The Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-09-28, Page 65Seaforth/
Continued from page 24
to wind up two weights using a big crank. One -weight was'
for the clock and the other for the striking mechanism.
bell rang every half hour and on the hour. i kept good time
when it' was. running, p
Winding the lock was no. easy,feat. "1 had to go up the
stage, on st ladder to get into the,attic. 1 then had to cross
rafters and climb two or throe ladders to get inside the
tower. The crank had a five foot sweep. It took at least five
minute*,to Wind the clock, The weight must have weighed
200 poil'ftds.each. They were large steel cylinders filled with
stone. Iltn remember looking dowp the hole waiting for the
containers to come up and get the 'obi over with.'
"I remember seeing "Crossroads"," says owner lien
Cardno. "The hall was always packed. It always seemed full
to me. 1' was six when it was closed, due to the popularity
of television. We closed it ourselves. At the time, it may
not have been heartbreaking. 1 can,remember Dad coming
home with black eyes received from breaking up fights at
dances."
The hall held as many as 600 people at a time. Following
the war, it was a big_thing, he says.
CURTAIN IS THERE
The curtain Mr. Daly refers to still hangs above the
stage. It was handpainted at the turn of the century by Will
Clarke, scenic artist of Clipper, New York. The Scene
shows a Scottish castle near a river with a man fishing with
a bamboo pole from a rowboat.
The clock operated until 1965. "The clock quit when I quit
winding it," says Mr. Cardno.
The future use of the hall will depend on funding for
restoration Costs.
"I would like to see something developed where the hall
could be Put back to use," says Walter Armes, a member of
Seaforth s LACAC. ° °It's a nice feeling room. It did a hell of
a service for the town. It was the social centre of Seaforth.
Please turn to page 26
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SEAFORTH
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SATURDAY,
OCTOBER 1
1983
at Seaforth and District
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1P.M.=1A.M.
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