Clinton News Record, 1954-07-08, Page 10er. Stanley. Township Man
Recalls Early Days at Bayfield
1(By our Bayfield correspondent)
' •We enjoyed a chat on -Thurs-
• day last with Charles Donaldson,
former resident of this district
Who was accompanied- by his son-
• in-laW and clauthter, Mr. and Mrs,
Percy Lewis, Ottawa. They have
• been visiting his brother James
in Goderich, and spent Thursday
renewing acquaintances and going
over old scenes in Stanley Town.
ship.
We had never met Mr. Donald-
son, since he left here before we
•arrived on this planet, but we
• knew his children when they vis-
ited their grandparents, the late
Mr. and Mrs: James Donaldson,
• and He had been a patient ef the
late Dr. N. W. Woods, he told us,
and the latter's uncle, Dr. Ninian
Woods, before him4
• In his 85th year, VIr. Donaldson
is wonderfully well has a clear
memory and keen sense of humor.
He was born in Bluevale bit 1870
and moved with his parents to 'a
farm on the Goshen Line which
they purchased from Thomas El-
liott in 1877. Later his father
bought the farm on the Bronson
•Line which is now owned by Ral-
ph Cornish.
_ In speaking of Thomas Elliott;
he recalled that his daughter
Mary the late Mrs. John Fraser)
taught him at S.S. No. 4 N. And
could she strap) She stood up on
her toes and came down on her
heels with the desvent of that in-
strument of punishment. One
day she gave Dave Dewar a
"Licking" and tried to make him
ely but he never shed a tear,
• James Donaldson owned the
first steam tractor that came in-
to Stanley Township.. The first
portable steam tractor was owned
by a man named Aikenhead On
the Second Concession of Stanley,
• but .it blew up, In the 1880's,
perhaps 'about 1888, Mr, Donald-
son told us, his father bought the
second portable steam tractor to
come into Stanley. He had been
running a steam tractor for his
father at the age of 15. • His un-
cle Bill Perdue had a Leonard en-
' gine, and with the steam tractor,
•
15
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Petroleum Products
Phone Clinton 3717
Phone Goderich 320-W
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DISTRIBUTOR
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they opened a saw mill on Jamea
Donaldsons farm. During the off-
season they chopped grain, went
thrashing and cutting straw.
Later on James Donaldson bought
a big 40 11,P. Woodstock engine,
A Joker
He recalled for us spine of his
practical ° joke% Charlie was
threshing at Henry Steckle's
farm and he had to sleep with.,the
hired man. The latter was crowd-
ing him out of bed so be began to
scratch his leg. "Did you ever
have the itch?" -he asked. The
hired man replied in the negative.
"Well," replied Charlie, "I've, had
the seven year's itch and I've- got
it for the third time," And with
that the hired man moved well
over on his own side of the bed.
Charles chuckled as he recounted
that next day the hired man told
Henry Steckle that he Wouldn't
sleep with that fellow because he
had the itch.
At Edmund Westlake's he hid
all the ,men's hats, including his
own, Of course it was easily
found, and he walked out leaving
the others searching frantically
for theirs.
Then there was the trick he
played on William Johnston (nick-
named "Jew"). lin those days
there was a ladder up the side of
the straw -.tack. Charlie and some
of the other lads tramped a hole
in the centre of the stack, cover-
ed it up with loose straw, and
stuck Johnston's fork on the far
side of the stack. Then they
stood around to watch the man
go up the ladder for his fork and
fall into the hidden pit. But no
harm came of it.
First Electricity
His brother Jim never liked
farming so his father gave the
farm to Charlie, moved into Bay-
field, and bought a saw mill for
Sire—behind Walter Westlake's
garage. Jim Donaldson started
the first electric light system in
Bayfield, the poWer being gener-
ated by a large dynamo fed by
the refuse from the mill.,
Good Dog
Then he recallad Jimmy Johns-
ton who teamedifflour and bran
from Zurich. He always had
well-trained collies. Charlie
bought a pup, "Buff" from Jimmy
Johnston and trained him' himself.
No matter how dark the night, if
he and his wife came home late,
all he had to say was: "Buff -get
the cows." The dog brought them
to the stable—and only the milk-
ers. If a cow calved, his master
took Buff to the cow and told him
to bring her next time. And he
did.
Once he was helping erect a
barn at a neighbour's and he saw
that strange cattle had broken in
with his cattle. So he carried
Buff up onto the structure in his
arms,
pointed out the cattle and
told him to put them out. The
faithful dog went dff to work and
put every one of the intruders
off the Donaldson pasture land.
Buff also helped herd the lambs
to Zurich when they were sold in
the Fall.
Huron M.P. Raps
Minister; SuggeSts•
Partiality To West
• L, Elston Cardiff, M.P. for
ur-
on suggested recently in the
Ccnrirrions that pernaps Canada
has had a minister of agriculture
from Western Canada, for .."-too
many years.. '
Though not saying . so in so
many words; Mr. Cardiff' told Mr.
Gardiner. that the Minister of Ag-
riculture was not looking to the
beat interests of all farmers in
Canada. This followed •a brief
clash -between the two men con=
cerning the spread of prices be-
tween the selling price of western..
wheat and the cost price to the
eastern farmers
The minister had explained part
of the higher cost was due to the
fact that eastern farmers bought
grain in small quantities. Cardiff
stated that "If the farmer in the
west were getting a high price, it
would not be so bad.But he is
not getting the price.They are
not getting _any great amount of
money after they have grown it
out there. And when I get in
Ontario I have to pay more than
I can afford to pay for it as feed,
to feed it at a profit. And we
would produce far more hogs and
far more cattle if we could get it,
perhaps more than you would
want."
Gardiner went on to suggest
that difficulty arose in figuring
out the rise in cost to ,the eastern
farmer, after the grain had been
mixed and a variety of other mat—
erials such as fishmeal had been
added. Cardiff responded with,
" You have said it is the dealer
who is responsible. All right; we
will find out if it is the dealer who
is responsible. But if it is not the
dealer, then somebody else is. .And
I would like to know who it is."
We asked Mr. Donaldson if he
could tell us of any of the election
battles in the district in those
days. He didn't recall any in
particular, but remembered a
prominent figure, John McMillan,
who could neither read nor write
but had a marvellous memory,
and was an exceedingly well-in-
formed, clever leader. "In those
days," he said, "there were only
the two parties, Liberals and Con-
servatives, They got up on the
same platform and argued it out.
And that is the way if should be
today. All candidates should be
on the same platform."
Charles.Donaldson sold his farm
in 1901 to William. Johnston and
moved to Thessalon where he op-
erated a livery, stable for four
years. But he couldn't stand to
see the horses abused, so he sold
it and became a Commercial Trav-
eller, first with Frost & Wood
Implements over territory rang-
ing from Thessalon to Ft. William,
North Bay and the Manitoulin Is.,
forg four years; with Case Thresh-
er Co., for six years and then with
Sawyer Massey Road Machinery
Co,, for 13 years. , He moved to
Ottawa in 1921 and now makes
his home with Mr. and Mrs. Percy
Lewis where he still keeps active
in a large garden.
SHOP .
at home
with the friendly merchants who
ADVERTISEII
at home!
1
You see their names regularly in the columns of the
Clinton News -Record; They are interested in
a progressive copimunity.
"They Advertise - — You Patronize"
.When the great Mark Twain edited a news-.
paper, one of his subscribers, on opening a copy,
found a spider. He wrote to the editor to find
out whether this was a sign of good tuck or bad.
The reply was, "Neither. The spider was merely •
looking over the advertisements to ascertain who
didn't advertise, sothat he could go to that
merchant's doorway, spin himself a web and live
in peace," •
Advertise at Home
Shop at Home
• Clinton News -Record
ni ter Centre To
p Opened. At -
Prince,. Rupert,
The ROAF's •Ground Gbse:rver
Corps is - to organize a Filter
Centre in .the near future, at
Prince 'Rupert, DC., and will open
recruiting, for, more •than 200 sup-
porting observation posta in the
surrounding district,
• The hew filter centre and ob-:
serration posts will aid. the Air
Defence System in providing in-
formation upon low-flying aircraft
in the mountainous regions of the
area and the Queen Charlotte
Filter Centred are manned on a
24-hour a day basis by civilian
volunteers and a small number. of
Regular Air Force personnel. Pur
pose of the centres is to collect
and assess information passed in
by the—various observation posts
within its- area,and to plot the
track of these aircraft. Observe-
btiyoncinvonistasn avroeiumgenresd. completely
GOC work entails reporting on
/ow -flying aircraft, and training Is
given on plotting procedures, "air-
craft tracking and passing of in-
formation, and identification. On
completion of training, a GOC
badge, is awarded' qualified per -
The GOC is of particular value
in providing information on low-
flying aircraft, thereby suplement-
ing the radar system. In addition
to its obvious value as an addi-
tional warning aid of approaching,
unidentified aircraft, the GOC has
proved itself .of great value in
reporting on friendly aircraft and
aiding in search and rescue opera-
tions.
There are at present more than
60,000 civilian members of the
GOC, serving from Newfoundland
to British Columbia. The organ-
ization is considered vital to the
nation's early warning sYstem.
Electronic Board
Proves Help
To Instructors
Visitors to Station Clinton on
Air Force Day viewed one of the
newest developments in the teach-
ing of radio.
For many years the air force
instructor in electronics had to
rely primarily on his own ingenu-
ity, blackboard and chalk, to teach
the very complicated processes
which go on inside modern radio
equipment. Realizing this situation
was anything but satisfactory, the
RCAF was continually searching
for a training aid which would
effectively assist in this difficult
task, An ideal solution te the prob-
lem was found in the "Electronic
Trainer" produced by the Philco
Corporation of Canada.
Essentially the trainer is a dis-
play panel on which is mounted all
the various components that make
up a radio circuit. Each component
is positioned in its proper place
against a diagram which shows the
function of the component and how
it fits into the overall plan.
Instructors using these display
panels can demonstrate simply and
effectively the inher workings of
any piece of electronic equipment.
The "Philco Trainers" have been
in constant use at the Radio and
Communications School, RCAF
Station Clinton, since August, 1953.
This type of, equipment is also
currently being employed by the
Canadian Army, RCEME branch,
and the. Provincial Institute of
Trades in Toronto,
CONSTANCE
(Intended for last week)
Mrs. Charles Dexter is feeling
much better, and is able to see a
few more visitors, but is still con-
fined to her bed.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Stevenson
and Mr. and Mrs. Max Stevenson,
Brussels, spent Sunday with Mr.
and Mrs, Charles Hoggart.
Charles W. Riley and Ronnie
spent a couple of days in Kitchen-
er 'last week, Miss Brenda Riley
returned with them for a vacation.
William Moore received word
froin Toronto this week that his
brother Milton, is very sick in a
Toronto hospital. His friends wish
Milton a very speedy recovery.
id The Ruins of Her nospita
Dr. Constance Murray, Halifax, N.S., explains to two iellow
Canadians her plans for the reconstruction of what once was
Seoul's most modern hospital. The SeverancesHospital has been
bombed, shelled and sacked but still exists through the kind
donations of various church groups throughout the world. Dr.
Murray, supervisor for the, hospital has spent 33 years in Korea,
administering to their sick and needy. Although only one-third
of the hospital is intact Dr, Murray tends to the medical needs
of an ever-growing number of Korean natives. The Canadian
Army in -Korea has always done what ever possible for the
Severance Hospital. Recently a group of officers from the Dental
Unit of the 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade visited with Dr.
Murray and presented her with a considerable amount of dental
supplies for her hospital. Here, left to right: Major S. G.
Bagnall; Dr. Murray and Lt. Col W. M. Sinclair, all of Halifax,
(National Defence Photo)
OVER 2,000 VISITORS CALL
AT HURON COTJNTY MUSEUM
Well ahead of last year's total
at this time, the Huron County
Museuni in Goderich had its 2 000-
th visitor for 1954 on Sunday:
Miss Nancy Aitcheson, R.R. 2, St.
Pauls, Peith County. Including
Sunday's total of 143, there have
been 2,203 people tour the Museum
so far this year. , Curator J. H.
Neill is hoping to boost the num-
ber of visitors well past the 9,000
mark this year.—Goderich Signal -
Star.
anad,i00 Nay-
Welcomes -
"Hong Kong Susie'''.
Normally, mass leave for a shipS
company is a nightmare for the -
executive officer and chief
wain's mate, who must keep things,
ship-shape though more than
the crew may be away at a time.
Not so in Hong Kong. The Most
recent Canadians to discover thia
were the crew of HMOS Crusader
—there recently for a few days of
well-earned leave from duty with
the United Nations fleet- in the
Par East,
As the destroyer •slid into her:.
berth at Kowloon, a small battered
sampan flying a red and white
flag marked "IINICS" Cayuga,pula
led quickly alongside. To the
ship's side clambered a half-dozen .
laughing Chinese girls,
It was 'Hong Kong Susie" and
her side party. • During the next
12 days they became the sweet-
hearts of the Cayuga, beloved of
all the seaman branch and col-.
lectively the apple of the executive
officer's eye.
The ever -cheery girls scrubbed,
washed' and polished with prodig-
ious energy. They painted the hull
from stem to stern in five days °
and then set to polishing brass
washing dishes, scrubbing decks,
dusting woodwork and peeling
potatoes. ,
Naturally the crew was over--
joyed at this timely and welcome
intercession. Thanks to the girls
one of the biggest cleaning jobs
that faces a ship in infrequent lulls
between patrols was accomPlished..
The hands got their leave and the.
ship gleamed like a queen in her
new coat of. paint.
• The price? — the right to take.
away the ship's unused food each
day and a soft drink concession on.
the upper deck. Since leftovers:
are thrown out anyway and since.
Susie's pop prices are reasonable,.
the Crusader was more than anx—
ious to do business.
Susie was satisfied. ' Canadian..
ships are favorites • because their.
food is generally superior to that
of other warships that visit Hong -
Kong, hence the quality of the
leftovers is better and commands.
a higher price in the Hong Kong.
trade dealing in such a question—
able commodity as garbage,
GET YOUR SUPPLY OF
PAPER NAPKINS
From The
CLINTON NEWS -RECORD '
0
JULY
Western
Ontario's
SEAFORTH LIONS 19th ANNUAL .
Summer Carnival
Lions Park, Seaforth
WEDNESDAY — THURSDAY — FRIDAY
14 -- 15
POW
16
Will Compete
Outstanuing. Amateurs. Each Night For
-11*
PRIZES TOTALING $600
BINGO—GAMES—BANDS—FERRIS WHEEL—MERRY-GO-ROUND—FIREWORKS
See the Startling Beauty of This Display
Programme Commences Each Night at 9 p.m. — In event of rain, Program wilt be
held in the Community Centre
Drawing tor 15 Valuable Prizes Five Drawings
- Each Night
Free Parking ADMISSION 25 CENTS — Children under 12, Free
Proceeds for Lions Welfare and Maintenance of Lions Pork and Poot
NO. IN A SERIES ... YOUR HYDRO AT WORK
YOUR HYDRO
key service in
a new community
From 1947 to December, 1953, the num-
ber of new dwelling units built in Ontario
was 183,515. Each required an average of
134 kilowatts of electricity, a total ef
229,000 kilowatts, or, 307,000 horse-
power.
These homes didn't have to wait for
Hydro service. Crews were stringing lines
before the homes were completed . . .
Hydro was there, before the door key.
To meet this demand Ontario Hydro and
your local municipal system must plan
far into the future. Power projects must
be started years before their immediate
need arises, so that new homes, new
schools, new shopping centres, new muni-
cipal services and new industries, all
have power when and where'required
• low-cost power that is the 'keynote of
modern living.
• ONTARIO HYDRO
AT WORK FOR, YOU AND YOURS
FOR YOU AND YOURS
00
Intormation , concerning Ontario Hydro can be obthined by writing
to your Hydro Chairman, 620 University Avenue, Toronto,
•
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