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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1938-06-16, Page 3THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 1938 THE SEAFORTH NEWS • GEORGE A. 'SILLS CAME TO SEAFORTH 70 YEARS AGO (Continued from Page a) new j•ob .again. I did anything I 'could !get to 'do and until I retired bw'o years, ago I was never idle a weelc do my life, Whenever I was really stuck for job 'I ooulld aewrays'depend on 'ge'tting •one from the date Thomas Bell, who ran the furniture factory. I helped in the factory, drove teams 'for 'him, drove travellers around the 'country, +helpedpaint his barn and a dozen and one things. "My next regular g job was driving a milk wagon for Hickson Bros. who used to 'keep a stare on 'M'ain street where Walker's furniture store is now and who also operated a 'cheese fact- ory at B'ntrcefie'ld. Later I went into the cheese factory and learned ,dh•eese- makin'g and during the winter worked in the store ]n• Seaforth. Then Ia•a Boyd and I decided to go to the 'United States. That was in the Spring of ;1181714. For .three months I worked in a quarry near 'Sandusky, Ohio, and then returned to Seaforth. 'That fall I decided to .go out to McKillop township and get a jab• for the winter cutting wood. •I went into Johnson's hardware store to 'buy an axe, .and Sann Johnson .asked me how I would like to learn the hardware business. That all depends,' I told him 'How much will you pay?' He offered me i:0 with my ;board! and washing the first year, 111I30 the sec- ond year and d11180 the ,third year. That was at ben o''cloc'k do the morn- ing, and I went in and went to work at one 'o'clock that afternoon. I stayed with Jdhnson's for over 13 years and in 11897 I went in ,businees. I was there until 1920 and then I bought the Kidd Block on the corner opposite the Commercial Hotel. I retired a little over two years ago and the 'business is now owned by my son 'Frank." Mr. Sills was twelve years old when he 'landed in Seaforth from Chi- cago to make 'his home. The place was incorporated as a village later that year and Dr. T. T. Coleman was elected first reeve of the village. The first section of the present 'public school was also built that year and the two -room school was opened in '11868. Mr. Sills was •one of the first pupils to attend the school and he has •fond recollections af Archibald Dewar, who was principal at the time. "Mr. Dewar was en exceptionally good teaeleer. He had a wooden leg, but he was a big man and he 'cou'ld take care of anybody that needed to Ibe taken care of. He was a fine dis- ciplin'ari'an, and although I got a de- served linking from him almost every day I had a great, secret admiration for him. Mr. Dewar was a lineal •des - •Cendant of the Dewar who carried the flag at the famous Battle af Ban- nockiburn in 113114 when the Scots under 'Robert 'Bruce inflicted defeat on the forces of Ring 'Edward. II. The top portion -af the .flag carried at Bannockburn over !60b years ago was handed down from generation to gen- eration in the Dewar family, and Principal Deem? bad it in his posses- sion when he taught ,here.'" Seaforth 'built up rapidly afterits incorporation as a village and h was the au'tport for all grain for miles around. "Situated on what at that time was elle Buffalo and Lake Huron Rail- road, Seaforth was the .biggest grain clepot in the dietrict. I have ascii a string of teams a mile and a 'half long owning in front the north .during, the 'winte'r time. In addition to six or seven grain storage houses in 'Sea- forth there used to be three salt works, two 'flour mills, a furniture factory, a ,flax mild and A, G. 'Van- E'gmond's woollen mfll."' Mr. Sills' municipal record was limited to the three years from 11896 to '118918 when die served on the town council. Having ,started a store of his .own in '1617 he 'retired at the conclu- sio❑ of his term ie 1118981 to devote more of his time to his 'business. H'e has been .a member of the Collegiate Institute •B'oard for a number of years. •Mr. Sills was a member of the ori- ginal Seaforth Volunteer Fire Bri- gade when it was organized in 16'73 with the late Thomas Bell as thief, He 'was an active member of the force for half a century, for three years as chief, and up until three years ago served as treasurer for the brigade for a quarter of a century. Mr, Sills was a member of the Sea - forth team which eftablished a world's record -of 55.15 seconds in a fireman's race staged at a'big compet- ition in Sarnia in 18h:—just fifty years ago this summer. The record has never been equalled. A great runner in his clay, Mr. .Sills showed his heels to competi- tors in nearly all the races he ran. He also played cricket and football and is the last surviving member in Seaforth of the •old Star 'baseball team of years ago. Like their father, his three sons, Frank and Charles P. Sills.of Seaforth and gee of Pittsburg were fine athletes -a few years back. All, at one time, played football for the old Seaforth Hurons. Tor years now Mr. Sills' pet sports have been fishing and hunting. "But P have given .up trout fishing," he confided. "G.oing through a swamp a year ago I fell over a log and almost broke my neck. From now on I'm go- ing to stick to bass fishing." Married in lea ea ''Miss ;,Lary E. Armstrong of Seaforth, Mr. Sills was bereaved of his wife three years ago. Besides his three sons he has one daughter, 'Mrs. A. J. Reynolds of Tor- onto. Mr. Sills is a member of St. James' Roman Catholic Church, Thiel-Lannin— The marriage took place quietly at one o'clock on Wenaesday afternoon,, June 66h, at the home of her brother, Mr. Morley Lannin, Hibbert, of'Geor- gina, 'daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. p Lannin of Hibbert, and Harold, son tl NV 0 d SASKATCHEWAN ELECTION The Liberal regime of 'Premier W. J. Patterson was swept back into power in the legislative elections on June 6 Ihy returus which, at the sante time, ,completely 'dashed the hopes of the Social 'Credit Party in that Prov - Ince. Returns :assured the Liberals of 33 seats, The Co-operative Common- wealth :Federation, the principal op- position, had nine; Social Credit, two; Union Progressive, one; Independent, There are 1522 seats to be filled, the representation having been reappor- tio.ned since the last election. In the previous Legislature, the Liberals held 60 of the 1515' seats. The month -tang election campaign was the strangest in the history of the Pro•vin•ce, even in the history -of the Dominion of Canada, in that .a gov- ernntent of one province sought to rapture control of ,another province, anct that legislation ,and the course of one ,provincial government 'became virtually the -sole issue of an election in a .neighboring province. With the "invasion" of more than 30 ardent Social Crediters from the Province of Alberta, led by IAlherta's Premier, William A'berh'ert, the is- sues were fought, not on questions pertaining to Saskatchewan, but lar- gely on the record of the A'berhart regime in Alberta. . The campaign was initially ;begun on Saskatchewan issues—mostly on the record of the Liberal 'Government, in power from 19134 to 1968, .a period of great economic difficulty due to ,drought. Liberals appealed to the electorate chiefly for a mandate to continue "sound and economical" administra- tion. They frankly admitted that they had been unable to carry out their '111314 platform because low .revenues and drought conditions in Saskatche- wan had not permitted then. Their argument was that the task of admin- istering relief for four years, because -of drought, had been so great as to absorb all their time, energy, and money. Countering this, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the Soc- ialist 'Party, and the Conservative Party, between which -there existed a tacit understanding to co-operate in case of victory, charged Liberals with maladministration, increased taxation; and an increase in the pn'blic debt, Particular criticism was directed at the Liberals for their institution of the education tax, in reality a. saes. tax of two per cent, begun in 1937, the funds of which were 'devoted to main- tenance of education. 'For a week or two, the issues were purely provincial and of no great im- ort beyond the Province. Then about tree weeks before election clay, it as announced by Premier A•berhart f ;Alberta that Social Crediters had ecided to carry a campaign into Sas- atchewan, with rhe avowed object of winning the government of the rovince. Provincial issues were at once vir- tually forgotten. As ane man, the three Saskatchewan parties, Liberals, Socialists 'and Conservatives, turned to fight "the menace of Social 'Credit" and that 'became the overshadowing issue. So much was Provincial party of. Mr. and 'Alts, Edward Thiel of Fullerton, Rev. L. Hussey, of Mitch- ell, officiated. The 'bride was becom- ingly attired fn a frock of striped k sheer with accessories of white and her corsage was of pink roses and P white carnations. They will reside in Fullerton. He -L. -Yes, the 'bullet struck my head, went careening into space, and— She—IHow terrible! Did they get it outl PICOBAC-. PIPE TOBACCO FQ "A COOL SMOKE rivalry (forgotten in a ,Province -wide radio speech, in which he attacked Social Credit, appealed to the elec- torate to vote for any Saskatchewan party, but not to vote for Social Credit. Beautifying Farms For the purpose of ,making the farm home surroundings snore 'pleasant and -attractive, -of increasing the .valve of the property and presenting a more engaging countryside ,whish tourists can ,enjoy, a rura'i Tarns hone'beauti- fication society 'has recently been or- ganized in Carleton 'County, Ontario, The' movement was started by the Women's Institutes and every one of the 26 institutes in the county has pledged its active support and co-op- eration. The association plans to encourage the judicious ,planting of native frees, shrubs and !flowers, the improvement of lawns, and the whole surroundings. A carefully organized program of farm home landscaping and planting, directed by an advisory council ,has been arranged. The members of this council are experienced horticui•turiets who will give 'their services free. ;Through its efforts the Association hopes, in the 'course of the next few years to make many hones in the country that now have 'few attractive features in the suirroundings, a delight not only .to the owners but also to those who travel 00 the adjacent roads and highways. 'One of the first efforts of the Association is to be di- rected towards encouraging a general catnpaign of cleaning up and making the surroundings tidy; the mare defin- ite scheme of beautification will fol- low. Co-operating with the women's in- stitutes are the different horticultural societies throughout Carleton County. The Secret of 'Wash Day,—The little miss, while visiting a neighbor, had been invited in -to the lavatory to wash her face, which showed the re- mains of a hastily consumed sand- wich, the neighbor explaining that "cleanliness is next to godliness," !Upon reaching home the little one explained to deer mother that now site knew why the family washing *MRS always Clone on a Monday, "You da?" said her mother in sur- prise, "Why?" "Because Mrs, B— told me that Cleanliness is next to godliness—and you know, Mother, that Monday comes right next to Sunday." A man looking at some neckties tossed one or two aside contemptu- ously. Lingering after having made his purchase, he noticed that the clerk put those he had so positively rejected in a separate box. "What 'becomes of those," he en- quired, "We sell them -to the worsen who conte in here to bury ties for mtif." Want and For Sale ads. 1 week 35e Counter Check Book • We Tire Selling Quality Books Books are Well Made, Carbon is Clean and Copies Readily. All styles, Carbon Leaf and Black Back. Prices as Low as You Can Get Anywhere. Get our Quotation on Your Next Order. • The Seaforth News SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, Communication Editor 'rhe Seaforth News, Will you kindly grant space in your e•olumns for a report of items given and 'Mrs. Adam Somers of during ,discussion, at a joint meeting near )l'rpssels were in town over of Brucefield and Lake Huron U. 'F. Sunday. -Mr, el. T. ,Fell spent the W. 10. of Grand Bend on "Why the week end Wrele.frien•ds •111 Stratford. high price; •of farm implements." --Mr. Lorne and',Keete ,Ellison spent For the ,last twenty years farmers Sunday with friends in Stratford.— have gnunnbled and complained about Miss Millie Duggan is visiting with the high cost of farm, machinery, No friends in Detroit for a couple at one has paid any attention .to them. weeks.—,31115 tickets were sold at Sea - However after six or .seven years of forth for the Circus in Stratford on depression and with the farmer's in- Saturday,—Tncc.ersinth 'and Hullett ability to buy farm implements, 'it has Councils 'have had the Huron road been found out that the implement graded from Seaforth to 'Olintan— busin•ess has 'had a serious set -back. Mas. I(Dr.) Bell an'd Miss Ella Webb Being one of our protected industries, of Reading, Mich., are on 'a visit with naturally Ottawa decided to find out their mother Mrs. _ Webb, .Miss where the trouble lay. A special cone- Nellie Suelfe -of Hensall is visiting her mitten was ap=pointed to investigate friend 'Miss Hate •McDiarmid, 'God.e- the sitn'ation, The report was filed in rich St—Mr, A, D. DeLacey, of Tor - April, 19317• onto, is visiting his son, Mr. L. T. This session at Ottawa our law DeLacey, mgr: Sea'fo•rth Milling Co. makers have 'been in a dilemma of in- —Mr. Claimer of the Dominion Bank d•ecisianwhether to accept, or not to staff, has returned from a two weeks' ccept, this report.' The report states outing in Toronto and Montreal. — he 'farmer was entirely correct en his Mr. and Mrs. David Davis have gone sertion that implement prices were to visit their son !Dr. Robert Davis.— 00 high. Yet in the lace of that re- Mr. and Mrs. 'Robert Farrah and little d la ort implement companies dist son of Brussels were guests of friendsovember increase their prices by in towns—Airs, ,McLeod returned to Tri per ,cent In a speech this session her 'hone in Lucan .on Saturday after Hon. games Gardiner, Minister of Ag- a visit with her son, ,Dr. ,Hodgins icultuce, points out clearly that the and Mrs. Hodgins, 'Goderich street.— igh cost of farm machinery and gat- `Mr, Andrew Stewart has sold his et increase is not justified. Accepting house on James St, ,Mr. Harry Bu1- connpany's own figures in regard to lard has sold his residence on East creased costs, it is shown, that the William street ,and has removed to ampany took 'a :316,391 wider margin the "bank house" on Victoria at— ]•11936 than it diel in 19113. In 1906 Mr. dames ,McNamara attended the e cost of a binder (eight -foot) to big'convention o'f the Catholic Order lse fainter at Regina was $21111'.74 yet of 'Foresters 'wh•ich was held in 'Corn- eas sold to the farmer for $2,81 wall on June 110'-lleth as a delegate.— ash. This price gives the companry a The new poles for the extension of argin of 40 per cent on the total the 'hydro electric system front Sea- ost of the ,bincler, that is above forth to Clinton and 'Goderich have fight and sales cost. Mr. Gardiner arrived at the depot and work will ggested that it would be'more car- commence at .once on this line.—Miss ct for the company to figure its Collis of the (American Soo is the argin on factory costs alone. On guest of Mrs. James Graves. -Miss at basis the cost waled be $130.16 'Collis sang a very- .pretty solo in the nd would place the company's mar- Presbyterian church last Sunday. n at '515 per cent. We ask, thas busi- R. H. :Archibald of 'Guelph is at his ess in the hands of large corpora- home 'here, --{Miss Barr •of Mitchell is ons .developed into profiteering? Mr. home for the vacation.—Fred Larkin Gardiner also pointed out that if the of Detroit and :Miss Helen of West- mpany had been satisfied with a 20 ntinster College, Toronto, 'are spend- er cent margin on factory costs, ing their holidays at the manse,—Mr. en with that high margin, the cost John and Miss Elsie 'Button attended the •farmer could 'have been reduc- the wedding of their cousin Miss by ,119 per cent. Millie Adams an Wednesday;;—Afr. Dr. Booth, Senior Federal Agricul- Roy W. Wright of Windsor is in ral Economist, stated to the com- town the guest of his cousin, 'Mrs. ittee that the average, annual, nor- Chas. Layton—A pretty 'house wed - al requirements ,of damn machinery ding took place at noon 'on Saturday Canadian farmers amounted to at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. 1,700,000. If at prevailing -prices, the Hugh \•fcDernii•d on 'Goderich St. rners were ,financially able to make west, when their eldest daughter is ,purchase, the profits to the cont- Margaret Ann became the bride of ny above a 20 per cent margin, 'Mr. Thomas Brydone Baird, laid cold amount to over 89,010y000. DO Con., Stanley. Among those present e business and political leaders of at the ceremony was the grand- anada imagine that the Canadian mother 0•1 the groom, Mrs. Dunbar rmer who is working and earning a of Dungannon who is over 92' years are living wage, is going to continue of age.—The closing exercises of the pay these exorbitant profit: into kindergarten will be held on June 35. e pockets of manufacturers? Is it 'Obituary. t prdbable, that when business is The -death of Mrs. John Devereaux riled on in this way, That far, far occurred on Sunday, at the wonderful ore is being done to break up our age of 83 years. The deceased lady mocratic institutions, than all the was greatly beloved by all -who knew k of agitators and Reds could ever her, and her many kindly deeds win. In a speech (Hansard) :by J: Fred be cheris'h.ed by those left to mourn hnston, Chairman -of the 'Farm Im- her demise. For some time the family ment 'Committee, we read that in made their home in ,Harpurhey, later 81x --Massey and Harris and other moving to Tuckersmith, where she ms were merged with a capital ,of and her husband, previous to Inc proximately $3,;00.000, of which death three years ago, had lived for 1y 6300,9100 was put up in cash. - nearly 60 years., The fancily o'1 five e remainder was given in exchange sons, John, .Robert, William and assets of the merging firms. By James, of Seaforth, Daniel of Edmon- 91 the capital still remained' the ton, and two .daughters, Mrs. John e, though $11000,000 had been add- 'McDonald of 'Walton and Miss 'Fath - in 4111111. During the period from erine at home, are. left to mourn •their 1! to 119113 the company was able mother's death. The funeral was held pay in cash and stock dividends an -on Tuesday morning to St. .James' ount of 1,5119,71191,349 a rest account Church. $6.500,000—a special contingency Logan, cunt of .,91,16'80„000 unallocated' in Mr. James Woolacott of lot 1I2, plus account '$1,001,(0010—a total of con, 113, Logan Township, passed Lost 29 million return, on a capital away at his home on Sunday morn- $3,900,000.morn- $3,900,000. Would these figures in- ing. in his '710th year. Deceased had ate that the farmers were paying been a resident of this locality for muich .for their machinery? This over 50 years, coming here 'with his ation is c•onmaon to other coni -brother, "John, who leredeceased him les as well. How much longer can only -five weeks ago and who lived on culture, the back -bone of Canada, the (farm opposite, for that period of d' this strain? Governments ,can time until his death, During his Jong will help -very little: The solution residence here, he has made a .host of the hands of farmers themselves. friends. He is survived by his wifestudy and application of co -aper- and two sons. on Rochdale principles, will give farnt@r his only .fighting chance. 1st the powerful interests wlhich. keeping agriculture in an ever - ening state of ,debts and mart- s. •Do the farmers want to save culture -their homes? Then study. use co-ap'eration. We are in- to May issue of Rural Co- Teacher—Now, which boy can tar for much of this information, name 'five things that 'aotrtaiu milk? MRS. LLOYD TAYLOR, Bright Boy—I cant Butr arid Lake Huron U.F.W,O, cheese and ice cream ansi two cows. d Bend. June 8, 1938. Events of Interest July 6 --District No. '5 Hcerticultttr- al Associations Annual (Field Day, -O.'A.C., .Guelph."Thereere are a thousand reasons,why I love you, my darling,,, Sher-J'"31fy 'goodness!„ 'That's one of. then." PAGE THREE ."OWN TOPICS TWENTY-FIVE, YEARS AGO a• a3 p N h a in c it th t• it m c fro su re m th a gn n ti co 9 ev to ed to m m to $15 fa th pa th C fa b to th no ca nt de tel do Jo ple 49 r fir ep on Th for 191 sam ed 1189 to am of acc 'stir elm of dice too Situ, pan ague sten and is in The anon the agaii are deep gage agri aid de'bted opera Gram Sergeant—"If you could only shoot. as •well as you 'can eat, you'd he 0. K." Recruit "Well, 'I'.ve ;been practis- ing eating for 26 years, ,but I've only had this 'blinking ,gun a fortnight„ JUNE S. M. T. W. T. F' S. - - - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 23t4 15 8 61719 108 8 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2627252930 -