The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-10-17, Page 3lecessalry to future development of Goderich
GODERICTI SIGNAJ:-STAR, THURSIMY, OCTOBER 17, 1974—PAGE 8
Harbor facilities -should include
Sky rbor airport last week was
cited as being necessary for future
developm ;.nt in Goderich and Huron
–Countydur4 g a public meeting held'
by town counci'l's airport committee.
About • 60, persons' attended the
meeting to•discuss with the committee
what facilities the airport should have;
Purchase of. Sky Harbor by the town is
in its• final stage's. Price is $120,000
over 15 years at 6 1/2 percent interest.
Committee chairman Bill Clifford
bpened discussion by explaining
plans for a $450,000 ,terminal which
would include hangars.
The elaborate facility was generally
thought to be more than the airport
need$ now but most ` persons agreed
that a well maintained landing strip;
sufficient hangar space; licencing for
night flying arid as small terminal are
needed.
During discussion;; it was learned
that there are no washrooms at sky
BY 'DAVE SYKES
The Huron County Jail is at-
tracting a new breed of visitors
these days.
The jail which housed
prisoners 'until April 1972 was
ently granted the status of a'
National Historic Monument
°
•
Gh
Harbor. Councillor Clifford said the
committee woulyd take' immediate
steps to have 'them installed. p
Besides • washr.00n1s, persons
suggested the terminal should include
a pilots' lounge, a machine shop and
a radio communication`s room.
One young flying enthusiast, Paul
,,,Parsons, showed the meeting a set of.
,plans for a terminal .which he drew in
drafting class at Goderich District
Collegiate Institute.
'Several persons said elaborate,
facilities are not necessary now
because air -traffic would not warrant
it. They also questioned financing of
such a scheme.
Councillor Clifford said Bob
McKinley, Huron -Middlesex MP; is
directing the committee through
proper channels towards gaining a
.federal grant for airport ,construction.
Funds `Worn the province, are not
available at this time, according to a
letter the corri"rrli°ttee received from
Jack Riddell;'. Huron MPP.
Councillor Clifford said that he had
made a presentation to°county council
to ask for its help in paying for con
struction and maintenance.
County clerk -treasurer John Berry
said that the county is obliged by an
agreement to maintain an airstrip until
1986 but the obligation doesn't pover
hangars ,and a, terminal.
He agreed, however, that Sky Har-
bor .. is -important to county develop -
pent.
County council has not made a
decision Yet about its role in
developing ..the airport,"but it has 'a.
definite Interest in Sky Harbor, he
said. •
Mr. Berry suggested that the airport
should be managed by a committee of
,41 •
town council.
A _man who uses Sky Harbor's
present facilities, said that during in-
formal discussions with other pilots
there he found most of them unwilling
to" pay expected high. rent for hangar
space . in , the - $450,000 terminal
suggested by the committee.
Councillor Clifford stressed that the
expensive plan was only presented' at'
the meeting to get discussion started.
General manager of Dearborn Steel
Tubing Gus Chisholm, said he would
not use the airport ..when he had to go
out of town on business even though
he .could have' an airplane at his
disposal,•
In his opinion, a trip to Toronto, for
example, is easier to make by car. He
did feel that a good airstrip, however,
is needed in Goderich.
Bruce Sully, president of Dominion
Roads Machinery Co., could not at-
tend the meeting but he sent• a letter
which stated that the airport'is"a vital
transportation link".
Mr. Sully's company has offered to
Atrip into the past
lease airport land from the town and
build -a -hangar for the company plane.
George Parsons, president uof
Goderich Elevator and Transit CQm-
pany, also sent the committee a Letter
as he . was unable to attend the
meeting..
He stated that Sky, Harbor will Pe
important to, bring new business and
industry to this area.
Several people who fly for
recreation were more interestedin
securing good facilities for private
Tight aircraft. Some suggested that,
they could lease land from the town
and build their own hangars under a
scheme similartothe one suggested.
by Dominion Road's.
Councillor Clifford said he was•rnot
'in favor of privately built hangars. He .
felt that the town should build
hangars and then lease space to air-
plane owners.
One observer said that the town
•could lease .only land and allow in-
dividuals to build their own hangars
but the design of the structures could
be controlled.
Councillor\Clifford sad°he commit-
tee would, consider that suggestion.
He also accepted an invitation on
.behalf o,f,the committee fromia pilot to
go fora tour of some small airports in
Western Ontario. • • '
It was agreed that the committee
would get a look at what .other
municipalities are doing with their air-
ports and,how if might apply to Sky'
Harbor.
Reeve Deb Shewfelt said that the
town .has to get an._airporf started. He
compared it to'the Goderich Industrial
Park,which at first seemed to be slow
in developing. . '
Industry in the.parkis developing at
a rapid pace now.. .'
Deputy -Reeve Stan, Profit said that
if this area .wants to grow it will have
to have an airport. wa.
First school tour through historic jail
and tours are now operated on
a regular basis by the -Huron
Historic " Jail Board, an in-
dependent. group of • county
residents.
Last Friday the group,operted
its doors to public school
children for the first •time.
0,0
The Grade 7 class of Stephen
Central School was given the
honor of the first school group
tour which •proved to. be more
than just an afternoon away
from classes.
For the children the tour was
a- unique adventure; •a trip into
the annals Ohistory - a history inquisitiveness. They took
that is distant and foreign to delight in the fact That perhaps
them and yet comes' alive, in . in the very cell.t�hey were stan,-
their imaginations, 'becomes ding was once a .notorious
very real. -- brigand,' maybe even a' pirate.
The tour began on the third Each cell, kindled new. fan-
tasies. •
-
Mrs. • •Jrihn Wallace, tour
pride, had her ° busiest, after-,
noon as the children unloaded
-a barrage of questions. They'
`r• reduced things to their'simplest
terns but still they were
meaningful and sincere. •
What did the prisoners do•all
day? Were they mean Menf Did
floor •with- its numerous rec«
tangular cell, blocks.
Youngsters drifted from cell to
cell,, examining the small en-
closures; barren except, for a
solitary cot, the Only scar in-
dicating that once there was
life: • '
The children
surroundings with
surveyed the
a new
they ever try to , scape? What
kind of things did they do to get
prison? I,t continued '.all af-
ternoon. • -
•The, second floor of the jail
which contained the turnkey's
Office, 'the finger printing room,
the medical room and the
w'omen's cell block brought "a
new wave of interest.
The youngsters re-enacted
the finger printing process and
one: boy, obviously the class
resident expert on the subject,.
took it upon himself to give a
small demonstration.
"They just grabbed the guy's
°thumb and stuck it in this
goopy stuff . and then they
pressed it on a clean piece of
paper and it Would .,make a
print. Then they did it with, the
other hand".
But the youungs ers couldn't
stand -still too long. There was
lots to See and they seemed in-
tent on seeing it yin the least
possible amount oif time
without missing a 'detail. Each
cell, '-'thoukh identical to the •
rest, • was a new place •to in-
vestigate,a new place to conjur
up fantasies and •adventurous •
stories of a mysterious and
alien 'world,
The governor's office and
house adjoining the jail became•
a major target of interest. The
decor depicted a typical parlor
room setting of the pre -1900
'period, a fashionable world and
yet. 'an antiquated one that
brought on pronounced
snickers andlaughter.
But despite the levity of the
afternoon outing, ,there was a
seriousness and sense of history
aboert the surroundings that
captured, the Minds of the
young visitors.
The seemingly un-
conquerable majestic stone grey
walls, long narrowing entrance
hall, enclrosed spiral stairway
'.create an aura of adventure
and realism, A world so distant
and unfamiliar, to- the young
leojple became a real world, an
This Stephen Centtal Schoolstudent has his' hands tied -in -i on ,aistori.c world;
chains which are just part of the many interesting' displays at Mrs. Elsa Haydon, secretary
the historic Huron. County Jail. ►f • the Huron Historic Jail
Board, anticipates that •a•
greater awareness of local
history can and should he in-
stilled • in the younger people.
.The board also plans to accept
tours from all schools in the
Huron County area.
• The enthusiasm expressed by
the seventh graders from
Stephen Central School in-
dica ps that the tour was a
rewarding and meaningful ex:
perience for ,the youngsters in,
volved and that the popularity
of preservatit►n of historic sites
should continue to grow in the
future.
Dimmick leaves
Daily News staffer
returns as reporter
A solitary figure peers down the spiral staircase from the third floor. ,
Ainslie Market Limited
E
■
• - 106 THE SQUARE'
524.551
FRESH, MEATY
SPARE RIBS • (SAVE 3 LB.)
OVEN .----BONELESS POT
ROaAST BEEF
89c .b:
98Cn.
BUTT SHOULDER •- -
i nQK CHOPS ��
FREEZER, SPECIALS
LEAN
SIDES PORK (CUT FREE)
10 lbs
FRESH SAUSAGES 6
C Ib.
69c Ib
,
Ci L.•
.L w.i+i-.Y A.1 Wr,. rr .i`,Ir.i ii ii i►ii�►.►-.LL ..�.�. ice.. et, Y'4.., ...tit., ��.. ►.. 41,10
WHOLE --- HALF '
F•RES11401 • R°OAS_
Dave Sykes
Dave Sykes, a third year'
journalism, •student at
Conestoga 'College, Doon Cen-
tre, will,he'working as a repor-
ter -photographer for the _
Goderich Signal-Sfar for the'.
next month.
Mr, Sykes, a native of Cam-
bridge (.,Preston), came to
G,'derich after Bill Dimmick
left the Signal -Star last week to
become editor, of The Elrnira
S.ignet.'
Now 22, years oif age, Mr.
Sykes toured •Europe and
worked- for a year .in Preston
before heginning his studies at
Conestoga. Before that he at-
.tended St. Benedict's High
School in Galt; St. •Jerome's`
High School in Kitchener; and
is an honor graduate of Preston
High School. 7
In March •u;f 1974, Sykes and
two com-panions,, Jim
MacDonald and Gary I.oewens,
worked in Goderich- during
Young Canada Week to
two.stu. nts from Stephen Central School, the first school group to tour the Huron County
Jail, get a t.. • hand look at° life berfind bars.
•
4.
P
1111 Dimmick
produce • The Daily News, the
Signal -Start's special Peewee
hockey tournament publication.
This past summer, he was
employed by the Kitchener-
Waterino Record .as' a sports
writer.
OEAI fIJI!OR
Dear Editor; •
Anyone who purchases a fur
coat or a coat 'with fur trim
must accept some responsibility
for causing unnecessary suf-
fering, to the animals 'whose
pelt he or she is wearing.
In • Canada millions of
animals die in, agony because of
the demand for fur. 1~ ur
bearing animals in other coun-
tries suffer a similar . fate.
For example in a small coon-'
try such as Thailand the otter
has now • alni6st disappeared
because of -trappers' activities.
, it .takes the skins of no less
than -40 otters tivmake one fur
cot. These superb, attractive
animals have been Sacrificed' jn
the tens of thousands simply to
meet the demand, of people in
countries 'such, as Canada for
fur coats,
, 1 hope everyone, who feels the.
need to wear' fur will, before
purc'hasingwa coat, first demand
proof that the fur of thecoat is ,
either synthetic or, at the very
worst, the fur is obtained from
ranch animals'
Yours sincerely,
T.I. Hughes
Executive Vice -President
Ontario Humane Society
1
TOWN IALK
Mr..and Mrs. Robert C. Hay
and children, Barbara and
Eric, were Thanksgivink;
visitors with Mr. and Mrs. H.
Bosnell, 117 Napier St.
The marriage has been an.,
nounced of F. Geraldine
Shiilington to J. Franklin
Gillespie. The ceremony took
place,nn October 12, 1974 in S.
Andre'w's Presbyterian Chu en,
Sarnia, Ontario; the "Rev..f$.,
Campbell officiating. The
couple will reside in Sarnia.
I -f