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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-08-23, Page 17I ti sjkes 5 r \e Inside This Section: Jack Riddell talks about study to help solve problems Page 2A Lise Gunby of Ashfield Township starts her career in journalism Page 3A Martha Rathburn's column Page 4A Obituaries Page 7A White mould, blue mould, pink mould and now beetles who deat.farm crops Page 8A Experimental greenhouse opens in -Kincardine area, watched by fartners ......................... . Page Cath Wooden's column Page 10A Gives it all. away BY W. E. ELLIOTT Henry Yarwood Attrill, late of Baltimore, had been ten years at Ridgewood Farm (now Ridgewood Park), when he left it. Hehad pur- chased it on September 27,, 1873 for $5,000 the 32 acres on the Ridge, ad- vertised for sale for `. several years after the death of Registrar John Galt, then nine from the Widder estate. He con- tinued buying land, and by 1883 owned a great estate, With cattle, sheep, hogs, carriage horses and poultry. The big frame house adjoining the Being a parent must be a tough job. It is not only a big job but the responsibility is monumental con- sidering that children will carry your views, habits, morals, temperment and perhaps philosphy on a 'number of subjects with them through life. And I have to wonder how many. parents would like their children to grow up just like them. Honestly, wouldn't you want something better for your child? But you have to wonder how children view their parents, too. At an early age, youngsters view their parents as practically the only sane people in the adult world. Many an argument has been waged between neighbofurhood children on the merits of their respective parents. My dad is better than your dad confrontations are natural for children and somehow it is important for youngsters that their parents stand out in some regard. Also, at ofne time or another, children have had aspirations to enter the same line of work as their father or mother. My dad works in a pantyhose factory and when I grow up I`m gonna work there too. We soom get straightened away though. My brother-in-law works for Labbatt Breweries and convinced his son that his job consisted of putting the bubbles in the beer. The kid wants to do the same thing when he grows up. - But that kind of attitude- and fascination with parents soon wears thin. After `a while you don't want to have anything to ,do with their career and resentment builds up over in- terference. That attitude is reflected in a U.S. survey of young high schooj kids who were more than willing to trade in their parents. Three out of four teenagers surveyed said they would trade a parent in if they could get Burt Reynolds, Cheryl Ladd or Carol Burnett in return. A recent issue of the Ladies Home Journal claimed that 75 per cent of junior and senior high school students reported dissatisfaction with their parents. So what these kids would like to do is replace their parents with people like Raquel Welch, Robert Redford, Farrah Fawcett and Lee Majors. Not a bad selection. Knowing what I know now (which is still very little) I may have traded my mother in for a Raquel Welch or Farrah Fawcett. Or even as a sister wouldn't be a bad idea. The girls' top choices were Jaclyn Smith and Burt Reynolds_ The boys surveyed also chose Reynolds as first choice for a father and Cheryl Ladd was the prime choice for mother. Youngsters obviously have a preoccupation with television and movie stars. I wonder if children of these stars would give up their famous violimminsimaiN parents for Harry Hunking of Moose Jaw or Grace Bocheski of Grassy Narrows. - Children mostly dislike parents for preventing them from doing things that seem terribly important at the time. "You can't go to the drive-in with that boy, he owns a car with fold down seats," parents would say. And the other good lines are; "I'm just doing this for your own good" and "This hurts memore than it does you." Regardless of the restrictions parents laid down, I have the feeling kids get to do most of the things they want anyway. And if you can believe the stories parents tell they are trying to restrict 'their children from the things they did as teenagers. The cycle goes on. In retrospect, I would not have considered trading my parents in on a movie star. But, if Raquel Welch is available, I may consider giving up my baseball glove. the derich IGNAL 132 YEAR -39 J THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1979 s� A SECOND SECTION aster of Ridgewood Farm dies in exile ancient log house was erected, along with spacious stables. "By way of. making a respectable provision for my wife," he signed a deed conveying the entire property to Helen Forrester Attrill. He then took up residence in Toronto, at 137 Bloor Street East. At his death on January 20, 1892, the Signal stated that he had been continuously ill for .six years. He died of chronic bronchitis. Mrs. Attrill, by a will made in July, 1899 (the exact date is not on it) conveyed the property to her daughter, Elizabeth The Attrill memorial window is in the north transept of St. George's Anglican Church, Goderich. Campbell and a son, Edward Chaney, the Ridge property as described in her husband's deed. Mrs. Attrill died , in the following year. The Signal's obituary extolled her personal qualities, but did not state where she was born, or name the • surviving children: Elizabeth, Thomas, Edward and Grace Heaton of Toronto. Elizabeth and Edward carried on the stock farm for a time, and the Attrills then moved into town note and, according to a in this file, lived in the Strachan house at Wellington and Lighthouse. John Sturdy recalled that Mrs. Heaton often came to Goderich in summer and stayed at Holmes Villa. Routine particulars required by the Registrar General of Ontario on Attrill's death-" were. provided, nearly four months later, by Dr. W. P. Caven. He ]eft blank nearly all.the lines in the printed report but stated Attrill's age to he 70. (He was in his 70th year.) The good doctor did not know the municipality in which Attrill was born or he This is vthe Attrill memorial in the 11tait1and Cemetery at the side of the exit road. Footstones bear only the initials of Mrs. Attrill and several children. would have put it in. He set clown "Canada" as a • guess. and not a good one. The theory that the Attrills came from England seems to have some slight support in the fact that one son, Thomas P., was horn there, mainly it rests on e St. ich, per- sonified in Elizabeth, driving a pair of bays,and from the coachman's seat giving instructions Goderich merchants (in person). The Attrills had little contact with Goderich •people but the Menesetung Canoe Club held beach parties •on Attrill's Point and a Colborne boy, now elderly, remembers rowing in the Maitland with the Attrill girls. When Attrill deeded the property to his wife he described himself as "of the City of New York." though the family had lived in Baltimore four years before. corning .to Huron. He owned property in the United States and stock in U.S. comapnies, but evidently no real estate in Huron at the time of his death; if there was a will it was not probated in Goderich. Not- a British citizen, he could not .have voted here. The usually'hedpful Belden Atlas of •1879 lists Attrill as a stock breeder and the owner of a salt well, but the space for "nativity" is blank. The Signal evidently never interviewed Attrill, probably the most in- teresting character of his •time in Huron. On May 30, 1877, the newspaper announced that Mr'. H. Y. Attrill is laying out. the slope in front of his residence for a vineyard. Some 500 vines are being planted. It will add greatly to the at- tractiveness of The Oaks(?). On at least one in- stance, a Signal man visited Ridgewood Farm, being invited to inspect the cattle. He wrote a half -column for next edition, with no in- formation about how- many owmmany cows Attrill had, or even the breed, but took down the names and identification numbers of numerous Princes and_ Duchess cattle. "He was told that in the previous week Attrill had shipped 40 head to a purebred sale in Chicago. The cattle were of the Turn to page 2A Here is one of Mr. Attrill's farm buildings by O.E. Fleming of Windsor. This particular one may have been the coachhouse. Stately summer place Built in 1872-73 for Mr. Attrill, this was the family's home in the summer for many years. They migrated to Californla'in the winters. Ir If you ever move, across the street or ,across the country, don't count your spouse as an able bodied assistant. On moving day the spouse will be under font at all times but will be more inclined to make sure you're not sc,atching anything than to lend a hand. That's not to say the little woman won't work because she will. She'll pack everything a -w- ; have most things organized and ready to go and will more than handle all the worrying that's got to be done. But when it's time to pick the stuff up and move it to the tru'ck count her out. That may sound like your basic male chauvinist pig generalized statement but it's not. I've moved myself twice, my dear mother five times, My sister twice, my aunt twice, my cousin twice and my mother-in-law once. And on all occasions the sweet little things all acted the same. My -mother -in law is in the process of mov'ng and is fitting my I'll handle the, worrying you do the work ethic to a tee. Last weekend's efforts were only the start. The mother-in-law had a two day garage sale to try to make a few bucks selling all that stuff she found when she was packing and didn't want to take with her. The effort was worthwhile.. from a monetary standpoint but the garage looked like a refugee camp. It was jammed to the gunwhales which made it very- difficult to get the chesterfield and chair through. - The chesterfield and chair is a set which is both new and nice. My mother- in-law bought it earlier this dear and now finds she has no room for it in her new place. She sold it to her other daughter and we moved it Saturday night. This thing is both long and heavy. I couldn't tell you what style it is but it's got legs and wings all over it so it won't fit through any doorway. It was designed to baffle amateur movers. It lbokr; like it will fit in a stairway anal will, until you get to the top. Then it quickly grows so it won't go up, is tough to get down and won't turn. I was on the bottom end of this baby when it got stuck. The mother-in-law was in a dither because the legs were touching the,walls and if the legs didn't break the wall would be scratched. She harked several commands which sent her daughters into action. Both crawled under the unit to•take legs off. This done we managed to squeeze the chesterfield through the door and, into the garage. To get over a table of knick knacks my brother-in-law had to take his end, across the garage and sit in an old chair while I lifted my end over my head and picked my way through the war zone. A couple of items in the garage sale were sent tumbling to the floor but nothing was broken. Stepping through the litter and knocking a few things over caused more noise than damage but the mother-in-law thought we were smashing our way out of the -garage. Loaded and set to go she calmed down slightly realizing there had been absolutely no damage. Despite more of the same at my brother -in-laws we got everything put in its proper place. Figuring the mother-in-law needed one more rise the next day I calmly announced that we bad no problems except we caught the chesterfield on the doorknob and ripped it slightly. Panic. She's on the phone to get a damage report. The • unsuspecting daughter is unaware of any rips and gt comes on to my brother-in-law like we tore the hack out of it and he's trying to hide it. - I pay no attention to her as she scolds me. I'm in the process of loading a poster bed we negotiated for and I'm trying to get it on the truck where it will be completely protected. By the time we get her moved to her new location we'll be•qualified to move theiKing Tut exhibition. *Fr Seddon