to go
there. ' They were a colorful,
good-looking lot,
Styles Like These
Have Changed
0,
7 77 Na711111Sr
TODAY IN GODERICH
We Have The Latest Styles
The old pump organ illustrated here and the clothes the men are
wearing are from a bygone era. W. will never go so far as to say .
that these styles won't return as styles have a way of repeating
themselves.
Today however, styles 'are differentthan these and we have the
most up»to-date men's styles in the best quality and at, the most
reasonable prices. Come • in, during old home week• and' see what we'
are talking about. For sport or dress, We have it.
WELCOME
TO THIS 1967 ..
OLD HOME WEEK
EARL RAWS.N
Style Shop
ZJ
WEST STREET
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"I've seen stores co
and I've seen stores g�
but it's these steady,
friendly stores 1 like...
Modern stores with the
wpm
NED ST
41
Step into Lodge Furniture and you can't help realizing
that here is an outstanding example of that old fashioned ser-
vice — with a fresh smile.
Alive with fresh new merchandise, farm' with color, abound-
ing in friendly spirit,' 'replete ::with an astonishing variety of
accessories = yes, here is the shopping place of today foryfnie
furniture.
There is, of- course, that most important of all things -
supreme quality! 'You will find this quality consistently in
every piece of merchandises°that we have on the floor. Every-
thing is,at its best. always - and always at reasonable prices.
Then, 'too, there are the little niceties that .mean so much —
the cooperative attitude - the feeling that you get. --that nothing
is too much trouble the feeling that you can walk in and walk
out without the feeling that someone is angry with you for not
Certainly, too, you will like the many extra services Lodge'
Furniture offers. These are .old-time principles — old-time ways
of, doing business. Lodge Furniture -has preferred them for
years. Modern as our merchandisewe still cling to all the
old fashioned'principles.
In 1967 - any day - Lodge Furniture's Old -Fashioned
• Standards will help you Shop Better, More.Conveniently, More
Successfully in every' way. They are Targe enough to serve
you small enough to know you.
VISIT US SOON ... WE WOULD LIKE
TO MEET YOU:
LODGE
FURNITURE
;Ar
VAST STREET
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