The Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-09-06, Page 48PAO' 4A—OQDERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1973
This brick. house immediately north of the Registry Office on for years a Canada Company officer and later Crown Lands
North Street bears evidence of being one 01 the oldest agent. The property was purchased this year from Peter
houses In Goderich. First private owner was Charles Widder, MacEwan by Wilfred Parker, lawyer. (photo,by W.E. Elliott)
Fireplaces on North Street tell tale
BY W.E. ELLIOTT
Two .tnk lent fireplaces in the
h<►,� n ;, •f r h: i o l,rr, k
hour : unthc•rl•,I in
�Ic
the date of the first item in the
Registry Office rei`i)rd: !March
23. 1 86 1 . Nobody built
fireplaces like these. as late as
the 1860s. They were obviously
for the preparation of meals in
servants quarters One still
holds out the hone which long
agcy held kettle or pot. •-
The first owner -of -re -co -rd. af-
ter' the Canada Company, was
Charles ,Widder, who until
185:3 had been an official of the
company, and in that year hunt
the large Krick house on
Wellington north now owned
and Occupied by E.C. Hill.
Though his purchase Ltf Lot9U3.
was not registererd until 1861,
there were many instances- in
lhil h registration was not
made until nears after the ac-
tual ••transaction. The fact that
he gave a mortgage to the Com-
panv'discharged in two years. is
circumstantial evidence that he
built on his lot.
That it,wa,s his own residence
is less likely, inasmuch as he
wa"s a bachelor until he wedded
Luc'l• Bennett Rich about the
time he erected the big house
on Wellington street. If rented
by a tenant, it was someone
probably able to make use of
servants' quarters. When Mrs.
Widder after her husband's
death sold the property to G.N.
Davis in 187:3, the con-
sideration was "one thousand
six .hundred dollars of lawful
Canadian' money," and nobody
paid that amount'in 1873 for a
lot without a respectable house
thereon.
Teonancies are not a matter of
record in the land titles office,
but the late A.M. Robertson
_recalled that William Stitt,
who was in the flour milling
business here, lived in this
house, and his son Albert
worked in the general store of
--John Valentine Detlor, corner
of North street and The
Square. This tenancy would
have to he before Drvis',owner-
ship, which lasted from 1873
until 'his death' on August 5,
19.'077'7
Older residents will recall
G.N. Davis in his later years,
getting around in a sort of
velocipede which he controlled
with his hands. Getting as far
as The. Square, 'he' would halt
.to chat . w th friends. The
earlier yeah offer a very dif-
ferent picture. Davis, a native
of Devonshire, came to Canada
about 1852, 'and after a short
stay in Dundas, came -here. He
worked - for William Storey,
who conducted a tinsmithine
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Bruce tee -
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business on the south side of
West street near The Square
and who also operaLSed a foun-
dry. After a few years, Davis
went into partnership with
Storey and looked after the tin-
smithing .shop.
Davis and Johnt':' Brophey
married sisters,' daughters of
Mr. Fidler, lighthouse keeper
here for some years. Evidently
'Davis was a widower for many
years, and a niece, Y Jane
Brophey looked after him in
the North St. . house. Da ',s
bequeathed the house to her. At
a time when she was absent
through illness, Davis was
found dead in his bedroom by a
nephew, Joseph Brophey.
The last will and testament
of George N. Davis, gentleman,
discloses that he left $400 to St.
George's church "to be applied
in reducing they then existing
debt upon the property of said
church." Whether or not he got
to church and Masonic lodge in
his mobile wheelchair is not a
matter- of record. Rev. Mark
Turnbull, rector of St.
Gear ice's: conducted the funera
service and .was an execrator of
the estate along with R.S.
Williams, Bank. of Commerce
manager. A lot elsewhere in
town was.bequeathed to Davis'
son William, then of Winnipeg.
Jane Brophey sold the
property to Margaret Gallow in
1917 for—strangely
enough—the same amount,
$1,600, as Mrs. Widder got
from 'Davis 44 years earlier, Dr.
W.F. Gallow was in medical
practice here for many years
part of the time as a par-
tner of Dr: J.B, Whitely. They
had an office on the east side of
North street about where the
Hunter, Parker & Rivers law
office is now. Dr. Gallow was
mayor', 1922-24.
A sterescopic photo of North
street believed taken in 1880,
shows the Davis house with -a'
porch on the north end. Here
was the front door, as the
pricks show. The building is
right at the 'street line and
presumably never had a door
on North street. Mr. Robertson,
quoted earlier in this narrative,
said he thought "the doctor's
office was added after the Stitts
left." The office accom-
modatibn was used from 1958
until recently by Peter
Maegwat, insurance agent.
The building was sold in April
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•
•
of this
Parker,
partner
-year to Wilfred J.E.
barrister. He and his
have their offices there.
•
School of Nursing now
headquarters at
Conestoga College.
At the Board of Trustees
meeting of the Perth -Huron
Regional ,School of Nursing,
chairman Harry Bosnell,
Goderich advised the meeting,
as of September 1 the school of
Nursing will be transferred to
the Conestoga College of Ap-
plid Arts, in line with the
decision already published. by,, 'questions and, explain
the Department of Health and administration.
the Department of Colleges and
Univ
At et
pities.resent time, this will
entail no change in the Publics
Health School of Nursing,
apart from the administration
of the school.
It was resolved that the
building will revert to the
ownership of Stratford General
Hospital and will be leased to
Conestoga College. The con-
tents of the residence will also
be transferred to Stratford
General ownership. The con-
tents of the school wi1 be tran-
sferred to Conestoga(s owner-
ship. The president and
secretary of the nursing school
have the authority to sign all
necessary- legal papers.
Miss Thelma Pelley, retired'
Director of Nursing of Stratford
General, has been appointed to
the position of Interim Director
of the Nursing School in the ab-
sence of Miss M. Philpott, who
will be onleave of absence
from Septerber tp April 1974.
J. Piron, Dean of Stratford
Centre of, Conestoga College
was present to answer
the new
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OPEN 4P.M. - 2 A.M. - WEEKENDS TO 3.
SUNDAYS TILL 1:00. A.M.
OUNCIN
=1T -YOURS
LI 1?
•
This year, $83
million is going to be
invested in helping
people help themselves
in their community.
If yours is a typical community, we're
putting the "local" into the Local Initiatives
Program by setting up a Constituency
Advisory Group, or by,.having L.I.P. staff
consult with already established groups.
So now you help decide which projects will
contribute most to everSibody.
On the Constituency MvisoryGrou p
will sit a good representation from the
community, including people active in
community affairs, pTple from local gov-
ernment and social agencies, and ,L.I.P.
sponsors from last year, all suggested !Dy
your M.P.
Your project could have. up to $75,000
to work with, if your idea is a highly cre:
g y
ative and. innovative one.
es
is even more ioc
To qualify for
funds, your project must
create not less than 15
man -months of em-
ployment. Workers with
the skills required for your project must be
available within your community. Project
sponsors must hire all employees through
p° �
Canada Manpower Centres. Deadline for
applications is October 15th, 1973,
PP h
thou9 early in
submissions could result
ro•ects startingas earlyas December 1st.
P J
In' northern or isolated areas, projeCts,
could start as earl
• early as November 1st. Pro-
•
ects may be funded for up to six months.
There's Do -it -Yourself Business L.LP.I
too, for: companies w
hich want to provide
, ,
facilities or services for their communities.
Projects are not to be related to business
,r '
operations, and must create additional
jobs. '
- _ All ittakes i one g
idea.
Applications available now
atyour nearest Canada Mnpow r Centre.
GEFAGODO-I1WOURSELFLLP IFqA1VGEF RpWIN�
I+ Manpower
and Immigration
Mwr.c.r
(/
MaInd'oeuWe
et Immigration
Robert Andrea, nollesisa.
EI
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