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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-12-15, Page 36PAGE 12A--GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1977 Remember a time when you went with father to the bush to bring home the Christmas Tree? It's a tradition passed by in the seventies but at Neil Edgar's farm near Whitechurch you can go by skidoo to his bush and choose your tree. Neil will cut it down and you can assist him pull it to the skiboose to be drawn by skidoo to the farmyard to be loaded into your car. Neil's daughter, Kim, 5, (right) helps Leisa Rau, Lucknow, (left) pull her tree to the skiboose from the bush where Neil had just cut it down. Kim likes to help her dad cut down the trees and gives out candy canes to each of the children who come to the Edgar farm to purchase a tree. A Christmas tree farmer BY SHARON DIETZ Itctntber a time when father took you along to the bush to bring home the Christmas tree. You rode,deep into the bush by horse and sled looking for that one tree that would make Christmas this ycar so very special. And when you found that tree, father cut it down and you helped hint pull 0 to the sled, falling in the deep snow and laughter broke the forests winter silence. And when you rode into the card the smaller children and mother were waiting in anticipa- tion because they had heat i the hells on the harness and the excitement of the Christmas season was shared by the family as you brought home the tree to he decorated. Bringing home the tree was once a family tradition and it can he again, even in the Seventies. Neil Edgar grows Christmas trees on his farm at R. R. 3 Wingham, just east of White- church on Highway 86. If you want to make bringing home your Christmas tree a season tradition instead of just going out and buying the tree, putting it into the car and driving home Neil will take your fancily back to his bush by skidoo and ski-boose where you can choose your own tree out of about 250 spruce, watch while Neil cuts 0 down, load it onto the ski -hoose and ride back with it to the farmyard where you put it into the car for the drive home. Neil sells about 300 trees each year and families from Goderich, Clinton, Kincardine, Wingham Neil Edgar, RR 3, Wingham, a Christmas tree farmer brings his harvest from the hush in a skiboose he pulls behind his skidoo. People who come to the Edgar farm to buy their trees can go back to the bust -1,T° choose their own tree if they like. Neil uses the skiboose to carry the people to and from the bush and then returns to the bush for their trees. the SIGNAL—S1AR Christmas Holiday Hours Yr) Signal Star Publishing will be closed: Fri., Sat., Sun., Mon. Dec. 23, 24,.25, 26 New Year's Holiday Hours ASignal Star Publishing will be closed: Sat., Sun., Mon. Dec. 31, Jan. 1, 2 9=53 I s sx x> s s s s zTSSc r -^, t cp wa t t i is stA Itgttsat s1 Stia T t Getting the tree and Lucknow and the surrounding areas come to choose their .trees. FIe finds that he has so many customers from the Goderich area because hardly anyone sells trees in the immediate area and many assume Goderich area residents go to a hush nearby and get their uvv n tree. But Neil says it will be impossible to do that this year because there is. no much snow this December that he has been unable to harvest Christmas trees from his hack hush. Ile had hoped to harvest spruce from the hack bush 'for the first time this winter increasing the number of treeslhc would have for sale from 300 to 600. The snow however prevents hint from getting back to the far hush and does not allow him to get all the y:n into the front bush. His daughter Kim, 5, often accompanies him when he goes back to cut trees and in places the snow buries her past her waist. Kim enjoys helping her father cut and bring home the trees and she give out, candy canes to each of the children in the families who come to buy trees. Neil did not know when he purchased the farm four years ago that he would some day be a (hrictn);tc rr,•., f.rn.nr. t -t.' hcmoht the land for mixed farming and raising sheep but he said the bush had been planted in 1967 and the first winter he was there h'c cut down a few of the spruce and put them on his front lawn with a sign, ••-frees for Sale•'. The response encouraged torn to take a more serious interest in his hush and the idea of selling spruce and pine for Christmas trees, The people who came to the Edgar farm to buy their tree are willing to make an out of the way excursion; they like a fresh cut Q.1ric and many like to go hack and pick out .their own. He thinks that he sells more and more trees each year because people are choosing a real tree over an artificial tree as a trend to doing things the natural earthy way continues, and he grows his own trees which means they are fresh and haven't already dried out through. transportation from a farm to a store or lot. It's also more difficult 10 buy a tree because there are not many selling trees in the area anymore. Neil plants about 1,000 trees cath year by shovel and at the present time he has about 4,000 seedlings which are trees not old enough to cut. in three years he will have Scotch Pine to sell as well as the spruce. He planted the Scotch pine .three years ago after discovering his bush had Jack pine which is not suitable for Christmas trees. A pine must which he feels pay fur his tim grow for seven years and a spruce and although he hates th for eight years before it is ready mosquitoes during the pruning' to cut. A tree grows less than,one the summer and snow, like chi inch in a year. ' year, presents problems dune 7 he Jack pine are popular the harvest,:•'we get caught up because they `grow so fast as the 'Christina spirit aruun borders for landscaping. A Miss- here," Neil says, '•1 enjoy tato issauga landscaper bought about people back to choose and cu 20 Jack pine, removed then by their tree and Kim likes to •giv backhoe, baled them in burlap out the candy canes," sacks and took there to an 1he joy of the season has mad apartment building project jilt n a Christmas tree farmer out° Mississauga. Neil Edgar. Neil does not think the Jack pine is a good looking tree but it grows faster and serves the landscaping purpose well. The seedlings are planted by shovel in May; all the trees are pruned in July and August to allow them to grow full; and they are fertilized in October. A poison corn is spread for micc.who along with rabbits are the greatest predator problem because they chew a ring around the tree causing it to die. Four neighbour teenagers help with the planting and pruning and Neil's brother, Murray front Wingham assists with the harvest in December. As well as the Christmas trees, Neil also sells the trees front his bush for borders and as shrubs. The bush has Jack pine, spruce, Scotch pine and maples. SPORTS a R1CR1ATIONUMIIE He sells the trees for $6.00 VARNA 2625809 FOR THE BEST IN it Paris it Service * Accessories * Rentals IT'S U L L y'G ULL Town of Goderich Notice of Intention to Designate Heritage Properties In the matter of The Ontario Heritage Act, 1974, S.O. Chapter 122 And in the matter of the (ands and premises set out below, In the Province of Ontario: Notice of Intention to Designate 0 Take notice that the Council of the Corporation of The Town of Goderich, on the 3rd day of October, 1977, decided to designate the lands and buildings, set out below, as a property of historical value in in- terest under the Ontario Heritage Act 1974, S.O. Chapter 122. Short statement of The Reasons for the Proposed Designation: Reason for Designation: The Henry Horton Cottage is recommended for designation for architectural reasons; Built by Henry Horton in the early 1860's, it is an excellent example of the Picturesque Cottage, characterized by such details as the peaked projecting frontispiece, the scrolled "gingerbread", the gothic window in the peak, and the half gothic windows in the gable ends, This is an ex- ceptionally well preserved example of grout con- struction; this material was not, uncommon in Goderich at one time, but extant examples are scarce. (156 East Street.) Reason for Designation: The Strachan house is recom- mended for designation for architectural reasons. Significant architectural features include the mansard- , roofed corner tower, the heavily modelled window headings, the patterned shingles, and the delightful iron cresting which crowns the —roof. Most important, however, is the building's consistency of detail, for it is "a remarkably unaltered example of late nineteenth- century eclectism, invention, and ostentation—the quin- tessential Victorian house." — from Ontario Tovtrrts, Oberon Press (20 Wellington Street.) Reason for designation: The Whitely house is recom- mended for designation for architectural reasons. The main house is a typical heavy timber framed Georgian house. The trim on the verandah and bay window is a particularly good example of the type of fretwork and turnery characteristic of the Goderich area. The entire house is beautifully propor- tioned and fits well into the neighborhood scheme. Since it is a residential structure that has been converted for commercial use, it forms an excellent buffer between the commercial area to the east and the residential district to the west. (58 Elgin Ave. E.) Reason for Designation: The Johnston house is recom• mended for designation for architectural reasons. Built in 1863 by Hugh Johnston, it is a food example of the Georgian style as adapted by local builders, with some influence of the Regency in the verandah and French doors, and a touch of the ltalianate style in the brackets under the eaves. Although built in the vernacular, the house is highly formal; this formality is displayed on the exterior in the striking door surround, with sidelights, double transoms, and flanking half columns, in the formal row of columns ranged across the verandah, and in the bay and French windows, to either side of the door. (38 St. Vincent Street.) Reason for Designation: The Goderich Public Library is °°� recommended for designation for architectural and con- texrural reasons. It is an excellent example of the Romanesque Revival style, often used for public buildings at the turn of the century. The Targe round tower, with its special interior space, the round headed windows, and the. irregular roof are all representative of this style. The architecture of the library, with the large tower at the focus of Montreal and Lighthouse streets, is ad- mirably suited to its vista location. (52 Montreal Street.) Reason for Designation: The Seegmiller house is recom- mended for designation for historical and architectural reasons. The house was built by Jacob Seegmiller, a trader and tanner, important to the town of Goderich for ten years before he settled here,,ir 1841. Built in the sim• •c tangular Georgia around 1857, the Op soon altered to the sent saltbox shape, highly unusual in Goderich. The house is significant for its Georgian proportions, with the smaller second floor window's, its two Cross and Bible doors, one of which is now interior, its original wavy glass window panes, and its unusual saltbox shape. (87 St. Patrick Street.) Reason for Designation: The Hutchinson house is recom- mended for designation for architectural and contextural reasons. It is an excellent example of the mid nineteenth century local version of the Georgian style. Significant architectural features include the local grey brick, the smaller second floor, win- dows, the adjustable louvered shutters, the semi -circular hood supported by Doric columns and pilasters, and the geometric mullioning of the sidelights and transom. The Hutchinson house closes the vista down Wellesley Street in a handsome manner. (191 Britannia Rd. W.) Reason for Designation: The Huron Historic Gaol is recommended for designation for historical and ar- chitectural reasons. It is one of the oldest public buildings in Western Ontario and had an instrumental role in the creation of the District of Huron. The gaol, with its unusual plan based on the octagon, is unique in its quality of execution and almost perfect state of preservation. Significant details include the classical portico, tapering passageway, pediments, and glazed cupola. The gaol has been designated a National Historic Site. (181 Victoria Street.) kcason for Designation: Hands' Bakery is recom- mended for designation for historical and architectural reasons. Built in ..the early 1840's by D.B.O. Ford, it was the scene of a costume ball mentioned in - In the Days of the Canada Company. Used as a bakery by Henry Hands during the 1850's and 1860's, the house is reputed to have served as a guardhouse during the Fenian raids of 1866. This building is one of the very few examples in Goderich of Greek Revival design, as shown by its plan, with gable end toward the street, pediment with "Palladian" window and dentellae trim, flush boarded front, and bold door surround with fluted Doric columns and heavy entablature. (169 West Street) Reason for Designation: The Capta in Dancy house is recommended for designation for historical and ar- chitectural reasons. It was built in the mid 1860's by Thomas Dancy, a captain on the lake schooners. Although the style of the house, Georgian, is typical of mid nineteenth century buildings in Goderich, the material, stone, makes this house quite unusual. The many changes and additions that have taken place have not irrevocably altered this handsome stone building with its symmetrical .facade, dressed stone voussoirs over the windows and gable roof. (108 East Street) Reason for Designation: Th Lawson house is recami mended for designation foil historical and ayffiitectural reasons. Sir Casimir Growskii famous civil engineer and military man, is reputed to have used the house as his Goderich field office tht tht 1860'~'' while residence of Walter Lawson surveyor. Built around 1851 the house is a well uai t poet nej and beuatifully P P example of theseat i Gnismal .Georgian home. 9 fican architectural features include the pilasters, entablature, an) flanking sidelights arrVeosndhl door, the well p 8Iapboarding, and the smalle second floor windows. It Essex Street.) Reason for Designation: Tt "Town Hall". The P resei Town Hall of Goderid situated on West Street, formerly the P Doost ar minic Government Custom's Office. Built I the building was designed Thomas Fuller, early a Canada's leading chitects. It has an impost and dignified presen enhanced by its set back a detachment from the neic bouring commercialbloci bu The predominant in ldi material is stone Romanesque style WI massively gables. T rusticated sto a stone ng to wall capping o addsse. 1 monumental appearance. building is of significant both architecturally mi historically and worthy of preservation a designation under the act. West Street) Propel Description: Plan 1, Lot Notice of oblections to the designation may be served on the Clerk within thirty days of Dated at Goderich this Eighth day of December, 1977 Larry J• mcC°bl Deputy. Clerk -Trees it tors, week e 1