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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-06-05, Page 12Page 12—The Wingham Advance -Tunes, June 5, 1985 Wilfred and Doris. French leave town after many years One of Wingham's most distinguished couples Wilfred and Doris French left town this week for a retirement home in Kit- chener. It is difficult for them to leave the town and the home they have enjoyed for so many years, but they take with them memories of a community that has been good to them. nelv---has74 Wingharn for 64 years since he came to town towork for A. E. Lloyd and 'family in their door -making factory. Born at Natianee, Mr. French said he was the son of a "wandering school- teacher". By the time young Wilfred had completed his high school education in Calgary, the family had lived in a "dozen or 15" places. Upon graduating from high school at the age of 17, he spent six months teaching "in the wilds of Alberta". ' However the year was 1916 and the war in Europe was at s zenith, so as soon as he turned 18 Mr. French did what he saw as his patriotic duty and enlisted in the army. Hp became ali officer in the Royal Field Artillery and earned the Military Cross. Following the signing of the Armistice in 1918, he spent one year with the army of occupation in Germany before heading home with the dream of studying medicine. The dream soon was shattered. Upon his return to Canada. the government presented him with $400 (presumably to buy a new suit of clothes), a handshake and best wishes: hardly enough to put a young man through medical school, even in 1919. To make matters worse his father, who was teaching in Wingham at the time, was "practically broke" and couldn't afford to help his son with his future plans. However, he did help in another way. The senior Mr. French was a good friend of Mr. ' Lloyd and the door maker offered to take the 23 - year -old Wilfred into the "fold" as business manager. Mr. French readily ac- cepted and although he had no past business experience, he set out to do what he could to improve the 33 -year-old business. One of his first moves was to hire the personable Gordon Buchanan as salesman to go on the road for the business. Mr. French also suggested Spreading the production of doors throughout the year rather than.putting on a big push in the late summer and early. fall. Through good luck or good management things started happening for the Lloyd business 'and the eight - employee door factory went ahead quickly. The busineAs was formed into a company in 1922 and it stayed in. the Lloyd name until 1963 when it amalgamated with R. " „Truax and Son of Walkerton. When it was sold. in 1965,, a total of 300 people were employed at the plant. PERSONAL LIFE Mr. French's association with the Lloyd family was not purely one of business as he married Mr. Lloyd's daughter May. The • couple .—had • twci daughters, one .of whom, Dorothy, died in 1935 at age of 10. The other daughter, Marjorie, lives today in Waterloo. After the death of his first wife in 1968, Mr, French married Doris Fells, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Fells, a one-time Wingham mayor and but- chershop owner. Mrs. French was an employee of the local branch of .the Canadian Imperial' Bank uf 'Commerce befOre joining the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Services (WRENS) during World War • After the war she went to work at the bank's head office in Toronto, but returned to Wingham and later niarried her husband. Over the years Mr. French was involved in many local groups and organizatiOns. Harley Crawford of Wingham has known Mr. French since 1930 and calls him the "most/ efficient and competetive sportsman Wingham has ever known". The two men were in- strumental in forming the Wingham Bridge Club in 1936 and together )he—y won the Eli Culberton Trophy for second place at the 1947 Canadian bridge cham- pionships , competing against 110 bridge pairs from this country and the United States. In 1949 Mr. Crawford and Mr. French purchased the property for what today is the Wingham Golf and Curling Club. According to Mr. Crawford, Mr. French became a ''high-class" golfer, who only recently retired from the sport. In addition to golfing Mr. Crawford said his friend. Ts an excellent lawn bowler who has competed .against some of the best lawn bowlers in Southwestern Ontario. Mr. French also used to play baseball, curl and play tennis and bad- minton at one time. He is a past president of the Wingham Lions Club and sat on boards at the high school, the library and at the United Church. The town no doubt has been 'better off because of Mr. and Mrs. French and their many friends and associates will miss the couple deeply. • 'God Cares' is' theme of Sunday's service GORRIE—The theme , of the United Church Sunday School's anniversary and flower service on Sunday 'morning was "God Cares". The banner was displayed above the choir loft. "This Is My Father's World" was the processional hymn as the children filed into the choir and front seats. John Greig gave the call to worship and the nursery class sang several numbers. This was followed by the primary class with a poem, "God Cares for Me". Andrew Lee led in the, responsive reading before "I Am the Church" was sung by all the classes. The scripture reading, taken from the Book of John, was read by Angela Doig. The junior and senior classes • sang "Pass It On" with John Greig performing a solo on the saxophone. Mrs. Marg Greig, super- intendent, introduced Mrs. Lynn Bullock of Harriston who sang several solo num- bers. She also spoke of her experiences of God's care for her own family and made those present aware of how God cares for everyone. The program was planned 'by the Sunday School teachers, along with Mrs. Greig. The Church was filled with beautiful flowers for the service. Mrs. Donna Watson presented the speaker with a gift and closed the service. ""• Finns Southerners More than half of Finland's population of 4.7 Million is concentrated in the southern tenth of the country, where the three largest cities — Helsinki, Tampere and Turku — are located and where the best agricultural land is. L 101 BRUSSE1.41,& 11 Meeting two of the project "Score with Safety" was held May 22 with the Brussels, 1 and II clubs at- tending. It was held in the library and there were 14 present and one member absent, The meeting centred on water safety. Each club met in a separate room, holding their openings of the meeting and talking over some of the -,;:•ael.3yities from the last =meting. The girls joined for the address by the guest speaker, Mrs. Betty Graber. She iave an interesting talk on what to wear when boating, - canoeing and water skiing, as well as how to survive in the water in the case of an emergency. Mrs. Graber also spoke on hypothermia and how to have a safe backyard swimming pool. The members learned the use of rescue breathing is not always limited to victims of water accidents, but can be useful to victims of heart attack, choking or elec- Guides and get awards FORDWICH---The Ford- wich Guides; Brownies and mothers really had something to celebrate when they attended the Mother - and -Daughter Banquet held May 28 at the Fordwich United Church. Kristen Dinsmore and Kathy Ken- nedy flew up to the Guide company; Carolyn Winkel, Tammy Wettlaufer and Pam, Bennett received their All - Round Cords. Mrs. Sharon Greenwood, Commissioner of Gopha District, congratulated the girls on a job well done.. Other visitors were Mrs. Lillian Seifried of Palmerston and Mrs. Myrna Penney of Fordwich who are involved in the Guide movement. Rev. and Mrs. William Gray, of the d Anglican 'Church and Rev. and Mrs. Cy Marzec of the United Church also attended. • Mr. Gray had previously instructed and, at the banquet presented three girls with their Religion -In - Life Emblems. They were Patti, Sherri and Pam Bennett, receiving their first, second and third stage emblems respectively.. Preceding a delicious ham dinner catered by the United Church Women, Mrs. John Leppington welcomed everyone, a toast to the Queen was proposed and Mr. Marzec said Grace. The toast to the mothers was made by Terri -Lynn Hohenadel and Mrs. Ron Bennett replied.- Farewell gifts were presented to Mrs. Joe Winkel and Miss v 44-$4e4444 0,4001. 42, ltig,044W WROXETER ARTIST Morris Darling had an exhibition of his work on display at the re- cent book sale held at the Blyth Memorial Hall. Mr. Darli g spoke to Reta Ross of Goderich azout his work. which explores living and working in a rural setting, as well as ,,the value of ,-i close somilv • trocution. The girls found the talk very interesting and pr ented Mrs. Graver with a gilt on behalf of both clubs. The members then went back to their own meetings, closing with the 4-H motto, "Learn to do by doing". The third meeting was held May 29 and took the form of another joint meeting. A total of 12 members were present. The topic for the meeting was "Your Family, Your Com- munity and You". After the first half-hour the two clubs joined to hear Mrs. Marlene Robertson, health nurse, speak on a number of subjects such as reaction time, personal protective equipment, human factors in safety, baby-sitting, child abuse, school or work and the community. Her talk was very informative and she answered a number of questions. Mrs. Robertson was thanked and presented with an gift on behalf of both clubs. Brownies at banquet Charlene Penney who are leaving the Brownie leadership to accept other endeavors. Peggy Hohenadel, Path- finder from Fordwich, spoke to the group about her trip to Mitten Bay and Franken- muth, Michigan, last summer. It is a great honor to have a local girl , par- ticipate in an international trip. Pam Bennett thanked Peggy and presented her with.a gift. Many badges were, awarded to the Guides and Brownies by their leaders, Mrs. Randy Seip and Mrs. Roland Bennett. Brownie and Guide Taps closed the evening's ac- tivities. Resources committee is formed The Huron -Perth Roman Catholic, separate school board is forming a human resources development com- mittee. On May 27, the school board approved forming this committee in an agreement with the federal Ministry of. Employment and Immigra- tion. William Eckert, director of education, said the com- mittee will be able to match teachers' abilities with needs in the school system so teaching staff can be used more efficiently. As an ex- ample, he said a special edu- cation committee could use the talents of a teacher inter- ested and experienced in that field. The director said he en- visions a computer file on each teacher which outlines their expertise, experience, goals and training. The committee will be made up of trustees, admin- istration and teachers. The chairmxn will be appointed by the )ederal ministry. The ministry will pay up to $20,000 for the committee's expense. Mr. Eckert said this will cover the mileage costs of committee members as well as the chairman's costs. IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE with a are!, And Weil -Done Rarely will yOu find • medium priced home, W 1 well done ir such a cony arise. 3 bedrms., bath, oanrec.rm., table sp. kil., central sir, nevi caroetino. 157, - WANT AD The Advance -Times 357-2320 BLYTH BOOK SALE—The annual fund-raising book sale was held recently at the Blyth Memorial Hall to raise money for this year's theatre season. A good selection of books was available and a lunch booth was set up to serve hungry shoppers. Wingham baild travels to the Oneida Reserve. Having contact with one of southern Ontario's groups of native peoples is not an experience which many in this area have had. However this is not so for members of -the Wingham Optimist Community Band who, led by Bandmaster William Henderson Jr., traveled to the Oneida Reserve south- west of London last Sunday. The musicians were there at the invitation of the Oneida Band to play a concert for their hosts, listen to them play and then play some numbers with the combined bands. • `The Oneida CarTeerel6and Marching Band, composed of about 25 members led by Bandmaster Ganton An- toine, will return the visit in August When it comes to Wingham to play and be entertained by local band members. Upon arrival at' the reserve, the Wingham band was welcomed and treated to an excellent dinner. A bus tour of the reserve followed, after which the band -FENCE POOLS If you have a backyard swimming pool, take every precaution to prevent acci- dental drowning, says the Industrial Accident Preven-' tion Association. Surround the pool with a high fence and a locked gate. Never al- low anyone to swim alone. Children must be supervised by a responsible adult. Have - a life preserver handy. Mark depths at regular intervals. returned to the bandshell at the fairgrounds where it set up its instruments and performed. Next the Wingham band Went to the bleachers to watch and listen to the Oneida Band. It was a colorful group, turned out in buckskin and feathers, and counts within its clarinet section the reserve's oldest resident, Evan John, 96 and still going strong. The band also has several young players who are developing their skills nicely. Once the separate programs were over, the two IiardS joined 'miter the baton of Mr. Antoine to play some rousing marching music. This was a highlight of the day and a very rewarding experience for both, groups. Everyone then returned to the fairgrounds hall for a light lunch and some final words from the hosts. The Wingham contingent left for home well satisfied with the outcome of the visit, which • was held after having been postponed earlier. The band members are enthusiastic about the return visit by the Oneida Band to Wingham and look forward -to showing Wingham's hospitality to these fine people on Sunday, Aug. 25. Looking for a Wedding Gift - find it at " KITCHEN AND BATH • BOUTIQUE Open Mon. -, Fri. 8-5:80 Saturday 8-4 Located at Hodgins Lumber, north end of Wingham 357-3659 - ATTENTION ELECTRIC HEAT CUSTOMERS The Wingham Public Utilities Commission is now accepting applications for those customers who would like to pay their hydro bills through monthly installments. Those customers who qualify must: 1) Heat their residence electrically 2) Have a good credit rating with the P.U.C. 3)Be willing to leave one year's post-dated cheques at the office 4) Have their appliOation in no later than JUNE 30th For more irlormation please contact the P.U.C. during office hours. DO-IT•YOURSELFERS We're Here to Hel Rs - Siding, Soffit, Fascia Eavestroughing, Vinyl Replacement Windows, Storm Doors & Windows, Styrofoam * SM Insulation NO CHARGE - to form Aluminum Flashings or Material to Cover Window & Door Frames. We carry all major lines of siding, doors & windows for the do-it-yourselfer Simple instruction pamphlets and personal information available: „ESTIMATES WITHOUT OBLIGATION Phone or visit our Showroom Mon. -Fri. 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sat. 8:00 a.m. - 12 Noon RUTTAN ALUMINUM LTD. Just off Hwy. 86 E. of Wingham 857-1077