The Goderich Signal-Star, 1972-01-13, Page 44 Q . CH SIGNAL-STARU, TR.URSD,It ',JANUARy' 13, 1,972
at about snowmobiles?
•
'Members of;Goderich Town Council
greeted Paul Carroll's suggestion last week,
to pass a bylaw 'regulating the, use of
snowmobiles within•the municipality Withy
li tle more -than meagre.enthusiasm,
,, .. ' 'd fae�t; though Reeve Carron preface
hid remarksin council.with the fear, that
he was opening a controversial •,issu;e, he
got" .little of the reaction" -he was obviously •
ex`ecting with only Afew. counci•llrrs
•off'erir-�g ,any comment on the matter at,
Goderich is,. most cerain14. a- unique
community, To our surprise, : there has
been' no indication from the ci.tizens..,.of
Vis town that snowmobiles are a nuisance
he ,re.. Id our knowledge -there have been
no. delegations,, to council..:, There.. have
been no letters to the editor- of this
newspaper on the .subject We might even
surmise that in Goderich unlike so many,
other communities,: there just 'plainly and
Simply is no snowmobile problem.
That may be part of the, reason for
council's 'low-key reaction to . Reeve
Carroll's stiggestion for a bylaw governing
snowmobiles. It may . also be that ,
snowmobiiers in Goderich are -better
behaved than in '.other. municipalities, t&,at
they are more safety minded and that the
machines and their drivers d#1'_not �present'
any k ind of a hazard. a
It may -be that the memories of' last
r r iinter's big snow storm made. heroes out
of the whining,, s.nOwrnoblie • and its
operator.. It may be that councillors have
just not been pressed into action through
a barrage of citizens: -complaints.
If there is no problem;.we're wondering
Letters to the Editor..
ti.
why Reeve Carroll, an avid snowmobiler
himself, would bring up the sub1ect at ell,
in council. We,te 'wondering" also" if
cauncil's matter -of -a -fact attitude" abort
rn
snowabi les is, just _ another , example. df
the growing complacency- of Goderich
--Town Council, :..:....
whatever was behind it, 'council ,as a
whole': seemed it i,I*take the- position that
snowmobiles ;-.have:becorn.e :a necessary
part of winter in•'Gpderich. Like''snow or
sleet, they are. unpleasant ,t6 many,
difficult :td'cofltrot ..and gorje, when 's`pring:.:..
4 ..
breezes blow..
We hope that by tonight (Thursday).
•members cif 'Council will have reassessed
the snowmobile situation in Goderich. We
trust the placid atmosphere will' have been
replaced by a' new eagerness in council to
look squarely at the snowmobile situation-'
here:
,The popular kind of snowmobile
regulation .which Reeve" Carroll would
impose on the town may •be found
inadequate when council . _looks at the_
matter more closely. It may that Reeve
Carroll's plan, to "regulate" snowmobiles„
in
Goderich may have little- or no effect
on the sn4mobi l ing public. Iris an -easy
matter to pass bylaws, but as members of
council are well aware, it is quite another
matter to .enforce them,
The bylaw Proposed
y rsby Reeve �arrpl.l,,
will probably 'end• up like so -many other
town `ordinances have on the books but
not too effective - unless council works
together now to put some real teeth an the
• . proposed new Legislation.
out
DEAD ELISIIS__
DeartMr. Shrier,
May I express my .pleasure n
-reading they item in the Dec. 30
issue of The Signal -Star touching
the•vremoval of about 30 dead
•' tm -trees in Maitland Cemetery.
I....mi, ,. yen '7 -observe "G
As • a Goderich resident,
1911-24, and an -,annual. visitor
. since then, I have. always
considered Maitland Cemetery
to be one of the most beautiful
cemeteries jn Canada because of
its location, its lovely trees, and
`pits. °•- respectful, prideful•'
maintenance: Sonne one well said
"once, A country can The judged
by the care given its monuments
and itsecemeteries.
I Was saddened, when 1.
visited Maitland Cemetery last
August, to see how those stark
dead elms scarred the normal
beauty of •the cemetery
landscape.. Thus I ..extend my
,warm congratulations to 'the
Town Council, the Cemetery
Board, . ,and all concerned• for
such wise;'• const'r'uctive use ,of
the O n tarioa Oovernmen't'
Incentive , ';Program promo ing
, Winter employment in' removing
the .:offending' dead elms. ;'Phe
.whole, com niendable ; - exercise
illustrates the truth of the' old,
saying, "It is an ill -rind that
blows no' one good", since
unemployed • _workmen , were
given jobs:
M.ayl -the
my public
tribute tai .the late -Dr. Alexander •
Harold Taylor, ..as a veteran of
both the - lst and 2nd World
Wars, and as an ornament to his
., chosen,. profession. From 191.1,
- vVhen- - my •-- late• Ilathr;._ John
iiattersonHume, moved to
Goderich as principal d the.
Collegiate Institute, . Dr" Alex
Taylor., who died in 1925, and
his son, Dr. A. Harold Taylor,
were . our family .physicians :until,
Dr. 'Harold Taylor's retirement,
in 1968.
How• well servedti, were the
' residents 1 of Goderich and
environs by the two. Drs.:Taylor
and -their colleagues, including
....Dr. A. H. Ma+klin, Dr. A. C. --
Hunter, • Dry A. '1': Emerson, ,.t)r.
J. B. Whiteley, and Dr: Williai'ii'.
Gallow. 1 hope ,re,g.merrtory.
`reealls :them.' all because they all
Oritiributed. Much to the are or
Hall • ,falid' 4 ,'
the community in so many ways
outside their profession. • • -
Doubtless Goderich .continues
to be well served by .the' current
- group of doctors, making
. splendid use of the fine, modern •
.facilities' provided by the
Alexandx:a. Marine and General
■'s • s e ic.
r
As a-reader
'Ade f
or almost -•half the
124 -Years of publicatiozi of The
Signal Star,•, and- as one who
began a 42 -year careeras a
reporter, on 'The Signal, '192.1-24,
may I extend my best wishes to
you and your staff for continued,
success of your paper.
I commend you • for your
editorials, inv� _your, lec. , 30 ..issue,,
expressing' your modest pride in
They Signal -Star, • and your
expressed deterrnination to do
even better in- the future. We
hear much Alba, "the freedom
of the press",.but part of all that
is the unquestioned and „,freely
exercised. right of:the subscriber
to. voice his or her criticism of
the paper"itself,.
Having got my 'start as -a •
reporter on The Signal and . still
regarding Goderich as my home
town, I may.• be considered to, be
biased, but, in my opinion, The
• Goderich o be oneSignal-Star continues.
pweekly
newspapers in Canada.
. the best .
•
r.
-Hippie , ' communes, campus
equipment -smashing etc r
It is my comical:4i that the
, young people involved- in such
tactics are being misled. They
will never in this,.w'orld change;
the "Establi"shed Order of
BY GEORGE 1... ELLIS
A verbal Donnybrook of
cursing. broke .out at Godench
Town .council in 1850 when: an
attempt by councillors, to elect
the ..municipality's .....fi.....Mayor,.
'ended m a deadlock. January 21,
19'72 will mark ."thee '.22nd
anniversary of this .event: •
' The vote of .the 12 member
cil
counresulted in• a 6,6, tie „for
their respective 'candidates by
•.the....opposuig ; political groups;
Liberals and Conservatives.
'This: frustrating • verdict
exploded the _... tempers '.,of
councillors. Charges and counter
charges were hurled across the
council table. Curslite and
threats clouded the' atmosphere.
So stubbornly, bitter were the •
'opposing groups that"no further
• attempt was. made to elect ` a
Mayor until some months later.
Preceding `this election' were
the events which led up to the
Town's incorporation. • During
the 22 •years following the
founding of Goderich M1,827 its
inhabitants. were• feverishly busy
building dwellings, clearing. land,
carving out roads and, in general,•
establishing a. reasonably
comfortable settlement.
Ay 1849. the,.residents began
o --realize that something. •else'
important ' was missing. They
Warne aware ' that the
'community':could' not progress
properly until it' was legally
incorporated as, a 'ibwn". Suc1 a
•
•
The Liberal Signal had other
ideas and editorially stated that
Rich. should NEVER be Mayor
of Goderich:'
Ike
-vote for Mayor -saw six,
votes,.ufor ftinfi (Conservative and
six for Parsons (Liberal).
The tie vote threw council
into, bedlafn. The „vocabulary of
•Bill),ngsgate ' (cursing' of female
fishmongers.of Condon,
kn&hand) , brokloose .: between
highly irritated. council
,members.. '
,Through • it all = Benjamin
Parsons remained :unruffled arid '
philoSophip. Maybe this was dile •
to his taking a remedy for 'which
he was the sole agent in the
Goderich area. He advertised ,it
week after week in The Huron •
Signal. The advertisement urged
people to "Purify their blood by
_... taking Dr. Moffatt's (of New-
York
ewYork Cfty) Vegetable Life Pills
and ,Phoenix Bitten.". ' This
remedy was' claimed as a sure
curq for an unending list ,of
ailments including, to mention
only a, few: giddiness; •night
sweats., 'nervous debility and
nervous complaint's of all kinds;
pal, itation,oft"",the heart; asthma;
acute chronic ' rheumatism;
affections of the bladder and
kidneys; bilious fevers and liver
complaints; ' piles; " coughs and
colds; colic; Consumption;,
iyslepsia; _eruptions of the, skin;,
gout; headaches; • biles; scurvy; .
4, ulcers; worms; loss of appetite;
foulness of complexion; leprosy,
b
move, they felt; would not only etc., etc., etc..' .. Above is. a reproduction .of a rtrait;. f-Goderich's. firstMayor, Ben' ' i Parsons.,M
po 4 , y gamin r. Parsons
bring to them certain pr•oviricial Some ,months 'passed before -
P was the; first head of the municipa!council but was elected to the •position, after considerable .
benefits but'it would also give Town Council, again attempted 'disagreement; and heated argument, by the council and not by popular' vote. lection df the mayor
uniform regularity • to internal -to elect' a Mayor. The Liberal- by the citizens followed some;years after the Community incorporation.
government. - • Town' Councillors felt,' however' `
On 'December 13; '1849, The that Benjamin • Parsons,., was .
councillor` acid councillor "FORWARD". On the' Seal also 1858 and 1859, Dr. McDougall
Huron Signal', ',Goclerich s'' first' already Mayor because: the votes died in 1873. ; .
newspaper; prodded editorially:' ..against,, ' him ' of condemned, • Hamilton was seen as .an was Founded ; 182,7 . •
-
"We are glad to understand than councillor'; Hamilton and Council:ed Both ofnheseee or men, as1 irteorn amintated 185Parsons was mayor lei 1860 saw lar voich's'
i1 y eeted by popular vote -
the inhabitants of Godench are � votes o(` � -
gConservatives; had not voted for re-elected Mayor `for 'a second ",`that is. by the citizens in general
taking some rniierest in : the. count ; � rs who were:� not •
Mce � an were �
comm • corporation." 1 Parsons at the first election for . term onJanuary, 20, 1851. •rather than by just members of
g gap n Advising • qualified to vote. Ma or krr I85�; Ira -Lewis was- • � -
_ presidents re rdieg._the...selection_ _ The 4l-uron•= Signal -in aintained - - _y _ _m.. ._s _ _� .
.1\1
.�......_.._ Town a pre iousfy ch hadbeen
of members for the'first Town that Parsons was being deterred Now duly. selected, .Benjamin Mayor but because of various tLie case reviousl"y: To Malcolm
Parsons took .the oath of office Cohn •Camerson went the Honor
Council, The Signal said; "They from assuming office •as 'Mayor objections .no--eouncil- meetings '
should be ,educated men -- that •,.-,� as Goderich's fiat Mayor on ' a--, being the first Mayor to'be
• April 1850: :, ,MayY-.
a and the business and interest of were held between 20 and -elected ' by the . people of , the ,.w.,,.
• is, men who cat read and write, the -Town was being neglected p October 6 of that year, 'Town. He was re-
.and' who have' by practical solely by "then basest political At the ,same time, William 'On Qctobe`r 6-, ..1852, Mr.. elected.Mayor
Wallace was elected Reeve and for 161, 1862 and 1863.
experiepee:gathered a knowledge .rancor :.., exhibited through the , Strachan Was- elected Mayor to -.
Postmaster 'Thomas Kydd was, replaceIn 18fZ4, James Watson
of men and things which enable agency of perjury and spurious Ira Lewis. . becalm a Ma or. Other Ma
them, , , to calcXilate the -votes." named Clerk. Assessors elected ' •z Y vacs
•
Things",by such,stunts. -
"Establishment"must
,.• youth
•
4v
join ''the,, people and together
they must bujld an instrument
with tentacles ' reaching • into
every • community, • city and
country. That will challenge the
present order at its base. We just
-can't keep the up -holders of' the
status -quo in political power and:
hope-to...changethe=--established-
order by independent action of
stunt groups. , '
A. Laverty.
NOT SIGNED
We have had a letteit from, an
Auburn reader which was
unsigned.' If the writer of the
letter Would, care to •sign his or
her name to the letter, we would
be" pleased to include the letter
iii next week's paper with or.
' without the person's name.
Sincerely yours, .
J. Alex Hume
•�. • YOUTH ACTIVITY
•
,. y
• • Dear Editor,
It is . said that: today's young
generation has it all over the
-pat, and despite the fact that
:there are Irian y weaklings
,,..amongst.<.them who -are victims
of the drug habit. I'll accept that,
statement until I am convinced
oth e&ise, ,because' I know there
must be' hunnan• advancement
the last analysis and that give's
us' room for a few backward,
paces sometimes. The yon,, REmEmB
protest movement still goes on
though some of the youth have
"contraetett out"'.
-41:here is he •FLQ in Canada, •
the Weath � ripen in -the U S: :•':..
These are' the bomb ° planting
'types:',IThen we have the Moa-ist
ns
In order that Signal -Star,
readers might. express', their
opinions on any topic of
publ`1c interest, Letters to The
.Editor are always welcome
for publication.
But the + writers' of such'
letters, as well as all _readers,
are reminded. that the'
opinions expressed in letters
published are not necessarily
the • opinions held `bY The
Signal -Star..
•
gang, spitting
,calling : them
language, or.
l oetae terms
"rNrLIswEb %Vt. gobtttc
at policemen and
pigs using bad
at leastsort of
in Law ` Courts.
. - . 125th .YEAR
SIGNAL 8TAR
PUBLICATION
Th 3
Count'
y.tdwn Nrwspapar oflNuran'
publlsrfrt+dd at •Godsrjch,i3Ontaria every Thursdiy morning by •,
Signalhsater PublilihIng Limited
T EPHOHt 'S24.S331 11oo coda ,519
BERT O. S AFER — , resident' and pub!ishtt
$111011.11, J. ' Err , 'sur"ektitoriatitaff
'0 AW editork4 stio
.
p
iet'tI o41r
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•Subscriptioii„Rates *8.00 a Year -
To U.S.A.o: i "
5fi, Cm advance)
remota cfs mail raistr,stto.,..
n '+►nbe1�'
• 1 h
0116,
=Were +
lase ° o ere John MsicD`onajd, George -Robert ' Gibbons was --elected : elected were:. ' John V. Detlor,
consequences o their Town Council announced it t nd..J h-tOn May -Ar- in485.348545:, --47857--'-1866---'arid• -1-BFg, Htrely •
seeedings" d y a: n o e ec a T ayor t swarth.
o I 1856 ' Dr. Peter Alexander • J
With . anything but ' general�K= on April ` 9, 1850. - Conned
Following several meetings of r4 Johnson, 1868; Chris' Crabb, •
agreement. as to wheshould' be McDougall was `elected Mayor 1,869; W. Has 1870` incl
g +uinted o t th t f rth Town Council the following y'
p u a any u er additional appointments were and t d for
1857 '
Goderich h' f• t T delay pP
Council, a spirited election took from "receiving 60 pounds •made: Rev. .Charles Fletcher,
1850. shortl to the Superintendent of Common
When • ballots'were counted Corporation l y the Receiver S c ho odes ; Angus - McKay,
the following were elected: General as the' amount of tavern Collector;' George Dezang, -Chief
James Watson„ Daniel Hanley, • licences for,GOderieh, in 1850. Constable; George., Fraser and R.
Benjali:rrn Parsons, Horace ' At +the election, meeting', •G • Cunnitigham,'Auditors DrY P.
'Horton Martin" McLetirian . McDougall, Coroners,•_Iienrry_
$enlami.n Parsons-- - A. —
�._..__ _w,. Reed Wm. -Heed
. James Bissett, Jaynes , t entles, . u n a n I'm du sly selected as Duncan
William Wallace, Christopher chairman while. A. W. Otter was Lambert • and John , McLean,
Crabb;. Dixie Watson, _ W. 8. " named secretary Constables; Joseph Herr,. Jacob
T.
was re-elected
on G r c s irs own a ay would ,prevent Godench a w
1871.
place on January 7,
y to :be paid over
• .
Rich, `Morgan James Hamilton. Seeg Miller, Andrew ,Garvey and
'Then, an amendment called `'
Followingthe election 'there obert Ellis, , Path l f�s`�t'ers;
for Parsons to leave 'rhe h
were cries ,of protest that while the .councillors
voted for
Longworth, .Census
c air
M a James : Barker,,. Pound` 'Keeper;
° councillors- , McLennan 'and Mayor. Protests followed when En •
umerator.
Hamilton had been illegally 1 it was seen Parsons would then
elected. It was pointed out that be eligible -;to be elected as Mayor Benjanirn Parsons took
Dr. Morgan James Hamilton Mayor. ; it upon himself"to design ,the
received 20 pounds a year fromCouncillor Dixie Watson a Seal of the Corporation,. which
CountyCouncil, for services tbis„d as remained unchanged to
.lawyer, ;s`ai"d councillors had no � ' thistlda
rendered which'disqualified. '� They
commercial and agricultural
Despite protests, ,the twointerests , of _ the " Town of
Goderich was not yet a Godench.
condemned councillors', Corporation '
The .follo
Hamilton. and , -- McLennan,- —However, common erre following -symbols were
continued to sit on council. gained ascendancy over '` legal to be found.rn each of the four
In. the election 'for council; dogmatism and Parsons was,. quarters of the Seal: a Steam
James Watson obtained , the elected Mayor • by .the, majority, vessel; a sailing vessel; a wheat
largest number of vote's. but ' without opposition. sheaf; a plorilra
.' refused to,serve�.on council and ' Councillor McLennan was Above this was the crest- an
even offered much opposition to declared illegally . elected as a ' oak. tree. Below was the motto —
what council tried to do in
1850. He went so far as to :get„
up a petition to abolish'the''
C . poratign. In • the 1850
election,,, Watson:,got six .more
votes 'Oran any other councillor.
Incidentally in the election 't'he'
following year, 1851, Watson
received - only. six votes
altogether and five of these were
reported' to be "plumpers",
resulting in hisnot beim elected.
With the first Town Council.
in rather shaky formation in
185Or.- 'The -Huron, -Signal -asked
editorially: "When • will the
Town Couril of Goderich meet
to choose a Mayor? Something
should be done to"put the affairs
of the Corporation • in working'
order!" '�
him right to ,tweet and name a Mayor. Seal represented the
for a seat on • -Godench Town • He claimed that if they did the p
Council, 7.election would be illegal' since
As• a result,. Monday,, January
21,-1850 Was set as the date for
the election by town councillors
(not by the citizens at,that time)
for the l'own'.gY--first-Mayor. It
was forseen as a political battle
(Grits. vs Tories) as, indeed, it
rias.
Feeling ran highas evidenced
by the fiery address of Dr.
Harriilton,.1 the condemned
councillor,., to' his 'fellow
members of�,Towi7 Council,. With
.his fist, Dr, Hamilton split wide
open r a hardwood- table at the
British, Hotel es he'endeavou red
to give weight tothis impaaaioned
declaration that:`rWlliaixi .. .
Bennett ltich should be Mayor;
he willbe mayor and lie SHALL .
Hll ; m ayor: 4 Tremendous
endous
cheeringgreeted his determined
utterance,
i;
b
The official crest for the ' Town of Goderich; ,used ,also as 'its'
official seal and appearug always in connection with town
business, was designed 'by the municipality's first Mayor
Benjaminlarsorms. Mr..Parsoris designed it shortly after he first
took office and the crest has been-in+use ever since.
•
1111
•
li
The British,,Flotel on the 'cures app
, � . as itappeared when :dodarich
Town haunch first used itas 'apeating.place. The :Woolworth
S r
7y � ricin.stands
T
t 5 on thra site Beioi�e,tha origintrl court hotoe
*as •„relit (and, also rhe. Opera Haim, itiddiod over the prey
Club .Grill on • Kingston, Street), many pabli: meati add
wsr°ioua courts, were held at the British Hotel. �►t'
.... . el. Ari`.. * recruit this
building was 'a landmark and an important institution in .than
early days of Goderich..:
• .a