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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-08-09, Page 16ar is PAGE 4A---GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, At UST 9, 1973 .rp Bert Soother to of Princess Street operates his ham radio while his'wife Helen and son Don watch. Mr. Sootheran, who moved to Clinton to become a piano tuner with Sherlock - Manning and ,says he enjoys living in a smaller town very much. He communicates with other operators from around the world. (News -Record photo) Blind couple move to Clinton location Working, in .Clinton and travelling to— Guelph every weekend by bus. to see his wife and 12 -year-old son, Herbert -Soot-her-an -had-plenty of t irtte-to consider whether he liked his new job tuning pianos enough to uproot his family. Bert, 46, and Helen, lived in Guelph since they were married 16 years ago. Could they start again'' - leave familiar surroun dings, settle in a, new lawn and a new neighbourhood, make new friends Could they make a go of An nanwou,d ask himself that. But Burt is blind. He lost his sight as a boy in Niagara Falls, through an eve infection when he caught the measles. His wife has. ,partial. yisiOn. There were other things to consider. - Guelph, with a population of 60,000 had public transpor- tation. Clinton, a4dwn,.of 3,200• people, did not. How would- , they get •aroun.d? And what about shopping? They would have to tend .i place close to the stores. He often thought on 'those bus_ trips how different - con- , ditions . are today, particularly _the high -c t Df.. I,ying.Att.ci. W. J. Demme (LOWER SHOP Phone 524-8132 DA OR NIGHT Rgp • A' 'Agent for 24 -hr. FILM DEVELOPING 4444444444 4 r r 444, • T7 1Gl' ►C'(I! L WELCOME SERVICE would like to call on you with "housewarming gifts" and in-' formation about your new location. The Hostess will be glad to arrange your subscrip- tion to, the Signal -Star Call her at 524-7854 when he was 20, he definite1 had more nerve. Now, more set tled in his ways, a move would be difficult. But did he have a choice? -He - -had - -been- out of - work for over a year. He had a family to support. He trained as a piano tuner at the Ontario School for the Blind in Brantford. When he graduated in 1946, he travelled around Ontario for five years tuning pianos with a blind friend who did repairs. A sighted salesman drove them from town to town and set up jobs for them in piano stores. Manv's a time he thought about those days - steadv,work and good pay. He never forgot one lady whose piano he,'tuned. She .had the, police search him because she misplaced her cheques. Turned out her husband picked it up. When Bert got married, he and Helen settled 'in 'Guelph.' He soon grew tired of being away from home so much and eventually gave up tuning pianos on the road. That was 21 years ago. Lately he had been thinking about, how. hard it had been on the family `since pe was laid off his motor packaging -=job --.in- an electrical company. H had worked there for 16 year . He never thought he would be out of- a .job: --In 1970 the company decided to move .to its other plant in Sarnia. Bert was willing to move. His job was protected under the terms of a union contract with the Guelph plant. But the Sarnia plant had a different union which only guaranteed him a 50-50 chance of a job. In the meantime, with the help ' of employment officers from The Canadian-- National Institute for the Blind, Bert looked around for other em- ployment. He lined ,up a job in a manufacturing firm that was willing to hire him when his job terminated. Word got around he had started this job already and he was laid off in July '71. He remembered when the manufacturing job fell through too. The_ company shipped its products to the United States and when President Nixon levied the excise- tax,, business w -as cut in half and Bert was out of a job. CNIB! employment officers spent the next year in every. fac- tory in Guelph and area • in an attempt to find suitable em- ployment. There. were no jobs available: In October of last year, CNIB heard that a blind piano tuner, employed by Sherlock -Manning in .Clinton, was retiring. Bert went for an interview. He war hired on a three-month frial basis. During that time -he Small Farm _. _ _ _.._.._DeveIopment plugs -.._ FARM LISTING SERVICE Under the SMALL FARM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM the Farm CreditrCorporation maintains a listing service at its local- offices. If you are .the owner of a small farm which you -- wish to sell for not more than $20,000 you should visit the local F.C.C. office before completing the sale_ arrangements to -list your farm and inquire about the Possibility of a grant under the Program. if you have just' sold your farm you should im- mediately check with F.C.C. as to whether a grant is available. The listings w.J11 be available to any interested purchasrs. If you are looking for Iand.to expand your present farm you should check to see Warty of the land listed will` meet your needs. You may qualify for special credit to buy it. ♦ J • boarded in Clinton and visited his family on weekends. He liked his new job tuning pianos in a factory and' the company as- so satisfied with --his wor-k- that, after - the ,assessment period, it gave him an increase, in salary. And then Bert decided. In February, he, Helen and their son moved to Clinton. ."It was a big step," says Bev Powell, CNIB employment of- ficer. "There were sacrifices. Both of them were active, in the corttanuriity. Bert was on" the ernplovment airport itoties com- mittee of the Canadian- rrtrncil of the Blind (CCB), an odd turn of events since he could not get a job ' -himself. 'And Helen had to give up a small business selling iosmetics." "We've made a lot of new friends in Clinton,'-' says 'Bert.'' "It seems easier in a small - ,town. People always stop to say "Hello'." - Bert .has .been spending a lot of time fixing up their house on Princess. Street. He likes -wood- working.- He is also a ham radio. operator. Some nights he may .be in touch with Europe, other nights Aitralia-or 'Africa; "When we lived in Guelph, I used to talk to a young man -in his twenties who worktd in a weather ,station in Alaska. His family -lived -in Guelph: --At a predesignated rime his Dad would come over to talk to his son. I finally met him a year, , later." Since the. Sootherans have moved to. Clinton, .they have been back to Guelph twice to visit friends. But Bert has no plans to retire there. "I'll just have to see how things go. If.we continue, to like Clinton as much as we do now, we'll probably. stay put." Country -Playhouse Stage first "musical by. Shirley J. Keller Huron Country Playhouse staged •its first musical last week. The Fantasticks is a delightful fantasy with some fine music contained throughout. The story has been termed A Parable About Love and that about sums it up. Main, action centres around a girl and boy who believe themselves to be in love, then have a quarrel and part before finding their lives are incomplete without each other. ,The girl was played by Can- dace •O'Connor, a lovely thing with a truly sweet voice.. The boy was portrayed by Allan Stratton, a member of The Ap- prentice Group, who shifted easily and believably from hap- piness to sadness and back again. Stratton has a good Voice and his duets with Miss O'Connor were ear -pleasing. Rob Garrison as The Narrator was excellent. Shawn Lawrence as The Girl's Father and Keith Bradley as The Local man Allan Morrison Masson, of Oakville, who has been appoin- ted chairman of the new Halton regional government, is a grandson of the late James Masson, county judge of Huron k'om 1896•to 1902. Mr. Masson, 59, will preside over a region embracing Oakville, -Buffington, Georgetown and several townships. It is con sidered a full-time job, and carries a salary of $27,000. Mr. Masson is one of four regional chairmen chosen by the provincial government. One is a woman, Controllei. Anne Jones of Hamilton, who heads the • Hamilton -Wentworth region at $31,000. Three of the four are known as active Con- servatives. Mr. Masson was party can- didate in Halton for the House of Commons in 1965, but was defeated by- a Liberal.. He en- tered Oakville council 'in 1959, ws mayor from 1964.to 1966, then dropped out until elected reeve in 1970, which office he has, held up, to the present. He retired' from b fsiness- -after selling his consumer loan firm in, 1965. In an interview he said fears that reginal government would force unwanted growth upon Oakville were unfounded. He thought the region would be as responsible to the jeople as their local system. James Masson, who was Conservative member for North Grey from 1887 tri 1896, was appointed county judge for Huron in the latter 'year and BU S IN SS DIRECTORY R. W. BELL I OPTOMETRIST The Square 524-7661 Ronald L. McDonald CHARTERED'ACCOUNTAN 39 St. David S4. 524-6253 Goderich, Ontario CHARTERED' ACCOUNTANT 39 St. David St., 524-6253 Goderich, Ontario v _.__DIESEL_ Pumps and Injectors Repaired For All Popular Makes ,Huron Fuel Injection Equipment Bayfield Rd. 482-7971 For FASHION RIGHT -SHOES The Place To Go is ROSS SHOES. The Square Goderich 9 Cards For All Occasions * Gifts * Books * Stationery Supplies * Records ANDERSON'S BOOK CENTRE 33 EAST St. Goderich CHISHOLM FUELS Distributors For LINOC PRODUCTS HOME, FARM, INDUSTRY * Free Burner Service * Furnace Financing * Gasoline* & Diesel Fuels 524-7681 aR 529-7524 Boy's Father turned in fine per- tormancea excelling perhaps ,in their duet numbers. Star of the show once more had to be M.E. Evans who was on stage for the third con- secutive time this season as 'I'he Actor. Pluxhouse etudien- ces are enjoyiWfg Evans' work for he has shown he is as ver satile as an actor should be. The remaining two members of the cast were Liz Richardson as The Mute, silent but very much in evidence throughout, and Peter Dower as The Man Who Dies. Both these young people had unusual parts to play and, did them excep- tionally well. Although the musical lacked some of the sparkle that may have been expected, most of the dazzle was lost because of cir- cumstances beyond anyone's control. The heavy rain last Wednesday evening left the cast and the audience ham pered due to the fact that the accoustics in the big tent were at an all-time low with people constantly moving to escape the egion-bead . took up residence in Goderich in the "House of Four Judges" now owned and occupied by Judge Glenn Hays. Later the family removed to the Acheson house on Nelson street, now a nursing home, and whenillness caused the judge ' to retire, the family removed to Toronth. The" , judge's wife was Jessie Morrison, a sister of whom was the wife of Dr. Hugh I. Strang, formany years principal of Goderich Collegiate Institute. The judge's eldest son, Thomas Morrison Masson, never 'resided in Goderich, but married a Goderich girl, May Allan, daughter of A: McD:, Allan. He was executive vice- president of the Aikenhead Hardware Co., Toronto, when he retired to Oakville, He died there in 1956, aged 80. His wife died in 1965, and is buried in Oakville. Their only child wag' Allan Morrison,Masson, now head of Haltonregion; there are four grandchildred. water dries from above. One of the moat amazing'sur- prises of the evening was the tremendous backgroupd -music which was supplied by pianist Linda Roland and drummer, flute player and mandolin ar- tist Erni Van -Daele. Thy exciting sounds and marvellous accompaniment supplied by this pair of talented people astounded moat theatre- goers Wednesday evening. Their efforts were highly com- mendable and there's little doubt they will long be remem- bered as the highlight of this first musical production. Next week, I'll be seeing Like Father, Like Fun, billed as a "riotous Canadian comedy about the generation gap" try Eric Nichol. If you can find time, get down to the Playhouse to ex- perience summer stock in Huron County. If you haven't yet visited, you are missing one of the area's newest and most exciting adventures in enter- tainment. - ' - SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RED CROSS LOVE'S LAST GIFT REMEMBRANCE M►Nethw h'• a • MONUMENT • •MARKIR • INsc You are rea ANN LET aM, T. PRYDE & SO H LTD HELP YOU DECIDE ON YOUR MEMORI IN GODENICH . DOI DeuIDippe Al guru . SEE 77 HAMILTON ST. '` S24-1761 FarrnersAttention Due to a price increase of about Ii% this wsok on WESTEEL-ROSCO GRANARIES ANARIES We would advise you to order your bins now wM» we Na some available at the old price. 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So it's smooth and creamy. , Frontenac comes in many scrumptious flavours. And Sealtest makes.even your favourite -stand- bys stand up and be counted... Next time you're buying ice cream, pick up some Frontenac. A nice nig scoop of Frontenac will' make you feel good all over. 1/ fl-t2na Driminion Dairies Ltd. is a registered user of Sealtest, a registered mid,: mark of Kraftco Corp• Bi$setBrothersLt Phone (5.1 QJ 524-756 1 R 5'I :1 i 1