HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1972-07-20, Page 15w
Sir John A. MacDonald and Sir Robert Borden drive a team of .oxen.
This work is in commemoration of World War 1.
ory, _.
Jife 's best'
in cement
There is a faxm'on,High uay 8.
"that`s ex,Ceptional from any farm
afou"d, It is Clayton Laithwaite's
Ap$bie Gate F -arm and spread ,
around the property are
reminders of his father George.
These reminders are cement
figures of ,people who seem alive
and breathing. In the quiet.
sunlight of day,; with the shade of
the trees and hedge surrounding
you, one wonders, if these 'life-
like statues could speak, what
. they would say? The, eerie feeling
of some private secret permeates
through„ the stillness of the
I' .afternoon:,_,_yet.the_._stone faces:._
"remain silent.
These cement statues were
Illlllllill1plillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilillllllllll(tIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIi1111111111111111111111111111111111111iIIIIIIIIII111.111ihliilllllllll11111111111111111111111111111111111IIIIIIIIIIIIIII�I11111111111fI11111111111111i11111IIIIIIIIII1111mmi1 sculpted lovingly by George
•
125 YEAR 29'
, '• THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1972 ,
Laithwaite., Clayton's father. a
A - wrtti,an -incredible love fur
the human race.
There is a tombstone in a front
flowerbeedlof the Laithwaite house
in ory of. Clayton
Laithwai;:e's great-grandfather,
-•-• ---vvtro —settl'ecral "Holmesville min
1832, arriving from Lancashire.
England. In 1834 he brought his
wife out to begin. the Laithwaite
line in Canada. The family' has •
lived on the same road for 14p
SECOND SECTION years. orn in 1870, grandson George
i1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111101111111111111u1111111iiiiii IIIIIIIIIIIIIIinimi UIIkIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ishu111miliIIIosimIIIIIIIinim(luulWII ilimIII iniiiiimiI1111111111111Uu11111III111111111111111111111111u1II111Iu1I1111111111111111111111111. Laithwaite, married his wife
d. Mary in 1895 and moved to the
a
Moses points towards heaven in a look of stern reproach as Maggie
andJiggsgrinhappily•on their stands and Churchill and Roosevelt
smile wisely into the horizon.
•
property_ now occupied by their
son Clayton., He died at the age'.of
85. leaving behind a part of
himself --a legacy of sc.ulptural
art work.
Clayton Laithwaite
painstakingly,,takes care of theso
precious -figures• He has painted w
them. in order" to help prevent
water" seepage• but a' cement
chipping caused by the elements
is hard to repair.
The statues, which fascinated
so many -people, 'took time and " •
patience to accomplish.. The
artist would- start at the base.
modelling the wet cement ,intq-
legs, and continue upwardslo the
faC ,?. When the cement began to •
harden, he would iise. a chisel:
This was necessary toachieve•the
fine features of a face. To smooth
the figure. he used a rasp or heavy
file.
Photo story.
Lynda- 01M=o-cG-ie wary
One of George Laithwaite' 3
first attempts as a sculptor was a
mammoth statue,, "The queen of
' -Sheba", He made a hollow tpdy
for her hut It filled with water
eventually and cracked open when
the water froze. The, head was
later placed on tap of a high stone_
pedestal beside the house
overlooking a hedge._
Near a fledge at the front of the
property are figures of 'John A.
'MacDonald on a plow with, Sir
Robert Borden driving the ox on.
Ge.orge Laithwaite was a man of
deep political convictions who
made his statement in art form.
"This humorous man not only
poked ,fun at politics, but at
people's human". weaknesses *as
well. There is a sta-tue depicting a
hillbilly with his donkey returning
from a drinking 'spree'. The
hillbilly, leaning on,his beast Qf
burden for moral support as well
as physical stability, seems to
h'ave. trbody who will associate-'
with him except his donkey friend.
A trio of boys returning _from a
;day. s fishing portrays__ the happy--
gQ ;1AQky ; artist in the middle,
whistling ..The expressions on the
faces of his friends not seem as
• •contented. Maybe i s because the
whistling one .is holding all the
fish• •
There is a stone"barbecue on
the grounds still functional. At the
topof its chimney is chiselled the
profiles of two people, facing each
other. Underneath therti is
engraved: "John;' Mary and
George 1895,"
George also showed a love for
animals, He sculpted a polar b'ear
with its cub floating on•an iceberg,
And there is another piece done
indicating a .religious side; as
well. It is a lioness with her cubs,
and also lying with her is a lamb .
• illustrating abibiical story of the
lion lying down with the iamb.
.a►
a Jill coyly $ fliitters her lashes at Jack in.. dem�t, ;�11ure flirtation. ,,e
p i
was ence used as the,tamrs court net holder, which +is -now
replaced by lawn:
.l
Jack' once used as the holder for ' d of the net Ives'
e e ,len � g
Jill a sly wink across the distance of the yard.
An Indian wigwam, built.•in.4 28'
to celebrate Goderich's -
centennial, depicts Adam and, Eve
on one side, building a fire. Above
° Please turn to Page 6A
A
A trio of.young men are loping.home#roma fishing expedition. The whistling pine in the middle is the
artist George Laithwaite in his younger days. His friends don't look as happy. Maybe it's because
George is holding all the fish.
A: motherpolar bear and her cub fleet peacefully on an•iceberq ;A ,f ce of the statue has already broken
off on the foot of the mother bear. Clayton Laithwaite has •to go'fo great lengths• to try and preserve
thse memories of Nis father. But without the proper finances he needs to keep the sculpture in its
'btriginal condition itis only a matter of time before these aife=like statues -wil I sadly go to ruin, The
elements and the statues having been sculpted from cement,combi:ne to contribute to' the crumbling of
these labors of love.
MI 7
' , This uniq is pi�►ce of sculpture was madakwith-a meteor. Snakes once w d'srpund it, t
y � . r. ►IwM�s��
v�vere broken off. A face of some mysterious litti"4non tato be siren, -leu in et tome privet, � � t, ,joke he it
keeping secret4frorn the world.
tl